Taking Better Ebay Photos

One of the most vital elements in an online auction is the photography of the item being auctioned. People want to see pictures of things they are contemplating buying. Approximately 90% of all auctions on eBay have images. More than 80% of buyers will skip over an auction without photos.

A photograph may be worth well more than 1000 words when the item being sold is for example, a rare coin. Potential bidders can view the coin in close up detail, and verify the seller's stated description of the item, as well as any certificates of authenticity. Even less tangible items like software sell much better in auctions where a photograph of the box is provided. If the item you are selling has any damage or flaws, make sure to document this with a picture.

If you will just be an occasional seller, and you don't own a digital camera, it is very easy and inexpensive to have your 35mm photos digitized. If you will be holding regular auctions with photographs of your items, you may want to purchase a digital camera. An inexpensive digital camera will work fine; 3 megapixels will be more than adequate for most auction photos.

For taking online auction photos, you should choose a medium resolution, (for example 1024x768 pixels). This should allow you to get a good sharp image without a long upload time. When photographing smaller items, use the macro setting on your digital camera which allows you to get closer to the item. This will create a narrow depth of field, bringing your item into sharp focus, and minimizing background distractions. If your camera will not take extreme close up photos, don't worry; you can always crop and enlarge your pictures later. Your goal is for the featured item to take up as much of the photograph as possible.

Choosing the right background for your auction photographs can turn average pictures into powerful selling tools. Most importantly, the background should not distract attention from the item being photographed. Your background should be plain and contrast with your item. Using too light a background color with a light colored item can cause the picture to appear "washed out". Remove any clutter from view of the camera, and smooth out any wrinkles in a fabric backdrop if using one. Hardwood floors can be excellent backgrounds for a variety of auction photos, as they create a warm, natural glow in your pictures, yet do not draw attention away from the item for sale. A background that complements your item will make your photographs look professional and could influence potential bidders to favor your item over other similar offerings.

If possible, experiment with taking some of your auction photos outdoors on an overcast day, or indoors near a window. The natural soft lighting will show more detail in your pictures. If you must work indoors, consider using a tripod, allowing you to get good pictures without using a flash. A flash can cause an unwanted glare when photographing a reflective item. When using an artificial light source, try different light positioning until you get the best possible illumination.

If you are photographing something two dimensional like postage stamps or baseball cards, you will get the most revealing photographs shooting your item straight on. For other more three dimensional subjects, shooting at an angle will let you maximize the perception of depth. Experiment with varying angles until you find the one you prefer.

When photographing large items for auction like vehicles, many of the previously mentioned rules apply. The car should be photographed from a variety of angles, and there should be as little clutter as possible in the background; especially trash, or anything else that could give a negative impression of the value of the vehicle. If you are like most of us, you probably don't have a suitable place to photograph an automobile indoors. Since you will be shooting outdoors, choose either a cloudy day or the hours of dusk or twilight for the best clarity and the most attractive photos. You will have to stand back a bit to get an entire vehicle in frame, so try to pick a place where you won't have people walking through your background.

Now you have some fantastic photos of your item or items for sale, and you have them saved on your computer in either JPG or GIF format using a descriptive name (e.g., painting_2.JPG). Ebay offers basic and enhanced picture services. Enhanced picture services allow you to crop, rotate, and adjust the brightness and contrast of your photos before uploading. You can also upload them to your own web service if you prefer; however, eBay requires that you use HTML in your listing to display more than one externally hosted picture. There are several good websites that offer free image hosting service for remote hosting of pictures for auction sites such as Ebay and Yahoo.

The number of pictures you show in your auction will vary, depending on the type of item being sold, and what your competition is doing. Search some auction listings to see what competitors are doing with their photographs, and how many they are using. Put yourself in the place of a potential buyer; is your listing providing enough detail both visual and written to make your buyer feel comfortable bidding? Will the winning bidder be satisfied that the item they received was accurately portrayed in your listing, and therefore leave better feedback? In highly competitive markets, detailed, professional-looking photographs can give you the edge you need to be successful in online auctions.

Gregg Pennington owns the website http://www.photography.easy-lookup.com, providing information and tips for those wishing to get started in photography, or become a better photographer.Mellie Blog32417
Marrilee Blog70501

Build a Kids Ebook

I will not lie. This was my first ebook. Its a 51 page kids coloring ebook. This is a childrens coloring ebook for the beginners to learn basic shapes, colors, and numbers.

My design was to build a book that children could learn these things without a bunch of other stuff in the book. So I built a kids coloring e-book with simple activities that repeatedly have children using colors, counting numbers, and making shapes.

Building the kids coloring ebook took me quite a bit of time since Ive never done one before. I will share some things so you do not have to go through learning process. This will save you time since you do not have to figure it out.

Whatever program you use to create your text and graphics you will need to convert over to a PDF file. Why a PDF file? I had that same question when I started. The main reason is the fact that a PDF file is recognized by so many operating systems. You want people no matter what system their using to be able to get your ebook.

You should use a text editor thats capable of installing graphics along with your text. Do not create your text in a photo program. The files will be too big. This page is 21k up to this point. In a photo program saved as a JPEG the file is 324K. Imagine how big 51 pages would be. Keep it small and simple. Easy to download.

Building the kids coloring ebook cover. If youre good with graphics you can create your own ebook cover in a graphics program. If youre not good with graphics you can still create one but it takes time. I cannot put all the graphics to show you how to do the kids coloring ebook cover here in this article. Please visit my web site http://fun-working-from-home.com. Go to the build an ebook page and click on the create an e-book cover in the second paragraph. Then you will get picture-by-picture, step-by-step instructions on building your book cover.

Heres the basic idea of what you need to do. Use a program that allows you to add lines on a page. Make a rectangle that looks like the front of a book. Now picture the book being tilted slightly towards you at the top. Add some lines that will give you the illusion its a book. Now add your title and whatever you want on the front of the book. Use a color that could be seen easy. Thats the best I can explain making the kids coloring ebook cover here.

Now for the important part. What to put in it? It does not have to be a kids coloring ebook. You could make a childrens reading ebook or whatever your heart desires. Write about what you know.

On my web site I have links to a free PDF converter, text editor /office suite, and a PDF reader. No strings attached. Free for you to download. If youre in need of any of these you can go to my web site in the authors Bio. On my build an ebook page, eighth paragraph, use the link that says write about their true passion. You will be brought to a page that has the links for all of these free items. I hope this helps and you have great success on your ebook.

Louis Madison is a successful Business owner. You may visit his web site http://www.fun-working-from-home.com for information about working from home, building a web site, or making an ebook. Success is always one more step pass defeat. Have a Blessed Day!Megan Blog20538
Melva Blog6093

What Is Google Adsense

Google Adsense is an absolutely fast and ridiculous way for people with any kind of website to display relevant Google ads on their pages to help them make some money.

Google Adsense works very hard to put ads up that relate with what the visitors to your site came to see. Because the ads match up to the interests of your visitors you now have a way to make more money off the content of your pages.

You can also add Google search capability to your site. And with every search you have the ability to put Google Adsense ads on all the search results. Every single page of your website has the ability to earn you extra cash. All of this actually comes with a minimal investment of your time.

So do you have to be picky as to what kinds of ads you put on your site? Absolutely not because Google does all that deciding for you. Google will actually read your page and deliver relevant ads to every page of your site. For example if your page is about relationships then Google will put adds like dating spots or great places to buy wedding gowns on line. If you decide to put a Google search box on your site then Adsense will deliver relevant ads targeted to the Google search results pages that your visitors search request generated.

There are some upgrades that you can get involved with. Adsense Premium. This is CPC based and offers less flexibility for add sizes. Banners and skyscrapers are the only ads available. You can apply using your current Adwords account or you can request a new account. You will usually find out with in a day if you have been accepted into the program.

There is however a few things to know. Google has no strict criteria into getting accepted into the Adsense program. They also dont hit you with a minimum traffic requirement. The one thing they are very sticky about is acceptable content. But thats pretty normal every where.

Google is serious about attracting good quality content sites that it only allows Adsense members one add per page. This simply means that you cant use banners and skyscrapers on your page but you have to decide on one style. Once you have been accepted into Google Adsense you will be able to use Google Adsense advertising on any pages that you own. You do this by using the same ad codes that you are provided with. Make sure you obey Google Adsense guidelines.

You can check your stats at Google Adsense. However these stats are not in real time but they are updated regularly through out the day. Right now you cant view reports based on your domain either.

Dale Mazurek

Dale Mazurek is a professional affiliate marketer who has come from getting scammed throughout the years to becoming very successful at what he does. You can see his program at http://stcajo.netsalaries.com He has also started two interactive blogs that can be viewed at http://relationshiptidbits.blogspot.com/ or http://fishingtutor.blogspot.com/Merlina Blog4371
Melba Blog29831

Do You Have Affiliate Marketing Plan Yet? This May Help You...

Alright, you've made the decision that you want to make money on the Internet. Great! That's fantastic that you've made the decision to take contraol of your life and your finances. I just have one question for you. Do have an affiliate marketing plan written up yet? I'm assuming that you'll be starting off as an affiliate marketer because this is how most people start out. Anyway, do you have any clue how you're going to get this thing going? Let's take a look at a few things that you'll need to consider before you begin.

Do you know what it is that you'd like to promote? If so, have you done adequate research to determine that there's enough of a market in order to build your business? If not, do you know how to properly research a market in order to determine if it's potentially profitable or not? You'll need to either know how to do this or have someone you can trust show you how before you can do anything. Don't just start throwing money and spending your time without having a structured plan.

Have you researched different affiliate programs to determine if there's more than one in your market? Competition is good my friend. It means that people are making money. If there are only one or two affiliate merchants in the niche you are considering you might want to look into something different, while monitoring your chosen niche for positive activity. If it starts picking up then you'll be ready to jump in, but if not you've saved yourself time and money.

Are you going to build your own website or have it done for you? Are you going to be writing your own web copy or outsourcing it? Are you aware of the expense involved with this, especially for professional copywriting? If so, have you allowed for it in your budget?

I'm not trying to be negative by hitting you with all of these questions. I just want you to be aware of what you're getting into and I want to make sure that you don't just jump into Internet Marketing like some crazy person (me) and start throwing money around blindly, only to find that six months and whole lot of money have gone by without getting much accomplished. Take a look at what I talked about before and start writing stuff down. Do some research and figuring exactly how much this is going to cost to get you started. You can get a blog for free and just start writing about your topic by educating others. A lot of people have made it big by doing this alone and that won't cost hardly anything to get started. Just get your affiliate marketing plan in order and start taking action!

Joe Stewart is an Affiliate Marketer that enjoys helping others.Mariele Blog73083
Mamie Blog15315

10 Tips for Debt Free Living

Debt Freedomit is something that everybody wants to achieve, but the question is, how you get there. Reaching debt freedom involves changing the way we think about our money and the way we manage our money. I am not saying you need to give up all the things that you like, but you may want to take a good hard look at what is really important in your life.

Is having things now more important than having a future. Fulfilling your dreams in the future will take some planning in the present. How you handle your money in the present will determine how much of it you will retain for your future. There are some very basic and simple changes you can make in your daily life that will help you prepare for a financially sound future. Here are some simple changes you can make that will you achieve debt freedom:

1. Stop financing your lifestyle with credit cards. If it is not an emergency (the latest shoe style is not an emergency) or it can not be paid off in full monthly, it should not be charged. Credit cards are robbing Americans of a sound financial future.

2. Keep a log of your spending. Once you know where your money is going, it will be easier to see where you can cut back. Put the extra money towards paying down your credit cards.

3. Pack your lunch 3 days (or more) a week. Eating out can be expensive and brown bagging it will save you money.

4. Instead of going out to the movies, rent a movie and enjoy a family movie night at home.

5. Have a pizza party and make your pizza at home instead of ordering out.

6. Buy in bulk and freeze dinners. This will not only save you money it will save you time.

7. Give handmade gifts and cards.

8. Shop at consignment shops, thrift stores, discount stores and yard sales.

9. Consider discontinuing or downgrading your cell phones and cable TV plans.

10. Pay more than the minimum payment on your credit cards. If you pay only the minimum on a credit card with a $3000 balance, it will cost you $2780 in interest and will take you 8 years to pay the balance off. If you pay an extra $50 a month towards your balance, you will save $1800 in interest and have your debt paid off in three years.

Bottom line is before you can live debt free you have to become debt free. Following some of these tips will help you achieve debt freedom. With a little bit of effort, you will be able find many ways of saving money. Start by looking at things you spend money on and find ways to reduce or eliminate these expenses. Every little bit helps.

Marjorie Salada is the owner of http://www.debtmanagement1.com, a website that contains information on debt consolidation, debt settlement, debt counseling and how to manage credit card debt.Maryanna Blog43873
Marla Blog69452

Affiliate Marketing - The Truth About Earnings

Affiliate marketing is one of the most popular ways of earning money on the Internet. It offers a lot of advantages over other methods of sales, including the fact that you don't actually have to stock any inventory to make sales. As an affiliate, you only need to advertise a product and direct the customer to the sales page for the product itself, which is usually run by the retailer or creator of that product. If the customer buys, you receive a portion of the sales price, even though you didn't actually engage in a transaction or hand over product. What could be easier than that?

While the concept may be easy, most people are lured into affiliate marketing because of promises of making lots of money, rather than making money easily. You don't have to search too long on the Internet to come across a page that tells you that you can earn thousands of dollars per day as an affiliate. While the mechanism is simple, it's actually the promise of a huge volume of cash that tends to attract people to this type of business. Many people are blinded by the big numbers, however, and fail to realize how unusual it is to make huge money as an affiliate right off the bat.

You can certainly earn money as an affiliate, but those who earn the six figure incomes often have something going for them that most people do not - a huge mailing list. Having a large group of customers at the ready when a new product comes along is a large part of making a lot of money in marketing. Those who have spent years developing a large mailing list with ten thousand, twenty thousand or one hundred thousand names can often make thousands of dollars just by sending out a single e-mail advertisement. Such success is possible, but it comes as the result of years of hard work. Advertisements along the lines of "I made $30,000 in a week advertising product X" may technically be true, but they often hide the unspoken "by sending e-mail to the 250,000 people on my list!"

Building a mailing list takes time. It isn't particularly hard, but it is a vital component of making money through affiliate marketing. With a large mailing list, you have a loyal, proven group of customers who are eager to buy from you. This is far better than randomly trying to get strangers to buy whatever it is you are promoting. Anyone who is interested in trying affiliate marketing needs to take the promises of huge, six figure incomes with a grain of salt and understand that such results are not typical. That doesn't mean you can't make money, it only means that you need to have realistic expectations of how much you can earn right away. As long as you understand that you can't get rich overnight, you will be OK.

©Copyright 2007 by Retro Marketing. Charles Essmeier is the owner of http://www.Retro-Marketing.com, a site devoted to affiliate marketing, and http://www.AffiliateMarketingMall.com, a site that lists the Top Ten Affiliate Marketing Programs.Melva Blog19769
Mavra Blog75137

The Man With One Red Shoe (DVD) Review

Only the third movie of Tom Hanks' illustrious career, The Man With One Red Shoe is a hilarious comedy about a case of mistaken identity. With a star studded cast that includes not only Hanks, but also Dabney Coleman, James Belushi, and Carrie Fisher, The Man With One Red Shoe is a decent slapstick comedy that appears on cable television from time to time. Not exactly the greatest film in history, it is a fun and entertaining movie well worth the time involved

When top level CIA operatives Cooper (Dabney Coleman) and Ross (Charles Durning) fight out a personal turf battle, Ross sends Cooper on a wild goose chase to find a fictional witness who can clear his name of some impending charges. Using planted information from a wire tap, Cooper stakes out the local airport in an effort to find the mysterious man

Meanwhile, Richard (Tom Hanks) is wearing mismatched shoes (one of them red, thus The Man With One Red Shoe) because his friend Morris (James Belushi) played a practical joke on him. But the joke takes an odd twist when a CIA agent spies Richard's odd shoe pairing and fingers him as the target of their stakeout. In an effort to find out what the man with one red shoe knows, Cooper puts a tail on Richard, sparking a strange sequence of events which leaves the bike-riding violin player questioning his sanity.

But the snafu really turns serious when Cooper assigns top agent Maddy (Lori Singer) to the case. Maddy gets close to Richard (who easily falls in love with her). Cooper thinks he's getting closer to the information he needs when the unthinkable occurs - his top agent falls for Richard

Tom Hanks plays the lead role to the best of his ability, playing the part of a character type he has totally mastered - the clueless, out-of-the-loop guy. He played similar roles in Big and Forrest Gump, but irrespective of those roles, Hanks is generally outstanding in any role which he's assigned. The Man With One Red Shoe is no exception. Hanks comes across as a genuine and likeable character, totally oblivious to the events which transpire around him.

Based solely on a case of mistaken identity, The Man With One Red Shoe is an interesting concept for a film. Despite stretching the limits of reality, the film nevertheless manages to remains within the boundaries of the sane and normal. The movie isn't over the top or utterly ridiculous like so many comedies of today. Instead, the lead characters remain serious while the circumstances of their situation provide the humor. A light-hearted and fun film, providing an early glimpse of Tom Hanks' much heralded career, makes The Man With One Red Shoe a definite must-see movie.

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one. Source: http://thedvdreport.blogspot.com/2006/02/man-with-one-red-shoe-dvd.htmlMarylinda Blog58212
Merilyn Blog80660

Religious Degrees - Distance Education And Faith

For people of faith who want religious degrees, distance education is a viable option. It's often hard to find faith based education that is convenient. Traditional schools that offer religious degrees may not exist in your community. If they do exist, they are frequently more financially challenged than other schools, and offer fewer classes when non-traditional students can take them.

People of any faith can find distance education particular to their faith. You can learn Hebrew or Arabic online...or you can learn in Hebrew or Arabic online. There are three basic categories of religious education that you can access online.

Religious Degrees From a Religious Worldview

People of faith have a particular worldview, and sometimes you want an education that is consistent with that worldview. For example, an evangelical Christian might want to go to an evangelical Christian school, or an Islamic student might want to go to an Islamic school. For the most part, religious schools don't reinforce biases and prejudices. Instead, they begin with a certain set of assumptions, usually about God and the universe, and learning is shaped by those assumptions.

There are some good reasons to take online classes from these schools. If, for instance, you plan on a career related to your faith, a faith-based degree might enhance your career opportunities. Sometimes people attend religious classes because it's just easier and more comfortable to learn with people who are like you and believe like you do. And sometimes they want to explore their own faith in greater depth, and choose a religious degree program for that reason.

Religious Degrees That Apply Your Faith

Another reason people might want to pursue getting a religious degree is to prepare for a career. It's very common to use online learning or distance education for this. Christians can attend Bible school and seminary through online learning to prepare for a variety of ministry jobs.

People of faith get religious degrees to prepare for other careers, too, such as counseling. A Hindu may choose to get a degree in ayurveda, a vedic system of natural healing that has its roots in Hindu faith. Counseling and ayurveda are both practical degrees that allow you to use your faith in your career.

Religious Degrees for Scholars

Some people pursue religious degrees to satisfy their intellectual curiosity, or to do advanced study in some facet of religion or just to learn more about religion in general. They may or may not practice the faith that they are curious about.

Distance learning is a great way to engage in scholarly religious study. Through distance learning you can not only get a degree, but you can also study with experts all over the world. You can take a class on the Talmud from Hebrew University in Jerusalem, or study the words of Jesus from a Jesus Project scholar.

Whatever your reason for getting a religious degree, distance learning will make it an obtainable goal for you.

Dean Iggo is the webmaster of http://www.continuingstudy.com where you can find the best distance learning programs and degrees to suit your needs including online christian education.Meggi Blog5726
Maurita Blog13857

Three Strong Ways To Skyrocket Your Affiliate Profits Quickly

One of the greatest thing about the world of affiliate marketing, is that it does not require having your own website. That means no dealing with customers, refunds, product development and maintenance. In fact, it's one of the easiest ways of starting an online business and earning great profits. Let's say you are already into an affiliate program, what would be the most important thing you would want to do? Make your commission go through the roof, right? How do you go about doing that?

Below I've summed up some powerful tips on how to boost your affiliate program commissions over a relatively short period of time..

1. You have to find the best program and products to promote. Naturally, you're goal is to promote a program that will make it possible for you to achieve the greatest profits in very little time.

When selecting such a program, there are several factors to consider. Choose the ones that offer a generous commission . Look for products that fit in with your target audience. Make sure that they have a solid track record of paying their affiliates easily and on time. If you cannot seem to increase your profits, stop promoting that program and keep looking for better ones.

Because there are thousands of affiliate programs online, it gives you a reason to take your time and be cautious. You may want to select the best to avoid losing your advertising dollars.

Create free reports or short ebooks to distribute from your site. There is a great chance that you are competing with other affiliates that are promoting the same program. If you start writing a short report related to the product you are promoting, you will be able to stand out among the other affiliates.

In the reports, you have to provide some valuable information for free. If possible, add some recommendations about the products. With ebooks, you get credibility. Customers will see that in you and they will be enticed to try out what you are offering.

2. This is very important: collect and save email addresses of those who download your free ebooks. It is a known fact that people do not make a purchase on the first solicitation. You may want to send out your message more than six times to make a sale.

This is the simple reason why you should collect the contact information of those who downloaded your reports and ebooks. You will be able to make follow-ups on these contacts to remind them to make a purchase from you.

Get the contact information of a prospect before sending them to the vendor's website. Remember, you are providing free advertisement for the product owners. You get paid only when the prospect makes a purchase. If you send them directly to the vendors, chances are they would be lost to you forever.

However, when you get their names, you can always send other marketing messages to them to be able to earn an ongoing commission instead of a one-time sale only.

Publish an online newsletter or Ezine. It is always best to recommend a product to someone you have contact with than to sell to a stranger. This is the purpose behind publishing your own newsletter. This also allows you to develop a relationship based on trust with your subscribers.

This strategy is a delicate balance between providing useful information with a sales pitch. If you continue to write informative editorials you will be able to build a sense of reciprocity in your readers that may lead them to support you by buying your products.

3. Ask for higher than normal commission from merchants. If you are already successful with a particular promotion, you should try and approach the merchant and negotiate a percentage commission for your sales.

If you're dealing with a smart merchant, he or she will likely grant your request rather than lose a valuable asset in you. Keep in mind that you are a zero-risk investment to your merchant; so do not be shy about requesting for addition in your commissions. Just try to be reasonable about it.

Another thing you can do is write strong pay Per Click ads. PPC search engine is the most effective means of advertising online. As an affiliate, you can make a small income just by managing PPC campaigns such as Google AdWords and Overture. Then you should try and monitor them to see which ads are more effective and which ones to dispose of.

Give these strategies a try and see the difference it can make to your commission checks in the shortest of time.

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This article may be reprinted providing it is published in it's entirety, including the author's bio and link to the URL displayed.

John J Farina is a successful affiliate marketer. He provides expert reviews on which affiliate programs to join and which ones to avoid like the plague. He shows people how to actually generate substantial income on-line using very simple, easily modeled systems. An example of such a system that you can study and duplicate is at: http://www.johnnysreviewsite.comMarj Blog78981
Morganica Blog94235

Cash Now - Affiliate Marketing

The apparent availability of wealth draw so many to the Internet, its reminiscent of the days of the California Gold Rush. Not so different from that distant past most get disheartened in their quest of making money online. They believe just about everything they see online. With the plethora of available e-Books claiming to have the secrets of striking it rich, they end up spending much more than necessary. The result is more than often information overload with no clear path of where they are going, except maybe onto the next e-Book.

These individuals just want to know how to make money online and how to do it now. There are of course many ways to make money on the Internet, after all it is the worlds largest market place. You need to devise a plan; one can either sell their own product/services or simply sell someone elses. The vast majority of individuals would fall into the second category. Its called affiliate marketing and once done correctly this is where you can strike gold.

There are literally thousands upon thousands of products available for anyone to promote and make commissions ranging upwards of 75% some even 100% and all you have to do is sign-up for free. As an affiliate you can start making money almost immediately. Theres no inventory to keep, no having to deal with customers and you dont even need your own website. What can be better than that?

This is how it works: first you have to sign up to be an affiliate with the company(s) of you choice for the products you want to promote. You would be given a unique URL for their website which contains your affiliate code. This URL leads back to their sales page where any purchases made by visitors will earn you your commission, either a percentage or a flat fee. Tens of thousands of people earn a living this way and free themselves from their regular jobs.

Promote your products! Potential buyers arent just going to pull your affiliate links out of mid air. Now you have products that you can sell thats only half the battle. The second and most critical is to drive traffic to the site(s) using your affiliate URL.

There are several ways to promote your affiliate links, of which I will briefly mention a few. Paid Ads is really the best form of promoting, using search engine pay-per-click on Google, Yahoo etc. For free traffic you can write a blog and include your affiliate link. Write and submit articles on topics youre comfortable with and include your link in the bio box. You can also have someone write for you, a Ghost Writer. Join forums and put your link in your profile or signature area, so whenever you make a post your link gets out there. If youre looking for financial freedom, look no further than affiliate marketing.

Juan Mendez is a Successful Web Entrepreneur and Aspiring Writer.Minta Blog41259
Morgan Blog98505

Are You Unconsciously Limiting Your Wealth Potential?

Unlimited financial abundance is your birthright!!

Sounds great doesn't it, but do you really believe it? It's not surprising if you don't.

Many of us don't believe we have access to unlimited financial abundance because we were raised in a culture that places severe limitations on our creative abilities to attract money. These limitations begin during early childhood when our basic beliefs about everything are being formed.

Think back to when you were a child. What did you consistently hear and experience regarding money?

Did you hear that "money doesn't grow on trees" or "money is the root of all evil"?

Did people in your household fight about not having enough money?

Did your dad grow surly and silent when it was time to pay the bills?

Was your mom afraid to ask your dad for more money if an unexpected financial emergency came up?

Were vacations eagerly anticipated or were they actually stressful because the family was going on vacation even if they "couldn't afford it"?

Whatever the situation, you consciously and unconsciously absorbed those beliefs about money and wealth. This became your belief system or paradigm.

Many of us are completely unaware of the unconscious belief systems that are governing our attitudes, behaviors, expectations and comfort level regarding how much money we think we deserve and actually attract.

Do this little exercise with me.

Imagine for a moment that a complete stranger walks up to you on the street and hands you a cashier's check for one million dollars. This stranger tells you that the money is a special gift and is unconditionally yours-no strings attached.

How would you instantly react?

1. Would you nervously look around for the hidden cameras?

2. Would you absolutely refuse the gift and even feel some resentment towards the stranger for putting you in such a predicament?

3. Would you accept the gift but then feel guilty and make immediate plans on how you were going to give the money away?

4. Would you graciously accept the money with heart-felt thanks and happily go to your bank cash the check and enjoy the money?

Your initial "gut reaction" to the above scenario allows some of your unconscious core beliefs about money bubble up to the surface.

If you picked one of the first 3 answers you definitely have some inherent beliefs that are severely limiting your birthright of prosperity. But the good new is-they are only beliefs. Keep in mind that beliefs are not truth. They are just a perception and an acceptance of the truth. What's great about beliefs is that you can change them and choose ones that support you and are in alignment with unlimited wealth potential

If you picked number four, congratulations!!! You're well on your way to unlimited financial abundance!!!

Becky Kimes is a professional coach, speaker and author who specializes in helping women break through the invisible barriers keeping them from manifesting their dreams.Nancee Blog30986
Marley Blog31275

Up-Close, Behind-the-Scenes Look at Career Training

Making decisions can be difficult especially if you dont have all the facts. When it comes to deciding which career path to take the options appear to be varied and complex. In this day and age the number of fields in which to have a career have steadily increased but the career training for these fields may not be readily available. Or so it would seem. With the advent of the computer and the internet, career training has grown and expanded in leaps and bounds. So how does one make sense of so many career choices and options? Get the facts.

Career training is highly affordable Unlike a traditional four year college or university education, career training is quite inexpensive. In some cases the training could be charged to a credit card without exceeding the spending limit. Or a part-time job could be worked in order to save enough money to pay for the career training in cash in a relatively short time. A personal loan from your bank could also pay for the necessary training. Only one loan would be needed whereas with a college education multiple student loans are usually required to pay for tuition. Whichever method of payment you choose none of them will leave you in heavy debt for many years to come.

Career training is convenient In the comfort and privacy of your own home your career training can be carried out with a minimum of fuss. By means of a computer and internet access you can get started on the road to a rewarding and fulfilling career. There is no need to get in your vehicle, battle with rush hour traffic and arrive at an overcrowded university campus. Instead you can take your training at your leisure because it is up to you when, where and how long you want to immerse yourself in your studies. You set your own schedule and pace for your career training which leaves you firmly in control of your life.

Career training is diverse Career training gives a student unlimited opportunities to learn about any number of subjects and topics. Whichever way your interests turn you can find a corresponding career training course to match them. There are many people who enjoy the role of educator and they make their extensive knowledge available to others by means of career training courses. All you have to do is take advantage of them by means of your computer and internet access. Because experts are teaching the course of your preference you can be confident that you are receiving the best training available. This leads us to our next fact.

Career training is efficient Upon completion of a course your skill and knowledge level will be at peak condition because career training provides real-world experience. Instead of studying about the theory of a particular subject you will actually do the work as if you are already on the job. Career training provides hands-on interactive instruction. Receiving the experience of doing the work in the field of your choice will put you ahead of the people who merely sat in a classroom and did nothing but read books and listen to a professor give lectures. There is no substitute for real-world experience and that is exactly what career training provides. In addition most career training subjects can be learned in just a few months as opposed to a four to five year university education.

As the facts indicate, career training is a very viable option for people who want to have a career and be successful. Studies have shown that the trend in many industries is moving away from hiring people with college degrees to hiring people who have specialized skills or knowledge. Career training allows a person to choose a specific topic and gain an extensive knowledge and skill set. Employers then hire the person because they have received specialized practical training and experience in a certain area of expertise. So ask yourself, Do I want to waste time and money obtaining a degree that I may or may not be able to use to get a job or would I rather gain a specialized skill in a short amount of time without incurring a large debt and land a great job? If you are unsure of how to answer the question do yourself a favor and get the facts.

Sherry Harris is the President & CEO of online career training school, Malibu Institute. For more information on career education courses and programs offered, go to: http://www.MalibuInstitute.comMoselle Blog53940
Merola Blog11170

Domain Names And Toll-free Numbers: A Profitable Link

A few months ago, I turned down a naming assignment from a company seeking a business name that would correlate with a domain and a toll-free number, both currently available. Impossible, I thought. Nope, not impossible if you know how to go about it, says Bill Quimby of TollFreeNumbers.com.

The key is to find the vanity phone number first, Quimby says, and there are many more available toll-free numbers that spell out something related to your business than you would imagine. For instance, when he ran a search for toll-free numbers related to naming, he came up with 888-DR-NAMING (which I immediately reserved), 866-NOW-NAME, 877-PRO-NAMING, 888-WEB-NAMING, 877-TOP-NAMING and hundreds of other options.

Once you find a toll-free vanity number, the next step is to make sure the corresponding domain name is available for registration. 888DRNAMING.com was available, and I reserved that as well for future use. Then I was all set for a radio publicity campaign, a national advertising campaign or just rebranding.

Some points to keep in mind if this sort of naming strategy excites you:

* Although North American phones show letters on the keypad, telephones elsewhere in the world may not. Likewise, toll-free numbers in North America cannot be dialed from other continents. If you have a global business, branding only through a toll-free number that works only in one part of the world may not be a smart idea. However, it can still be a good way to attract North American customers, since you can forward the toll-free number for just pennies a minute almost anywhere else in the world.

* The cost of getting calls through a toll-free number can be as low as 2.85 cents a minute, with no monthly fee or monthly minimum charge. Aside from the one-time cost of getting a vanity toll-free number, it doesn't cost any more on an ongoing basis than a toll-free number that does not spell anything.

* Although numeric numbers are easier to dial, vanity numbers spelling out words get more calls than numbers comprised of random numbers. In a study done by Bellcore, print ads that had an 800 toll-free number attracted six times as many calls as regular, non-toll-free numbers. And contrary to what you might expect, this held true regardless of the socioeconomic status of the caller.

* Older telephones don't show the "Q" (which correlates with 7) or the "Z" (which correlates with 9), but most recent models do. Note also that you'll get more misdials if your vanity words include the letter "O," which can be mistaken for the zero key.

* The more you advertise on billboards, trucks, radio or TV, the more important it is to have a number that spells something. And if you are a small company, a vanity number makes you seem bigger and more established. When Bill Quimby tells people to call him at 1-800-MARKETER, few would guess he works out of his home. A toll-free number also emphasizes that the company wants to hear from customers.

* Whereas so many great domain names are already taken, many more of the 800YourName.com type of domain names are still available.

Marcia Yudkin is "Head Stork" of the naming company Named At Last, which brainstorms new company names, new product names, tag lines and more for cost-conscious organizations, at http://www.NamedAtLast.com . Download a free ebook on obtaining vanity toll-free numbers at http://www.namedatlast.com/naming6.htm.Mara Blog96393
Minta Blog64296

Blogging for the Affiliate Marketer

The concept of blogging appeared in the 1990's as a social network providing a means of two way communication. Today it is one of the most explosive and easiest ways to make money in affiliate marketing. Blogs, as an advertising media, continue to be considered as a non-mainstream online advertising media and that is to your advantage as an affiliate marketer.

Why? If you are just jumping aboard the world of blogging and affiliate marketing you are at the merging point of an evergreen advertising media and can capitalize on the earning potential.

The blogging environment allows you to have tremendous traffic potential with little effort, expose your product to thousands of viewers and have an open dialog with them.

Having an open dialog with potential buyers allows the blogger to increase the comfort level by addressing questions up front. Of course that means increased conversion rates and customer relations.

One of the important aspects of blogging is that it gives off the impression that you, as the blogger, are a real person. The mechanics of the web and the fear of being scammed are often lessened to a greater degree.

The personal communication provides a means to take away the stigma of an impersonal approach that a traditional website could project. An added value of having a blog presence and focusing on affiliate marketing you can capture live testimonies much more easily. The visitors to your blog cannot only communicate with you but among themselves if you have your blog setup to allow that feature.

Making use of blogs as an Internet marketing tool is easier than you think. It is by far one of the easiest ways to create a web presence for yourself, your business or for your family for that matter.

Blogging does not require any special skills or software. It can be done by a no frills method. You do need a computer, an Internet connection and the passion for taking action to create your blog entries.

Your blog entries, also known as posts (content) should be focused on sharing and expressing your ideas around a specific product offer or niche.

Another benefit of utilizing a blog in affiliate marketing is that you can easily build creditability for yourself as a marketer without the financial overhead of a traditional business or website costs.

Youll quickly be identified as an expert in the niche you settle into and market. The consequence of course is that you build a readership following which drives a consistent traffic flow to your blog.

By using subscription and asking for your readerships e-mail addresses, you can build a list that allows you to have a warm target market for other similar affiliate products that you may consider presenting.

Of course, subscription carries a responsibility of protecting the readers e-mail addresses. Remember to always be respectful of the readers personal information. You want to earn their trust and respect.

Using a blog in affiliate marketing also allows you to have a deeper understanding of their needs and desires. You can open a simple two way dialog that will provide you with a wealth of information to determine if your product meets their needs, wants and if the price range is appropriate to their expectations.

By using RSS you have the ability to further enhance the readers interest and their attention. Adding RSS feeds of various supporting information of interest to the niche you are marketing will increase the readers frequency of return.

Weather you are just getting starting in affiliate marketing or are a seasoned pro, adding a blog or blogs to your marketing effort will increase your effectiveness and your bottom line sales.

Libby CampbellMarnia Blog30984
Missie Blog49103

EBook Publishing & Marketing

Congratulations, you have written your ebook also known as a digital or electronic book and the time has come to get the word out on the worldwide web. The key benefit about using an e-book for self publishing is that you do not have to spend the money on printing and shipping expenses. This also allows you to test various markets and advertising options without costing you a lot of money and heartache.

There are many ebook software programs on the market. I prefer to do mine in PDF format as they can be read on both PC and MAC computers. Remember to make your pages easy to read with some color, a few images and white space. The writing and actual formatting of an ebook is a whole other article that I am writing currently and hope to share with you soon.

After spending tons of money, several years and many-many hours online with my websites and ebook projects, I have gone through the ups and downs of the learning process of trying to sell ebooks both for myself and for others. One important choice you can make when just starting out is are you going to sell the ebook or are you going to offer it for free to get your name out there with all your links and contact information. This is called "viral marketing" with the purpose of having as many people as possible sharing and downloading your ebook. You can even offer your free ebook to websites as a joint venture for them to offer your ebook as their free bonus with their sales. The key things that you will need to sell your ebook online are:

A website or webpage of your own or offer your ebook to an ebook website that may take a small fee and / or include your ebook in an affiliate program-

A good sales page about the ebook -

A quality ebook Cover Image - Graphics are key!

A "Thank You" Download page from where your ebook is downloaded-

Other Marketing Considerations may include:

Offering a Free Bonus EBook - very important in this e-business to over deliver for the price!

Set a budget to test some PPC (pay-per-click-) Advertising such as Google Ads to drive traffic to your sales page-

Exchange related links with quality websites with a good search engine ranking-

Process a Press Release such as with PRWEB -

Submit articles to article/ezine websites about your ebook-

Join ebook Forums and post messages with your ebook link-

Take advantage of your email "Signature" to include your ebook Title and sales page link in addition to telling frinds and family-

Start a BLOG about your ebook topic and include the link to your ebook sales page-

The important factor is not to go wild with over-spending on marketing. Test-test-test and research online for many more ways to promote your ebook. The best advice I can give if this is your first ebook, is to start another ebook right away that either expands on the chosen subject or another topic that you have a passion for. Remember, you can either try to do all of this publishing and promoting yourself, you can share the tasks, or you can have a professional guide you and produce a satisfactory product for you while you spend your time and energy writing your next ebook!

Kind Regards and best of luck!

William Blake
Blake Publishing (http://www.blakepublishing.com) Offers PDF EBook Sales & Publishing Services including PDF format on word design templates, 3-D ebook cover design, e-book sales pages, graphic Headers, affiliate program, free Bonus ebook program and much more. http://www.blakepublishing.com/services.html

(C)2006 Blake PublishingMarsiella Blog9998
Maren Blog66873

Big Cash Express Rocks The Home Business Industry!

Big Cash Express is a powerful new company that recently launched and is breaking all records of growth in the home business industry. Their brilliant structure is designed to help an absolute newbie make money on the Internet.

The reason why people love this business is because it has an incredible product that is worth the price and yet you also get a home business opportunity that is quickly making waves in the industry.

Digital Gold the flagship product provides breakthrough Internet marketing. If you want to make money on the Internet, you need to know how! Most marketers, 95% of them, lack the marketing skills and training required to make serious money from home on the Internet.

Digital Gold is a comprehensive marketing system and Internet business in a box. Its a blueprint that anyone, regardless of skills or talent can follow. It is a system that will take you by the hand and show you step-by-step how to become financially free for life in 30 days. Members learn how to put the system on autopilot and be paid repeatedly for something they did only once.

The thing that stands out the most with Big Cash Express though is the amazing compensation plan that is in place. Its Duel Matrix Payout Plan is the talk of the industry. The first part of the plan is a 2x2 follow your sponsor matrix that members enter with a one time out of pocket product purchase. This gives you a position in the matrix in which you can earn $1200 over and over with each cycle, paid weekly. There is no limit to the number of time someone can cycle in a week.

The second part of the dual matrix pay system is the Company wide profit sharing plan. For the first time in history, instead of the company getting rich, they are giving back 95% of the profits to the members. This has never been done before. Members can earn up to $72,000 per month in PASSIVE, residual income without lifting a finger.

The founders of Big Cash Express have designed a system that literally removes every possible failure mechanism! Every person who joins has an opportunity to make thousands of dollars per week very quickly! This program is designed so that a compete novice can plug into the system and find instant success.

It has a structure that is guaranteed to pay out quickly and repeatedly. This structure has been proven by the experts to last for years because it is easy for everyone and promotes long-term stability.

Ralph Lampton was in the banking industry for over 30 years. For the past six years he has been a successful real estate investor and business consultant. He enjoys marketing on the Internet and helping other entrepreneurs start their own home business.Max Blog69822
Marissa Blog87282

The Things All Affiliate Marketers Need To Survive Online

Every affiliate marketer is always looking for the successful market that gives the biggest paycheck. Sometimes they think it is a magic formula that is readily available for them. Actually, it is more complicated than that. It is just good marketing practices that have been proven over years of hard work and dedication. There are tactics that have worked before with online marketing and is continuing to work in the online affiliate marketing world of today. With these top three marketing tips, you will be able to able to increase your sales and survive in the affiliate marketing online.

What are these three tactics?

1. Using unique web pages to promote each separate product you are marketing. Do not lump all of it together just to save some money on web hosting. It is best to have a site focusing on each and every product and nothing more.

Always include product reviews on the website so visitors will have an initial understanding on what the product can do to those who buys them. Also include testimonials from users who have already tried the product. Be sure that these customers are more than willing to allow you to use their names and photos on the site of the specific product you are marketing.

You can also write articles highlighting the uses of the product and include them on the website as an additional page. Make the pages attractive compelling and include calls to act on the information. Each headline should attract the readers to try and read more, even contact you. Highlight your special points. This will help your readers to learn what the page is about and will want to find out more.

2. Offer free reports to your readers. If possible position them at the very top side of your page so it they simply cannot be missed. Try to create autoresponder messages that will be mailed to those who input their personal information into your sign up box. According to research, a sale is closed usually on the seventh contact with a prospect.

Only two things can possibly happen with the web page alone: closed sale or the prospect leaving the page and never return again. By placing useful information into their inboxes at certain specified period, you will remind them of the product they thought they want later and will find out that the sale is closed. Be sure that the content is directed toward specific reasons to buy the product. Do not make it sound like a sales pitch.

Focus on important points like how your product can make life and things easier and more enjoyable. Include compelling subject lines in the email. As much as possible, avoid using the word "free" because there are still older spam filters that dumps those kind of contents into the junk before even anyone reading them first. Convince those who signed up for your free reports that they will be missing something big if they do not avail of your products and services.

3. Get the kind of traffic that is targeted to your product. Just think, if the person who visited your website has no interest whatsoever in what you are offering, they will be among those who move on and never come back. Write articles for publication in e-zines and e-reports. This way you can locate publications that is focusing on your target customers and what you have put up might just grab their interest.

Try to write a minimum of 2 articles per week, with at least 300-600 words in length. By continuously writing and maintaining these articles you can generate as many as 100 targeted readers to your site in a day. Always remember that only 1 out of 100 people are likely to buy your product or get your services. If you can generate as much as 1,000 targeted hits for your website in a day, that means you can made 10 sales based on the average statistic.

The tactics given above does not really sound very difficult to do, if you think about it. It just requires a little time and an action plan on your part.

Try to use these tips for several affiliate marketing programs. You can end maintaining a good source of income and surviving in this business that not all marketers can do. Besides, think of the huge paychecks you will be receiving...

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ATTN : Webmasters and Ezine Publishers:

Free Content for your newsletter or your website! You are invited to use this article in your newsletter or website. The only requirement is the inclusion of the author's bio and link to the URL displayed.

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John J Farina is a successful affiliate marketer. He provides expert reviews on which affiliate programs to join and which ones to avoid like the plague. He shows people how to actually generate substantial income on-line using very simple, easily modeled systems. An example of such a system that you can study and duplicate is at: http://www.johnnysreviewsite.comMelantha Blog77743
Mureil Blog75982

Bass Fishing and Having A Big Catch

Want to learn more about bass fishing? Are you catching less bass because youre using the wrong lure? You can finally learn how to do it the right way. There are many ebooks as well as web sites on the internet which can help you providing information about bass fishing and how to be successful at it.

The promise of this bass fishing ebook is that it will surely aid you in getting better bass. Moreover, you just have to follow the tips and techniques and you will surely catch more and larger bass than you ever thought possible.

There are bass secrets that are contained in many books. Most are amazed to see the results on their very next bass fishing getaway. Some may be very disappointed spending the day bass fishing and never having a good catch.

Maybe because you have used the wrong bait or if you had spent a little more time in a different location of the lake before the wind suddenly came. Well, if you have been thinking about those problems, these secret bass fishing guides and ebooks will easily solve your problem. How? With these, you will know the best baits to use in every case or situation. Moreover, you will be able to know where the best part of the lake for catching fish is.

It is affected by so many factors like wind and weather at any particular time so it is really advisable that one should know about it. The next time you try, you are close to being a bass professional.

These guides will let you learn the various techniques and tips on how to catch a bigger bass. If you have never tried fishing before, then you will be an enthusiast once you have read information and ebooks about bass fishing.

It is not that hard at all. Many people are often disbelievers and have a common notion of bass fishing. They say it is complicated. But this is not true. Once you have got an ebook or you have appropriate information on bass fishing, you will no longer have a hard time getting improved bass fishing results. So what are some of the few big bass fishing secrets?

First and foremost, you must start off by thinking like a bass fish. It may sound crazy but it could help you in finding where the big one is. It is also advised that you find the right and appropriate tackle to use in any situation or case. You must have a lot of information on crank baits, spinner baits, plastic worms, buzz baits and many other types of baits.

This would be one of the things that you would find very important. A good lure is one of the techniques you have to learn and be knowledgeable about. In addition, you must know what part of the lake or stream is best to bass fish in different weather conditions. It will be different on a rainy day or a windy day, early in the morning or late in the evening. Other factors also affect fishing such as on a crowded lake or a steady lake and many other conditions. It is up to you to research it further.

Another thing you must know are the most common bass fishing mistakes that almost every fisherman makes and executes. After knowing them and knowing the reason why it will instill in your mind that these common practices end up in error so you must not practice them.

Another significant thing is that you must choose the right bass fishing rod. You must learn the techniques and secrets on how to choose and where to find the most appropriate bass fishing rods there are.

Furthermore, you must know how to develop a successful bass fishing pattern. This will really help you in your fishing trip result in catching a larger bass. Some may go bass fishing at night so it is good that you learn professional night bass fishing techniques. Moreover, others may also be benefited by learning the professional winter bass fishing techniques for those who experience four seasons.

These are only some of the many techniques and tips on how to improve your bass fishing strategy. If you do not have any strategy at all, you may really get disappointed from time to time. But, it is suggested that you first learn and read sufficient information and guides on bass fishing.

Karen O'DonnellMela Blog9092
Margaux Blog27509

Network Vs. Affiliate Marketing

Running a traditional brick and mortar kind of business with an online presence, is obviously one very good way to make at least part of your living online. But for the purposes of this article we are going to assume that you do not have your own business. So I am going to discuss two of the biggest online money makers right now: online business opportunities and affiliate marketing.

Network marketing

The typical online business opportunity is commonly built around some sort of network marketing concept, inheriting the basic qualities of the offline business model that has been available for many decades - the basic idea being that you recruit two or more people, who in their turn recruit two and in this way your efforts will (at least in theory) be greatly leveraged.

The main difference doing this online is that, utilizing the power of the Internet, you as a network marketer can literally reach people all over the planet.

The problem with the network marketing, or "mlm", concept is that it sounds so good on paper - way too good in fact. Most people who joins up with a company of this type tend to get a dose of Mr. Reality rather soon.

They discover that recruiting new people, which is what all mlm is all about - even if they try to tell you differently - is not at all a simple process. There has been plenty of fraudulent businesses in this niche, and people tend to stay on their toes as soon as they hear the words mlm or network marketing.

To further complicate things this business model is also based on you paying a set monthly fee - wether you make any money or not, which means that many people who start this kind of business actually end up loosing money.

It is definitely possible to make a good living in network marketing, but it is definitely not for everybody. "Getting in on the ground floor" is allegedly not always as good as it seems.

Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is similar to network marketing, in the sense that you will be promoting a product produced by another company or person. This can obviously make life very simple for you, as the merchant will usually take care of all shipping and customer support issues. Amazon.com is probably one of the most well known (an respected) companies utilizing the power of affiliate partnerships.

As an affiliate, your task is simply to refer new clients to the merchant and when these people go ahead and buy something, you get credited with a certain percentage of the sale.

Contrary to network marketing it is generally free to act as an affiliate marketer. Although there are certain companies that have sort of a hybrid structure between network and affiliate marketing - requiring you to pay a start-up and/or monthly fee to market their products. Most affiliate programs are completely free to join though, so I'd personally stay away from those using their affiliate programs as an income generator in it's own right, or "affiliate sharks" as one marketer aptly named them.

Affiliate programs are thus a great way in which almost anyone can start to make money online, without having to invest a lot of money, if indeed any at all.

There is however certain strategies and marketing methods you need to be knowledgeable of, if you are to make anything but peanuts with your affiliate marketing.

Choosing the right affiliate program and promoting it to the right people in the right way is an art form in it's own right. And the people who are really good at this, generally referred to as "super affiliates", make a very good living doing nothing else than selling other people's products.

If you are looking to make an additional income from the Internet, or eventually even replace your current income altogether, affiliate marketing is a great way to get started. To achieve the success you desire, you should study and learn the same techniques super affiliates use on a day to day basis.

Andreas Sundstrom has made a full time living online for the past six years, largely thanks to the power of free affiliate programs. At his website http://www.webhosting-tips.info/affiliate/ he will share some of the most important super affiliate secrets.Morgan Blog98505
Nadean Blog45612

A Career as a Jeweler

A career as a Jeweler requires a special person with lots of patience and ability to do tedious work for long periods of time. The jeweler must have educational courses in the trade and love for jewelry and the work he does. The jeweler is free to explore other facets of the business such as sales, design, and jewelry store ownership.

Education Requirements: A jeweler will be a high school graduate. He will have included chemistry, physics, art and mechanical drawing among his classes. Classes in sculpturing and metalworking would also be helpful.

There are educational and training programs available for the jeweler as well as trade schools and community colleges. They offer classes in jewelry-making skills, techniques, use and care of tools, as well as stone setting, casting, polishing and gem identification. He will learn the intricate repair work of jewelry. The training may take up to 36 months.

Job Abilities: The jeweler works with his hands and eyes mostly sitting at his bench for long hours. The job is very intense and requires hand and finger dexterity as well as hand and eye coordination. He can use a variety of hand tools such as drills, saws, files and a jewelers lathe. Sometimes he will wear a jewelers loupe and use a special magnifying glass.

Other Possibilities: The Jeweler may also become a designer if he has artistic ability along with the other requirements of the job. He may use his own designs as well as the designs of others. He may make his own molds, pour the molten metals and produce his own creations. He may create rings, necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry out of gold, silver or platinum. As well, a jeweler may repair clocks and watches. The jeweler works with precious metals and very valuable stones.

Job Opportunities: The jeweler may find work in a variety of areas. He may be self-employed and work from his home, his own store, a small studio or trade shop. He could have a station in a jewelry store. He could also work for others in a manufacturing plant, a department store or a jewelry store. Jewelry stores are usually quiet, pleasant places to work compared with the shift and assembly line work and noisy machinery of a manufacturing plant.

The Future: A variety of jobs as a jeweler are available for those who look for them. The sale of jewelry continues to increase. The number of jewelry stores is growing as well as internet sales, TV sales, department stores sales and other outlets. A jeweler will always be able to find employment.

When shopping for gold and diamonds, the name to remember is http://www.normasfinejewelry.com. Normas has many beautiful jewelry items at 40% to 60% less than the Manufacturers Suggested Retail Price every day. If you are shopping for white gold earrings or gold hoop earrings, gold necklaces or white gold necklaces, gold bracelets or white gold bracelets, diamonds rings or childrens jewelry, be sure to see the 100s of choices at Normas. There is no need to wait for a sale or fight the Mall traffic. Norma welcomes you and every order will receive her personal attention

Norma is writer and Senior Administrator for Norma's Fine Jewelry. You may see her beautiful collection by visiting http://www.normasfinejewelry.com.Mirabelle Blog86006
Melanie Blog64943

Buying A Car: 5 Ways To Save Money

Buying a car is an expensive thing. But, does it have to be? There are a number of things that you can do to get the car that you want for much less. Simple and a bit more complex, these tips will help you to save money in the long run. Buying a car can be affordable.

Here are five tips for saving money on your next car purchase.

1.Get your financing in order before you leave to look at cars. While many car dealerships are offering financing for vehicles, this can be one of the more costly options. Make sure you talk to online financing companies, your local bank and your credit union. You probably will save a good amount of money here.

2.Do the down payment. Even a bit of a down payment can help you to save considerably down the road. You can save a good deal of money if you invest wisely. But, adding a bit of a down payment to the purchase will help to lower the amount of principal that you actually owe on that vehicle purchase.

3.If your credit is bad, get a co signer. Having someone else that can help you to get your car is a great way to secure a vehicle for a more affordable price. This helps to lower the amount of risk that you present to the car financer. The lower the amount of risk you prove to be, the better your chances of paying less for that car.

4.Trade-ins are good too. If you have a car that you plan to trade in, you may be able to get a good price for it. To improve the amount you get, make sure that the car is as clean as possible, is running well and has been taken care of. In addition to this, make sure that you know the value of it by looking it up on the web. Know what its worth so you do not get taken. The value of the trade in will lower the amount you have to have financed on your vehicle.

5.Shop around and haggle. There is no shame in saving money. Dealers are selling cars to make a commission. How much will they make off of you? Do your homework out the type of car you are looking for and know its worth. Look at several dealerships to find the right car at the right price. Don't forget to haggle with the dealership salesmen. But, whatever you do, do not be insulting to them. That's the wrong way to get your price down.

Take these five ways to save on the next time you buy a car and you will walk way with the benefits that you deserve. You can save a good amount of financing and interest charges this way.

Michael Lewis writes for http://www.actualcars.com/ where you can find more articles about collecting and rebuilding cars.Milicent Blog27267
Modestine Blog31724

How Well Are We Preparing The Next Generation?

"There is only one problem with common sense; it's not very common."
- Bryce's Law

We've got some very bright and ambitious young people joining the work force now but they are coming at a very different time in the business world. Thanks to technology, we now live and work in a much faster paced society than what I joined just three short decades ago. It is also a much more competitive environment due to changing economic conditions. True, the Greatest Generation has basically moved along, but the Baby Boomers are still firmly in place and are not inclined to retire any time soon. This means the class of 2007 will be competing not only with people in their 20's, 30's and 40's, but also with people in their 50's and 60's who cannot afford to retire.

This got me thinking about how well we are preparing the next generation of workers. Are we really training them to succeed or are we setting them up to fail? Sure, they might be well educated in their professional area of expertise, but I am finding a remarkable number who lack basic street smarts. Somewhere between the safety of home and school, and the bitter realities of the real world, a void exists in preparing our youth for adulthood. In a way its like being a parachutist for the first time, except you are being pushed out the door with no instruction on what to do. This can be very traumatizing to young people who tend to be overwhelmed by the responsibilities of adult life.

In school, students were only concerned with attending class, absorbing the material, eating and their social life. But now in adulthood, they suddenly have to face such things as insurance, taxes, housing, transportation, banking, investments, retirement accounts, health care, nutrition, paying bills, corporate cultures, etiquette, dress, career development, business ethics, office politics, networking, employment, management, etc. Oh yea, and Work. They may have been adequately trained for their profession, but nobody is preparing them to make the transition into adulthood.

The parents haven't prepared them. If anything, they have sheltered their youth from reality for far too long. For example, many kids today have not had to mow a lawn, clean a dish, push a broom, or hold a part-time job. Instead, they were free to concentrate on their homework and video games. In other words, parents have failed to instill the concept of simple responsibility and the value of a dollar. A lot of parents today are "hands-off" meaning they are content to let others raise their children for them, be it a relative, a nanny, a coach, or a teacher, thereby providing them with some free time to rest and relax.

The teachers haven't prepared them either, but in their defense this shouldn't be in their job description. Instead, they should be concerned with teaching academic subjects, such as math, literature, languages, science, etc. However, since a lot of parents have dropped the ball, teachers have been forced to become surrogate parents, something they are not necessarily trained in or suited for.

Ultimately, this means today's corporate managers are inheriting a generation of naive young people with unbridled enthusiasm who are having difficulty adapting to the corporate world. Many of this generation seem to believe they are uniquely different, that the old established rules of today's corporate culture no longer applies to them; that corporations must adapt to them, not the other way around. Such naivety can be dangerous and lead to their demise as reality sets in.

To overcome this problem, perhaps we can help our youth by devising a new type of curriculum that would teach such things as:

* Personal Organization - e.g., managing finances, insurance, housing, transportation, etc.

* Adapting to the Corporate Culture - how to understand the culture and adapt to it. This would include discussions on business ethics, and studying change.

* Professional Development - teaching concepts of craftsmanship, continuous improvement, and basic business skills.

* Social Skills - how to effectively communicate and socialize in an office environment.

* Do's and Don'ts in the Workplace - discussing the realities of employment, company policy manuals, and other legal issues.

* Management 101 - teaching basic management concepts and rules to help "newbies" fit into the corporate culture.

Actually, none of this is new. We have all had to learn it through the School of Hard Knocks. However, if the next generation is to ever have a chance in today's fast paced world, we have to jump-start this process for them. Otherwise they will have difficulty surviving. Basically, what is needed is just some simple parental advice.

If you would like to discuss this with me in more depth, please do not hesitate to send me an e-mail.

Keep the faith.

Tim Bryce is a writer and management consultant located in Palm Harbor, Florida.Margaux Blog27509
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Affiliate Marketing Tips

Today, many of us want to pack up our jobs and be our own bosses. The idea of working for you attracts many. However, the reality of making it happen soon stops most. In fact the vast majority of us cannot get a business off the ground due to 2 main factors; the first being money and the second being risk.

Starting even a small business takes a fair amount of money. You need to buy or rent premises, purchase your stock and equipment and pay staff if you have them. You will also have other outside expenses such as advertising.

Risk is the factor that kills most businesses off. Even if you're lucky enough to get the capital to start, nearly 90% of all small businesses fail in the first year. If yours is one of the lucky ones, you have to keep reinvesting your time and money to build up the businesses reputation. It could be anywhere from 5-7 years before any significant profit is seen. Most of us cannot wait that long which is what makes affiliate marketing such an attractive offer.

Affiliate marketing involves you, working as an affiliate for a merchant or company. You sell either goods or services and you’re paid on how much you produce. There are no costs and no risk. You put in what you choose and are rewarded accordingly.

Running an affiliate marketing business is challenging. You'll have to work very hard to build it up. However, you'll be rewarded for your hard work not someone else. Getting an affiliate marketing program going may seem difficult. The truth is it is down to you and how much you want to put in. There is no sure fire way to success but there are some good tips that you can follow to make you affiliate marketing scheme as successful as possible.

There are literally thousands of programs for you to choose from. However, to get started you may want to choose something that you are familiar with. This product or service may not be the hottest thing on the current market or make you a millionaire, but you will come off more confident and sincere with something you know and believe in.

This will also help when it comes to creating your site. Something familiar will allow you to be personal and creative. Trying to create a site around something you know little about will soon become boring and tedious.

Working with something familiar will also give you the some experience in the program. You can always expand at a latter time when you are more familiar with how things work.

Another good piece of advice is to watch the number of banners that you put up. A site full of banners will make the site look ugly and put off potential buyers. Carefully place your banners and use them to accent your site. Stuffing it full will not help.

Remember, in the world of affiliate marketing there is no such thing as the perfect program. Any particular program will be stuffed full of varying testimonials. Some will be great will others will have not done so well. You need to decide for yourself and not be put of by a few bad experiences. In the end it is down to you and how much you want to put in.

Affiliate marketing is a great way to make money and work for you. The risk to you is minimal and there is no start up cost. There are many great affiliate marketing programs out there and choosing the right one may seem like a daunting task. When you first start out remember to stick to what you know. Find something you know about and have an interest in. Make your site attractive to others and resist the urge to fill it with banners. This may end up having the opposite of your desired effect. Finally remember, there is no perfect program. Some will have success where others have failed. It is all down to you. Don't give up.

Juliette Lee is the editor and CEO of http://www.MyAudioCompanion.com. To find the best audio book titles, please visit http://www.MyAudioCompanion.comMona Blog48203
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Teaching Overseas - Should You Register At An International Teaching Job Fair?

When you consider that there may be 100 schools represented and 400 pre-screened candidates, your chances of securing a teaching position at an international school is high. Additionally, many of the top schools will only consider interviewing candidates who are pre-screened by a recruiting agency.

Whether or not you decide to register with a job fair might depend on your ability to get to where one is being held. Job fairs are held at locations worldwide, with a particular concentration in North America and the United Kingdom. Some of the organisations hosting the job fairs do not charge participants to attend, they make their money from charging the recruiters.

There are several organisations that hold job fairs for international teachers. International School Services (ISS), Search Associates and the Council of International Schools (COIS) are three of them that hold job fairs around the world. These organisations pre-screen the candidates and invite those candidates that meet the criteria published on their websites to attend their job fairs. You can go to their websites and check if you meet their criteria.

Both ECIS and Search Associates are very professional and experienced in their approach to organising job fairs, and it shows at their events.

Recruiters rely on these organisers to cut out the unqualified or undesirable candidates. They turn away many candidates each year, so you should feel proud if you are invited to attend one of these fairs; its the first step to getting a contract at the fair.

COIS

COIS do not charge candidates to attend their job fairs. The recruiters do pay a fee to attend.

COIS job fairs are held from February through to June in the UK and in North America. The requirements for becoming registered with COIS are available on their website and include:

* A current teaching certification/ qualification
* Three professional referees, one of which must be your current head teacher
* 2 years experience
* Candidates should be willing to consider being placed anywhere in the world.

The dates and venues and application deadlines for the COIS job fairs for 2007 are available on their website and the deadline for applications for their first job fair is January 18th.

Search Associates
Search offer an online application process and a number of job fairs in a variety of geographical locations. Before completing an application you can go through a self-screening checklist on their website to determine how competitive you will be in the job market.

Search charge candidates $US150 to register, which is good for 3 years if you dont find an overseas position in your first recruitment season. Search offers a number of job fairs and your registration fee covers your attendance at one fair per registration period (of up to 3 years). You can attend more than one for an additional fee of $US 50 per fair. Should you find your new position through Search Associates, there is an additional placement fee of $US 300.

On application Search will assign you an associate to give you personal service.

Once you are registered, your resume will be posted online for recruiters to peruse. It is vital that you go log in to the site and update your resume at least every 30 days or your resume might be pulled off the site.

Teachers in Australia and New Zealand can attend one of the Information Seminars offered by Search. These seminars are held throughout Australia and New Zealand in order to provide information for people interested in teaching overseas, and to pre-screen potential candidates prior to the Search job fair in Sydney. Check their website for details.

Search offer two specialised placement services aimed at teachers with experience in either the IB system or the British National Curriculum, see their website for more details.

The dates and venues of the Search Associates Job Fairs for 2007 are on the Search Associates website and their first job fair is being held in Australia in January.

ISS

ISS charge candidates $US175 to establish a professional file with them. If your application is not accepted by them, they will refund $US125, and they do not charge a placement fee if you accept a position at one of the job fairs they host.

ISS job fairs are held in January, February, and March. The requirements for establishing a file with ISS are available on their website and include:

* A 4 year bachelors degree
* 2 years experience
* Candidates should be willing to consider being placed in two continents.

If you are interested in establishing a professional file with ISS you should look at the more detailed list of their requirements on their website.

The ISS name for a job fair is International Recruitment Centre (IRC).

ISS are holding three IRCs in 2007, the first one will be held in Bangkok in January.

ISS say that typically 50 percent of those who attend accept positions as a result.

These are the big three of the recruitment organisations for teachers looking at a career in international teaching and participation in one of their job fairs can kick start you onto a new and exciting career path. It can sure beat searching through job advertisements and sending out your application pack 100 times.

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How Long Does it Take to Recover from Personal Bankruptcy

You're bankrupt. You're doing all the right things to improve your credit and recover from your bankruptcy (i.e., managing your money and credit well, increasing your credit scores, paying your bills early or on time, and re-establishing credit).

So when does the dark cloud that's been over you since you filed bankruptcy leave?

The answer is, "it depends."

With some lenders, as long as your bankruptcy remains on your credit reports you will be denied credit.

The good news is, there are many "normal" lenders who are willing to work with you after bankruptcy. You just need to know where to find them.

It's NOT about working with lenders that are convenient for you. It's about finding lenders that will work with you without taking advantage of your situation.

Each lender sets their own "credit guidelines." What are credit guidelines? They are simply the minimum requirements you must have in order to qualify for credit with that lender.

The three common credit guidelines for most lenders who work with people after bankruptcy are: (1) the amount of time you have since your discharge; (2) how you pay your bills after discharge; and (3) your FICO credit scores.

Time will heal.

The maximum amount of time the dark cloud of bankruptcy follows you is up to 10 years. Remember, this dark cloud is only for a season in your life, not forever. Bottom line: the more time you have after your bankruptcy is discharged the more opportunities you'll have to get credit.

But lenders also need to know you've recovered. Late payments after a discharged bankruptcy are bad news. Lenders need to see an early or on-time payment history to feel comfortable with you after bankruptcy.

There is no escaping a lender who will judge us on our credit scores. This is why it is so important to increase your scores by deleting inaccurate, outdated, and unverifiable information from your credit reports. Your FICO scores are just too important to ignore. You need to make it a priority to keep your FICO credit scores as high as they can be. High credit scores are the key to unlocking opportunities that have been hidden from you.

Let's look at how lenders use credit scores so you can understand what I mean.

GETTING A MORTGAGE

Mortgage companies are pretty forgiving when it comes to lending money to someone who's filed bankruptcy. In fact, after bankruptcy, it's actually easier to get a mortgage on a new home than get approved for an unsecured credit card.

As long as your middle FICO credit score is 580 or above you will qualify for mortgage financing with no money down...just maybe not at the interest rate and terms you want. (This assumes you haven't had a foreclosure in the last 24 months and you have a good payment history since your discharge.)

To get better terms and a lower interest rate, you need a higher middle credit score. A middle score of 600 will give you a lower interest rate and better terms. (This assumes you haven't had a foreclosure in the last 12 months.) A middle score of 620 or above opens up even better options once you have two years after discharge.

PURCHASING A NEW CAR

A FICO credit score over 700 on the credit reporting agency the manufacturer uses will open up the floodgates for you. A score between 600 and 620 seems to be the bare minimum you need to qualify with most lenders for a good interest rate. Slimy lenders (the kind that wear lots of gold chains, polyester suits, and broadcast a hairy chest to the world) will help you if you have a lower score.

Remember, many car dealers use only one FICO score to make their lending decisions. So, you're always better off going to a dealer who uses the credit reporting agency where you have your highest FICO score.

UNSECURED CREDIT CARDS

Some lenders just don't want to do business with a bankrupt person.

Interviewing lenders BEFORE you apply for credit is so important. You need to determine their credit guidelines before you apply. (Read that sentence again!) Many unsecured credit card providers are 100% FICO credit score-based. That's how they can offer you an answer so quickly if you apply by telephone or over the internet.

The only thing they look at to make their credit decision is one of your FICO scores. A FICO score over 700 seems to be what they're looking for.

BANK LOANS

Don't expect too much from your banker until four years have passed and your FICO scores are above 680. However, all bankers are different. Find out what the possibilities are with your banker. Do they have any authority to make credit decisions?

After my bankruptcy I felt lucky to have a bank checking account, savings account, debit card (now they're called Visa/MasterCard check cards), a secured Visa credit card, and a few secured bank loan.

A CREDIT LIMIT INCREASE

You need to be on a constant hunt for higher credit limits. Even if you don't think you need them. It's good for your scores, especially when your spending patterns remain the same.

You "earn" a higher credit limit by paying your bills early or on time. Your next step is requesting a credit limit increase every six months. Credit limit increases are usually based on how long you've been a customer; your payment habits; how long from the last time your credit limit was increased; and your FICO scores.

Again, anything over 700 opens the floodgates of options from most lenders. One key point to remember, when YOU request a credit limit increase the credit inquiry lowers your credit scores. When your lender does it in their normal course of doing business it does NOT lower your credit scores.

If you ask for credit limit increases from banks or credit unions, (I repeat, only banks or credit unions) apply for them all within a 14-day window. All credit inquiries from these sources during the 14-day period will only count as one credit inquiry.

If there was a magic FICO score to aim for (and there really isn't) it would be 720. This score won't open all the credit doors for you...but it will certainly open enough doors at normal interest rates to accomplish your goals.

Stephen Snyder is the founder and president of the After Bankruptcy Foundation (http://www.AfterBankruptcy.org), a non-profit organization that provides free resources for helping people recover from bankruptcy. Stephen also writes a free weekly newsletter on bankruptcy recovery (http://www.LifeAfterBankruptcy.com).Marjory Blog18776
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