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Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Defeating Procrastination

2011-04-07T09:43:00.000-07:00

Defeating Procrastination

1. Evaluate the task you’re avoiding. What is it that prevents you from getting started on this project? Often a task seems overwhelming. The way to overcome this is to break it down into smaller pieces. Divide a large task into sub-components that are quicker and easier to do. Break it down and it becomes less of a monster. Look at it as a series of smaller tasks. Then finish them of, one at a time.

2. Weigh the consequences. What’s the worst thing that can happen if you procrastinate and fail to complete this task? Conversely, what is the best possible result of getting it done on time? Now, do the right thing and jump right in.

3. Begin immediately. Get started now. Take charge of the situation at once and initiate the action steps you need to take. Even the most daunting task can be a lot easier once we roll up our sleeves and get busy. Start to develop a reputation for getting things done. Putting important tasks off makes you appear to be less committed to accomplishment.

4. Make a public declaration to reinforce your commitment. Find someone who you’d be embarrassed to let down by not following through on your declaration. Share your objective and the timeline for achieving it with this individual. Then, get on it right away. Making your commitment public forces you to be accountable. You’ll be less likely to goof off and more inclined to bear down and do whatever is necessary.

5. Act on anything that will help you get closer to the successful completion of the task before you. Open that file, dial the first number on your list, write the first line of your letter—anything that can help you get rolling so you can build a little momentum.

6. Think before you act. If you’re having difficulty getting started, take 5 minutes to think about it first. Probe your mind for the reasons behind the procrastination. Force your self to analyze why you’re delaying this project. Then face up to it. Confront your fears by taking some kind of positive action.

7. Do the thing you keep putting off, first. Complete this troublesome task early in the day. Once completed, you’ll feel energized and the rest of the day will be a breeze.

8. Listen to the excuses you’re using for putting certain jobs off, in favor of others. Always go back to the one task that’s most important at this moment and work on that. It’s easy to get caught in the trap of working very diligently on something else as a means to avoid doing what you really should be doing. Catch yourself and re-adjust your course of action.

9. Play games with yourself. Turn boring, mundane work into a fun game. Challenge yourself to break your speed record or to find a more efficient, more productive way to perform this task. You’ll improve productivity, have a little fun, complete the “boring” work and you may even discover a revolutionary process that can change traditional thinking.

10. Recognize your delay tactics for what they are and then take some action. Have many times have you thought about doing something only to talk yourself out of it because it was too difficult, too inconvenient or too unappealing? Listen to your internal voice but be prepared to overrule if it’s preventing you from doing the important things. Rarely is a task as oppressive as it seems. Usually, “the stewing is worse than the doing”.

11. Change your attitude about it and any task can become more bearable. Catch yourself moaning about the job you have to do and then, make a radical shift. You can often spend more time griping about having to do the job than it actually takes to just do it!

12. Find out why you’re putting it off. Here’s the main reasons why people procrastinate: A) other things seem more important… B) the task is so unpleasant that virtually anything else would be preferred… and C) a lack of confidence in one’s own ability to accomplish the task.

13. Re-frame the unpleasant tasks to make them more acceptable to do. Nothing by itself is either good or bad. It’s the thinking about it that makes it so. Nothing is either painful or pleasurable until we decide which it is. How you choose to look at a task can make a big difference. See it in a positive light and you’ll get it done faster and emerge unscathed. Once you’ve mastered this skill, you’ve conquered the demon of procrastination.

14. Turn it into a pleasurable activity and it will be much easier to handle. We never procrastinate on the things that make us feel good. Make it fun. Make it a challenge or a competition. Turn it into an exciting adventure. It’s often the perceived pain that’s the root cause of procrastination. Build up enough pleasure and the pain subsides enough so you forget about it and get the job done.

15. Visualize the task successfully completed in your minds’ eye. Internalize the
feelings of success and accomplishment. Amplify it. Reinforce the joy. Lock these sensory experiences into your memory bank and relive them often. Do it enough and the mental image will in turn create the physical reality.

16. Create two lists on a single sheet of paper. First, divide the page lengthwise
into two equal columns. On the left, list all the reasons for not doing a particular task. On the right, list all the reasons for getting it done. Now, you have to play a little game with yourself. You want to stack the reasons so overwhelmingly in favor of action, that failing to take action looks like such an inferior choice, that only a fool would opt for this choice.

17. Attack the problem as though you were a master at getting things done. Think of someone you know whose accomplishments consistently impress you. Now, pretend you are this person. How would they face this situation? What actions would they take? What would they do to just get it done? Next, prepare an outline of how this unique achiever would actually complete the project if it were their own. Then, follow the plan.

Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Monitor Your Time

2011-04-07T09:31:00.000-07:00

Monitor Your Time

1. Pay particular attention to the little things. In time management, those “little
things” are the seemingly insignificant moments that we spend in a less than productive way. Over a lifetime, those days, hours and minutes can add up to a huge chunk of time that might have been better invested.

2. Maintain your focus on accomplishing the most vitally-important task at all times during the business day. Doing this will set you apart from most people. Unsuccessful people are often very busy, but they’re seldom working on the most productive task.

3. Create a “tickler” system to remind you in advance of upcoming assignments, events, special dates and deadlines. “Ticklers” are periodic reminders you add to your day organizer. Preparation gives you a great advantage and regular reminders provide time to prepare for any situation or task.

4. Monitor your time for one week. Account for every hour and every minute within that hour. At the end of the week, review it. Total the hours and how they were spent. If you honestly separate real productive time from the other activities in your life, you’ll be sure to spot obvious opportunities for improving effectiveness.

5. Recognize when a directional shift is required. If a process or strategy isn’t
working for you and you seem to be spinning your wheels, stop and make a change. Minimize your loss in time and energy when your efforts don’t seem to be going anywhere. Modify your approach. Adjust. Regroup in a way that does work for you.

6. Watch out for the little time-wasters. Saving a couple of minutes each day can make a huge difference over a lifetime. Think efficiency. Condition this into your very core. Then, pay attention to the time spent standing in front of the closet trying to decide what clothes to wear, or looking for your car keys when you’ve misplaced them. Your life is nothing more than a collection of minutes, hours and days.

7. Record an accurate log of the time required to complete each project, job, assignment or task. Such a document will help you with future estimates of time requirements. Seeing it on paper is often a revelation. You’ll spot areas where efficiency could be improved.

8. Analyze early. Know when a project is due and what must be done to meet the specified details. Before you launch into full scale action, determine the general steps that are required for completion. Create a basic breakdown of major sources or contributors to the job. A list might include the library, coworkers, outside vendors, and the client. What would be required of each? What work can be done in your office? What information or supplies must be gained elsewhere? A quick analysis gives you a better scope of the work ahead.

9. Use your work time for actual work—those tasks that will help you finish one job after another. Get busy doing the important things for the project in front of you. Leave all your planning and organizing for the end of the day, after the important daily work is completed.

Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Tactics, Techniques And Action Steps

2011-04-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

Tactics, Techniques And Action Steps

1. Eliminate personal interruptions. When you’re on a roll, the last thing you want is to be stopped in your tracks by unnecessary intrusions. Great accomplishments occur when you gather momentum and a sense of rhythm as you progress towards a successful conclusion. Interruptions can hinder your success. Don’t let it happen. Use controls such as door signs and voice mail. If you must, seek out a work space where no one else can find you. Or, adjust your hours to give you creative time at non-peak periods.

2. Learn to say no to low pay-off tasks. It’s easy to be busy with less important work. If the task is not important today, don’t waste your time on it. The fewer low pay-off items you work on, the more productive you’ll be.

3. Wipe out any unnecessary travel. Take advantage of today’s time-saving technology. Wherever possible, use the telephone, fax machine or e-mail to deal with the important issues of the day. Avoiding personal visits frees up time for more productive work.

4. Speak your thoughts into a cassette recorder, or use voice-recognition software and then edit your spoken words into the appropriate format. This is an easy way to express your ideas, without trying to “write” the perfect piece. For many people, writing is a chore—but talking is easy, as long as it’s not to an audience. In many cases, the most effective writing is a one-on-one personal communication.

5. Introduce daily deadlines. Like them or not, deadlines increase productivity. The closer we get to an impending deadline, the more we are pressured into doing whatever it takes to complete the task. Institute a series of deadlines— monthly… weekly… daily. As each deadline approaches, the real work begins. Deadlines can give your productivity a significant boost as long as you stick to them.

6. Stand up while communicating on the telephone. Standing helps you get right to the point, for a faster, more productive call. It’s easy to get a little too comfortable while sitting and phone conversations seem to drag on longer.

7. Group several small, related tasks together and knock them off at the same time. Return all telephone calls at one point in the day, preferably after you’ve completed your crucial action to-do list. Completing several small tasks at once is easier as you build the momentum. Consolidating your efforts helps you make the most of your time. Cluster together small jobs like banking and post office pick-up/delivery, or data-base updating and responding to e-mail messages. When you’re forced to shift from one type of activity to another and back again, you lose time trying to re-focus and re-gain momentum.

8. Conduct meetings efficiently. Make it known in advance the precise start time and stick with it. Close the door to begin the meeting. Don’t feel obligated to brief latecomers. Develop a reputation for holding meetings on time regardless. People will soon come to understand that you mean business and your meetings will be more productive. Scheduling meetings at odd times like 1:50pm or 3:25pm will help to convey a need for punctuality.

9. Challenge yourself. Always try to beat your personal best. Focus your attention on finding a better, more efficient way of doing the same task before you. By making it a game, you can turn even the most mundane task into something is interesting and fun.

10. Start your to-do list on a single, full-size sheet of paper. List everything, without concern for where it might fit in sequence. After listing all tasks, identify the 3 specific groups of tasks (A’s, B’s &C’s) by using different colored markers. Once prioritized, you can then re-organize them easily into your day planner in the right sequence. This way, as you start each day, all your critical tasks are already laid out for you.

11. Group all your important records together. Maintain only one to-do list and one day planner. Preferably, your to-do list should be a part of your planner. Keep permanent records and avoid making notes on envelopes and small shreds of paper. Use your planner/notebook for all documentation. To try and utilize more than one list is unproductive duplication. You also run the risk of missing a key element while transferring bits of data.

12. Get right to the point in all communications. Avoid the long and wasteful windup. Keep your message short and sweet wherever possible. Trim the fat and the filler. Be respectful of others time and they’ll return the favor.

13. Generate hard copy records of your duties and responsibilities. If you rely exclusively on your computer’s hard drive to keep records, sooner or later you’re bound to experience a frustrating crash that could wipe out everything. Computers can and do fail. If that’s all you have, without back-up, you could face serious frustrations. Build a paper trail, so you always have back-up to prevent any possible mishap.

14. Catch yourself achieving and reward yourself with glowing praise. Life, in many respects, is a mind game. Sometimes playing little tricks and games with ourselves can stimulate new levels of productivity and accomplishment. A little positive self-talk for goals reached can help you achieve more.

15. Add incentives to trigger greater effort. Promise yourself or your team, something that would really be enjoyed, if you can reach your target on time. Dangle a big enough carrot and you’ll find creative ways to overcome obstacles and achieve goals in record time.

16. Post your plan. Keeping a visible record of your progress as you work away at a difficult project can spur you on to greater achievements. Use your outline as a checklist and mark off each individual task as it’s completed. This helps you stay on track, maintain motivation and provides visual proof of accomplishment.

17. Start somewhere other than the beginning. Sometimes it’s best to just get started at any point on a project. Trying to stick to the start-to-finish protocol
you learned in school, may be counter-productive. If the beginning is causing you difficulty, skip it and move on to something you can do right away. Take the easiest step, and do it first. Then go on to the next easiest.

18. Take some form of productive action immediately. Know that your moment of power is NOW. Nothing in the past… and nothing in the future is as vital as the moment before you right now. The only time you can count on with certainty are those moments that lie before you today. Do not waste them.

19. Produce forms to reduce duplication of creative energies. Prepare generic documents that can be used for similar applications, over and over again. Fax cover sheets, meeting agenda forms, questionnaires, and testimonial requests are but a few examples of documents that can be standardized for widespread use.

20. Act as your own coach. On days when your tempted to wander from the most important task, catch yourself and adjust your course. The easiest way to develop self-motivation is to keep your main goal in view at all times. The goal is the reason-why you’re doing what you’re doing. Having a goal in mind, something that you’re working toward, gives you the fuel you need to get through the tough times.

21. Face challenges and difficulties head-on. Often the most important task at any given time is the least appealing. When that’s the case, the best thing to do is to roll up your sleeves and get to work. Dig in. Usually it’s not as bad as you’ve imagined.

22. Delegate wherever possible. Follow-up to make sure others are on track and on time. Often, individual tasks can be handled by others. Utilizing the resources of others can be a big help where adequate direction and training has been provided.

23. Establish an efficient filing system. Nothing is more frustrating than knowing
you have the materials you need… and not being able to locate them. One way of adding efficiency to filing is to create an index page and place it at the front of each file drawer. Categories can be numbered systems or alphabetical listings, as long as there’s plenty of room for relevant additions. As you add a new file to the draw, note it on the index. Put everything in it’s rightful place and it will be there when you need it.

24. Keep your day planner (preferred) or a notebook within reach at all times. Record all your ideas, thoughts, concepts and any other information that can pop into your mind at anytime… and often does while you’re busy doing other things. Make note of non-urgent issues you wish to share with others and do so at the end of the workday.

25. Make decisions quickly and firmly. People who get things done in life seem to share the characteristic of making quick decisions and sticking with them. Don’t waste time deliberating. Size up the situation as best you can and make a decision. Not all decisions can be made that quickly, but many day-to-day type decisions can be. The more you practice this, the better and more efficient you’ll become.

26. Minimize the time it takes to prepare responses. Learn to use the phone effectively to deliver prompt responses. Wherever possible, use the telephone to reply to correspondence. Letters and faxes don’t necessarily have to be responded to in like fashion. A simple phone call can often do the trick in a fraction of the time it would take to prepare send a letter.

27. Maintain a sound mind and body. Good physical and mental health are essential to maximum accomplishment. Managing your time is about managing your life and good health is vital to a good life. To enjoy your accomplishments to the fullest, you need good health. Without it, nothing else matters much. Being in excellent physical condition gives you more stamina and endurance. It also makes you more alert and less stressed.

28. Exercise on a regular basis. Treat your body as a well-maintained machine and you’ll operate more efficiently, for greater periods of time. Regular exercise of any kind can help you feel more vibrant and alive. Rest after physical exertion is what re-builds and strengthens the body.

29. Learn to speed-read. Many courses and books are available to help you. It’s surprisingly easy for average readers to at least double their typical reading speed with the help of a few simple ideas and techniques. Most courses are designed to go way beyond doubling your speed, but they do require continuous practice. Just doubling your speed will cut reading time in half, freeing up more time for other important tasks.

30. Concentrate on the desired result at all times. Know your outcome. Be aware of your goal and the sense of accomplishment you’ll experience with each completed task. By keeping the end result clearly in mind, you’ll know why it’s important that you press on to get things done.

31. Stick to your schedule. While it’s inevitable that other things come up periodically that call for your attention, you must not get side-tracked. When a
distraction occurs…acknowledge it, record the details, then set it aside for a later time. After you’ve completed your critical tasks for the day, go back to the notes and deal with the interruption then.

Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Peak Productivity Ideas

2011-04-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

Peak Productivity Ideas

1. Work on the single, most important task at any given time. The most important task is the one that gives you the greatest value or the highest possible return. Constantly ask yourself, “What’s the most valuable use of my time, right now?” Then, do the most productive thing possible.

2. Stick with it! Continue to stay focused on that one priority item, regardless. Work at it relentlessly. Take it as far as you can go without breaking your concentration, no matter how difficult, unpleasant, or challenging the situation may be. This often requires a strong will on your part, but the payoff is worth it.

3. Go to the next, most important item on your list. Focus your attention 100% on this task until it is completed. When you’re done, or you’ve taken it as far as you possibly can, revert to the next item in succession on your list. One by one, you’ll finish each task, always working on the most important one.

4. Do only that to which you bring unique value. Delegate or purchase the rest. This is a form of leverage and it can be very effective. Do the key tasks — those that you’re best at-- yourself. Whatever skill, experience and expertise you bring to the table should be used effectively, as the situation warrants it. Utilize your time and your expertise wisely. Look at each task and determine the most effective use of available resources.

5. Transform downtime into productive activity. Determine your time of peak productivity and do your most intense, demanding work then. Use other, less productive times to return calls, send faxes, hold meetings and carry on discussions. No one can be at their peak at all times of the day. The secret is to know when you’re most effective and to use that time for the most important and demanding work.

6. Use your computer efficiently. Get in the habit of writing things once and then editing wherever necessary on screen. Avoid preparing hand-written notes that later need to be entered into your computer. Learn to use data-bases, project planners, spreadsheets, or whatever programs fit your business and your role in it.

7. Economize your time. Accomplish tasks with less waste. The fewer steps involved to complete a task, the better. Work at improving efficiency by shaving minutes or even seconds off routine duties. Be on the look out for overlap, excessive handling, unnecessary steps and duplication of work.

8. Mix-up the size of tasks to avoid burnout. Instead of taking on two 4-hour projects, one after another, break them apart with a 30-minute task in between. Strive for a blend of tasks from small to large. You’ll feel a stronger sense of accomplishment and be less drained at the end of the day.

9. Challenge yourself to finish jobs ahead of schedule. Constantly seek out better, faster, more productive ways of doing things. Give yourself a reward for your increased productivity.

10. Strive for incremental improvements. Small but consistent improvement in effort and results can make a dramatic difference over the long haul. All you need is to do things just slightly better than average with regularity and you’ll be in the top 5% of all achievers.

11. Develop a preference for action. Never put off until tomorrow, what you can do today. Dig in without delay and you’ll accomplish far more in ten years than the vast majority will accomplish in a lifetime. Do it now and you’ll feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment. How you use your time determines the quality of life you create.

12. Decide what you want to accomplish more than anything else. What one item on your list, or what goal is most important to you at this very moment. That is the one thing you need to focus on. Follow this path first above all others. You can achieve whatever you really want but… you can only accomplish one thing at a time.

13. Build upon each accomplishment by moving right along to the next task at hand. As you achieve one thing after another, you increase your potential for higher achievement. Success begets success. Each task completed successfully, fuels your momentum and builds up your confidence to achieve more. Every successful accomplishment strengthens your foundation to meet the next challenge. Do one thing at a time and then quickly move on.

14. Turn essential daily activities into powerful habits. A habit is something you just do automatically, without conscious deliberation. We all have tasks that are unpleasant or distasteful, yet necessary. Once it becomes a habit, it’s much easier to endure. You don’t have to stop and think about it.

15. Change old wasteful habits into productive ones. Decide to be a more effective time manager, starting today. Others will notice your ability to get things done, regardless. You’ll be appreciated more and you’ll have more time to take advantage of the things you really enjoy.

16. Imagine you only have half a day to complete a full day of work. What would you do? What must be done first? What can be delegated to others or put off until later? When you’ve suddenly got less time to work with, you’re forced into a higher level of efficiency planning.

Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Getting A Head Start

2011-04-07T08:44:00.000-07:00

Getting A Head Start

1. Create tomorrow’s to-do list, today. Most of us are less productive towards the end of the day. Assuming that the day’s critical tasks have been completed, it’s time to prepare for the next day. It’s best to keep your to-do lists in your day planner or in a bound journal. This way you’ll have a permanent record of all your daily events and activities. Getting your list done ahead of time gives you a head start on the day. It also prepares your mind in advance for what lies ahead.

2. Start off with a clean desk every morning. Get rid of any backlog of work before you leave at night. If you can get in the habit of clearing your desk as you wind down the workday, you’ll have conquered a big obstacle to clear and creative thinking—clutter. You simply cannot perform at your best when faced with a mountain of paperwork, and a full load of tasks that must be done at the same time.

3. Do the worst thing first. When faced with a list of unpleasant duties, tackle the most repulsive one first. After that, everything else is a breeze! You’ll feel unbeatable for the rest of the day.

4. Get started immediately. Take the “Just Do It” approach. If you don’t start, you’ll never finish. If you wait for conditions to be just right, you may miss out altogether. Do something everyday that will move you closer to your goals. Don’t put it off. Do it now.

5. Be punctual. Develop punctuality into a habit. Immediately you’ll gain an advantage over 97% of the population. Consistently being on time makes you look good and saves time and money. It also indicates respect for others’ time. Arriving early gives you extra time to get acquainted with new people and facilities… time to relax… time to mentally prepare… or simply time to review your notes.

6. Give yourself the advantage of an early start in the morning. Get up one hour earlier than normal and put that hour to good, productive use. Try it for a month and you may be astonished at what this one little hour can do for you. It’s an easy way to gain a distinct advantage.

7. Begin each individual task on a positive note. Get something important done at the very beginning and you’ll feel a sense of accomplishment that can carry you through the day. With simple projects, maybe it’s the first one on the list. For the more complex, perhaps it’s preparing a detailed action plan. Keep this simple idea in mind with every task or project and you’ll get off to a great start every time.

Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Organization

2011-04-07T08:30:00.000-07:00

Organization

1. Arrange your office for maximum performance and efficiency. Plenty of natural light where possible, adequate desk space, comfortable chair, and everything you need to perform any possible work-related task.

2. Put everything back where it belongs. At the end of the day, clear off your desk and return every file and document to it’s proper place. This way everything will be exactly where it should be when you need it the next time.

3. Insist on the essentials before you begin a project. Prior to starting, gather all the materials you need beforehand. For a writer, that may mean a complete package of research materials. For a builder, it may mean gathering all the tools and supplies needed. Collect what you need first so you can work until completion, without the need for an unnecessary break in productivity.

4. Avoid the temptation to stack paper on your desk. File it so you know exactly where it is. Minimize the number of times you handle each piece of paper.

5. Capitalize on all the valuable resources that are right in front of you. Your own personal Rolodex of important contacts you can count on, can spare you a lot of needless searching. A good librarian can help you find information on anything and most are happy to do so. Government offices, the Internet as well as directories like the Yellow Pages can all be valuable sources of time saving information. Use them.

Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Planning

2011-04-07T08:20:00.000-07:00

Planning

1. Prepare a list of all the tasks that need to be done. Your to-do list should include everything that comes to mind. The idea is to get it all down on paper. Don’t edit your selections or stop to think about any single item. Just keep building the list until you’ve covered it all.

2. Prioritize your list according to importance. The easiest way to do this is to categorize each item into three major sections: A) Crucial And Urgent B) Important But Not As Urgent C) Neither Important Or Urgent. The A’s are the most important and therefore should take top priority-- always. B’s are next in line and C’s are seldom worth spending your time on. Taking the time to prioritize in the beginning, will help you to knock off one job after another, without stopping to decide the relevant importance of a task.

3. Determine which is your most critical task by listening to your own inner voice. Seldom will it lead you astray.

4. Delete any task from your to-do list that simply isn’t important. Ask yourself, “What’s the worst thing that could happen if I dropped this entirely from the list?” If you can tolerate the answer painlessly, drop it at once.

5. Delay tasks that aren’t urgent in favor of the most pressing ones. Not
everything needs to be done right now. Sometimes a project is held up by
suppliers, vendors, or clients themselves. Postpone what you can, then use
that time to get the most important jobs done.

6. Develop the habit on sketching out plans on paper for accomplishing tasks, large and small. The degree of success enjoyed by many can be directly attributed to the amount of written life planning they undertake. Create the road map first and follow it. Simple, but very effective.

7. Factor in the time investment required for each task you need to accomplish on your list. Take into account the time required for such things as travel, briefing others, planning and outsourcing. Don’t forget to consider the loss of actual productive time in doing these other activities.

8. Stop and think about what you’re planning to do. How could it be done more effectively? Take a few minutes to outline, schedule and rationalize your plans. A simple outline can save you hours of indecision.

9. Set goals. Write them down and keep them in front of you. Know what you’re striving for. Record your goals in your day planner and refer to them often. Set a realistic timeline for the accomplishment of each goal.

10. Create a flow chart for each major project. At the top of the page list the goal or the task to be accomplished. Each job can be broken down into individual action steps with deadlines for each task along the way. The idea of a flow chart is to continually break down each step into smaller steps, with each sequence being a more fundamental action than the previous one. A flow chart provides a critical action path that leads directly to your goal.

11. Plan every hour of your workday. Use blocks of time to structure your daily schedule. Give each task the time necessary for completion. Dedicate portions of your day to handle each priority task. If you finish a job early, move right into the next critical task. Take advantage of your peak energy periods to do what’s most important. The more often you use this technique of assigning blocks of time to tasks, the more skilled you’ll become in
estimating time requirements.

12. Prepare well in advance of every meeting. Establish a precise purpose for each meeting. Make people aware of precisely what is expected of each of them. Let them know the agenda beforehand, so each attendee can contribute in a meaningful way. Before the meeting concludes, everyone should be clear of new tasks and responsibilities and who is responsible for each new task. Show all a respect for the value of their time by ending
meetings at the designated time.

13. Get focused. Even if you have 101 different projects on the go, you must prioritize to maximize your efforts. There are plenty of distractions to tempt you. Lots of interesting things to do, places to go, and people to mingle with You can easily spend your time many other ways. But if you want to accomplish and achieve, you simply must stay focused on that which is the most important.

14. Spend 10 minutes at the end of the day preparing for tomorrow. Generate your to-do list and prioritize it, one day in advance. This will save you precious time in the morning. You can dive right into your work without having to make lists and choices. Using this strategy gives you a head start on the day and ensures that you’re working on the most important task always.

15. Determine the appropriate time required for complete, uninterrupted attention to the task at hand. When you simply must bear down and accomplish tasks, you need to work without any disruption so you can get into the flow where results can happen much faster.

16. Break down goals and objectives into basic tasks. It doesn’t matter how large or how small the goal. Any goal may seem like a far-away dream until you break it down into tiny action steps that can be taken immediately. Refining a goal down to it’s most basic task gives you something you can do to today that will move you towards it. If you fail to do this, your goals will only remain distant dreams.

17. Allow for adequate time to do each job, the right way. You want to do it right the first time and shouldn’t have to bear the additional pressure of a rushed deadline. There’s no profit in doing anything a second time.

18. Determine your action steps before you proceed. Take the time to create a brief outline of the project. Break it down, one step at a time. Allow for planning time. One minute of effective planning can save you an hour of undirected focus. A good outline is your road-map to successful accomplishment of the project.

19. Create a master deadlines file. Know where you stand at any time in relation to any on-going project. Be aware of what they are and when they’re due. The purpose of a deadlines file is to help you organize and meet each and every deadline in a timely manner. When you know there’s a deadline looming in the not too distant future, you’re more likely to get to work on the project.

20. Expect the unexpected. Allow for delays whenever your project involves the contribution of others. If you plan for it, you’ll be less frustrated and still be able to meet deadlines. Be clear with others about what’s expected of them and when. But understand this; no one else is as committed to accomplishment as you. Check in periodically, rather than waiting until the last minute. This way you’re more likely to keep your project on track.

21. Set your sites on tiny incremental improvements in daily productivity. Concentrate on a small, but consistent improvement each day. Make the decision to raise your personal output every day by just a few percentage points. This may take careful planning on your part, but the exponential growth in productivity can be huge as you find new ways to become more efficient.

22. Prepare detailed, written plans for larger projects. Create an outline that includes point-form directions for each step along the way. Make your details clear and concise as though you were planning to turn the job over to someone else. If help becomes available, you can utilize additional labor effectively. If you’re doing the whole project yourself, you’ll never have to stop midstream to figure out the next step in the process.

23. Allow time for typical delays that are unavoidable. Give yourself a 10-15% cushion when scheduling your daily activities. By making such a provision ahead of time, you’ll be more effective and less stressed.

Tips & Tricks To Help You Boost Productivity & Overcome Procrastination : Mindset

2011-04-07T07:59:00.000-07:00

Mindset

1. Accept the fact that there simply isn’t enough time to do everything. That’s why it’s so important to work on the most important things. If you’re always focused on the important things, both in your business and personal life, you’ll always be making the greatest contribution by using your time wisely.

2. Establish a relaxed state of mind. Keep calm. Stay focused on what you have to do. Ignore everything else. Too much additional stress can make the whole task that much more challenging. Your mental state is something you can control. Don’t let outside pressures get to you. Understand what must be done and do it in a calm, relaxed, self-assured manner.

3. Stop trying to be a perfectionist. It’s easy to get caught up in the trap of trying to make something just a little bit better. But often the results of the additional tinkering make little difference in the overall outcome, though the cost in both time and unnecessary stress can be sizable.

4. Accept your productivity shortcomings as human nature. It does you no good to beat yourself up. When you’ve been less than productive, you need to stop and re-focus. Don’t dwell on past failures—simply accept it as human nature. Then, get to work.

5. Treat your workspace as a place of productivity. Condition your mind to acknowledge your office as an area where things get done. Do this consistently and you’ll soon find yourself accomplishing more whenever you’re there. Find other space for other less-productive activities, events and actions. Keep your workspace reserved for high-performance activities.

HOW TO WRITE PROFITABLE CLASSIFIED ADS

2011-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

Everybody wants to make more money. In fact, most people would like to hit upon something that makes them fabulously rich! And seemingly, one of the easiest roads to the fulfillment of these dreams of wealth is mail order or within the professional circles of the business, direct mail selling.

The only thing is, hardly anyone gives much real thought to the basic ingredient of selling by mail - the writing of profitable classified ads. If your mail order business is to succeed, then you must acquire the expertise of writing classified ads that sell your product or services!

So what makes a classified ad good or bad? First of all, it must appeal to the reader, and as such, it must say exaszctly what you want it to say. Secondly, it has to say what it says in the least possible number of words in order to keep your operating costs within your budget. And thirdly, it has to produce the desired results, whether inquiries or sales.

Grabbing the reader's attention is your first objective. You must assume the reader is "scanning" the page on which your ad appears in the company of two or three hundred classified ads. Therefore, there has to be something about your ad that causes him to stop scanning and look at yours! So, the first two or three words of your ad are of the utmost importance and deserve your careful consideration. Most surveys show that works or phrases that quickly involve the reader, tend to be the best attention-grabbers. Such words as: FREE, WIN, MAKE BIG MONEY.

Whatever words you use as attention-grabbers to start your ads, you should bear in mind that they'll be competing with similar attention-grabbers of the other ads on the same page. Therefore, in addition to your lead words, your ad must quickly go on to promise or state further benefits to the reader. In other words, your ad might read something like this: MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Sample. We show you how!

In the language of professional copywriters, you've grabbed the attention of your prospect, and interested him with something that teven he can do.

The next rule of good classified copywriting has to do with the arousal of the reader's desire to get in on your offer. In a great many instances, this rule is by-passed, and it appears, this is the real reason that an ad doesn't pull according to the expectations of the advertiser.

Think about it - you've got your reader's attention; you've told him it's easy and simple; and you're about to ask him to do something. Unless you take the time to further "want your offer," your ad is going to only half turn him on. He'll compare your ad with the others that have grabbed his attention and finally decide upon the one that interests him the most.

What I'm saying is that here is the place for you to insert that magic work "guarantted" or some other such work or phrase. So now, we've got an ad that reads: MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Simple. Guaranteed!

Now the reader is turned on, and in his mind, he can+t lose. You're ready to ask for his money. This is the "demand for action" part of your ad. This is the pat where you want to use such words as: Limited offer - Act now! Write today! Only and/or just.
Putting it all together, then you ad might read somehting like this: MAKE BIG MONEY! Easy & Simple. Guaranteed! Limited offer. Send $1 to:

These are the ingredients of any good classsified ad- Attention- Interest- Desire - Action . Without these four ingredients skillfully integrated into your ad, chances are your ad will just "lie there" and not do anything but cost you money. What we've just shown you is a basic classified ad. Although such an ad could be placed in any leading publication and would pull a good respone, it's known as a "blind ad" and would pull inquiries and responses from a whole spectrum of people reading the publication in which it appered. In other words, from as many "time-waster" as from bona fide buyers.

So let's try to give you an example of the kind of classified ad you might want to use, say to sill a report suxh as this one. Using all the rules of basic advertising copywriting, and stating exactly what our products is, our ad read thusly.

MONEY-MAKERS SECRETS!

How To Write winning classified ad. Simple & easy to learn-
Should double or triple your re sponses.

Rush $1 to ABC sales,
10 Main.
Anytown, TX 75001

The point we're making is that:

1) You've got to grab to reader's attention.
2) You've got to "interest him" with something that appeals to him.
3) You've got to "further stimulate" him with something (catchphrase) that makes him "desire" the product or service.
4) Demand that he act immediately.

There's no point in being tricky or clever. Just adhere to the basics and your profits will increase accordingly. One of the best ways of learning to write good classified ads is to study the classifieds- try to figure out exactly what they're attemptingh to sell-and then practice rewriting them according to the reles we've just given you. Whenever you sit down to write a classified, always write it all out-write down everything you want to say-and then go back over it, crossing out words, and refining your phraseology.

The final ingredient of your classified ad is of course, your name & address to which the reader is to respond-where he's to send his money or write for further information.

Generally speaking, readers respond more often to ads that include a name than to those showing just initials or an address only. However, because advertising cost are based upon the number of words, or the amount of space your ad uses, the use of some names in classified ads could become quite expensive.

If we were to ask our ad repondents to write to or send thier money to The Research Writers & Publishers Association, or to Book Business Mart, or even to Money Maker's Opportunity Digest, our advertising costs would be prohibitive.

Thus we shorten our name to Researchers or Money-Makers. The point here is to think relative to the placement costs of your ad, and to shorten excessivley long names.

The same holds true when listing your post office box number. Shorten it to just plan Box 40, or in the case of a real delivery, shorten it to just RR1.

The important thing is to know the rules of profitable classified ad wriiting, and to follow them. Hold your costs in line.
Now you know the basics, the rest is up to you.ecide upon the one that interests him the most.

Customers for Life

2010-12-21T21:25:00.000-08:00

By: Brian Tracy

Never Worry About Money Again
What is the purpose of a business? Every time I ask this question during a business seminar, the immediate answer that I get back is, "To make a profit."

The Real Purpose of A Business
But this answer is wrong. The purpose of a business is to create and keep a customer. If a business successfully creates and keeps customers in a cost-effective way, it will make a profit while continuing to survive and thrive. If, for any reason, a business fails to attract or sustain a sufficient number of customers, it will experience losses. Too many losses will lead to the demise of the enterprise.

Why Businesses Fail
According to Dun and Bradstreet, the single, most important reason for the failure of businesses in America is lack of sales. And, of course, this refers to resales as well as initial sales.

So your company's job is to create and keep a customer, and your job is exactly the same. Remember, no matter what your official title is, you are a salesperson for yourself and your company. And the best way to increase your value as a salesperson is to build your customer base.

"Change your Marketing...
Change your Life!"

When you're selling a product or a service, your ability to market effectively is the single most important skill you can learn. Marketing strategy is what sets high-profit business apart from ones that are barely scraping by. With this program you'll get the EDGE you need to leave your competition behind! Learn more here >>

Why Businesses Succeed
The two most important words to keep in mind in developing a successful customer base are Positioning and Differentiation.

Positioning refers to the way your customers think and talk about you and your company when you are not there. The position that you hold in the customer's mind determines all of his reactions and interactions with you. Your position determines whether or not your customer buys, whether he buys again and whether he refers others to you. Everything that you do with regard to your customer affects the way your customer thinks about you.

The Key to Competitive Advantage
Differentiation refers to your ability to separate yourself and your product or service from that of your competitors. And it is the key to building and maintaining a competitive advantage. This is the advantage that you and your company have over your competitors in the same marketplace - the unique and special benefits that no one else can give your customer.

Select Your Customers Carefully
When you begin to think about acquiring and keeping customers for life, you need to think about the particular types of customers for whom your competitive advantage is so important that they would be poorly served by using anyone else's product. You need to then emphasize again and again that the special features and benefits you offer are so important that they should not even think of going somewhere else. If, for any reason, you fail to do this, you may lose the customer and all the work you've done in building that relationship in the first place.

Action Exercises
Here are two things you can do immediately to put these ideas into action.

First, determine exactly what your current positioning is today with your customers. How do they think about you and what do they say? How could you improve your positioning?

Second, determine your exact competitive advantage, your area of superiority in what you do. How can you increase in your area of excellence and then convey it better to your customers?

"Influencing Customer Behavior—Guarantee your Customers Buy More, Faster and at Any Price!"

Whether it's a product, service or even ourselves--influencing others is a skill we cannot afford to live without.

In this program, you will learn the most powerful influencing strategies and techniques ever discovered in professional selling.
Click for more...

Selling Online

THE 10 POWERFUL MUSTS IN MARKETING

2010-12-15T21:39:00.000-08:00

Whenever I meet a Business Owner or an Entrepreneur the first question I ask is "how does your Marketing measure up"? Their usual response is that their Marketing Sucks! How about yours? If you are like most, Marketing is the last thing that you work on in your business.

You are either doing the technical part of your business or you are putting out fires. You usually don't have a clear plan or strategy on how to set up a successful Marketing initiative in your organization. Most of the time, we are being reactive instead of proactive. We wait until business slows down and then we put a bunch of money into different media sources in hopes that business gets better.

Typically, this doesn't work. But if it does, we don't measure it, to see what part of our message inspired our clients to come in the door or call us on the phone. If you would like to develop a Marketing Strategy that will give you awesome results, consistent traffic and more profits, I encourage you to read on. These are the 10 Powerful Musts that your Marketing Plan should have.

You must have 10 Marketing Strategies active at all time

Most companies have three or less strategies working for them and because of that their message doesn't reach their customers in enough time for it to stick. Researches show that a potential client must hear, see or experience your message 9 times or more before deciding to do business with you. Your website, your TV ad and your print advertising alone, isn't enough to drive the traffic that you need to make your business successful. I teach my clients how to determine the 10 affordable mediums that they can use to get their message out, so that they can attract more clients to them.

Your Marketing Message must address your target market and their interests directly

Your message must be focused.....like a laser beam on your target market. It must speak to their needs directly and clearly. For instance, an auto repair facility may communicate that they are the local experts for European automobiles. By doing this, they have separated themselves from every other repair facility in their area. Anyone who owns a European automobile now has a local expert that they can take their vehicle to.

Your Marketing Message must be consistent across all mediums you use

Many Business Owners are their own worst enemy. This is because they are communicating one message in one ad and another, somewhere else. We mentioned earlier that it takes nine or more impressions before someone makes a decision to purchase from you. If you are sending multiple messages, it will dilute your voice and cost you opportunities.

You must track all leads and know what Marketing Medium brought your prospect to contact you

There is an old saying, "What you measure you will manage". You must know what is working and what is not. If you are advertising somewhere that is delivering results, you want to stay there. If you are advertising somewhere that isn't giving results, drop it and put your money somewhere else. Most business owners have a general idea of what medium is bringing clients in but are not sure. You must track this area. It is as simple as asking a couple of questions or adding a box on your website that asks the client how they heard about you.

Your Marketing Message must be dramatically different from your competitors'

In my Companies, I am constantly watching, reading and listening to my competitors' marketing messages. Most of them look, sound and feel identical because they are put together by the advertising sales reps. They are not marketing experts. Their goal is to sell you space and get a commission......not to help you develop a marketing strategy. If you look at the newspaper ads for Car Dealerships, you will see exactly what I am talking about. Remember, "Same is Lame".

You must constantly be looking for ways to provide additional Products and Services to your target Market.

I call this recycling your customer. You must look for ways to get your customer to continue to spend money with you. Look at Wal-Mart. They started selling just household products and now they sell groceries, electronics, jewelry, etc. You can even get your oil changed, do your banking, get an eye exam or have your taxes prepared while you are there! What products and services compliment what you are currently selling? How can you add that to your existing operation? By doing this, you will add value to your current business model as well as become a one stop shop for your clients. This makes their life easier and it will increase your bottom line.

You must maintain a current database of your current and potential customers

It blows me away when I sit down with a client and they don't have an organized database of their clients. How can you stay in touch with them to share about the new promotions that you have going on? How can you follow up with them to see how the product that you sold them is working out for them? Without a database, you cannot. You must develop one so that you can remind them that you are still here and more importantly that you still care.

You must use strategies such as Guarantees and Testimonials to enhance your Marketing Message in all communications

People love testimonials and guarantees. This gives your potential client the warm and fuzzy feeling that they need to feel comfortable about doing business with you. If they read or see how your product or service has helped hundreds of people improve their lives, save money, time or increase their income, they are more likely to do business with you over your competitor. Your guarantees show the potential client how much confidence that you have in your product or service. Offering powerful guarantees such as warranties and full refunds, if not satisfied, proves to the consumer that there is no risk involved with doing business with you. If your competitor doesn't say these things, it may show that they are not willing to back up what they are selling.

Your Marketing Message must tell your prospect what to do next in making contact with you

After hearing your message, your prospect must be directed on how they should contact you. Should they email, call, write or come in? You cannot assume that they know, you must tell them. They will appreciate you for this.

You must communicate with past customers on a regular basis to ensure that they come back again and again.

The easiest sale is to those who have already done business with you. How are they going to remember you if you don 't communicate with them? I encourage my clients to stay in touch with their clients a minimum of 4 times per year. I advise them to stay away from big holidays such as Christmas and Easter because everyone sends cards during these times. Consider sending something on their birthday, the Fourth of July, New Years Day and Labor Day. You will probably be the only person they receive a card from on any of these given days.

If you develop your Marketing plan using the 10 Powerful Musts, you will increase your business with both new clients as well as returning clients. You will also see an increase in referrals to your business. The best businesses understand that marketing is the most important part of their business because without customers you have no business.

So what are you going to do next?

Well, you can go down to your local college and sign up for a Marketing course if you have the time to do so. Most business owners don 't. You can read a bunch of books and extract the principles outlined, but that takes time and disciple. Or you can hire a Marketing Coach who will help you develop the strategies that we have outlined. By doing so you enjoy the privilege of having your customer pipeline filled at all times.

I am currently enrolling students in my Marketing mastermind group. If you'd like more information please email me at Kevin@southeastbusinessdoctor.com. I will send you a fre-e Marketing Evaluation.

About the Author

Kevin Thomas is a serial entrepreneur, licensed business coach, and a motivational and inspirational speaker. Kevin is currently working with Business Owners who are in the top five percent of their field or have aspirations to be there. Kevin is a master in business strategies which have helped him build several businesses that run successfully without him. If you would like to receive his success secrets newsletter, go to http://www.southeastbusinessdoctor.com .

MUSTS IN MARKETING

THE 10 POWERFUL MUSTS IN MARKETING

2010-12-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

By Kevin Thomas

Most of the time, we are being reactive instead of proactive. We wait until business slows down and then we put a bunch of money into different media sources in hopes that business gets better.

You must have 10 Marketing Strategies active at all time

Most companies have three or less strategies working for them and because of that their message doesn't reach their customers in enough time for it to stick. Researches show that a potential client must hear, see or experience your message 9 times or more before deciding to do business with you.

Your website, your TV ad and your print advertising alone, isn't enough to drive the traffic that you need to make your business successful. I teach my clients how to determine the 10 affordable mediums that they can use to get their message out, so that they can attract more clients to them.

Your Marketing Message must address your target market and their interests directly

Your Marketing Message must be consistent across all mediums you use

You must track all leads and know what Marketing Medium brought your prospect to contact you

Your Marketing Message must be dramatically different from your competitors'

You must constantly be looking for ways to provide additional Products and Services to your target Market.

You must maintain a current database of your current and potential customers

You must use strategies such as Guarantees and Testimonials to enhance your Marketing Message in all communications

People love testimonials and guarantees. This gives your potential client the warm and fuzzy feeling that they need to feel comfortable about doing business with you. If they read or see how your product or service has helped hundreds of people improve their lives, save money, time or increase their income, they are more likely to do business with you over your competitor.

Your guarantees show the potential client how much confidence that you have in your product or service. Offering powerful guarantees such as warranties and full refunds, if not satisfied, proves to the consumer that there is no risk involved with doing business with you. If your competitor doesn't say these things, it may show that they are not willing to back up what they are selling.

Your Marketing Message must tell your prospect what to do next in making contact with you

You must communicate with past customers on a regular basis to ensure that they come back again and again.

So what are you going to do next?

I am currently enrolling students in my Marketing mastermind group. If you'd like more information please email me at Kevin@southeastbusinessdoctor.com. I will send you a fre-e Marketing Evaluation.

About the Author

3 Attributes All Winning Classified Ads Have in Common

2010-12-08T00:39:00.000-08:00

All winning classified ads have something in common. All of them have attributes that separates them from losers and that makes them run time and time again. So what are these attributes that I am talking about and how can you use them too for your classified ads? Well in this article, I will show you a few of them.

Inside this article, you will learn the 3 things that all winning classified ads have in common and how you can emulate these ads and start incorporating them into your ads today. Here's attribute number one:

1) Winning classified ads don't sell products

Never try to sell a product within the small space of a classified ad. You can't tell your prospect enough information for them to make a buying decision, so just give them a free offer of some sort so that you can get their name and address and follow-up on them continuously.

If you're currently selling your product with a price tag through your classified ad then I suggest that you stop. You're hindering your results and this is a very ineffective way of marketing your products and services. Here's another attribute that winning classified ads have:

2) Winning ads have a strong headline

Your headline is the most important part of your classified ad. It's the first thing that they see when reading your ad and it lets them know whether or not they should continue reading. When creating your headline, lead with your strongest benefit. You want the biggest benefit that your reader will receive incorporated into your ad so that it can entice them into reading more.

Your headline should give them a very compelling reason to read your ad, and the more logical the reason - the better.

A headline such as, "How To Build A Birdhouse That Attracts The Birds You Want" will immediately attract the attention of bird lovers who are looking to build a birdhouse. It offers the solution to their biggest problem - how to design and build a birdhouse that actually attracts birds to it.

3) Winning ads have good body copy

The body copy of your classified ad should do the job making them want to learn more. This is the linkage between your headline and your call to action, so this part is pivotal. You want to keep your body copy brief. Include power words such as "easy", "quick", "simple", or "free" to get your reader excited about your offer.

You can end your body copy by telling your reader how to reply to your classified. You can say something like, "Call 1-800-111-1111 for your FREE report TODAY!"

All 3 of these of these ingredients of a winning ad for crucial parts in your ad succeeding. When designing your classified ad, you want to make sure that it follows all of these essential points so that it can have the most success as possible. When writing your ad, keep your prospect in mind. Always think about how they would think when reading your ad. If you can do this, then the chances of your ad succeeding will increase big time.

Good luck!

FOR MORE INFO: Learn classified advertising secrets you can use to make your small ads pay off big. To learn more, visit the following website for more details: http://www.instant-downloadz.com/classifiedmagic.html

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adrian_Hargray

Classified Ads

Craigslist controversies and illegal activities by users

2010-11-23T19:39:00.000-08:00

Craigslist, a network of online communities featuring free classified advertisements, has experienced controversies and illegal activities by its users during its operations.

Incidents

On February 3, 2006, Craigslist was sued by the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law for allegedly allowing users to post discriminatory housing ads in Chicago that violate the Fair Housing Act. The case, Chicago Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law v. Craigslist, was subsequently dismissed because of immunity granted by Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

On September 8, 2006, several sites reported that Craigslist's "Casual Encounters" forums in several cities had been compromised by individuals posting fraudulent ads in order to obtain personal information about people. This information, including email addresses, phone numbers, home addresses, photos, etc., was publicly posted online.

On September 12, 2007, a woman from Minneapolis, Minnesota pleaded guilty in federal court to running an underage prostitution ring through Craigslist.

On October 26, 2007, Katherine Olson, a Minneapolis woman, was found murdered in the trunk of her car after she responded through Craigslist to what she thought was a job as a nanny; the ad had actually been placed by "Craigslist Killer" Michael John Anderson. Anderson was convicted of his "Craigslist Killing" in 2009.

On February 8, 2008, a Michigan woman was charged with using Craigslist to hire a contract killer to murder a romantic rival in Oroville, California.

On March 22, 2008, Bernard George Lamp, 51 of Troutman, North Carolina was arrested for the murder of Bonnie Lou Irvine, 52, of Cornelius, North Carolina; she had agreed to meet him after she responded to his ad on Craigslist.

In April 2008, a Minneapolis couple were indicted for using Craigslist to advertise for sexual services, and then picking the pockets of those who responded. Eric Christopher Thorsen, 25, and Amy Ruth Bergquist, 30, then used stolen identification, checks and credit cards to purchase merchandise from online retailers as well as prescription drugs. In addition the couple were responsible for tens of thousands of dollars of bank fraud throughout the Twin Cities area. Thorsen and Bergquist ultimately pleaded guilty to trafficking in stolen documents and aggravated identity theft; Thorsen was sentenced to five years in Federal Prison, Bergquist to three and a half.

In April 2008, a couple was charged with placing an ad on Craigslist inviting the public to take anything from a man's home in Oregon, leading to the loss of his possessions. The couple had placed this ad to cover up their own burglary of his house.

On May 27, 2008, in Vancouver, British Columbia, police reported that a Vancouver couple had attempted to sell their week-old baby on the site, but the couple claimed that it was merely a joke. The investigation is ongoing.

On November 7, 2008, after reaching an accord with over forty of the United States' top prosecutors, Craigslist announced that it would crack down on ads for prostitution by requiring people who post "erotic services" ads to provide a working phone number and pay a fee with a valid credit card.

On December 7, 2008, Matthew Hicks, 32, was fatally shot after robbing, assaulting and attempting to murder Willie Donaldson, 35, in Arlington, Virginia, whom he had met through his girlfriend, who had met Donaldson via Craigslist; in January, 2009, Donaldson was indicted for the murder, but was subsequently acquitted on Jan 23.

On March 5, 2009, Cook County, Illinois Sheriff Tom Dart's Department filed a lawsuit against Craigslist, accusing the site of "knowingly promoting and facilitating prostitution" in its "erotic services" advertisement section. The company argued that it could hardly be expected to sift successfully through the vast volume of listings it received every day; nor was it required to by federal law; in fact, federal law protected it from criminal proceedings for failure to do so.

On March 20, 2009, the ABC radio news reporter George Weber was allegedly murdered by John Katehis in Brooklyn. The two had met via Craigslist; Weber was found bound and stabbed fifty times.

On April 20, 2009, Richard (last name not mentioned) and his mother were attacked in Tacoma, WA with a hammer after seeing a bogus car ad on Craigslist. This was reported in the national news.

On April 20, 2009, Boston police arrested twenty-three-year-old Boston University medical student Philip Markoff of Quincy, Massachusetts, on suspicion of the armed robbery and murder of Julissa Brisman, whose massage services were advertised on Craigslist in Boston and Rhode Island, and whose corpse was found on April 14 in a Boston hotel. Markoff is accused of first bludgeoning and then shooting her with a gun. He then was accused of another armed robbery of an escort in another Boston hotel several days earlier and an attempted armed robbery at a Warwick, Rhode Island hotel two days later. He was arrested the following week while driving to a casino with his fiancée. He pleaded not guilty. On August 15, 2010, he committed suicide in his jail cell while awaiting trial.

Subsequent to the Brisman murder, a widely publicized crime, state attorneys general countrywide plied increased pressure on the site "to shutter what they call the nation's busiest virtual street corner, where prostitution runs rampant." Although Craigslist claims to have reduced inappropriate erotic listings by 95 per cent since its accord with prosecutors in November 2008, the attorneys hold that there are still hundreds of such listings emerging every day, and that the company really ought to do more. South Carolina Atty Gen. Henry McMaster threatened the company with criminal proceedings, but it swiftly employed the same defense that it used against Dart.

In June 2009, Korena Roberts of Oregon was arrested for allegedly killing 21-year-old Heather Snively—who was eight-months pregnant—and her unborn baby, by cutting open her abdomen. They were reported to have met through an advertisement by Roberts on Craigslist for the sale of baby clothes.

In June 2009, Joseph Brooks, a 71 year old Oscar Award winning film director and songwriter was arrested on 11 counts of rape, including 9 counts of raping women aged 18 to 30 whom he met through advertisements offering film roles on Craigslist. Brooks won his Academy Award for writing the Debbie Boone song You Light Up My Life in 1977 and also directed the film of the same name.

In August 2009, members of Pranknet, a virtual community established around harassing people via Skype, were outed on The Smoking Gun for activities that also included posting fraudulent ads on Craigslist and then shouting racist, sexually graphic and obscene tirades at people who called to inquire about their ads. Pranknet members also responded to ads placed by young women selling household goods, feigned interest in making a purchase, and when they learned the woman's address, proclaimed they were on their way over to rape them and murder their children.

In April 2010, a family of four was terrorized by four people who responded to a Craigslist ad for the sale of a diamond ring. The father, 43-year old Jimmy Sanders, was murdered defending his eldest son after letting a couple into their home to look at the ring who proceeded to take out a gun and let two more accomplices enter the Edgewood, Washington home. Four suspects were taken into police custody.

Source: Wiki

Craigslist

Clever Classified Copywriting

2010-11-17T23:19:00.000-08:00

By Terry Telford

Have you looked at the classified section of your favorite newspaper, ezine, or website lately? Have you noticed all the brilliantly written classified ads? Me either.

To make sure that your classified ads stand out in a crowd, use some simple rules, some creative flair, and an award winning formula. If you follow these A-B-C's for writing effective classifieds, you will increase your response rate and your profits. And that's what it's all about.

Here is your quick and simple A-B-C guide for writing classifieds that sell.

A. Think like your reader. While you are writing your ad, always remember that your reader is thinking 'What's in it for me?'

B. Write your ad to one person. Pretend you are sitting beside your reader having a one-on-one conversation. Don't address your entire market at once. There is only one
person at a time reading your ad.

C. Write a benefits list for your products. Remember, benefits are not features. Here is an example.

FEATURE: Make a million dollars online

BENEFIT: Enjoy the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous, right in your own home.

See the difference? A feature is what your product or service does. The benefit is the feel good feeling you get from the feature. Now write a list of all the benefits you can think of for your product.

D. Edit your list of benefits and select the best one. Writing a successful classified is like writing a sentence, you focus on one thought at a time.

E. Write the headline for your classified, using the benefit that you have chosen. The headline is the most important element of your ad. If you don't grab the reader's attention
in a Milli-second as they are scanning all the classifieds, you've lost them.

F. Write the body of your classified using the features that support your benefit.

G. Begin writing your classified without thinking about the final size of the ad. Write as much as you can about your product, but stay focused on the benefit that you have chosen.
By the time you are done you may have a whole page of copy.

H. Edit your ad. Most ezines run classified ads that are approximately 5 lines long and 60 characters wide. Use this guideline to edit your full page of copy down to a normal
classified size. Pick out your best sentences, power words, and convincing arguments that will make your reader click on the link to your website or send you an email.

I. Make sure you include your web address and email. Use http:// before your website address, so that it looks like http://www.bpcpublishing.com and mailto: before your email
address, so that it looks like mailto:info@bpcpublishing.com Don't put a period after .com or you can ruin your link.

J. When you have finished the ad, go back and read it, polish it, and read it again. Leave it for a couple of days and come back and read and polish some more.

When you are writing your ad, make it believable. Using a lot of !!! may get attention, but it makes your ad look gimmicky and less believable. People genuinely want to believe what they are reading, but if you come off like a snake oil sales man, no one will respond to your ad. Your credibility is key.

There is much more to writing a classified ad than just verbally throwing up on your reader. You need to be refined and put some thought into what you are saying. These A-B-C's will help you write a successful and profitable classified ad.

Good luck and God Bless

Yours successfully,
Terry Telford
http://www.bpcpublishing.com

Recommendation ::

Writing an effective classified ad is an art and takes practice. For a complete guide and step by step instructions for writing your own classifieds that pull like a magnet, check out this resource. It's the best in the industry.

UTU3UGT7PKMU

How Can I Organise My Classified Ads?

2010-11-12T17:49:00.000-08:00

By Eva Browne-Paterson

How often do you submit classified ads on the internet? Daily, weekly, monthly? However often you do, I bet you do it more often than you'd like to. That's not necessarily a bad thing. You need to advertise so other people know you're out there.

How organized are you though? Do you compose a new ad every time you place an ad or do you copy and paste the ad copy, forward an email, change the data etc. etc.? It can certainly become a monotonous, timely chore and being well organized can have great benefits. Creating a document that holds your precious ads can save you time!

Just think:

1. If you ever lose your inbox emails, you have a copy of your ads and the related links saved in a different place on your computer, so it also acts as a backup.

2. You don't have to go searching through your inbox folders for your affiliate link or go to the site to find the recommended ads etc.

3. Placing an ad via email or directly to a site can now take half the time because you have the ad preformatted with the correct number of characters per line.

So organizing your ads starts as soon as you join a new program. Here's what to do and I've used MS Word as the example program to use:

1. You receive a welcome email from a new program you've joined and it contains your affiliate link. Copy the link.

2. Open your word document, I call mine Ads.doc (original huh?). At the top of the document in the index, type in the name of the program in alphabetical order, eg. EvieB's
New-Z - Paste your promotion link here, eg.
http://evieb.com/new-z.html

You will end up with a list of program names and links here at the top of the document.

3. Scroll down to where the program will appear in your document alphabetically and type the name of the program again.

4. Select the name and insert a bookmark, (insert, bookmark, type in abbreviated name of program). Bold the name of the program so it stands out.

5. The line above the name is a good place to insert a horizontal line format, borders and shading, horizontal line, ok). I also place a 'back to the top' hyperlink above the line - then I copy and past the line and the link above each program name so if I want to get back to
the top quickly, I can.

6. Paste the link in again after the name of the program.

7. Now go back to the top of the document, select the name of the program and insert a hyperlink to your bookmark (click the hyperlink button on your toolbar, click on bookmarks, and select the bookmark you just created).

8. Now when you open the document and you want to copy an ad for a particular program, you just click on the name and it will take you to the right place.

9. Visit the site of the new program and copy ads, email letters etc. or copy them from your welcome email and paste them into the correct place under the name of the program. Create your own ads, format your ads for emails etc. or to the ezine's guidelines that you will be sending.

10. If you use ad tracking facilities, you will want to add your tracking link under the name of the program in the body of the document as well.

Once you have your document started, it's easy to add new programs and ads to it. I've had my document going for about 1.5 years and it's now 75 pages long! I also send it to work so if I'm placing any ads from there, I know all the links! Verrry handy! Remember to always test your links to make sure they work, then you can trust your Ads.doc implicitly!

Have a go at setting your own up and see how much easier and quicker it is to select ads that you have used previously and know work! If you have any trouble setting your document up at all, feel free to email me and I will set it up for you and email it to you.

You can also use the document for keeping track of URL submissions to search engines and FFA Submitters etc. as well, depending on the services and the software you utilise.

This document also comes in handy for copying your program links if you're using a traffic generation program and adding and deleting sites. Just open the document and copy the appropriate link from the index and paste it into the site where you're working.

Have a go at your own and let me know what you think. Good luck and happy advertisement placing!

Eva Browne-Paterson is the Editor / Publisher of EvieB's New-Z - Your One Stop Advertising Resource. mailto:evieb@evieb.com Eva has spent ten years working the internet and writes Original Articles that will Help You to Promote Your Business! Subscribers can place Two Free Ads a Week!Subscribe Today & Receive Great Bonuses!
http://evieb.com/new-z.html

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2010-09-15T23:20:00.000-07:00

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Global ad spend to increase 3.5%, propelled by online - DMNews

2010-08-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Global ad spend to increase 3.5%, propelled by online - DMNews

Mercedes Cardona

Advertising spending around the world is doing better than expected this year, but the real standouts are online, especially paid search, mobile and social media, according to a revised forecast for 2010.

Ask the Sales Expert

2010-06-09T20:24:00.000-07:00

Questions answered by the Ziglar team of sales experts...

Q: For around eight months I have been [prospecting and making presentations], I still have yet to make a successful sale. Is it a cultural difference or just my lack of closing skills that leads me to failed sales? Please help me. Signed, A. Espiritu from the Philippines

A: I really don't know if it's a cultural situation or not... So, let's focus on the selling process. There are four filters that every sale must pass through to be a successful sale. You must answer "yes" to all these questions for a sale to take place...

1. The product: Is your product meeting the needs of potential customers? Is it a product that gives VALUE to your prospects?
2. The prospect: Is your prospect a qualified prospect? Does he/she have a need? Is he/she aware of the need and have a sense of urgency to act upon this need?
3. The process: Is your process focused on the prospect??? Oftentimes, we spend more time telling about ourselves than we do learning about the other person.
4. The person: Are you doing an effective job in the selling cycle????

If you answered "no" to any of these, you have found your problem. I suggest that you ask he person you sold why he purchased from you... Also, ask people who don't buy from you why they didn't buy from you... You will learn a lot from the answers to those questions.

Now, go sell somebody something!

Q: I am going to make the jump to entry level sales soon and I wanted to know what is a good way to start a conversation with someone you're trying to sell something to? Sincerely,
Jim S. from Illinois

A: We teach a process called the "POGO Profile." The benefit of this process is to ease into a conversation with a process by asking a series of questions about the Person, the Organization, the Goals, and the Obstacles to those goals. You set up the conversation by saying, "Thanks for meeting with me. As I mentioned on the phone, the purpose of
my visit is to find out a little about you, your organization, and some of the goals you've established.

That way we can determine if there are any mutual benefits for our companies. This will take about 10 minutes. Is that fair?"

Jim, you should create some questions around the Person, Organization, Goals, and Obstacles. These should be open-ended questions which encourage the prospect to give
you open information. Following are some sample questions for each category.

Person:
What is your position here?
How long have you been with the organization?

Organization:
What does your department do?
How large is your department?

Goals:
What goals have you established for the quarter/year?
What steps are in place to accomplish these?

Obstacles:
What hurdles do you see standing in your way?

The purposes of these questions are to: profile the prospect by getting to know him/her better; give structure to the sales conversation; and begin uncovering the need stage of the sales process.

You have to revise this method to fit your needs and the sales environment.

Now, Go Sell Somebody Something!

Advertising on a Budget

2010-05-20T04:12:00.000-07:00

When you are starting out in a new home business and no one
knows who you are, one of the greatest challenges you will face
is how to drum up new business.

If there were not people in your community or marketplace that
you knew who needed your products or services, you probably
would not have started your business to begin with. But, once
you have talked to those who you personally knew who needed your
what you offer, then your next task is to find others who will
help keep your doors open.

Many people know that they must turn to advertising at some
point in the future, but they hope that day will be long down
the road. For some, this utopian concept will come to fruition.
But for the rest of us in the real world, we must come up with
creative solutions for meeting our home business advertising
needs while working within our budget.

Most people have a misconception about having to spend lots of
money in order to advertise their home business. When you start
out, you honestly will not have much money available for
advertising, and if you do, you should still spend it wisely.

Before you jump headfirst into the world of advertising, let me
share some of the lessons I have learned concerning this most
important topic.

LESSON #1

It does not have to cost an arm and a leg to advertise your home
business, unless you fail to plan and fail to test.

As much as is possible, you should always test your advertising.
If you jump in and start dumping tons of money in to advertising
without first testing your advertising, you might find yourself
broke and without sales at the end of the road. Most people who
commit this error write off their failure on the home business
they chose or the economy or any of a hundred other excuses.
But, if they are unwilling to take responsibility for their
mistake, they will never learn from their mistake. Don't let
this be you.

LESSON #2

All testing should be done in blocks. If you begin to advertise
simultaneously in newspapers, radio and television, how will you
know which advertising is bringing people to your cash register?
You won't. All you will know that something might be working,
but you will not know what is actually doing the trick.

Even if you tell people in your advertising to tell you how they
found you, my experience shows that fewer than 10% of the people
ever will tell you anything --- and those people who do may not
even get the facts straight! You cannot rely on your customers
to tell you what advertising is working for your home business.
You must put in the extra effort to know for yourself.

LESSON #3

Only when you have a proven and solid advertising portfolio
should you venture to drop big bucks in an advertising campaign.
Even then, you should be careful to keep further measurements to
determine how much the maximum advantage of an ad would be.
Sometimes you might be able to reach ten times as many people,
but depending on the kind of media and other factors, the
additional exposure will only generate twice as many sales. Keep
your eye attuned to situations like this to get the most from
your advertising dollars.

LESSON #4

As Lesson #3 illustrates, sometimes your best advertising
investment may actually cost you less money. When you are first
starting out, whether you are running a home business or a
business outside of your home, you need to be able to get people
talking and thinking about your business.

If you are busy testing ads in media's such as the newspaper,
magazines, radio, and television, you need to learn ways of
promoting your business that do not require large cash
expenditures. A few examples are:

ˇ Word of Mouth
ˇ Business Cards
ˇ Press Releases
ˇ Non-Primetime Ads on Radio and Television

Here is more information about each type of low-cost advertising:

WORD OF MOUTH

This of course is the cheapest kind of advertising on the planet
--- it does not cost you anything. Ask your customers if they
know anyone who could also use your products or services. When
they are happy with your offerings and service, they will be
willing to tell you whom you can contact, and they will pass the
word for you.

BUSINESS CARDS

You can usually pick up 500 business cards for about $20. When
you do, hand them out. Do not give more than a couple of cards
to each person. If they need more cards from you, they will ask.

Some people are known to network with others on a regular basis.
Some of these people are also known to be always looking for an
extra few bucks. With these people, you can suggest to them that
if they write their name on the back of one of your business
cards and the card is presented to you, then you will pay a
referral fee to them. You do not have to offer much ---
sometimes one dollar is enough. Look at your home business and
your offerings and decide how much would be a good referral fee.

PRESS RELEASES

Press Releases are a good source for generating news about your
home business. The business editor at your local newspaper is
always on the lookout for a good business story to fill the
business news section of the newspaper.

Of course, the business editor understands the economics of
running a paper and is more inclined to run your story if you
buy advertising in his/her publication, but will still print
stories for special events and openings.

The important thing to remember about Press Releases is that it
must be constructed in the form of a news story. Even if you are
a sole proprietorship, quotes from you should be written in a
third person format: John Doe said, "Your quote here."

A Press Release should pack the most important information at
the beginning of the copy, and leave extra details towards the
end.

You should always provide the reporter who gets the task a
simple and easy way for him/her to contact you directly. Often
the reporter will want to contact you to get details that will
enhance their take on your story.

To learn more about creating Press Releases, you may check out
Rusty Cawley's site: http://www.PRrainmaker.com/

NON-PRIMETIME ADS ON RADIO AND TELEVISION

Believe it or not, some of the b.est r.ates for radio and
television are on the overnight and non-primetime venues. These
target times are not a total waste as they can easily keep the
infomercial people in business.

These off-hours are just less populated than the primetime hours.

Don't be afraid to check your local radio and television rates
for non-primetime hours to see what bargains may exist. With
television, primetime is 7pm to 10pm. With radio, primetime is
8am to 5pm. This sure leaves a whole lot of hours available to
advertise your home business at discount rates!

IN CONCLUSION

When it comes down to it, there is a lot to understand about
advertising, but when you have the basic knowledge down pat,
everything will fall into place and bring more dollars to your
bank account.

Utilizing An Efficient Write-Up Advertising Strategy - Preparing An Post Advertising Plan

2010-05-12T03:03:00.000-07:00

>If you need to locate out the best write-up advertising strategy, then read this write-up. This post will supply you while using essential tips in formulating your own write-up promoting prepare.

It is often a sad truth that most with the online advertisers are having a tough time in achieving marketing success over the internet. Product and companies promotion online is not truly a tough job. As a matter of fact, it is a extremely easy opportunity for making your company well-liked about the Internet so that you simply can gain more feasible clients. Performing this type of task requires knowledge on some with the effective strategies that will successfully give your internet site much more site visitors.

The internet is full of folks who are surfing for information everyday. This really is why promoting your web site through articles is very essential within the aim of attracting much more individuals to visit your website where you promote the products and services of your company. This really is a proven technique which is being used by thousands or even millions of businessmen on the internet. With this, they are able to boost visitors to their internet site and they gained much more opportunities for introducing their goods or companies to their millions of internet readers. Here is a great article marketing technique which is guaranteed to help you in traffic generation.

You have to produce sure that you simply write much more articles about your organization niche and then submit them all in a lot of directories and blogsites. This must be part of the article promoting plan. It ought to be noted that the purpose of performing that is to produce a lot more backlinks to improve your website's level of visibility in some from the major search engines in the world wide internet. By saying this, you need to make positive that all submitted articles contain backlinks that are in a position to direct the readers who will eventually become potential buyers for your main web site and locate out about the goods and providers that your business is offering.

You ought to constantly bear in mind that post directories are extremely strict when it comes to contents of your write-ups. So, before submitting them, you've to proofread all of them and make positive that they're free from grammar inconsistencies and spelling errors. The contents with the post ought to also be relevant to the kind of business that you are offering. You don't have to directly speak about your organization but you compose on the topics which are related to your business. That is a good write-up advertising strategy.

The value of a lifetime customer.

2009-12-03T05:39:00.000-08:00

The true value of a customer cannot be measured by simply one purchase. Once you make a sale to a Submitter you have to keep them and resell to them. It has been proven that once someone buys from you, they are far more likely to buy from you again. The smart business knows that the value of that $40 first sale may be $10 times that over a lifetime.

Knowing the value of a lifetime customer can determine your advertising budget and many other marketing strategies. If you only look at a customer as a one time sale, you could be losing 300% or more of your potential revenue.

CHARACTERISTICS OF A GUERRILLA MARKETER

2009-11-30T14:43:00.000-08:00

Let's talk about the personality traits of a guerrilla marketer. Remember that you do not need to be born with these traits. You can learn them. As one of my favorite motivational writers of all time, Napoleon Hill, said: "There are no limitations to the mind except those we acknowledge...Both poverty and riches are the offspring of thought."

A side bar here: If you do not spend a little time every week, if not every day, doing some sort of motivational "reading," then let me suggest that you start.

Your subconscious mind is so inundated with "garbage" every day, you need to put some good stuff in to counteract the negative. Like they say, "Garbage in, garbage out." You cannot be a great guerrilla marketer if you only spout the same garbage that you subconsciously soak up from your environment

According to The Guerrilla Marketing Handbook, the personality traits found in most guerrillas are:

Patience
Commitment
Imagination
Sensitivity
Ego Strength
Aggressiveness
Constant Learning
Action Oriented

Patience is tied in very closely with commitment. You must make a commitment
to your prospects and customers. You must get involved with them. They come first!

Their dreams must be your dreams! You must help them realize those dreams!

You must make a commitment to your marketing plan, no matter what your family, friends, employees tell you. No matter how bored you are with the daily routine of carrying out your marketing plan, stick with it. Be committed! Be patient!

There can't be one without the other.

Patience is knowing that things take time. You cannot make diamonds overnight.

The reason most people fail on the Internet - or in any business - is a lack of commitment and a lack of patience!

Patience and commitment must be matched by a strong imagination. Not just imaginative copy writing or imaginative web design, but you must be imaginative in everything you do. For instance, Jay Conrad Levinson, the man who developed guerrilla marketing into a true marketing system, tells the story of a guerrilla marketer who mailed a letter requiring 32 cents postage. He put 11 stamps on that letter: one 6 cent stamp, three 4 cent stamps, a 3 cent stamp, and 6 two cent stamps. No postage meter or Stamps.com for him! Which letter would you open first? The metered one or the one with the eleven stamps on it?

This imagination must include the ability to be flexible and "convenient." What I mean by that is, although you are committed to your strategy, you must be flexible in your tactics and the weapons you choose. A great guerrilla marketer is not locked in on how he implements his marketing strategy. Nor can she be locked in on how she handles her prospects and customers.

Be flexible!

Make it as convenient as you can for your prospects to do business with you! Make exceptions! Break the rules! The prospect comes first always!

In order to do that, you must have sensitivity. You must be sensitive to what your prospect needs. Read between the lines. You must be sensitive to what your competition is doing. Another one of Jay's great stories involves a guerrilla furniture store owner in a shopping mall. The stores to either side of him had big clearance sales going on. Each store had a huge banner over their respective entrances touting their sales. The guerrilla put a sign over his door that simply said, "Enter Here."

Another side bar: Your sensitivity should not be limited just to your prospects, customers, and competitors. Expand your sensitivity to include your communities and the economy. Economic trends will help you determine which tactics and weapons will be most effective. And sensitivity to your communities will help your identity as someone who is committed and involved.

The next two characteristics of a guerrilla marketer go hand -in-hand. They are
ego strength and aggressiveness. Ego strength is not egotism. Rather it is the quiet identity rather than an image. It is this ego strength that makes commitment possible.

The aggressiveness of a guerrilla is not the stereotype used-car salesman aggressiveness. Rather it is the aggressiveness that makes a marketer do the extraordinary to get and keep customers. It is the giving of more value than any of your competitors.

It is the willingness to "go the extra mile" for your prospect. It is following up with your customers regularly, offering them more and more value - more and more reasons to stay loyal to you! This aggressiveness is best used in combination with the next characteristic, which we've hinted at already.

A guerrilla has generosity. There is a testimonial on our web site that one of you sent to me which says, "Thank you for your time and generosity." It means we went beyond normal expectations and gave value beyond what the monetary compensation demanded. Testimonials like that are what keeps us going day to day!!!

Patience, commitment, ego strength and aggressiveness are generally combined under the rubric of persistence. Persistence is something we all are taught is necessary for marketing.

Classified Ads Secret: Benefits versus Features

2009-11-22T05:33:00.000-08:00

Benefits versus Features

A friend that works at a car dealership was recently discussing a sales technique with me. "We're not allowed to let customers leave...until they take a test drive," she said. "If they take a test drive, the chances that they'll buy really improve."

What does this have to do with today's topic? The car dealership's policy clearly illustrates the difference between selling features and selling benefits.

So what's the difference?

Feature: The structure, physical description, or attributes of your product or service.

Benefit: The emotional reasons or connections your prospect makes with your product or service.

At a car dealership, putting the consumer in the driver's seat changes the way they view the vehicle. No longer are they looking at the "features" of the car, they are experiencing the benefits. (Hence the increase in sales.)

So what can you do to make sure your message is speaking to your prospect's heart and not their head? Ask yourself a series of questions:

How will their life be better, easier, or more fun with my product or service?
Why will they want to tell their friends about my company?
Without my product or service, what will the prospect be missing?
How will the prospect justify this purchase to themselves or their spouse?

By answering these questions, you will discover the benefits that will attract your prospects. No matter how tempted you may be to point out the incredible "features" of your product, sell with the prospect in mind.

When you constantly put the prospects emotions first, you will create marketing messages that drive sales like you've never seen before.

Buying is Fun

2009-11-12T14:19:00.000-08:00

While buying is fun and exciting, nobody likes to be sold.
(This also apply to classified/written ads and sales letters)

The truth is: the best salespeople don't "sell" their customers; they help them buy.

* Get emotional.

- do not attempt to appeal strictly to the buyer's rational mind with a list of perfectly logical reasons to buy. Instead, fire their imaginations, and appeal to their emotions.
- stress the benefits and rewards of owning your product or using your services. If possible, have them hold your product in their hands.
- use colorful verbal illustrations that stress benefits. Sprinkle in some brief case histories.
- be likeable.
- have some fun.
- let the customer do most of the talking.
- take the pressure to buy out of the experience, and the successful close will come naturally.

* What buyers want.
- the central question on buyers' minds is, "What's in it for me?" Take note: the question is, "What's in it for me?" not, "What's in it for my company?"

- let prospects know how your product or service will help them to:
Make their jobs easier
Gain respect and prestige
Be appreciated
Have some fun and excitement
Minimize their personal risk
Look good to management
Advance their careers
Save time
Stay ahead of the competition

Remember, the central question you must answer for the prospect is, "What's in it for me?"

* Respect your buyer's intelligence.

- speak to your potential customer as if you were talking with an intelligent, yet uninformed friend.
- do not insult your prospect's intelligence with inane leading questions such as, "We all want to save time and money, right?" Instead, simply state, "Our product will save you both time and money," and immediately follow this statement with a brief example or two.

* What's in a name?
- there is no sweeter music than the sound of one's own name. Try to use your prospect's name a couple of times during your sales presentation.

* The nose knows!

- Do not overwhelm your client's olfactory sense. It is a major turnoff for buyers when a salesperson reeks of perfume, cologne, or aftershave.
- Rule of thumb: use only enough fragrance that if a loved one were nuzzling your neck, the scent could barely be detected.

* Be on time, but don't come early.
-Never arrive more than ten minutes before your scheduled appointment. Being punctual shows respect and good business form, and will get your meeting off to a good start.

* Create powerful imagery.
- Instead of saying to a business owner, "Your employees will really appreciate this program," consider saying with a smile, "Your employees will stand up and applaud you for giving them this program." Don't worry; the buyer will allow this bit of poetic license. Even though he knows his employees won't really stand up and applaud, the mental image of them doing so is powerful.

* Beware the time bandits.
- Everyone needs a break from the action. However, 20 minutes a day wasted on office small talk, surfing the Net, or personal phone calls adds up to two full weeks a year in lost production. How many sales could you make in two weeks? Eliminate these time bandits, and watch your productivity climb.

* Don't interrogate buyers.
- your fact-finding process should flow naturally in response to buyers' comments and conversational pauses. Do not put them on the hot seat.

* Breaking the ice.
- employ a more businesslike opening, such as, "The reason I'm calling you this morning is to learn about your company's personnel needs, and to see if we can be of help." In other words, after introducing yourself, state the reason for your call. Prospects will appreciate your honesty and respect for their time and intelligence. Only ask, "How are you?" after you've progressed beyond the initial contact, and a relationship has been established.

* Don't answer a question with a question.
- this tactic is usually perceived by the prospect as evasive. For example, if your buyer asks, "When can you ship?" do not respond, "When do you need it?" This strategy diminishes your credibility.

* Look sharp.
- Your clothes and personal grooming speak volumes about you to buyers, co-workers, and management.
- if you are looking good, you are undoubtedly feeling good, and you will close more sales.

* Never thank anyone for taking your call.
- This seemingly polite gesture immediately puts you in a subordinate role—and subordinates are easily dismissed.

* Mood follows form.
- your phone personality. If you sit up straight and smile, you will begin to feel self-confident and purposeful. Your voice will reflect those qualities, and you will enjoy more successful contacts with prospects and clients.

Michael Dalton Johnson is the Editor and Publisher of "Top Dog Sales Secrets", the bestselling book featuring advice from 50 renowned sales experts. When order your copy now you'll receive over $3,000 in bonus sales tools.

Monthly Marketing Ideas

2009-08-08T04:40:00.000-07:00

Did you know there's a powerful method of marketing that almost all business owners ignore?

Plus, it's incredibly cost-effective because you don't have to spend a dime unless you close a note deal.

I'm talking about setting up a formal "referral marketing system."

Sounds complicated but it's actually quite simple.

Let me show you:

You may have told all your friends and family about your new endeavor as a note-finder. And perhaps they smiled and nodded politely as you explained how you can help note-holders get cash for their real estate notes.

But what if you offered to "reward" your friends and family for bringing you a note deal? What if you offered to pay your friends and family a $100 referral fee anytime they send you a note deal?

I bet that would get their attention. And you can bet they will keep their eyes and ears open in hopes of finding a note deal to send your way.

You don't have to give away cash either. You could offer a free dinner at the restaurant or tickets to a ballgame. The key here is simply setting up a formal referral system so that people know they get rewarded when they send you a note deal.

This way, you motivate your friends and family members to help you find note deals. Plus you can extend your referral system to include real estate professionals and other note-holders.

You might find a note-holder who has no interest in selling his note, but you can bet he'll help you find other note-holders if there's a reward in it for him.

On Writing Advertising Copy

2009-07-27T08:51:00.000-07:00

Master advertiser Claude Hopkins defined the art of copywriting as "Salesmanship in print", Judith Charles defines a copywriter as "A salesperson behind a typewriter".

Their definitions are great because none of use terms like: fun, pleasing, entertainment, etc... and those are the lines that most copywriters run by these days. The goal of writing advertising copy is not to be liked - it is to sell more of your products and services.

The advertiser should not be concerned if people like his commercials or ads, or if they are entertained by them. If they are, fine. But advertising is the mean to an end, and the end is to increase sales and profits for the advertiser.

Everywhere you look you'll find stunningly beautiful ads, artful catalogs and brochures and impressively created tv commercials... but think about them for a minute. Do they really persuade you into buying their products just because of those nice advertisings?

Sometimes, inexpensive ads, written in a simple and direct form without a lot of fluff, do the best job selling. Burn that last line in your mind as if your life depended on it, because in a sense, it does - your business life is in direct relation to that concept.

That concept applies to every advertisement you write: brochures, catalogs, direct mail pieces, postcards, websites, salesletters, etc.
In order to sell more of your products, you ad must do three things:

1) Get the attention of your prospects

2) Communicate the benefits of your product or service

3) Persuade your prospects into taking the desired action

During this short copywriting primer, you'll discover exactly how achieve each of the three crucial steps to make your ads bring in the results you expect.

,

Ad Tips : Sell What The Public WANTS & WILL Pay Money For!

2009-07-22T00:12:00.000-07:00

It's The Law Of DEMAND & SUPPLY.

Sell what the public WANTS and WILL pay you money for.

If what you KNOW is NOT what the public wants, don't waste your time trying to sell it.

You really should consider finding a market with a heavy demand for answers etc... from my experience there is a huge risk of failure going into any market without a demand for the product being created.

So how do you find HOT subjects that the public is hungry for?

It's simple. Look around for what 100's of people are asking questions about. What does is it seem like a sizeable amount of people want or need and can YOU provide them with a

SOLUTION to their dilemma?

Honestly, that's what every smart internet marketer making A LOT of money from the internet is doing. If you choose to do differently though, that would be YOUR choice.

But it's like I said - If you don't SELL what a GREAT Deal of people are interested in and WILL buy, then you might as well NOT try selling anything on the internet at all.

PS: There are exceptions to this rule however as in EVERYTHING else in life...;-)

The important thing is to BE in the RIGHT place at the RIGHT time with the RIGHT product or service - If you can manage to do that, your success is Guaranteed!

I'd like to know please How to go about discovering what the public wants online?

So I can create a much needed "info product" out of this want and deliver quality answers to their questions.

I know most would say "Just write about what you "already" know" but what if what I know isn't what many people want or are interested in? How can I find what will sell before I go out spending time and money creating a product to offer?

Please any replies and advice on how to determine what kind of HOT selling "How To" products to sell would be appreciated.

Thanks! The internet's worst paradox!

Many tell you to sell only what you love. But what if what you love is never going to make you any money? what if the thousands of people you're trying to sell to couldn't give a hoot what whether you love what you're oferring them or not and they simply won't buy it from you. If THEY don't love it. forget it. You won't sell a damn thing!

But then (and here's the paradox), you can't very well go out on the internet to sell something that's HOT and people LOVE if YOU DON'T LOVE what you're selling to them as well!

It's a crazy paradox, but there you have it - it exists, as plain as day!

It has to be hot, you have to LOVE it or you don't have ANYTHING!

How do you drive traffic?

I suggest getting your hands on a REALLY GOOD (and targeted to your interest groups wants) prize for doing so.

Remember, they're thinking, "What's in it for me?" and need to be motivated. I suggest that you think about who it is you want to target and create a really nice sized package that is in tune what they are interested in as a group (you'll have to do your own research on this one).

Where do you find you target market and announce your survey?

My idea is for you to look into your interest and check out all of the info products that are currently out there. If you can, buy as many as you can that pertain to a single subject (which

should also be a popular or best seller) and see if you can't take what they have written, pick a more specific topic within their product, and fill in the wholes that they left.

People are ALWAYS looking for more detail - and no one information product can hit it all - AND, since it's a popular or best seller, you know there is a market. Just find out what your "competitors" missed, or made unclear and see if you can't do better.

There are a few questions I'd think about when deciding what kind of infoproduct to create. \

Here they are:

1. What do YOU want to learn about that's not readily available online? I'm sure there's SOMETHING you're curious about that there are no e-books on. After you figure that out, go around to different discussion forums and ask people if they'd be interested in the same topic.

Don't do it like you're about to create the product, but casually ask something like, "Does anyone else wonder where all the good resources on XYZ are on the Internet?" Not necessarily that clueless, but you get the point. If people point you to some resources, use those when you're researching info on your new book if there aren't many to be found.

If there ARE already e-books on the subject -- a LOT of them -- move on to something else. If there are only a few, you have a much better chance of dominating that market.

2. What are my subscribers/website visitors continually asking me for? You DO have an ezine, don't you? If so, you probably have several hundred people that trust your judgement, and

come to YOU for advice before they go to anyone else. What's your specialty? What questions do you hear the most? Use the answers to those questions as the basis for your new book.

3. What kinds of questions are people asking OTHER established marketers online? If you don't have your own ezine or site, this one will be most helpful. Again, visit a few discussion groups. See what people are asking for that's not already on the market.

4. And finally, what product do I realize could use some major improvements, and can *I* be the one to make those changes? There may be a lot of info on certain topics that you'd like to write about. But, if people are still asking, this could mean that they're dissatisfied with the info that's already out there. Here's your chance to show them what you know, and establish your own product on those topics.

Here's Why USDFreeAds Classified Ads Posting Site is the Best

2009-07-14T03:52:00.000-07:00

1- With $9.95 per month, you can put as may ads as you wish.

2- The USFreeAds is a 10 years old website and have very high pagerank. This make your and appear higher in search engine depending on keywords that you use.

3. If you do it right, and you have Adsense revenue system running on your site, the USFreeAds is a very good system to attract search engine traffic. Again, the carefully selected keywords are important.

The Psychology of Color and Internet Marketing

2009-07-08T22:22:00.000-07:00

By Pam Renovato

As Internet marketers it is imperative that we constantly look for ways to make a good impression on our viewers. Your business depends on it. We only have a short amount of time, before a decision on whether or not we are professionals will be made. We must make good use of this time.

The first instant we have at presenting ourselves to viewers is our web page. Which brings us to the importance of good design and proper color choices. First impressions are very important. We must make the best of them because we are only allowed one.

Remember this is your store front, and you must treat it respectfully. While content, customer service, a niche in your market, and a high subscriber list, are crucial to your life on the internet. Good web page design and proper color choices, are crucial as well. It is a good part of the reason why viewers bother to look over your content at all. Regardless of how incredible your content may be, you need to welcome them and make them feel at home, while they are there.
Or, they will leave.

Did you know you can control the mood of your visitors by using certain color choices? This is a simple concept that is very often ignored. Why?

Human emotions are very often triggered by color. You need to know which colors trigger which emotions.

Color can make the difference between buying and selling, if used correctly. You need to choose the right color combinations for your site and product.

Everything we, buy, eat, wear, and all of the things that take up space where we live, work or play, all have colors. These colors provide a psychological and emotional response in everyone. These responses reflect who we are and the things that we think and feel.

Color is the first thing we notice and the last thing we forget. If used properly it can be a powerful tool. It is the doorway to our deepest thoughts and feelings, and desires. This is an issue worth discussing.

Which colors should you use?

Well, it is always best to keep your main content on a white background. This is easier on the eyes and will provide a sense of professionalism. The color white triggers emotions such as: purity, peace, and perfection.

While white is an important color, you will probably want to complement your site with other colors as well. After all, there is creativity in each and every one of us. There is a huge color spectrum for us to choose from. Which colors are best!

Here are a few ideas to help you.

Red colors can stimulate warmth, hunger, and excitement. Cooler colors such as green and blues,
enhance calm and content feelings. Dark colors make objects seem heavier, while light colors make them seem lighter.

Yellow may reflect a lack of worry, while black a troubled state. Of course not all colors mean the same things to all people. Yellow may sometimes mean cheap, green may mean money or greed, black may mean elegance or death.

Color has become a science and it is a much needed weapon as part of your marketing arsenal. You will need to take great thought in choosing color as it will identify you, because once a color is "owned" it is associated with you and your company. I am sure you have noticed this with examples such as Coca Cola red, Tide orange, and John Deere Green. It is just as important to your identity as your logo. If a shape provides a symbol, be aware that color does the same.

Think carefully when choosing colors! Applying a certain color to your product is just plain logic.

For example: In stores, colors identify flavors, brands, and products: Green in a cleaner says pine- in a mouthwash says mint, blue very often means strong mint - icy cool. Clear means additive free. Red found in strawberries, cherries, and apples is very appealing. You would never choose gray for laundry detergent because you don't want gray clothes, you want brightly colored clothes. Blue, very unappetizing on a dinner plate, is much more successful as a dinner
plate.

Because they strongly affect mood, grays and browns seem somber and often depressing. But they can take on a more cheerful attitude with complements of red. No matter how you use them they suggest weight, or something heavy. This would provide your visitors with a feeling of stableness and strength. Emotions like this will help your visitors to associate your site with solidity and confidence. Other colors such as burgundy, oyster, beige, and blues will also provide a feeling of solidity.

The list goes on and on.

Don't over look the issue of color with your business.
Believe me it matters!

You see, once we lived in a black and white world. TV was black, printed publications were predominantly black. All of that changed in the 60's and has created a chain reaction that holds true today. Color is the most important attention getter. As humans, we bring our own tastes to the world. How do we choose which color to be identified with? What is the right color?
Sometimes there is no right answer, you just have to take your best shot. But the number one choice of Corporate America is still blue.

About The Author
Pam Renovato is the web master of a newly renovated: The Free Advertising Network. What will you do when you discover all of those other marketing packages don't work? Try using your use your teeth! 4 great memberships one low monthly price!

Classified Advertising Techniques

2009-07-08T03:02:00.000-07:00

The absolute #1 key to advertising is consistency. ...and soon momentum carries it almost by itself. All you have to do is keep pushing.

Most important part of your advertising. Choose your headlines wisesly. Craft your ads carefully. A poor headline and / or ad will ruin your advertising, so take your time. Please don't rush into posting your ads. Take your time to develop strong headlines. Ask yourself, "Would I respond to that headline?" Just placing an ad does not guarantee you hits. You need a killer headline to grab the attention of the reader.

You have several options here of how you want to advertise on Classifieds.

(a) Change Your Headline. You can post the exact same ad with 10 different headlines. It's a proven fact that the headline makes all the difference in your advertising. A good headline turns glances into stares. Many of my clients use the same classified ad in all 10 of their posts, but simply change the headline.

This is especially good if you are tracking your ads. By also changing the URL or email address within your ad, you can determine which of the headlines produces the most hits. Since the ad itself would be the same, then the only difference would be the pull of your headline. (If you are a member of the Profits Vault Private Site, then refer to the section on "Testing and Tracking" for a detailed explanation of how to track your ads)

Please don't rush into posting your ads. Take your time to develop strong headlines. Ask yourself, "Would I respond to that headline?" Just placing an ad does not guarantee you hits.

You need a killer headline to grab the attention of the reader.

If your headline doesn't do that, then you are just wasting your time.

Here are 12 "fill-in-the-blanks" headlines that have been proven effective that you can use for your own advertising, along with some examples.

They Didn't Think I Could ___________, But I Did.

They Laughed When I Sat Down at the Piano - But Now When I Started to Play!
They Grinned When the Waiter Spoke to Me in French - But Their Laughter Changed to Amazement at My Reply!

Who Else Wants ___________ ?

Who Else Wants a Movie-Star Body?
Who Else Needs an Extra Hour Every Day?

How ___________ Made Me ___________.

How a "Fool Stunt" Made Me a Star Salesman.
How a Simple Idea Made Me "Plant Manager of the Year."
How Relocating to Tennessee Saved Our Company One Million Dollars a Year.

Are You ___________ ?

Are You Ashamed of the Smells in Your House?
Are You Smarter Than Your Boss?
Are You Prepared for the Japanese Invasion of Your Industry?

How I ___________.

How I Raised Myself From Failure to Success in Selling.
How I Retired at Age 40 - With a Guaranteed Income for Life.
How I Turned a Troubled Company Into a Personal Fortune.

How to ___________.

How to Collect From Social Security at any Age.
How to Win Friends and Influence People.
How to Improve Telemarketers' Productivity - For Just $19.95.

If You Are ___________, You Can ___________.

If You Are a Nondrinker, You Can Save 20% on Life Insurance.
If You Are a Football Expert, You Could Win $50,000 Next Weekend.
If Your Firm Uses "Temporaries," You Might Qualify for $1,000 in Free Services.

Secrets of ___________.

Secrets of a Madison Avenue Maverick - "Contrarian Advertising."
Secrets of Four Champion Golfers.

Thousands (Hundreds, Millions) Now ___________ Even Though They ___________.

Thousands Now Play Even Though They Have Clumsy Fingers.
Two Million People Owe Their Health to This Idea Even Though They Laughed at it.
138,000 Members of Your Profession Receive a Check From Us Every Month Even Though They Once Threw This Letter Into The Wastebasket.

Warning: ___________.

Warning: Two-thirds of the Middle Managers in Your Industry Will Lose Their Jobs in the Next 36 Months.
Warning: Your "Corporate Shield" May Be Made of Tissue Paper - 9 Ways You Can Be Held Personally Liable for Your Business's Debts, Losses or Lawsuits.

Give Me ___________ And I'll ___________.

Give Me 5 Days and I'll Give You A Magnetic Personality.
Give Me Just 1 Hour a Day and I'll Have You Speaking French Like a "Pierre" in One Month.
Give Me a Chance to Ask Seven Questions and I'll Prove You Are Wasting a Small Fortune on Your Advertising.

___________ Ways To ___________.

101 Ways to Increase New Patient Flow.
17 Ways to Slash Your Equipment Maintenance Costs.

Just simply fill-in-the-blanks and you've got a ready-made killer headline.

(b) Change Your Category. You can post the exact same ad in 10 different categories and subcategories. Another subtle change in posting habits that can produce a tremendous amount of exposure is to simply post the same ad in different categories and subcategories. By doing this you reach the viewing eyes of readers in 10 different topics of interest.

For example, if you are advertising a Web Marketing Course, then you can post your ad under "Business Opportunities," "Internet," "Advertising and Marketing," "Information Products," "Work at Home." and several other related subcategories.

Mr. Smith steer completely clear of "Business Opportunities" because he views them as scams. But, he IS interested in learning how to promote his internet business, so he heads off to "Advertising and Marketing." Bingo! He sees your ad.

By contrast, Mr. Jones isn't interested in "Advertising and Marketing" at all. In fact, he doesn't even have anything to advertise! But, he IS interested in finding a way to earn some extra money on the weekends. So, he visits Yahoo! Classifieds' "Work at Home" section. Bingo! He sees your ad, as well.

Different categories means different readers. Different readers means more eyeballs locked on your ads.

Do I really need to tell you what that means? $$$

(c) Change Your Content. You can post 10 different ads highlighting different benefits of your product or service.

The most important thing that a reader wants to know when reading ANY advertising is,
"What's in it for me?" They don't care that your gizmo is the fastest, cheapest, top-rated, best-selling on the market. They simply want to know, "What's in it for me?"

So, tell them for pete's sake!

Re-read this sentence from the paragraph above, because it's important. "They don't care that your gizmo is the fastest, most cost-effective, top-rated, best-selling on the market."

But, you're proud of that, aren't you? You're pleased that yours is the fastest, most cost-effective, top-rated, best-selling on the market, right? So, communicate it to the reader in THEIR language.

What is their language? "What's in it for me?"

Don't tell them that your gizmo is the fastest on the market. Communicate in THEIR language. Tell them it will save them valuable time that they can use on the more important things in life.
Don't try to convince the reader that your gizmo is the most cost-effective on the market. Communicate in THEIR language. Convince them it will save them valuable money that they can spend on something they would really like to buy.
Never, never, never tell them your gizmo is the top-rated in the market. Communicate in THEIR language. Compel them try your product because they deserve the very best, something that is going to be benefical to them.
They don't care that your product is establishing new sales records, so don't tell them. Communicate in THEIR language. Point out that thousands of hard-working folks just like them are seeing their lives improved because of your product.

To compel people to respond to your ads, you've got to speak their language. You've got to answer the one burning question that is on every single person's mind...

..."What's in it for me?"

So, stress different benefits. In one ad stress how it will save money. In other ad, how it will save time. In still another, how it will improve their lives. Stress benefit after benefit.

Again, there's a point to this. Mr. Smith may earn $250,000 a year and doesn't care a thing about saving money. But, he is interested in saving time. Mr. Jones may be a do-it-yourselfer who enjoys investing his time, but he doesn't have any money to waste.

Different benefits appeal to different people.

And you want them ALL to respond. So, change your benefits. Stress them all.
Another variation of this is to target different audiences completely. Instead of simply posting to different related categories, post to different unrelated categories...

...while stressing the benefits to each specific target audience.

This is something that we have found to be very effective. Let me explain.

Suppose you have some dandy new "Work at Home" course that reveals a simple formula that anyone can follow to earn extra cash from their home. You've been posting your ads to the "Work at Home," "Business Opportunities," and "Internet" categories. Let's say you've been using the headline...

Earn $2,000 a Month In Your Spare-Time.

Now, take that same classified ad and head over to the "Wrestling Fans" category and with one simple change to your headline...

Wrestling Fans, Earn $2,000 a Month in Your Spare-Time.

Voila! Like magic you have a headline that is all but guaranteed to get some hits from the wrestling fans who read the classifieds posted in that section. Sure, they came to the classified ad section looking for some cheap tickets to Wrestlemania or an autographed Sable poster. But, who can resist an opportunity for me, a wrestling fan, to earn $2,000 a month in my spare-time?

You're speaking their language.

Of course, the possibilities are endless here...

Homemakers, Earn $2,000 a Month in Your Spare-Time
Dallas Cowboy Fans, Earn $2,000 a Month in Your Spare-Time
VCR Owners, Earn $2,000 a Month in Your Spare-Time
Athletes, Earn $2,000 a Month in Your Spare-Time
Gardeners, Earn $2,000 a Month in Your Spare-Time

You get the idea. With a little creativity you can alter your headlines and ads just a bit and reach an entirely different target audience.

(d) Change Your Product. You can post 10 different ads for 10 different products and services.

Obviously, you can also choose to advertise 10 completely different products and services with your ads.

So, what should you do? Different headlines, same ad? Target your audience? Different products?

Actually, you can do them all. Let's find out how, shall we?

The key is to get started and then keep pushing.

Well, what are you waiting for?!

Where Are YOU Fishing?

2009-07-07T02:09:00.000-07:00

John is very happy because he has just finished creating his first website. He's excited, anxious and has great anticipation that mobs of visitors will come to his site.

John begins to place his ads on free classified sites, submit his URL to search engines, link pages and he has joined a few banner exchange programs, but to John's surprise nothing happens. John commits to place his ads and submit his URL everyday, but 6 months later he receives very little results from his marketing efforts.

Sounds too familiar, right?

Why does it seem that when we try to do everything in our power to promote our online businesses, it appear that it still comes to nothing? In the end it seems that you have only wasted YOUR time and YOUR money?

There could be many reasons why marketing efforts fail: You could have a poor ad copy, promoting the wrong products or services, capital, etc...

Many of us are like John we just think if we put it out there, people have to come. But this attitude is totally wrong! If you continue to think this way you'll continue to waste more of your time and money!

I was once told that marketing is like fishing. If you only have one line in the water, you'll catch a fish here and there. But the more lines you throw out, the more fish you'll catch.

Which meant I should place more ads on classified sites, in more ezines, in more media, submit my URL to more search engines and link pages. This also meant that I should try to plaster my ads everywhere when given the opportunity; because the more people to view my ads, the more responses I will receive.

As marketers isn't this our attitude already? We want everyone in the world to see our ads and purchase our products or services; so why does this perspective also fail?

Although the internet is one of the greatest mediums that gives us all the advantage and the ability to market our products worldwide; let's face it, the world is not interested in your products. Let's say that one of your ads brought in 250,000 orders in one day. Will you be able to handle these orders? Most small businesses wont. Casting many fishing lines into the waters may sound good, but this can be your guaranteed road to failure.

Let's look at marketing as if we all were fishermen. We hear that big fish bite down at Prospects Lake. We all gather at Prospects Lake and throw out our 5, 10, 20 fishing lines everyday in hope of catching all these big fish. We figure the more lines we put out there, we are bound to catch all these fish. But what do you think will really happen?

With all those lines out there the fish will probably become confused. The lines will probably tangle. Most people will probably be using fake bait and this will discourage the fish from biting; because they wont be able to tell the fake bait from the real thing. So what should you do? How can you compete in such a vast market place?

The first thing you must do is start targeting your marketing efforts. You must totally change your "cast out many lines" attitude and concentrate on what really works. Yes, you may have some success fishing at Prospects Lake, but why only accept the crumbs when you can have the whole. Before we all flock down to Prospects Lake, we must first determine if fishing here will be to our benefit or not? You can start by asking:

* What type of fishermen are you?

* What type of fish do you want to catch?

* What type of fish are at Prospects Lake?

* Are these the type of fish you want to catch?

* What type of bait do they like?

* Can you catch enough fish to sustain you for years to come?

* Can you catch enough fish to support you for a life time?

* Does fishing at Prospects Lake, guarantee catch?

* Is Prospects Lake the only place to fish?

* Are there too many people fishing here?

Prospects Lake may appear to be a fishermen's dream, just as the internet may be to the marketer, but this may not be always true. The internet like Prospects Lake has too many fishermen. They're all attempting to reach the same prospects, offering similar products and services, using the same techniques and cliches etc... Prospects are bombarded with 100's of ads everyday; so they too become very confused and can not distinguish your ads from the next persons offer.

You also lack a USP (Unique Selling Position). You fail to show prospects the benefits that make your offer stand out from the rest of the crowd. Prospects only see your ad as just another ad. It is essential the you develop your USP. This will help you determine who and what your targeted market will consist of.

What if you were only interested in catching cat fish, but at Prospects Lake there were only salmon? You will be wasting your time and effort fishing there. On the other hand, what if there were 2 large ponds and another lake where you would be sure to catch cat fish? You would receive better results fishing in them.

Now let's say your online business was wholesale merchandising. Your targeted market may consist of other wholesalers, retailers, distributors. Instead of trying to market your products to the world, you now begin to target where and to who you market your products. You find classified sites, ezines, opt-in mailing lists, magazines etc... that relate to your targeted market.

To some this may seem that we are trying to cut down our targeted market or lessen our chances for better results. When first trying to only reach your targeted market, you may feel that you are not doing your job as a marketer or that you are lessening your chances of growing or expanding, but simple targeted marketing will increase your chances of growth.

There are many successful online businesses that only cater and service there local areas. They never try to promote and market their products to the whole world; they only concentrate on trying to reach this smaller market. To many of us they may seem "small time", but many are making 6 - 7 figure incomes. Trying to be "bigger" may not always be better. By reaching this smaller market they receive better results and can build better relationships. Plus targeted marketing saves you time and money.

So where will YOU be fishing next time? Will YOU be down at Prospects Lake, throwing out "many lines"? Or at the lake where YOU will be guaranteed to catch more fish?

*This article may be reprinted and used in its entirety in your newsletters or ezines. Only requirement is that you also include the resources box below.

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**Article written by John Ellis. John has written several articles, books and manuals on online marketing. Check his newest book, "Net Marketing Made Easy!" His desire is to assist other online businesses in achieving the success YOU deserve! Subscribe to the FREE bi-weekly ezine! http://www.je-circle-marketing.com

3 Words That Sell Like Candy!

2009-07-06T02:18:00.000-07:00

In keeping with the theme of creating and improving your sales pages and ad copy, here is a tidbit from Lary Dotson that will help you craft "customer friendly" ad copy.
3 Words That Sell Like Candy!
by Larry Dotson

1) Fast

Use the word "fast" in your ad. People want fast results, fast delivery, fast ordering, etc. Nowadays, we usually value our time more than our money.

For example, you could say:

"Our product works fast!" or "Our product comes with fast shipping options."

2) Guaranteed

Use the word "guaranteed" in your ad. People want to be assured they are not risking their hard-earned money buying your product.

For example, you could say:

"Our product comes with a 90-day money-back guarantee!" or "Don't forget our product comes with a lifetime guarantee!"

3) Easy

Use the word "easy/simple" in your ad. People want easy ordering, easy instructions, easy to use, easy payments, etc.

For example, you could say:

"It's the easiest way to lose weight!" or "It's easy to order - just click here and fill out your information!"

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10,000 Sales Letter Words, Phrases & Templates!
Just visit: http://www.ldpublishing.com

4 Common Headline Formulas - And Why They Boost Sales Letter Response Instantly!

2009-07-06T02:05:00.000-07:00

By Collin Almeida

Headlines -- the whole of your sales letter depends on them.

So is your headline like a hypnotists trance-inducing machine -- luring readers deeper into a hypnotic buying state, or is your headline more like a glittering disco ball that irritates the heck out of you and makes you want to run for cover?

Truly, your headline makes or breaks the rest of your sales letter. So here are 4 different type of headlines and the reason they work so well...

1) The Testimonial Headline

"Professional Headline Creator Took My Sales Letter's Conversion From a Sloppy 1% To A Whopping 4% Overnight -- And I Can't Write To Save My Life"!

If your product offer is something that you believe will lack credibility on its own (löse weight in x amount of days, make x amount of $ overnight,), then a testimonial headline is an effective way to instantly build believability in your offer.

And the best testimonial headline will be one that shows real results from a real user.

So why do testimonial headlines work?

Because they allow someone else the chance to scream praise for your product. It's an outside view from someone that's in comparison to the prospect reading the headline. And with a strong testimonial ... the excitement and results accomplished from the satisfied customer are immediately believed as something the prospect can expect to achieve too.

2) The How To Headline

"How To Double ... Triple ... Even Quadruple Your Sales Letter's Response Using The First Fully Guaranteed "Profit- Producing" Headline Creation Machine -- Even If You Can't Write"!

"How To" headlines are easy to write by combining a desired benefit and the workings of how to get it. And the power lies within the first two words, "How To", because instantly they set off the thought process that the reader is about to learn something.

And that's why this headline works so well, and is the formula most often used. It gives the reader a specific goal, and makes a strong promise of instruction.

3) The Question Headline

"Are You Ready To Dramatically Increase Your Sales Letter's Pulling Power Without Writing A Word"?

The "Question Headline" can work like magic for you if you know your perfect prospect and exactly what they want (and you must).

The key is to ask a question that they can always answer "yes" to. And once you obtain that "yes" answer, you can almost guarantee that they'll read deep into your sales copy.

Just turn your biggest benefit into a question...

"Would You Like To."

"Do You Want...."

If your benefit is strong, asking a question in your headline will have your prospects nodding "yes" and devouring your copy.

4) The Command Headline

"Create Professional Quality Headlines In Seconds And Increase Your Sales Letter Response -- Guaranteed!"

The "Command Headline" demands the reader's attention, and gives them a benefit and direction.

But why does it work so well?

Because you're telling them to do the action required to get the desired benefit. It's like someone telling you, "Get over here and dig into this bowl of cold chocolate fudge ice cream". If you like ice cream, you're going to jump at the command.

Same deal with your product. Give them something they want, and "command" them to get it. If it's a benefit they want, they're going to jump right in.

And there you have it. 4 powerful headlines and the reason they work so well at pulling prospects deep into your sales letters.

Experiment with them. Split test your headlines, and see which one pulls the best response. Just one headline using one of the formulas above can make all the difference in the response you receive from your sales letter or ad.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Collin Almeida is the owner of http://www.MasterCopywriters.com the #1 source for the best copywriting tools and resources on the internet. Get a FR.EE copy of The Killer Copywriting Master Checklist! a 220 Item Cheat Sheet of 'profit boosters' that will instantly transform average sales letter into 'blockbusters'. **A $97 Value** visit: http://www.mastercopywriters.com

One Good Advice for Income Seekers Online

2009-06-10T09:30:00.000-07:00

I've a piece of sound advice for you today: focus
on actually having made money in affiliate marketing
first BEFORE attempting to sell anything.

Sounds like common sense right? Well, look at some
of the launches around you and you can easily spot
some people trying to 'shortcut' their way.

:: It isn't difficult to make money online! ::

It really isn't. Neither is it DEAD EASY as well of
course. I'm sure you've heard of these methods:

* Article marketing - writing articles and driving
traffic to your adsense pages, presell pages or
squeeze pages.

* Web 2.0 marketing - using hubpages, squidoo lens
and blogspot blogs to send traffic to your 'money
pages'.

* Freelancing - using whatever good skills you
have and selling them to other marketers. You get
paid and would have built good relationships.
(provided you didn' screw up!)

* Creating presell/review pages and driving online
and OFFLINE traffic to it.

* Providing a service - forums, URL shorteners, a
job posting board etc and monetizing the traffic.

You might think to yourself, "oh yea, I know those
already". But give it a good hard THINK! Have you
REALLY tried them and made them work? Or do you
just "KNOW" them?

Have you tried but given up after seeing little or
no results? I often tell my marketing friends and
students that the people who are making the most
money online are the ones who tried the hardest and
failed the most.

Now go out there and make some profits!

Best regards,
Dylan Loh

Facts About Impulse Buying - Consider this when drafting your ads

2009-06-07T20:57:00.000-07:00

By Vickie Champion

Debbie was called into the boss’s office Thursday and berated for something she didn’t do. She stewed all day, thinking about how her promotion was now in jeopardy. At 5 p.m., she grabbed her purse and headed for the mall. Debbie thought she needed a little retail therapy.

And why not? She was innocent after all. And the smell of leather from a fine pair of shoes has the power to comfort and soothe, the way Debbie supposed fresh baked goods could for other people.

The following morning, the shoes still in the box, she couldn’t help but regret her impulse shopping spree. Deep down, Debbie felt guilty.

It’s not what you do that’s important, it’s what you’re thinking when you do it that matters. If Debbie had thought about buying the shoes and saved for them, she most likely would have happily worn them at work the next day. Instead, her guilty pleasure sat untouched because her binge purchase was to alleviate stress.

Below are five facts about impulse buying that once realized could change your life:

1. By definition an “impulse” means unplanned, hasty and thoughtless. When we spontaneously buy something, most of us mistakenly believe we are in control. But in truth, we’re acting without thinking about it or the long term consequences. The mere ability to purchase something with cash, a charge card or credit card, doesn’t mean we are in control or have regained a sense of power we fear we have lost.

2. Anger, stress, guilt or boredom is usually what drives an impulse purchase. It’s true that buying things can put us in a better mood. But the high lasts only a short time and doesn’t address the reason we needed a quick fix in the first place. The pleasure Debbie felt from her pricey shoes only masked her anger and frustration at her work situation – it didn’t erase it or resolve it.

3. The positive effects of an impulse buy are replaced by guilt and possibly worse. A client of mine timed how long the good feelings lasted: 18 minutes. After that, guilt began to creep in. As soon as you think, “I shouldn’t have done that,” you know you made an impulse buy. By the time Debbie got home with her new purchase, the positive feelings had been replaced by negative ones. Guilt is bad enough, but others may also have to deal with the repercussions of mounting debt.

4. Impulse buying “nickel and dimes” us out of our dreams. Instead of saving for what Debbie really wanted – down payment on a house, a new car, a vacation to Hawaii – she relieved her stress with binges at the mall.

5. There are three easy ways to avoid or handle an impulse buy.
First, recognize that you have a choice. You can choose a quick fix to a temporary problem or you can choose to pursue your lifelong dream instead.

Second, wait! Before you buy, take three deep breaths. This simple exercise helps to release the immediate emotion. If you are already at your shopping destination before you calm down, take a little extra time to compare items. You may find that you simply don’t want to and go home. Or tell yourself that you can come back that the next day and buy the item. This will help you gauge whether you really want it. Had Debbie waited until the next day, she would have found that she didn’t want the shoes after all.

Third, learn to take it back. If you went ahead and bought something, and the thrill is now gone, take it back. You don’t have to live with the guilt forever. Because Debbie felt remorseful the next day, she returned the shoes.

Rather than heading to the nearest mall the next time Debbie is angry, frustrated, sad or bored she will release her emotions with some deep breaths, taking time to listen and trust her intuition.

Resisting the urge to impulse buy is one of the best things you can do for your wallet, but also for yourself. In doing so, you build your self-esteem in a way that no shoes could ever do!

Author's Bio
Vickie Champion is a business/life coach and speaker committed to helping people listen and trust their intuition and achieve their dreams. She has coached as many as 54 concurrent clients on a one-to-one basis and has given over 750 classes and workshops. For more information visit her at wwwVickieChampion.com or call her at (602) 249-1912.

AP Will Launch Scraper Bot - Not Targeting Bloggers

2009-06-04T17:55:00.000-07:00

And 'hot news' misappropriating

The Associated Press plans soon to sic a scraper-bot on the Web to find swiped AP content. While no one would argue with taking on scraper sites, the vagueness of AP news editor Ted Bridis might be worth considering.

In an interview with Ars Technica, Bridis talked of a new technology (that writer Matthew Lasar cleverly described as a "search-and-maybe-threaten bot") that is on the horizon for the AP. The technology will identify and flag webpages copying entire AP articles. Upon flagging, AP lawyers would review.

Bridis insisted the news organization would not be going after bloggers or publications excerpting a paragraph of AP content and linking to the original. He admitted AP sometimes borrows excerpts from newspapers and crafts their own story around it.

But Bridis stopped there and made no such concessions about usage of headlines and AP ledes. Arguing the so-called "hot news misappropriation" doctrine, this could affect search engines, aggregators, and sites like the Drudge Report who display headlines and the first line of an article.

Also under the radar would be articles written based on AP content, especially commercial websites rewriting with hedges like "the AP has reported" or the "AP said." That's where the vagueness is troubling, and where the lines are fairly blurry. It's hard to tell if there is more emphasis on commercial or on an attribution method. It is also unclear what is meant by "rewriting." Does he define rewriting only as reporting the facts with only a word or two changed (i.e., plagiarism)? Or does Bridis also include rewriting as retelling a story in different words, or even summarizing facts?

Depending on how these questions are answered, Bridis could be drawing a line between blogs and news sites, essentially saying nonprofit bloggers can quote and refer but commercial news sites cannot. He's also drawing a line between textual storytelling and verbal storytelling. Bridis seems to suggest any commercial, textual relay of information wouldn't be considered "fair" use, so long as they can, in a decentralized communication universe, prove the AP was the only outfit that knew certain facts. That argument is rather stunning considering the AP is a distributor of news first written elsewhere in the world at local publications.

What's extra interesting is that though the AP has criticized fair use as a "misguided" legal theory, the organization itself is insisting on its own with a "hot news" doctrine, which is mostly semantic device to create a separate category for "facts," which are not copyrightable in the first place.

Ninety years ago, the AP sued William Randolph Hearst's International News Service (INS) for swiping breaking news the AP had gathered and distributing the news on its own. Over a lengthy court battle reaching the Supreme Court, the "hot news" doctrine was born. Though the AP essentially lost the suit because the courts found that facts could not be copyrighted, hot news (a scoop) was designated as a special kind of property to which the outlet breaking the news had exclusive rights for a limited amount of time. Just how long these special kinds of facts are protected is unclear, especially in the Internet age, when hot news gets cold much faster.

To succeed in its efforts, the AP will have significant legal hurdles in front of it. The organization will have to redefine fair use, get a court to uphold that some facts are protected and set some kind of timetable for that protection, explain how textually reporting facts to an Internet audience is different from reporting facts to any other audience by any other method, find a logical differentiation between bloggers and journalists, between Internet forums/social networks and water cooler conversations, convince courts previous precedents regarding aggregating, linking and snippeting should be overturned, all while avoiding federal charges of anticompetitive behavior.

Those are some pretty tall hurdles, and likely a 90-year-old argument from a different world isn't going to be able to jump them.

Something About Facebook

2009-05-24T06:45:00.000-07:00

Facebook users take their privacy very seriously--and the social-networking site received that message loud and clear.

Facebook created a firestorm of controversy earlier this week as word spread that it had changed a longstanding but little-publicized claim to an "irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, fully paid, worldwide license" for promotional efforts--which would no longer expire if a member deleted his or her Facebook account.

Facebook reorganized its terms of service on February 11. In a blog post, company legal representative Suzie White provided an explanation. "We used to have several different documents that outlined what people could and could not do on Facebook, but now we're consolidating all this information to one central place," White wrote. "We've also simplified and clarified a lot of information that applies to you, including some things you shouldn't do when using the site."

The blog post sounded benign. But the brouhaha arose on Sunday. Blogs declared the change a cause for alarm. Protest groups sprang up on the social-networking site, with more than 100,000 users joining one such group.

Privacy advocacy group Electronic Privacy Information Center was threatening to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission, demanding that the massively popular social-networking service return to its previous policies.

To get an idea how its users felt about the changes, Facebook began a poll in its users' News Feeds, asking them their opinion on the TOS change. And an overwhelming majority favored returning to its previous terms of service.

Facing a revolt of tens of thousands of its users, Facebook quickly announced that it was returning to its previous terms.

Ad Posting Process

2009-05-24T06:38:00.000-07:00

In this day of advanced technology, everything is about speed and efficiency; from buying a cup of coffee to purchasing something off the Internet. Nobody wants to queue for an extended period of time to purchase something, go through a long and tedious process of filling in a form or registering for an account.

Efficiency is foremost for Ablewise.com. Hence, it is extremely important to Ablewise.com Classifieds that our users are able to post their classified Ads up as soon as possible, so that they can get sales in the shortest amount of time. With this in mind, the Research and Development team of Ablewise.com has looked into and streamlined its Ad posting process.

Users now no longer have to click a multitude of "Next" buttons, and only have to go through 2 pages of Ad details to be ninety percent of the way through in making their Ad live. To make it even simpler and the process shorter, after choosing the country/region and category/sub-category of an Ad, only three fields: the 'Available To' field, 'Ad Headline' and 'Ad Description' are made mandatory. You can of course choose to provide more details for the Ad that your potential buyers might be interested in.

To start the Ad posting process, simply click on http://www.ablewise.com/ads/postFreeA d/ to post a Free Ad, or http://www.ablewise.com/details/PowerAd/ to post a Power Ad.

4 Steps To Make YOUR Classifieds Sell!

2009-05-23T03:35:00.000-07:00

We've all heard the saying, "It takes money to make money." They really should have went on to say, "It takes BIG money to make BIG money." The local car dealership that has those commercials on TV every night during the national news may be spending a million dollars or more just to get those ads in that desirable time slot. So what is the small or home business owner to do? Most small business owners don't have a million dollar advertising budget. How can you get advertising that really works for little or no money?

If you are on a limited or non-existent advertising budget use classified advertising. Classified ads come in a variety of sizes and costs. Many are free or inexpensive at least, and can be quite effective.

Classifieds appear everywhere from neighborhood newsletters to huge national newspapers and magazines that reach tens of millions of viewers per month.

I can attest personally the fact that CLASSIFIEDS DO REALLY WORK! You can get customers and prospects; as well as sell your product or service. But, ONLY if you know how to use classifieds to your advantage.

Here are four basic steps you can start using today to make your classifieds work for you.

#1 Target your best prospects.

"Targeted prospects. Target market." I wish I had a dollar for every time I have heard or read those words this year. Sounds cliché doesn't it? It's not! It's hands down the best way to make your ads work! Every newspaper, ezine, and website has it's own particular kind of audience.
Hear this folks: Your ads will not sell unless your product or service is something THAT PUBLICATION'S particular audience would buy.

To understand what type audience a particular publication is reaching, look at their articles and ads. What are they selling? What kind of folks would buy these items? Consider age, lifestyle, gender, income, and education level. It won't take very long at all and you'll have a good idea of
what kind of audience that particular publication reaches.

"USA Today" attracts a very large international audience primarily of very well paid business people. Your local bargain shopper newsletter probably focuses on working class folks looking for a bargain. The local daily or weekly newspaper tends to do best with local homeowners and citizens. A mail order tabloid often goes after thousands of opportunity seekers at a time. The internet by it's very nature tends to appeal to well educated, up-scale audiences in their 20s, 30s, and 40s.

#2 Write a good headline.

Definitely one of my "pet peeves." With any classified the headline makes or breaks the ad. I've told many of my downline members this over and over?" If you don't have a real attention grabbing headline your ad will never even be read." This is true folks. Very briefly put as much key information in your headline as you can in 3 to 6 words. This means your headline has to
get the prospects attention and tell him enough about the ad to make him want to read the rest of the ad.

For example if I had a computer I wanted to sell in my local weekly newspaper what should I write??.. It could vary somewhat, but I would primarily be dealing with a local family type audience. I could write:

COMPUTER FOR SALE! POWERFUL! CHEAP!

In 5 words I've told the prospect what the item is, something about it's quality and benefit (POWERFUL & CHEAP), and at the same time given a clue about the price.

If I advertised that same computer in a newsgroup that had an audience of computer enthusiasts; I would need to change the headline to reflect their more advanced understanding.

PENTIUM II, 333, LIKE NEW, UNDER $1200!

You want to show your prospect what your product, service, or opportunity will do for them, but DO NOT MAKE OUTRAGEOUS CLAIMS. No get rich quick. No millionaire in 60 day programs.
You know the kind I'm talking about I think. Small business owners can build a financial empire in business on the internet or off for that matter; but unless you are a super motivated, marketing superstar with hundreds of contacts it's not gonna happen in 30, 60, or 90 days. Do NOT make unbelievable claims.

#3 Keep the body of your ad short.

Shorter ads usually cost less. Even if you are somewhere that allows 50 or 100 words per classified, make your writing concise and to the point. No need to write in complete sentences in classifieds as long as you make sense. A good rule of thumb with classifieds is; if it can be said with less words effectively, use less words. Lay out the essential info about your product or service and SHOW THE PROSPECT HOW IT BENEFITS THEM! Give all your contact info. A name, mail address, phone number, email address, and website url add so much credibility.

In summary:
1)Essential info.
2)Incredible Benefits.
3)Urge prospect to mail, email, or call now!

Words like free, new, amazing, now, how-to, discover, method, plan, reveals, advanced, and improved always work well in ads. Use the word YOU very often as you talk about the benefits of your product or service. Some expert copy writers capitalize the word YOU in their ads.

#4 Track your ads.

You are throwing your money out the window if you don't know which ads work and which ads don't. Key your ads and run them in only a few places at first to see how they work. The real pros always code their ads so they know which publications and which ads work. Not every
ad will do as well as you might expect. When you come up with a really good one that brings good response. PLASTER IT EVERYWHERE and don't stop till it stops pulling. Many of the higher traffic, online classified boards notify you when you get a response from their site. This is a nice feature and makes it easy for you to know how many responses came from that particular site.

I promise you that the few days it will take you to test some various ads will be nothing when compared to the response you will get from one really good headline and ad. Just try it and see for yourself.

By using the above 4 techniques in your classifieds you will reach more of your best prospects, sell or recruit more, and reduce the time and money you spend on classifieds.

Good luck,
Leon Brickey
mailto:webmaster@appalachianmarketing.com

-----------------------------------------------------------
Leon is webmaster and owner of Appalachian Online Marketing at http://www.appalachianmarketing.com. At Appalachian Online Marketing you can find everything you need to turn your struggling business into an explosive moneymaker! Free subscription to Absolute Internet Marketing Resources Ezine containing the most current, up to date online marketing resources on the planet!
mailto:ezine@appalachianmarketing.com?subject=arsubscribe
*Article may be used freely as long as the entire article appears along with this sig file.

Clever Classified Copywriting

2009-05-23T03:31:00.000-07:00

(c)copyright 2002 Terry Telford

Have you looked at the classified section of your favorite newspaper, ezine, or website lately? Have you noticed all the brilliantly written classified ads? Me either.

To make sure that your classified ads stand out in a crowd, use some simple rules, some creative flair, and an award winning formula. If you follow these A-B-C's for writing effective classifieds, you will increase your response rate and your profits. And that's what it's all about.

Here is your quick and simple A-B-C guide for writing classifieds that sell.

A. Think like your reader. While you are writing your ad, always remember that your reader is thinking 'What's in it for me?'

B. Write your ad to one person. Pretend you are sitting beside your reader having a one-on-one conversation. Don't address your entire market at once. There is only one person at a time reading your ad.

C. Write a benefits list for your products. Remember, benefits are not features. Here is an example.

FEATURE: Make a million dollars online

BENEFIT: Enjoy the luxurious lifestyle of the rich and famous, right in your own home.

See the difference? A feature is what your product or service does. The benefit is the feel good feeling you get from the feature. Now write a list of all the benefits you can think of for your product.

D. Edit your list of benefits and select the best one. Writing a successful classified is like writing a sentence, you focus on one thought at a time.

E. Write the headline for your classified, using the benefit that you have chosen. The headline is the most important element of your ad. If you don't grab the reader's attention in a milli-second as they are scanning all the classifieds, you've lost them.

F. Write the body of your classified using the features that support your benefit.

G. Begin writing your classified without thinking about the final size of the ad. Write as much as you can about your product, but stay focused on the benefit that you have chosen. By the time you are done you may have a whole page of copy.

H. Edit your ad. Most ezines run classified ads that are approximately 5 lines long and 60 characters wide. Use this guideline to edit your full page of copy down to a normal classified size. Pick out your best sentences, power words, and convincing arguments that will make your reader click on the link to your website or send you an email.

I. Make sure you include your web address and email. Use http:// before your website address, so that it looks like http://www.bpcpublishing.com and mailto: before your email address, so that it looks like mailto:info@bpcpublishing.com Don't put a period after .com or you can ruin your link.

J. When you have finished the ad, go back and read it, polish it, and read it again. Leave it for a couple of days and come back and read and polish some more.

When you are writing your ad, make it believable. Using a lot of !!! may get attention, but it makes your ad look gimmicky and less believable. People genuinely want to believe what they are reading, but if you come off like a snake oil sales man, no one will respond to your ad. Your
credibility is key.

There is much more to writing a classified ad than just verbally throwing up on your reader. You need to be refined and put some thought into what you are saying. These A-B-C's will help you write a successful and profitable classified ad.

Good luck and God Bless

Yours successfully,
Terry Telford
http://www.bpcpublishing.com

Web Site Strategies that Work..

2009-05-20T03:33:00.000-07:00

by Philippa Gamse, CMC cyberspeaker

1. Review your goals and markets for your site:

a) Are there clear business goals and desired outcomes behind your Web site, and for each major page or section? How will you evaluate your success?

b) Have you defined all the target audiences for the site, and the "languages" they speak? Do you have compelling benefit statements, testimonials, case studies?

c) Does your home page appeal to each of your target markets and audiences? Does it effectively direct them to appropriate areas of your site?

d) How compelling are the "calls to action" on each page?

2. How can you take your online business to the next level?

a) Is your site making the best use of available technologies? How will you stay on top of online
developments in your field? Are all appropriate staff involved?

b) Does your content effectively position the expertise of your business? Are there media or public relations outlets that you could tap for wider promotion?

c) Are you taking full advantage of "real-world" opportunities to promote your site?

d) Does your business offer other services or customer support functions that you could provide online? Are there further efficiencies that you could achieve?

e) Review your contact databases and your use of e-mail to support your marketing. Do you have clear opt-in and privacy policies?

3. Review your Web traffic reports:

a) Are there any obvious patterns in your traffic, or the paths your visitors follow that you could capitalize on, or need to change?

b) What are the top exit points from your site? Where are you losing conversions?

c) Which external sites link to you? Are these appropriate? Are you generating sufficient return on investment for paid online advertising?

d) Do the search phrases for your site suggest ideas for new areas of business development?

(c) 2005. Philippa Gamse.

1. How to fix your lousy writing ... and why you should

2009-05-13T01:54:00.000-07:00

By Allan Gardyne

When I left school, the first job I got was as a cadet reporter for a small daily newspaper, in Oamaru, New Zealand.

In those days, the entire editorial office, in one small, scruffy room, consisted of the editor, a sub-editor/reporter, a photographer/reporter, a proof reader and me. With a team that small, everyone had to be adaptable.

Occasionally, the editor would give me a few writing tips, such as, "Imagine you're talking to ONE person," or "How many of our readers CARE about this?"

However, most of the time he was too busy to teach me, so I learned to teach myself.

During the day, I'd pound out articles. Each night, I'd go home and re-read my articles in the newspaper.

I was often appalled and embarrassed to see how sloppily worded they were. It's odd how errors can jump out at you a few hours later - mistakes that your eyes skimmed over at the time.

Apparently, the editor was in too much of a hurry to edit my articles properly.

So I had to learn to fix them myself.

Gradually, I developed a simple, reasonably clear writing style. I don't claim to be a brilliant writer. I'm good enough to get the job done.

Why is this important to you?

Because affiliate marketing is all about making a connection between you and your reader.

You don't have to be a brilliant writer to succeed in affiliate marketing, but you do need to be good enough to get your point across, to communicate clearly.

If English is your second language, this is even more important for you.

Here are 10 things I've learned that will improve your writing, help you communicate more clearly, and sell more stuff...

Get rid of distractions. Find a quiet spot to do your writing. Turn off the radio, TV and music. You may think you can do two things at once, but what you're actually doing is switching from one to the other.

Don't stop. Bash it out, no matter how rough it is. Keep going all the way until it's finished. Only then is it time to go back and tidy it up. Resist the urge to edit as you go. Editing as you go interrupts the creative flow. Your article is likely to take 10 times as long to do if you edit as you go.

Write simply. Your readers are in a hurry. They don't want to waste time trying to figure out what you mean.

Tell a story. Stories get your readers involved. (For heaven's sake, make them TRUE stories. I'm delighted to hear the FTC is cracking down on some of the fake stuff out there. If you don't have a good story to tell, interview someone who has.)

See things from your reader's point of view. Keep asking yourself, "What do they want to know?"

Read it aloud. This makes it easier to spot awkward patches where the words don't flow smoothly.

Edit later. Put your writing aside and re-read it hours or, better still, days later. It's amazing how you see your article with fresh eyes and spot ways to improve it.

Read more. To improve your writing, turn off the TV and read books, magazines, newspapers, newsletters - anything. The more you read, the more you'll recognize good writing when you see it.

Practice. One of the best ways to learn to write is to WRITE. When you learn a skill, you create new neurons and new pathways in your brain. The section of your brain used for writing will expand. If you don't believe me, read "The Brain That Changes Itself" by Norman Doidge. Good libraries should have it.

Write something every day.

For example...

a) Keep a journal of your ideas and plans. It will help your business as well as your writing skills.

b) Go to our affiliate forum -
http://www.AssociatePrograms.com/discus/index.php - and write something there every day. Keep writing. You WILL improve.

c) Write an article every day - either for your website or to publish on a related website. Don't worry about making it perfect. Just do it.

* Don't be a perfectionist. Resist the urge. Instead of aiming for an A+ job, aim for a B+. Write it quickly. Get it done.

You'll be pleasantly surprised how much faster you work and how much more you achieve. Upload it to your site, even it's not perfect.

Look at people you know who are making big sales in affiliate marketing. Do you think they're perfectionists? Not likely. They're good at getting the job done.

Get your stuff online so that it can attract traffic and make sales. You can always go back and improve it another day. But get it online. It won't make money for you if it's sitting unpublished on your hard drive - or still in rough notes somewhere.

Remember, clear communication is right at the heart of all successful marketing. So time spent improving your writing is an excellent investment.

In the meantime, you can go to places like Elance and hire a writer. If you've tried that, you'll know it's very time consuming trying to find a GOOD writer.

A quicker, easier option is to buy unique articles from our writing service.

In collaboration with affiliate coach Dan Ho, we provide a solid, reliable writing service, Content Kingdom - http://www.content-kingdom.com - whose writers will write original, unique articles for you.

If you're a perfectionist, you can improve the articles you buy and add your own personality to them. Most affiliates are pleased with the articles just the way they come.

You don't earn commissions until you get things done.

Buying articles is a way of getting things done faster.

"Exercise the writing muscle every day, even if it is only a letter, notes, a title list, a character sketch, a journal entry. Writers are like dancers, like athletes. Without that exercise, the muscles seize up." - Jane Yolen.

Google's Canonical tag

2009-05-09T19:50:00.000-07:00

There are many different ways to type a URL...

o http://your-site.com
o http://your-site.com/
o http://your-site.com/index.html
o http://www.your-site.com
o http://www.your-site.com/
o http://www.your-site.com/index.html

Yes, they seem like small differences, but sometimes Search Engines treat each variation as a separate page, diluting your "link juice" to them. And then there are all the ways that sites might send you traffic, using slightly different dynamic URLs. And then, of course, you might have several pages that are very similar.

The canonical tag tells the engines...

This one. Use THIS URL. It consolidates all the links to the one URL. And it also tells engines that you are NOT using duplicate content tricks.

12 megapixels is enough

2009-05-07T19:40:00.000-07:00

LAS VEGAS--Olympus has declared an end to the megapixel race.

"Twelve megapixels is, I think, enough for covering most applications most customers need," said Akira Watanabe, manager of Olympus Imaging's SLR planning department, in an interview here at the Photo Marketing Association (PMA). "We have no intention to compete in the megapixel wars for E-System," Olympus' line of SLR cameras, he said.

Instead, Olympus will focus on other characteristics such as dynamic range, color reproduction, and a better ISO range for low-light shooting, he said.

Increasing the number of megapixels on cameras is an easy selling point for camera makers, in part because it's a simple concept for people to understand. Even though having more megapixels can enable larger prints and enlargement of subject matter through cropping, adding megapixels comes with some drawbacks.

For one thing, smaller pixels can mean more noisy speckles at the pixel level and can reduce the dynamic range, so brighter areas wash out and darker areas become swaths of black. For another, images take more room on memory cards, hard drives, and Web servers, and cameras need more powerful image processors to handle them. And yesteryear's cameras already had plenty of pixels for making 8x10-inch prints, a size few people exceed.

Camera and sensor makers have been steadily improving digital cameras to compensate for the drawbacks, though. The space on the sensor that's devoted to electronics rather than light gathering has been reduced. Other improvements have come with the tiny microlenses that help each sensor's pixel to gather more light and with the color filters that determine whether a pixel records red, green, or blue.

Some still need more megapixels
Olympus' view is focused chiefly on mainstream photographers. Studio and commercial photographers taking pictures for magazines certainly have a need for more megapixels, Watanabe said.

"We don't think 20 megapixels is necessary for everybody. If a customer wants more than 12 megapixels, he should go to the full-frame models," Watanabe said.

The sensors in Olympus' SLRs, an element of the Four Thirds camera system also used by Panasonic, are smaller than those in mainstream SLRs from market leaders Canon and Nikon and much smaller than those in full-frame cameras. Those employ sensors the size of a frame of 35mm film, 36x24mm.

The 12-megapixel view isn't a new one at Olympus.

"I personally believed, before starting the E-System, that 12 was enough," Watanabe said. "We interviewed many professional photographers, people in studios, about how many they needed in the future. Before we started, the system, we had a rough idea we'd be at a plateau at 12 megapixels. We gradually increased the pixel count," with the newer Olympus SLRs now reaching that level.

Autofocus future
Watanabe had another bold projection: autofocus will change dramatically in SLRs.

Today's SLRs use a "phase detect" autofocus subsystem in which some light is diverted from the viewfinder to sensors in the bottom of the camera. These sensors enable the rapid autofocus that helps make SLRs much more responsive than compact cameras, which use a "contrast detect" method that analyzes the data from the image sensor itself.

Watanabe, though, believes image sensor-based autofocus soon will outperform phase-detect systems. That's important not just for compact cameras, but also for SLRs that today often have an awkward problem with composing a shot using the camera's LCD: when the sensor is in use to run the display, the phase-detect autofocus subsystem can't be used. That means live view on SLRs today is typically a frustratingly slow process.

"In terms of speed, phase detect is faster. But imager autofocus will soon exceed phase detect," Watanabe said.

And speed isn't of course the only factor. "In terms of accuracy, imager-based autofocus is much more advantageous. It directly focuses on the surface itself," the exact location where the image will eventually be recorded. "Phase detect focuses not on the real surface but on a virtual surface," the focusing subsystem reached via a moving mirror.

Imager-based autofocus doesn't require the full use of the image sensor area, so it doesn't directly increase power consumption concerns, he said. In Olympus's new midrange E-30 SLR, for example, autofocus uses only a few points on the sensor when autofocusing in live view mode.

This article was originally posted on CNET News.

Craiglist

2009-05-07T02:04:00.000-07:00

Some of the best free traffic on the internet comes from classified ads and the best place right now to place free classified ads is on Craigslist.

Today we will start generating some traffic from classified ads on Craigslist.

Before we get started, let me state here that while Craigslist still represents the apex of traffic generation classified ad sites… posting ads to Backpage Kijiji, USFreeAds and others are extremely effective.

Now, there’s classified ad traffic…

…and…

There’s Craigslist classified ad traffic!

Some of the best free traffic on the internet from classified ads can be generated from Craigslist.

In some ways, Craiglist is like eBay.

eBay is a huge marketplace with two distinct groups of people… BUYERS and SELLERS.

In similar fashion, Craigslist is a huge marketplace of two distinct groups of people… SHOPPERS and PROVIDERS.

* Shoppers are seeking jobs, products and services.
* Providers are providing jobs, products and services.

What makes this dude Craig and his list so popular is of little importance. What is important are the stats.

It’s reported that…

* +40 million people use Craigslist every month.
* Craigslist gets 10 billion page views a month.
* And Craigslist is currently serving 567 cities in 55 countries.

Seems like there’s just one big international party taking place over at Craigs joint.

His party list has gotten mighty big… and guess what?

YOU are invited to the party…so put on your dancing shoes!

If you are looking for a way to crank up your traffic, leads and sales then I highly recommend you test some free ads on Craigslist.

From my experience, there are three things that will really turn Craigslist into a traffic workhorse for you.

1. A great free offer.
2. Great graphical ads.
3. A large volume of ads.

When it comes to #3, you will want to consider outsourcing this.

Doing large volumes of ads on Craigslist crosses over into more advanced methods as well as using controversial auto-posting software and outsourcing.

There was a time when auto-posting software for Craigslist was abundantly available. Today however, just about all of those software programs are gone.

It’s not that the software didn’t work… it’s that it didn’t work for long. It seemed like Craigslist was always several steps ahead of the automators who tried to exploit Craiglist.

That said, there are still ways to post large volumes of ads on Craigslist, however that goes beyond the scope of this post.

For this post, let’s keep it straight and simple by sticking with the basics that you can use to start posting on Craigslist today.

So, you can click here now to download your 3 page Craigslist Traffic Generation Checklist that will give you the basic steps you need to start generating traffic TODAY from Craigslist!

Internet Marketing Statistics

2009-05-05T23:03:00.000-07:00

Internet marketing statistics are the fuel that gives energy and direction to a powerful internet marketing campaign. Without the use of such statistics, the campaign may end up being designed based on useless assumptions.

You have to figure out what is currently working for other internet marketers and attempt to clone their techniques. This might sound as if you are spying on others. In a sense it is, but it works. Look at as many internet marketing statistics as possible. Does each site have a PR rating? Are they using the keyword phrase as anchor text? How many backlinks does each site have that use the keyword phrase as the anchor text?

After gathering the internet marketing data, you will be in a good position for setting up a great campaign that will help you to place on page one of any search engine. For example, if the top three sites have around 10 backlinks that have an average PR of 2 using the keyword phrase as the anchor text, attempt to get more than ten such backlinks.

Another good example of internet marketing statistics that will help you to target money making niches or products is to gather information on the sales history for certain clickbank products. A useful statistic to deduce is the refund rate on a Clickbank product. If the product is refunded 50 percent of the time, maybe promoting this product will be a total waste of your time and energy.

Good luck with your present and future campaigns and make sure that you try your best to conduct lots of research on a niche, product or service beforehand. Remember that information is power.

Motivational Quotes

2009-05-05T22:59:00.000-07:00

"Be generous with your colleagues and your competitors. Whenpeople learn that they do well whenever they work with you, they will be more willing to come to you with opportunities." — Michael Masterson: Entrepreneur and bestselling business author

What is PageRank?

2009-05-02T06:59:00.000-07:00

PageRank is the Trademark of Google.

Google describes it as:

PageRank relies on the uniquely democratic nature of the web by using its vast link structure as an indicator of an individual page's value. In essence, Google interprets a link from page A to page B as a vote, by page A, for page B. But, Google looks at more than the sheer volume of votes, or links a page receives; it also analyzes the page that casts the vote. Votes cast by pages that are themselves "important" weigh more heavily and help to make other pages "important".

Generally, pages with higher PageRank will get better ranking in search engine.

Therefore, how to increase PageRank? Simple, you must have better quality links coming in and going out from your page. This is the basis of all tricks you may find online.

If you can afford to spend some investment, the Precision Keyword Finder below should be considered.

Classified advertising

2009-05-01T23:51:00.001-07:00

Classified advertising is common in newspapers that allows private individuals and companies to solicit sales for products and services for a very low cost.

Like most forms of printed media, the classified ad has found its way to the Internet.

Internet classified ads are more readily searchable and may foster a greater sense of urgency as a result of their daily structure and wider scope for audiences.