A Dirty Little Secret Of Getting Your Domain Name Cheap

If you're new and scouring the 'Net for a place to register your desired domain name, you'll likely come across websites charging anywhere from $35 a year to as low as $1.99 a year. More often than not, you'll choose the lower-priced one because it's cheaper.

There are literally hundreds of places where you can register your domain name with. There are so many around it's enough to make your head spin.

But as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. And to whom you're registering and managing your domain name with is no exception.

What many people who wish to "put up a website" don't know is they might have little control or "say" (or even none at all) over managing the domain name they registered. While it's a reality many people don't know and probably don't care about this, what they don't know can and might hurt them.

Whatever their reasons and busines models, many domain providers will give you a limited degree of control and access to the domain name and your website hosting. However, they can retain full control and even ownership of the domain name itself.

It's well and good if you're having a relatively good experience with your chosen company for your website hosting and domain name needs.

But if you're not happy with them and decide to cancel and transfer, then that's where the unwanted headaches might occur.

Nowadays you virtually agree to your provider's terms the moment you sign up with them. Depending on the circumstances and the terms, they can deny you access to your domain name and even prevent you from transferring it to another provider of your choice.

If that happens, it can potentially cost time, money and effort to try to regain the domain name. And you don't have any assurance whatsoever you'll be successful in getting it back.

When browing through your potential list of domain providers, don't be afraid to ask any and all questions you have regarding how they handle domain name issues. Their answer to your questions can help shape your decision as to whom to take your chances with.

Copyright (c) 2006 DaveZan.com. Granville Blog45735
Giostrella Lina Blog96615

10 Terrific Tips for Web Design Beginners.

When embarking on the daunting journey to web design enlightenment it can be hard to know where to start. This short article is intended as a roadmap, outlining the significant tips all aspiring web designers should be made aware of. If you follow each of the following tips you will be well on your way to web design nirvana. However, you may possibly be an intermediate, or, hold your breath, advanced web designer well if that is the case, be humble my good friend, peruse the following tips and you may surprise yourself and pick up a thing or two. So saddle up to your computer chair, make yourself a coffee, drink some chai tea if it tickles your fancy (it s certainly not my cup of tea), assume the full lotus position and prepare to be digitally enlightened.

-- TECHNICAL TIPS --

1. LEARN XHTML - Extensible HyperText Markup Language.

If you dont already know, XHTML is the markup language that every individual web page is made out of. Right click on your screen, and click on view source. Feel like Neo already? Yes, thats right folks; every web page you view is simply a plain text file full of code stored on some dudes computer (sometimes otherwise known as a web hosting server).

Dont be scared, XHTML is quite possibly the easiest programming language you can learn, so easy in fact XHTML isnt technically classed as a programming language. Dont take the red pill and learn Dreamweaver it may seem the easier option at first, but being completely honest once you learn XHTML you can create web pages in half the amount of time than it takes to in Dreamweaver, and you have more control over the final layout. Additionally, Dreamweaver adds quite a lot of unnecessary code and as a result increase the file size of the page, slowing down the loading time for all those poor sods still on dial up Internet. You can write XHTML code in a plain text editor, such as notepad, or notepad++ ( my favourite), however word processors such as Microsoft Word are entirely unsuitable.

If youre rich, unlike me, pick up a cheap ( recent) XHTML book, otherwise browse Google for XHTML tutorials, or head over to http://www.w3. org/MarkUp/Guide/ for a brief introduction to writing XHTML by Dave Raggett.

2. LEARN CSS Cascading Style Sheets.

Stop torturing you with all these programming languages you say? Dont fret my friend, CSS is only a little more advanced than XHTML and most books on XHTML also cover CSS. CSS is the language that controls things such as the colour, background images, font attributes, and so on. The beauty of using CSS is you can control the aesthetic features of multiple web pages with a single CSS file.

If you would like another wonderful online tutorial, head over to http://www.w3.org/MarkUp/ Guide/Style for a brief introduction to CSS, by Dave Raggett also.

3. LEARN PHOTOSHOP.

All web designers know how to use Photoshop. I was actually born with a Photoshop watermark on my upper left thigh. If you are aspiring for a web design career you are going to need to learn Photoshop, hell even my Nan knows how to use Photoshop. So Google away for Photoshop tutorials, or browse your local library to spice up your Photoshop skills.

The best piece of advice I can give you is to make up all of your web page designs in Photoshop first. Once you are entirely happy with the design start slicing and dicing your photoshop file for the images you will need, and coding the web page in XHTML and CSS. This saves stuffing around with markup code unnecessarily; its much easier to make changes to layout and colours, etcetera, in Photoshop first.

4. USE CSS INSTEAD OF TABLES FOR YOUR DESIGNS.

If you already know a thing or two about web design you are probably sick to death of hearing about using CSS instead of tables for your layout. Well Im going to give it a brief mention anyways for all those web design n00bies out there. Use CSS to control your layout, dont use HTML tables for your design. Tables add tons of unnecessary code, are time consuming and expensive to make changes to once the site is completed, and only affect the layout of the single page you are working on as opposed to using a single CSS file that affects the layout of any page you want. Dont bust your knuckles by typing the same code over and over again.

5. USE VALID XHTML AND CSS.

Valid XHTML and valid CSS is code that validates with the World Wide Web Consortiums coding rules. There is plenty of information on how to ensure your code is valid over at http://www.w3.org. It is important to keep this in mind, as most web design employers will not touch web designers with a ten-foot clown pole unless their code adheres with the standards of the W3C.

-- THEORETICAL TIPS --

6. LEARN ABOUT GRID THEORY.

Grid theory is basically the design theory that suggests that works of art are more aesthetically pleasing if they adhere to some sort of grid that controls its layout. Additionally, the rule of thirds, which is a theory that is related to grid theory, (its sort of like the relative that no one wants to speak to at family functions because of a foul and unpleasant body odour), suggests that designs are even more aesthetically pleasing if their visual form can be divided into thirds. When designing web pages in photoshop, I always start with a grid first to ensure my layouts align to the grid.

7. LEARN ABOUT TYPOGRAPHY.

Typography can be defined as the study of fonts. Learning about typography will teach you when and where to use fonts. Learning about letter spacing (kerning as they like to call it), line height, the serif and sans serif font categories, and more, youll have a truly lethal understanding of fonts in your web design arsenal.

It is important to keep in mind that there is only a small range of fonts that will display in peoples web browsers, so dont rely on primarily using custom fonts in your designs, unless you plan on saving them all as images which can drastically increase the file size of your web site. Site visitors arent going to download custom fonts just to view your website the way you want them to, even if you are super polite. If you stick to using the following fonts for the actual text in your web page, you will be safe: Arial, Arial Black, Comic Sans MS, Courier New, Georgia, Impact, Times New Roman, Trebuchet MS, and Verdana. If you want to be an extra lame nerd like me, you should print out all the variations of these fonts (in bold, italic, different sizes, etc) and stick it on your wall.

8. LEARN ABOUT COLOUR THEORY

Before I continue any further I must offer one small piece of advise. Please please please do not email me and tell me that I have spelled colour wrong. If you do so, I will slap you with a salami. Every time I write one of these articles I seem to get at least one email from a silly sausage that doesnt realise words such as color and optimize are spelled differently in different parts of the world. Well, on with the show.

Colour Theory, is, well, the theory of colours. There are many theories on how to choose a nice colour palette, and these will help ensure your web site wont have the appearance it was designed by a colour blind blind-man. Without getting into too much detail, one nice colour scheme to use is a monochromatic colour scheme. A monochromatic colour scheme is a selection of colours that features a colour (lets say cerulean blue), tints of that colour (cerulean blue with more white), shades of that colour (cerulean blue with more black), black and white colours (yes black and white are classified as colours my learn-ed friends).

A nice little tool to help you choose your colour scheme can be located at http://wellstyled.com/tools/colorscheme2/index-en.html. Mmmm, free tool.

9. GET INSPIRED

Browse the net for good web designers, dont steal their designs, but analyse their designs and try to figure out what fonts, colour scheme, grids, and photoshop techniques they are using. A simple way to use this is search for web design in Google, and browse the portfolios of the top web design companies that come up in the search results. Digital art and poster websites also serve as good inspiration.

However you dont need to restrict your sources of inspiration to the Internet. On the rare occasion when I venture out of my web design cave to eat something other than baked beans on toast, I like to analyse what grid, colour scheme, and font types that restaurants like to use in their menus. But hey, put me in a sack and throw me down a river if you think Im just crazy.

10. PRACTISE PRACTISE PRACTISE

I shouldnt have to say this but practise whenever you can. The more you practise, the sooner writing XHTML and CSS code will become a second nature to you, and you should also practise utilising the information from the various theories I have just mentioned too.

A good tip would be to make one web page template a week and submit it to http://www.oswd.org and other online free web page template directories. Its a great way to improve your skills, and develop a nice little portfolio too.

Well thats just about it for today, my avid readers. I hope the useful tips in this article have helped you well on your way towards web design enlightenment. If you need more information on any of the topics I have mentioned please dont forget that Google and Wikipedia are your friends. And finally, please, never let yourself forget There is a difference between knowing the path, and walking the path.

This article was written by Justin Daniel, who operates his small web design business- NFX Web Design http://www.nfxwebdesign.com.au, located in Newcastle, Australia. This article may be reproduced and published if it contains a link back to NFX Web Design, but not edited in any way without the permission of its author.Georgina Blog78068
Gisela Blog11516

Use Non-Ablative Lasers to Regain Healthy and Youthful Skin

Non-ablative lasers can help people with conditions such as wrinkles, brown spots and loss of elasticity.

Before such techniques were available, other invasive procedures resulted in open wounds that took very long to heal.

But now, non-ablative laser procedures can help people improve their skin conditions, without the demerits of older methods.

These lasers do not produce visible wounds because they only target just beneath the skin's surface, leaving the uppermost layer of skin un-harmed.

By emitting a light pulse that is absorbed by the water in skin cells, these potent lasers can dramatically reduce the appearance of fine and deep lines, wherever they may appear on your face.

Additionally, the creation of collagen is triggered since the skin takes it as a signal to heal itself further.

The increase in collagen leads to smoother skin and less wrinkles.

Otherwise known as laser toning, non-ablative laser rejuvenation typically takes a quarter of an hour, and topical anesthetic cream may be applied thereafter.

This is to help sooth the redness and botched skin, which would otherwise last up to several hours.

The good news is, the patient can still put on make up right after the treatment.

The effects of these laser treatments usually lasts about half a year, and can be safely repeated in appropriate intervals to maintain the desired outcome.

Lim Zheng Yang used to suffer from acne and has spent countless hours researching on this skin condition and the best ways to treat it. You can read more about his works at his main site at http://www.acne-and-wrinkle-treatments-guide.com/skin-care.html and his blog at http://www.wrinkle-treatments-guide.blogspot.com/ . And for his collection of acne resources, you can visit his sub-site at http://www.acne-treatment-for-all.info/.Harriet Blog61336
Giorgio Blog88444

How To Get Your Dog To Listen To You

So what is the problem you are having with pooch? Is your dog not behaving like the angel you thought it would? There could be any number of reasons as to why the animal is not properly behaving, but one of the most important reasons is the reason of listening. Do you actually listen to what your dog is trying to tell you?

If your dog is not ready to do anything and is lazy, it is not going to obey your commands. It is just as simple as that. Now on the other hand, if you can get your dog excited to start listening, you will have one of the most obedient dogs on the planet. You must make the dog excited to want to learn and want to please you. Only then will you have the full attention of the animal.

So what is one to do? Well, without getting into too much detail, you just have to keep things simple and to the point. Animals do not have to learn by repetition, although I would strongly suggest you do this. How do you practice getting your dog motivated? Come up with a routine that you can do on a daily basis for about a week or so, that will not make your dog distracted.

For example, go to a quiet room and with a dog treat, begin your training. When you can get the dog to focus its attention on you and on the treat, you are winning the battle here. You must always make the dog want to please you and never forget to reward it for the awesome behavior it displays, the good behavior that is. Teaching your dog to sit and then giving it a treat, will let the dog know that you are happy with what it has just accomplished.

Taking these simple things into consideration, you will go a long way in helping your dog understand that when it comes time to pay attention, it better do so. Why would it want to disobey you anyways? It really wants that treat. So with treat, practice, and patience, you will see an amazing change in the way your dog behaves.

You have to keep in mind that a treat is a reward with your dog. Dogs love rewards just like we do. So be generous and be kind when handing out the reward for good behavior. Stay positive in your teaching and never be negative about it. Negativity will only hurt the process. Stay sharp and good luck.

© 2006 -- Zane Madison -- Learn how to stop a dog from digging at this website. http://www.dogtrainingguide.org/dog/training/behavior/digging/stopdigging.htmlGiorgio Eduardo Blog35777
Gilberto Blog95073

Guidelines to a Better E-commerce Success

Its a world of Electronic business or more commonly known as E-commerce where shopping buying selling etc are done online. To have a successful business the e-commerce site owners need to avoid some vital mistakes. Following are few of the guidelines to help the ecommerce sites to do better business.

* Show Trust

Show trust in your customers and do not ask them to register even before they start their shopping. Asking them to do that will put them off and you will end up loosing valuable customers. By asking them to register right at the beginning you are compelling them to buy your goods. It is not necessary that the customer will buy everything he/she puts in the shopping cart so dont pressurize them .However once they have selected their goods you can ask them to create an account or better still ask them to do so after they have placed their order.

* Dont mass mail

Many e-commerce site owners think that mass mailing consumers world wide will help in increasing their business. Though the idea is good it doesnt work. Why?? These mails are nothing but spam and no internet user trusts a spam.

* Search engine friendly website

An ecommerce business flourishes only when it gets traffic. This traffic is possible when they get indexed by good search engines. Good search engines only index sites with keyword rich title tag, relevant META tag, and good relevant content.

So make sure your site has all these. Dont have too many flash images with very little content because search engines fail to index sites with too many images which in turn will hamper your traffic and ultimately your business.

* Fast loading

Ecommerce sites have to load at a faster pace thats how they make money. People using ordinary modems get bored easily if the site takes a long time to load and you end up loosing business. This generally happens if you place big images on the home page of your E-commerce site. So while designing your sites make sure you choose images accordingly.

* Attractive name

Giving your website an attractive name is a smart way of drawing the customers attention. For example, Pegasus InfoCorp Pvt. Ltd has designed and developed an E-commerce site known as Rupali online based in UK. This site sells exclusive readymade garments and has been having a huge turnover in the past few years in the UK. The name Rupali is attractive and easy for customers in the UK to remember without many hassles. Not only this but we at Pegasus InfoCorp Pvt. Ltd. have had the opportunity to design and develop various other E-commerce sites like Smartfashions, Smartkiddies wear etc which are also doing a great business in the UK.

* Active marketing

In case of ecommerce sites craving a niche for you in the customers shopping list is very difficult but when done with proper techniques its a huge success. Marketing for an ecommerce site is done through following ways:

a. Registration in relevant top most search engines
b. Affiliate marketing
c. Online advertising
d. Online banners.

For the example of Rupali Online given above, SEO team at Pegasus InfoCorp Pvt. Ltd. is responsible for registering the site in the top most fashion related search engines and directories ultimately having the major worldwide traffic sources covered.

Now loaded with this information we at Pegasus InfoCorp Pvt. Ltd. wish all the E-commerce site owners a successful business.

This article has been compiled by the content development team at Pegasus InfoCorp which pulls subject matter specialists from different work domains. They can be contacted through the Pegasus InfoCorp website at info@pegasusinfocorp.com. Pegasus InfoCorp is an India based web design, web development and online/ offline software development company. Please visit http://www.pegasusinfocorp.com to read more articles and know more about us!

Other companies and organizations are welcome to reprint this article on their websites provided the following conditions are met.

* The article is not changed in any manner.

* The article is copied as is in its entirety (including back links to the Pegasus InfoCorp website).

* The company/ organization reprinting the article agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Pegasus InfoCorp, its employees, directors, officers, agents, partners and their successors and assigns from and against any and all liabilities, damages, losses, costs and expenses, including attorney's fees, caused by or arising out of claims based upon the use of the article, including any claim of libel, defamation, violation of rights of privacy or publicity, loss of service by subscribers and infringement of intellectual property or other rights.

Pegasus InfoCorp (P) Limited (http://www.pegasusinfocorp.com) was formed with a single powerful belief among its two founders that the Internet could enhance and transform businesses in an amazing way. This belief continues to drive us towards our mission of helping discover and implement the best online strategy for businesses, institutions and professionals.Gian Carlo Blog99646
Grace Blog33761

Finance Your Education with Nursing School Loans

Do not let financial setbacks hinder you to pursue your dream to study nursing. There are many nursing school loans available whether you are a graduating high school student who would like to start a nursing career or someone who is advancing your nursing education. There are nursing loans available even for those pursuing a Masters or Doctoral degree.

Every nursing school offers some type of financial service to their students. Many schools form partnerships with private financial institutions and participate in government-funded student loans to be able to grant nursing school loans. Ask the college or university where you intend to enroll about their nursing school loans programs and application requirements.

Many hospitals also offer nursing school loans and scholarships with the agreement that after graduation the student will serve in the institution for a specific period. Financial assistance is also available to individuals already employed in the hospital such as Licensed Practical Nurses who wish to further their education and become registered nurses.

Possibly the best source of nursing school loans is the government. The US Department of Educations Federal Student Aid has different loan programs that allow undergraduate and graduate students and even parents to secure educational funding directly from the government. These loans include Federal Stafford Loans, which are for students and Direct PLUS loans for parents of dependent undergraduates.

Private lenders also offer nursing school loans funded by the federal government through the Federal Family Education Loan Program or FFEL. Nursing schools that participate in the Federal Perkins Loans Program also offer students in great financial need with government-funded low-interest loans. In this program, the student borrower makes payments to the school.

In addition, the US Public Health Department offers grants and nursing school loans forgiveness programs to students in exchange for their service in remote or under-served locations after they graduate.

As you can see, there are many sources of nursing school loans. The best place to start looking is in your community and your local state. The Internet is a useful tool to help you in your search. There are even websites that can match you with a financial aid provider. Sometimes, you will need to obtain more than one loan to cover your total educational costs. The key here is persistence in researching and applying for these opportunities. Lastly, remember that a loan is borrowed money so you would want to make sure that you would be able to keep your end of the bargain.

Milos Pesic is a successful webmaster and owner of popular and comprehensive Nursing Education web site. For more articles and resources on Nursing related topics, Nursing Jobs, Nursing Schools, Nursing Education and much more visit his site at:Hildi Blog13658
Hazel Blog2328

There Are Some Good Resins To Put In A Home Security System

A thief can pick a lock in seconds. I have been keying locks at work and some of them dont have keys. So I have to pick the locks to key them. Some of the lock I can pick in seconds, but some take longer. I tried to pick my own house door and it took me less than 30 seconds to get in. Your locks are not as safe as you think.

Sometimes you have to leave your young kids at home alone by them selves. With a home security system you and them will have peace of mined with a home security to protecting them. When you are sleeping the security system will alert you if somebody is trying to get into your house, garage or your shop. Your house insurance should go down when you put in a security system. So with crime on the rise, you should think about putting in a home security system.

A home security system can be high tech or it can be low tech. they will both deter thieves from breaking into your property. A home security system can be as low tech as just putting stickers n the windows, to putting alarms and security cameras. There is a security system for every budget. You can start off small and just add to it as you see can afford it. Or you can go for a high tech system with cameras and alarms.

When you buy a system you can build it to suet your own property. You can pick different pieces to put together to make one system. Here are some of the different parts you could choose from, stickers, alarms, window alarms, door alarms, cameras, motion sensors alarms, motion sensors lights, and there are more to choose from yet. But you get the idea of what you can put together for your system. You can also get systems that are monitored by different companies for a small fee every month. They will call you if there is a breech in the perimeter of your security system, to let you know that is happening, or to give you a helping hand to get the cops to your door, to help you.

So there is no time like the present to start looking at buying a home security system, for your home or office.

Ken Van Damme
Article source: http://www.nightprotection.com

Ken Van DammeGarrett Blog20429
Harold Blog53160

Domain Name Transfer Information

So you have a domain name. Now what do you do with it?

Well, the obvious is to get it hosted somewhere. But how do you get it "somewhere"? How does one move their domain from one place to another?

Determine where your domain name is currently hosted

Domain transfers are without a doubt one of the most confusing things to a domain name owner, especially if you've never done it before and you don't have a clue as to where to start. Unfortunately it's a fact and we can't make it easy for you. But we can try to ease it up a bit.

The first thing you need to do is determine where your domain name is currently hosted. To do this you must do a whois search. Go to one of the websites below:

http://betterwhois.com
http://allwhois.com
http://completewhois

For this example we will use http://betterwhois.com. Type your domain name in the text box provided.

The who is database gives info about the registrant: administrative contact the technical contact and the billing contact, including addresses phone numbers and email addresses. This is available to the public.

We want info about http://notreallyadomain.com for this example.

This is what you will see:

Domain names in the .com, .net, and .org domains can now be registered with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net for detailed information.

Domain Name: http://NOTREALLYADOMAIN.COM
Registrar: TUCOWS, INC.
Whois Server: http://whois.opensrs.net
Referral URL: http://domainhelp.tucows.com
Name Server: http://NS1.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET
Name Server: http://NS2.NOTREALLYANAMESERVER.NET

Updated Date: 07-jan-2004
Creation Date: 08-mar-1997
Expiration Date: 08-mar-2006
The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .ORG, .EDU domains and
Registrars.

So, in breaking a whois search down:

Domain Name-The domainname you have inquired about

Registrar-The registrar the domain has been registered with

Whois Server-Who is database this info was pulled from

Referral URL-The URL of the Registrar -who you need to contact in order to change the domain from one name server to the other: either by physically talking to them or using control panel access.

Primary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on

Secondary Name Server-The nameserver the domain currently resides on Two nameservers are generally used: if the primary nameserver breaks then the secondary can take over the primary nameserver duties until the primary is fixed.

Updated Date-When the whois record was last updated

Creation Date: When the domainname was created

Expiration Date: When the domain name expires

This domain was registered thru an Opensrs registrar/reseller. Scan the who is database you will usually find the Registrar contact info. In this case the info was towards the bottom:

Registration Service Provider: http://Domainmonger.com, service@domainmonger.com
+1.425-821-8032 http://www.domainmonger.com

We would then go to http://www.domainmonger.com

Providing we have our userid and password we could login and change our nameserver info, contact info or any number of functions.

Once we have changed our name server info there is generally a propagation periodnas the internet as a whole updates with new dns information. For a new domain name, you can count on anywhere from 12 - 24 hours. For a domain name that is already in existance, and has already been moved, it can take anywhere from 12 - 72 hours. There is no definitive time, unfortunately.

There have been instances of propagation taking two weeks or more.

Here are some of the different Domain name registrars now available on the net.

Recommendations to keep your domain name maintenence hassle-free:

Never use your domain name as part of your email address on your contact email for your whois record. Use a web-based email like Yahoo or Hotmail. If you experience any kind of issue, you'll be emailed at your contact email, and if it's your domain name and it's broken, you're out of luck.

Use yourself as a technical contact on your whois record. Use a second email address as well. Hosting companies do go out of business, and this could hinder your access should you want to move the domain name.

Keep track of the email addresses you use as contacts, the userids and passwords. Keep track of your domain name - when you ordered it, when it expires. If you let the domain name expire, your website will not be accessible through the domain name. Keep track of any userids/passwords associated with domain name maintenence.

Elizabeth Ramer has been working in the web hosting industry since 1997, and enjoys building computers in her spare time. Visit http://flawebworks.com for web hosting or http://build-computer-systems.com/ for computer components.Gustavo Blog92658
Herb Blog21657

Website Basics-Fine Tuning a Domain Name

OK, so now youve found the domain name you want, but someone else owns it. Can you still get it? The answer is a qualified YES. You can still possibly register that coveted name even if someone has beaten you to the punch. In the next article we will discuss how to go about registering a domain name that is already taken. But for now, lets look at some alternatives to that:

Hyphenated Names Sometimes it is a good strategy to just take the same domain name and hyphenate it as in turning bobsautoparts.com into bobs-auto-parts.com. Is it always the best strategy? Yes and no. If you are dealing with an already well known name, generally the answer would be no, as most web surfers would usually just enter the non-hyphenated version in, and end up at your competitors website instead. Not a good strategy. Also, the longer the name you have chosen, the more tedious and error prone it becomes for the surfer to type in the name correctly, again foiling the chances that they will end up at your website. Definitely shorter is better. But if the name you have chosen is already taken and there is no chance of getting it from its owner, and the owner either has no website or a poorly designed one with little traffic, this can be a good strategy in purchasing a name.

Longer or Shorter Domain names can be up to 67 characters long. At 63 characters, thelongestdomainnameintheworldandthensomeandthensomemoreandmore.com claims to be the longest domain name in the world, and it may very well be. But who would want to type it into a browser? Our website, www.StartMyWebsiteToday.com features a name that in a few words encapsulates the purpose of the site. It is helpful also with search engines. In as few characters as possible the name of the site, the purpose of the site, and the keywords of the site have all been neatly put together in a domain name. Shorter is better here. Nuff said.

Brand Name or Generic The answer here is it depends. If your business is your brand, of course it is the best possible strategy to try to register that domain name. For instance, Nike.com is a well known brand name site, although there is nothing in the domain name to suggest that it is a site about shoes. Still, Nike is such a well known brand name to the public that people automatically know what they will be shopping for when they get there. If your brand name is well known, definitely try to obtain your brand name as a domain name. But if you are Nike or Coca Cola dont discount the idea of buying shoes.com or soda.com if they are available as well. People often search the web using generic terms, more so even than brand names. A person is more likely to search the internet for shoes or footwear or sneakers than to search by a single brand name, even one as big as Nike. So if possible cover all the bases, but a generic name if your business is new or not yet well known can get better results, if you can find a good one.

In the next article, we discuss strategies for buying a domain name that has already been taken.

StartMyWebsiteToday.COM (Richard James's company) is our recommended resource for domain names and other necessary tools for the creation of websites. To start your website today, visit http://www.startmywebsitetoday.com This article is copyrighted, please do not alter in any way.Gayatri Blog19073
Harborne Blog481

Have You Been Scammed?

Do you want to make money online? Unless you have some insider advice or a great mentor, it can be very challenging to decipher all the offers and opportunities out there. I call it getting lost down the Internet rabbit hole.

If you are anything like me, every day youll have an in-box full of emails telling you about the latest and greatest ways to make money and get rich on the Internet. Ive been in the home business industry for several years, and have found businesses that work and many that dont. Once I decided that the Internet was a fantastic environment to develop my business and make money, I began to do some research. So I read a lot, joined many business opportunities and purchased a lot of systems and tools.

I found an enormous number of so-called Guru packages that claim to show you the system, the secret, the one way to make money in home business and make you successful. There are launches of new systems and products everyday, all with the promise of quick and easy ways to make money.

If you are like me, youll find that it gets to the point where you are really suffering from information overload, too many products, too many e-books too much software, and all those audios. Have you found that you have even forgotten what you have already purchased? Yet you are still looking for the perfect home business. Because you know that there must be a way for you to make money working at home.

Now dont get me wrong. There are heaps of people who make money online from many home business programs. And many are legitimate. But some really should be avoided.

Here are some tips on what to do to help you avoid being scammed.

First, make sure that the business is being offered by a legitimate company. This is easy to check see if you can phone them and that they have a real mail address. Do a Google search on the business name and the person involved, and check out related websites and forums. Also search for complaints. It is well worth spending some time researching.

Check how long this business has been running. You really want something that is established. There are heaps of start-ups, and of course their selling point is get in now with a ground floor opportunity and make money online faster. The truth is that 95% of these startups fail some very quickly, some after a year or so. And when they fall over, your business falls over too. So unless you are willing to risk your money and a lot of your effort, it is best to steer clear of startups.

There are a few types of home business that are suspect: these include home craft, stuffing envelopes, and typing at home. It appears that after paying the joining fee, no real work at home is actually available.

An obvious type to avoid is the pyramid scheme this is where you pay a fee for nothing of value, and get others to do the same, with a promise that you will make money. You may have seen these on and off the Internet. The point about these schemes is that they are illegal, and are not legitimate forms of making money in home business.

My research has let me to a conclusion and some advice. Do some research on the home business opportunity you are looking at. Avoid the pitfalls I have mentioned above.

Make sure you are getting something of value for the investment that is required.

And then focus to make sure that you make money with your own home business.

Janet EllershawGeorge Blog90026
Germano Blog90682

The 12-Question Formula You Must Use When Choosing A Home-Based Business, Part II

Copyright 2006 Monique Hawkins

As we discovered in part one of this two article series, there is a 12-step question formula that all home-based business opportunity seekers must ask when investigating business opportunities. We all know that all that glitters is not gold! We want to avoid scams at all costs. We also want to find a work at home opportunity that is legitimate and can bring in significant income.

Are there any home-based opportunities that can meet these needs? Sure, but you have to do careful research. If you use this 12-question formula to separate the good opportunities from the bad, and find that the answer is "yes", to most of these questions, great! You can rest assure you have stumbled onto a red-hot program that has the power to make you lots of money! That said; let's discover what the final 6 questions to ask are for this 12-question formula.

#7. Find out if you can make huge sums of money without selling anything. Is this possible? Yes! There are business opportunities out that do not involve selling. This works primarily if the business uses a powerful Direct Response Marketing approach. The beauty of this approach is that it attracts all the right people and turns away the wrong ones. Folks are bought into the home-based business system automatically! Direct Response Marketing also eliminates the biggest objections, educates people about the major advantages of a product or service, and best of all, it makes people want to buy now! Therefore, finding an opportunity like this is crucial.

#8. Discover if the work at home opportunity offers help, support, and guidance from experts with a proven track record of making millions of dollars. This will require some research. It's safe to say that many opportunities will fail miserably in this area. However, if such a home business opportunity is found, your chance of success will be very high.

#9. Check to see if the company offers long-term opportunity. In other words, is the system the company has in place designed to make people money for the next 10, 20, and even 30 years? Avoid opportunities that sound golden, but will lose their glitter very quickly.

#10. Determine whether the home-based business opportunity can produce automatic income. It is useless to become involved in a business opportunity that will take months before any results or income can be seen. Why? People will usually become discouraged and quit if efforts are not rewarded in a timely manner. Avoid opportunities that will take months before any type of cash reward will be seen.

#11. Always ask if the start up is easy. If it will take three months to start up the business, why even become involved?

#12. This could be the most important question. Never forget to ask if there is an exit strategy. This is not being negative at all. On the contrary, it is being smart! Remember, there are no guarantees in life and business; things can and do change. Thus, it is always smart and never negative to have a back up plan or exit strategy.

Starting a business from home is a dream that many people have. However, one does not want to make a decision blindly and without careful thought and consideration. You can't go wrong when using this twelve-step question formula!

Monique Hawkins is the small business owner of the online music box store, "Monique's Music Box" located at http://www.my-music-box.com/ She enjoys sharing information with business owners that will help them attain success. For additional exciting information about how Funded Sponsoring Franchise Systems are Revolutionizing the Home Based Business Industry, Whether You Have a Business or You're Looking for One, visit http://moniquerh.payitforward4profits.comGiorgio Eduardo Blog12778
Hema Blog68642

Website Promotion Online Is A Sure Shot Success Method

How many eyeballs does your website grab in a day? Dont know? Well it is about time for you to find this out and determine your actual levels of visibility on the web. The more visible it is, the more the public will talk about this. Your website promotion online depends on how visible you can be on the web. The web has a very wide reach and thus if your website promotion online is good you will reach out to people in all corners of the globe. So after the promotion you can have global customers buying your goods and services.

Ranking high and very high in relevant keywords in all major search engines is what the special emphasis of website promotion online is all about. Some of the major search engines on which you must get top ranking while doing website promotion online for your business site are Google, Yahoo, AOL, Lycos, MSN and Ask. There are many rules and methods that you can implement for making your site top ranked in the major search engines.

Write a page title for the different pages for your website. The page title of your site must describe clearly what a particular page is all about. This is helpful when major search engines index your webpage. Use all the appropriate and relevant keywords related to the goods and services you are offering. Do not use just the name of your company on the page title. Avoid using those keywords that you do not have on the web page as this can affect your rankings.

Link building your website with other related and relevant sites is another important factor that you can do for website promotion online for your business. Link building helps you in generating traffic to your site and tremendously boosts up your visibility everywhere on the web. Try building and exchanging the links of your site with sites that have high page ranks and are very popular on the web among online users. This means that the popularity and visibility of your site also increases tremendously. Search engine rankings are also affected by this. So, take care of this factor while you are building links for your site.

Writing articles relevant to your site and the products you are selling is one good way to increase your visibility on the web. Articles are a great source to attract traffic and customers to your site. Submit your articles to all major article sites on the web. Try to make use of only one author name for all the articles so that the name of the author becomes a well known brand in the internet. So the next time people see an article written by this author they automatically tend to believe that the article is good and thus you can get valuable customers for your goods and services.

Pay per click advertising is one good way for website promotion online for any business site. Pay per click is an advertising method that makes use of relevant and the most appropriate keywords for advertising about your goods. If you undertake pay per click successfully, your site will be displayed at the top of sponsored listings of search engines. It has been found that being listed at the top of the sponsored listings guarantees to bring customers to your online business site.

Steve Waganer has specialization in Web Marketing. He is expert in Search engine optimization, Affiliated Marketing,website promotion online and Organic search engine optimization.To get his expert advice for your website to get high rank and top position in major search engines visit http://www.cometsearchenginemarketing.com.Ginevra Blog37297
Hilaire Blog38232

You've Got Mail

You need a medium that is immediate, personal, trackable and talks with those who are anxious to hear from you. That medium is email marketing. It is the strongest and fastest growing marketing tool available today. Big companies are moving money away from TV, print and radio and moving it into email campaigns. Why? Because it works.

Consider this:

82% of email users have purchased a product because of an email offer.

US online agency Doubleclick predicts a rise of 17% in email marketing budgets in the US. TV, print and radio and predicted to decrease.

Microsoft sends out more than 20 million email marketing pieces every month.

Permission based email marketing campaigns can provide marketers with reports on their markets they only dreamed of before. This allows them to cut down on wastage and niche more meaningful offers with the obvious benefit of better returns for effort and investment.

A Price Waterhouse Coopers survey found 83 percent of Internet users felt email was their primary reason for using the Internet. Given the choice, an overwhelming majority turned down books, radios, and televisions in favor of an Internet connection with email on a desert island.

Ask a different research company and you will get a different answer for the average response rate of opt-in email campaigns. Jupiter Communications will tell you 5 to 15 percent. Forrester will tell you 14 to 22 percent. Ask a different email marketer and get a different answer. Some are getting only 3 percent and some are getting 40 percent. But they all agree on three things: It's not very expensive, it's not very hard, and it's got a better return on investment than other marketing and advertising techniques.

Quit trying to win a new game with old weapons. Build an email list, watch it grow even bigger, use it to share useful information and watch your profits grow.

Finally an advertising form that tells you what your customers think of you and whats important to them. You have to do this.

Brian Grinonneau is the general manager of McMann & Tate Advertising.Hartmut Blog38810
Hadley Blog62578

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.Herminia Blog52018
Hee Blog52522

Biz 101, How To Save Money

Ever feel like youre short on cash? How would you like to learn how to save what you earn? Todays average consumer is way too focused on spending, and not focused enough on saving. In Money to Be Made Online, youll learn some of the ways you can save money while doing business. If you fit into the category of not rich, before you can go on that wonderful vacation, or buy a new house, you need to save up some cold hard cash. Nothing is better than money well spent some say. Well I think nothing is better than money well saved. Before you can spend wisely, you have to have some good savings.

So whats the secret to saving money? Im going to outline a few simple tricks that if followed, will leave some extra cash each and every month. Why is it that people are always spending more than they earn? Because theyre in the business of helping other people save money. Thats right, theyre providing the retirement funds for the debt collecter, or credit card executive. First, I want to let you know where some of your money goes, besides when it goes down the drain.

Most people forget completely about their money after it leaves their pocket. Money isnt just a piece of paper or numbers on a screen. For the purpose of this article imagine that money is a type of energy, like electricity. Like electricity, most people dont think or care where it comes from, or where it goes, and how its transferred from place to place. Each time you use electricity, or transfer it to another place, you lose some of its potential. Most appliances dont use 100% of the potential energy available, maybe in the future but not currently. When you buy something, taxes are taken out, plus the middle mens fees, and then profit for the top of the pyramid.

The first thing you should do is become aware of WHERE your money goes. By thinking of where money comes from, and ends up will open your mind into new avenues of perception. You have to fight your way out of the consumer box and create a new box, with a new label, that youre comfortable. Its good to think outside the box, for people who live in boxes they didnt create themselves. But when you create your own box, when you design your own life and are finally free from all debt, worry, and create your own experiences, then I suggest you think inside that box instead!

So now practice thinking this in everyday life. Where is my money going? Imagine all the little middle men in between, and then maybe youll respect money a little more. Youll realize how big and industrious the world actually is. After youve reached this stage of awareness you should be more motivated, and ready to seriously save some money. By saving money in this state, you might realize how important that one little dollar of profit is. When multiplied by a good product and millions of consumers, youve just made a million dollars.

If youre ready to start saving some money, be ready to follow these simple tasks, and expect some extra cash! First, you need to be organized. Saving money is not just about being cheap, but its also about management. You must organize well! Most successful people are great at saving because theyre natural organizers, and when they make it big they get a secretary. After a while these tasks become natural, and dont feel like a bother at all, so keep it up and after a while youll get a hang of it.

Organizing your cash flow is essential. Everywhere you go, carry a note book, small note pad, or a PDA if you have one. Most PDAs are compatible with finance software, so buy some or find a free version. DO IT NOW! This is the most important aspect of saving money, you first need to know where its going! So for the first week, I want you to do two simple things. Every single thing you spend money on, write down the date, the cost, where, and how you felt. At the end of the day create another separate sheet with a total of amount spent, and list all the things you can do without. Now try to think of where your money went, and imagine the process it took to make the products you bough. Did you purchase gas? There are lots of things needed to get gas into the country, so imagine the process and your mind will open!

After one week, take a look at all the data youve collected. Dont do this review until a full weeks data has been collected! Determine what was essential and what you can do without. Take your daily essential and total them up. Look where you can eliminate needless expenses! One of the things you can do, are follow the guidelines in Money to Be Made Online. Follow the experience of seasoned veterans, and save money for your business today!

Keith Londrie II is a successful Webmaster and the owner and publisher of moneytobemadeonline.com A website that specializes in providing tips on how to REALLY make money online that you can research on the internet in your pajamas from the comfort of your own home. Visit http://moneytobemadeonline.com/ today!Helen Blog41271
Harriette Blog60172

Tips For Air Travel With Your Toddlers

It can be very difficult to travel by airplane with young kids. When you travel by car you can stop every few hours and let your toddler get a little exercise. When on an airplane, however, you are confined to a small space for the duration of the flight. This can be very stressful and difficult on a long flight and if your toddler is cranky, the flight can seem even longer. The following tips might help to make your flight more enjoyable for your toddler, you and the other passengers.

1. Consider purchasing a seat for your toddler. Although you are allowed to fly with your child in your lap, this may not be the most comfortable for you or your child. This will allow you a little more mobility and will make your child more comfortable.

2. Bring games and toys that will keep your toddler entertained. Include a portable DVD player so your child can watch their favorite movies during the long flight. This will help keep your toddler occupied.

3. Food on airplanes is usually limited. Bring along some nutritious snacks for your child to keep them from getting hungry. Include some milk, natural juices, fruit, cheese and crackers. Dont give your child sugary snacks like sodas and candy. Excessive sugar can make your toddler feel over stimulated.

4. Make sure you have spare diapers and a change of clothes for your child. Remember to bring along zip bags for soiled diapers and dirty clothes. Your fellow passengers will appreciate your containing any offensive odors.

Your child may begin to annoy passengers if he does not behave well on the trip. There is the possibility that you might be seated near someone who loves children and may even try to assist you in finding ways to entertain your child. But then theres the likelihood that someone will be seated near you who is easily annoyed by children and not at all tolerant. Whatever the case, you want to be polite to your neighbor. Acknowledge your childs behavior and assure them that you are doing everything possible to control your child.

Flying with your toddler can be stressful, but good preparation such as bringing along necessities for entertainment and nutrition can help to calm your child and make the flight more enjoyable for you, your child and your fellow passengers.

Abby Johnson is a staff writer at http://www.travel-gazette.com and is an occasional contributor to several other websites, including http://www.lifestylegazette.com.Hallie Blog13017
Herman Blog10907

Free Traffic To Your Website!

Free traffic can come from various places. The beautiful thing about free traffic is that it is alwaysFree!

Many marketers and other internet entrepreneurs will forget to totally use free traffic strategies because they think that these methods don't really work because building free traffic may take a little more time to truly erupt visitor stats.

I am going to tell you some quick ideas about getting some free traffic to help promote your site or an affiliate site. These methods are universal, meaning that these free traffic strategies can be used anywhere in the world at anytime.

The reason you should read this is that free traffic can help so much. Yes it may take longer to kick the gears but when you pay for traffic you are losing potential profitand that may cost you more than you think. PPC engines are ridiculously expensive but once you establish yourself you really must use their power to keep your business running.

Here are some steps to start accumulating free traffic:

First, post in forums. This is the quickest and one of the most effective ways to get free, targeted traffic. Yes, this traffic can be extremely targeted! The people are already talking or are interested in what you're sellingso tell them about your product and watch the sales increase.

Write articles. Write and write some more. Even if you hate writing. Write things that people want to know or need to know so then they can check out your product that you sell. If you write quality material, they will buy from you because they know you won't feed them any crap. Also, this is great for getting and maintaining free traffic for the links it will give youhelping out to optimize your site for search engines.

Classifieds. There are millions of free classified ads that you can post, and believe mepeople do actually look through these. You wouldn't think so but it really does work, not as well, but it can drive traffic for free.

Directories and search engines. Remember to submit to every single free search engine and directory you can before you start purchasing traffic. Get your name out there, over time people will begin to take notice.

Tell everyone you know. Sounds silly right? Absolutely not! Tell everyone you know, then maybe they'll spread the word about you and your product. More sales equal more moneyand once again it is free!

Get free traffic from offering free reports that they can give away for free or sell. Viral at its best. This may take some time to kick in but when it does you'll feel the effects.

Those are just a few ways for you to start sucking in free traffic to your website or to an affiliate website. Remember if you have a website, make sure you have quality copy and information. If you dont it doesn't matter how much traffic you getthey won't give a damn.

For more on this and more about making a living online check me out at http://www.wealthycollegedropout.com

Mike Decker is an internet marketer with great success. He continually makes several hundred thousand every year online.Hartmut Blog38810
Gastone Blog18542

Got Milk? Science Discovers More Than MILK Just Doin The Body Good

Youve heard that Milk Does The Body Good.

Now studies show that it has even a more significant effect on the human immune system than anyone ever hoped for. Its the pre-milk (called Colostrum) that is natures gift to the immune system. For newborns, it is natures first food and supplies nutrients and regulates immune system growth and repair. Studies have found that children and adults are also experiencing amazing results. We know that if the body has a strong immune system, it has the ability to protect itself and fight off disease and infection. For years farmers have been using colostrum, from cows, to treat sick farm animals, so its no surprise that colostrum has created great interest as a dietary supplement for humans.

The fact is that colostrum (derived from cows) contains components, which bring the human immune system into balance. This means that it can cause an underactive immune system to improve or help to tone down an overactive immune response. So taking colostrum as a supplement can significantly improve many health conditions, especially for elderly, high stress or undernourished individuals.

In hundreds of scientific studies, using colostrum, they found amazing health benefits for virtually all aspects of health and it has been proven to help fight Allergies, Arthritis, Asthma, Cancer, Fatigue, Crohns, Diabetes, Fibromyalgia, Heart Disease, Lupus, MS and Periodontal Disease.

Colostrum may well be the best practical protection available against autoimmune disease, cancer, and other incurable conditions. It is completely natural, free of side effects, and an excellent alternative to hundreds of drugs, Zoltan Rona, M.D., author of Childhood Illness and the Allergy Connection.

Prime Colostrum is far more superior than the average colostrum. The earlier the product is gathered the more potent, balanced, and abundant of immune factors it is. This colostrum is collected within the first 6 hours of a birth from cattle that are raised without exposure to antibiotics, pesticides and hormones. It contains non-specific proteins, cytokines, immunoglobulins, some hormones, enzymes, lipids, vitamins and minerals. Immunoglobulins alone contain high levels of antibodies that fight against a wide range of bacteria and viruses.

Since we have thousands of receptors in our mouth, they prepare the body for what is coming and notify the immune system that support is on the way. That is why capsules and liquids are ineffective because the digestive process will destroy most of the components. The scientific studies that have proven the greatest benefit are achieved with oral delivery of high quality colostrum. A type of cold pressed lozenge performs well because, as you suck on it the receptors can do their job of preparation and the body gets maximum benefit from its nutrients. This fact is supported in many scientific publications including Colostrum, natures gift to the immune system by Beth M. Ley, Ph.D.

In summary, with today's ever-increasing health challenges and the rise of over 80 autoimmune diseases, 'Prime Colostrum' may hold the keys to optimizing the health in thousands of people. Because of this great discovery, we can improve our health significantly by strengthening and balancing our immune system, allowing us the opportunity to live longer healthier lives. For more information and tips, you can reach me at 715-484-2225 or email me at RealHealthSecrets@yahoo.com. I would love to hear from you.

Bonnie Fronek is a Health Advocate and Educator. She resides in northern Wisconsin. Being a former cancer patient, she seriously pursued learning how to naturally help her body heal and repair and prevent serious illness from returning. Her desire now is to help others have the same benefits as she has experienced. Herminia Blog57581
Graciela Blog58480

Your Website Is The New Lemonade Stand

Internet marketing is a new place with the same old purpose. When I first learned about Internet marketing, it felt as if I had been there, done that. I reached back in time to find how Internet marketing today was something I already did, years ago. I was a nerdy kid who was more interested in commerce than dolls. I persuaded my dad to help me setup a lemonade stand on the lawn in front of our one-story home. I mixed up a batch of fresh squeezed lemonade, grabbed my mother's favorite milk glasses, and hung up a cardboard sign with the words, "Lemonade 10." I greeted my first customer within the hour. It was fun stuffing all those 'In God We Trust" dollar bills into an old cigar box.

Today, dollar bills fly across space and deposit themselves into my bank account. That's different! But commerce is still the exciting challenge that left my dolls unattended on the shelf. The Internet has opened up endless possibilities for commerce. And just like the sign I hung up years ago, we still put signs out to attract buyers. It's not so different.

You meet people, show them your wares, let them know why your lemonade tastes better than anyone else's and after they buy a glass and take a sip, they come back for more. It is such a simple concept, it's a wonder why so many marketers make it sound so confusing.

Think of Internet marketing as if you were tacking up a sign on your lemonade stand. Now, think of your website as your lemonade stand. It's easy to see that all you have to do to attract more customers is hang up lots of signs all over the neighborhood. Now, picture yourself standing on your front lawn as cars speed by and no one stops to buy a glass of your frosty lemonade. That's what happens when you don't put out any signs.

There are many places where you post your advertising sign on the Internet. Google, Yahoo!, Ask.com are well known hot spots to post your sign. It's called pay-per-click advertising. You rent sign space, but pay only when someone clicks your link and lands on your web site page. What if you get hundreds of clicks at $1.00 each. Yikes! That can add up. But it is a real sunny day when the visitors that come from each click, engage your offers and become a new business contact. That's a lot of lemonade!

But what if people land on your web page and don't like the color of your lemonade. Sales conversions will be low to non existent. So before you hang out any signs inviting customers to your website, do a sales checkup. You want the words on your web pages to show and tell visitors just how tasty your offers are. You want both substance and persuasion throughout your web page copy. If you're not sure how to write your copy, there are many professional advertising copy writing services ready to help you.

Speaking of your web page copy, another way to bring buyers to your web site is search engine optimization (SEO). This is like dressing up your lemonade stand sign with the right words. How many takers would I have gotten when I was a kid if my sign read, "Cold Beer" when I was clearly selling lemonade. People who stopped by for a beer would not be pleased. And what if I wrote those words in a foreign language. People would be confused, and so would search engines. It is just as important to speak in a language search engines understand as it is to speak in a language your web page visitors understand. Search engine optimization makes that happen. And the beauty of search engine optimization is you get free clicks. It's like posting signs all over the Internet inviting customers to come and buy a glass of lemonade. But in this instance, all your posts are free. You don't pay for the clicks you get. How cool is that!!

Internet marketing may be a mystery to you, and you may not even know enough about it to even consider it as a necessary arrow in your marketing quiver. Who wants to run up a credit card on this unknown thing called Internet marketing. Unfortunately, this nebulous selling environment is it. It's the place. Your website is the new lemonade stand, and Internet marketing attracts buyers.

We meet and we both benefit. We still have that in common. If you have a website, check your web pages for substance and sales persuasion, optimize key pages and start marketing online. Post those signs. Let people know how good your lemonade is.

Alexandria Marx has 20 yrs direct marketing copywriting, web design and Internet marketing. She's published two books on sales and marketing, and offers sales checkups and marketing tips for small business. http://www.dm-creative.comHarborne Blog481
Gerardo Blog48301

Are You A Technophobe Too?

Well, I have to say the last few weeks have been very educational for me.

I never went to university (or college, depending on you location.) My family thought it quite strange, as even as a little girl I always had a thirst for knowledge.

In fact I was the geeky kid at school that looked forward to trips to the factory because it meant I got to see how things were made and what really made them work.

But Ive also always had a very strong work ethic.

From my teenage years I always wanted to get a job and start earning my own money. Even at 14 I knew that there was something different about the pocket money your family gave you and the cash that you could earn for yourself.

Well, now at the ripe old age of 27 I have finally began to put those 2 passions together and am teaching myself how to build my very own website which in turn will build me my very own income.

This seemed like a reasonably straight forward project when I started out. Oh, I knew there would be a learning curve and I knew also that there would be times when I felt a little out of my depth but thats ok I said to myself, because I like a challenge.

And oh boy did I get one!

You see up until about a year ago I was what could very easily be described as a technophobe. I had never had an email address, I didnt have a clue what an mp3 player did and I still dont understand quite how this whole World Wide Web thing works. But having said all that I have never before felt that there was so much free learning and such possibilities right a my fingertips, all available to me just at the touch of a button.

In the last few weeks what I have learnt been able to teach myself - about building my very own website has been nothing short of phenomenal even if I do say so myself ;-)

The thing is I know I still have a long way to go and I realise that there is so much more out there to learn but when I think back to the 26 year old girl who didnt have enough belief in herself to write an email and I compare her to the 27 year old woman who dedicates herself to the passions that drive her, Ive got to say: I cant wait for the rest of my journey.

They say a journey of a million miles starts with a single step. But I dont know if that is enough. I believe that our journeys start long before we start counting the steps, what we need to do is not to be afraid to keep on stepping even when the terrain is a little unfamiliar.

Believing in yourself and the things that you can learn to do is the very first step in working your way to your own future of success.

Anything I can do you can do better.

Denise Hamilton has had a phenomenal impact on Network Marketing out of the UK. Now you can learn what you need to know to succeed too http://www.HomeWorkersReview.com.Gore Blog98406
Georg Blog12896

Christmas Gifts for a New Baby

Baby's first Christmas is pretty much like baby's first birthday party it is more for the adults than for the baby. The new bundle of joy isn't going to even know it's Christmas.

It is hard to resist buying up half the store for the new baby. If mom recently had a baby shower, she probably has everything the baby needs. So Christmas presents for the new baby can be keepsakes.

Since the baby isn't going to like or dislike any of the gifts, consider what the parents might enjoy opening up. Things such as Baby's first Christmas ornament or a special engraved photo album or frame will be cherished for years to come.

On the more practical side, savings bonds or the start or a college fund would make a nice Christmas gift for the new baby. Remember, the new baby is not going to like or dislike any gift at that stage.

Personalized Christmas gift items for the new baby, although it may not be appreciated for years, are still good to give as a memento. A jewelry box is a beautiful gift to give a new baby girl. Include a nice inscription.

While some families go hog wild with presents for the new baby, not everyone is in a position to or don't choose to. In that case, baby booties make a great practical and needed gift that both parents and baby will enjoy.

Also practical, yet still fun to shop for are baby clothes. Whether girl or boy, you won't be able to help yourself once you see those adorable tiny little outfits. You could get one outfit that fits the baby at Christmas and a summer outfit a size bigger to fit six months later.

Lastly, for a very simple, affordable Christmas gift to give the new baby - one that will still be around years later - pick up a newspaper on the day you exchange gifts. Write a personal note, telling baby how the earth is a better place because s/he was born and that the enclosed newspaper will detail what was happening in the world on baby's first Christmas.

Taurie Lynn writes for Baby Talk Radio http://www.babytalkradio.com, a weekly podcast for the baby crazy crowd.Hideaki Blog10702
Halton Blog59266

Personalized Christmas Ornaments, Timeless and Cherished Gifts for Any Occasion

Ever heard the saying great things come in small packages?

Personalized Christmas ornaments can be purchased with the recipients name on it or with a personal message such as Worlds Greatest Dad or #1 Dad. They also come in a variety of different themes, such as sports, hobbies, weddings, graduations, engagements, expecting mothers, birthdays, birth of baby, and other special occasions.

A personalized ornament is not only a beautiful Christmas tree decoration, but a unique keepsake gift that captures a snapshot in time of precious memories and the events of ones life.

Perhaps youve struggled to find the perfect gift for someone or run out of ideas of what to get. A personalized Christmas ornament is a relatively small and inexpensive gift, but it leaves a lasting impression, huge smiles and becomes a priceless treasured possession to the one that receives it.

Other reasons you should consider giving someone a personalized Christmas ornament:

It gives you the opportunity to convey a personal message to your recipient.

It adds a special personal touch to your gift giving.

Increased perceived value. The recipient is more likely to hold onto something with their name on it and with wonderful memories attached to it.

Becomes a timeless gift that can be used for years and even passed on to future generations. Every year that one decorates their Christmas tree with your precious gift it is viewed to the delight of the entire family.

Like a signature scent a personalized ornament is a constant reminder of your heartfelt sentiment.

Bryna Bell is the owner of the worlds finest and beloved selection of personalized Christmas ornaments for any occasion at http://www.ornamentswithlove.comHans Werner Blog3670
Guillermo Blog70893

Wallets, Purses & Duffle Bags

Finding the right wallets, purses, and duffle bags to carry your items in can be quite a chore. Most women have more wallets, purses, and duffle bags than they know what to do with. Yet they inevitability pick up more of them while out shopping. They may just be browsing and a wallet, purse, or duffle bag catches their eye. Sometimes they are out looking just for a wallet, purse, or duffle bag to accessorize with a particular outfit.

Wallets, purses, and duffle bags come in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes. The trends tend to move from one extreme to the other when it comes to size. For a while you will see women walking around with wallets, purses, and duffle bags large enough to have everything but the kitchen sink in. Then the trend shifts to having a micro wallet, purse, or duffle bag that they can barely fit anything into. Take a look at this phenomenon from time to time and you will be surprised at how often it seems to shift.

A variety of materials are used to create wallets, purses, and duffle bags as well. Some of the common ones are silk, denim, leather, and canvas. The particular type of material used to make wallets, purses, and duffle bags greatly influences the price of them. Leather wallets, purses, and duffle bags are among the most expensive.

Another factor that affects the price of wallets, purses, and duffle bags is the brand name on it. There are wallets, purses, and duffle bags found at a variety of retail stores for a fair price. Outlet stores offer them for a very low price. Some of the higher priced name brand wallets, purses, and duffle bags can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars. They offer the best quality of product though.

Many people save money on high priced wallets, purses, and duffle bags by purchasing knock offs and imitations of brand name ones. While the quality may not be as good they enjoy giving the impression that they are carrying around a very expensive wallet, purse, or duffle bag. Most people really cant identify a clone versus the real thing so the imitation wallet, purse, or duffle bag goes undetected.

Finding the right wallets, purses, and duffle bags for you should be about more than just the price, the brand name, and how well it accessories with your outfits. These items need to serve a need. Many people carry a cell phone these days so a purse or duffle bag with a pouch on the outside for the cell phone is always popular. This way you always know where it is.

Josie Lee is always up to date on fashion, even when she is traveling. The newest duffel bags and the newest wallets stays with her at all times. For more information please visit http://www.duffeldufflebags.com/ and http://www.designerwallets.info/.

Josie Lee enjoys traveling. Always fashionably well prepared with a leather wallet in her duffel bag.Harley Blog63344
Hadley Blog62578

Buying A Used Car: Assessing Your Needs

If you are buying a used car, you probably want to save some money. This means that you need to prioritize what is most important to you in a car. This article will help you assess your needs and your wants, so that you can find a car that suits you perfectly.

Cost

Look at the cost of a car. There is no point in window shopping at fully-loaded $40,000 trucks if you will only be able to afford a $4,000 truck in the first place. When you are establishing your budget for your car, be sure to account for how much the insurance will likely be, how much gas you will be spending (although this figure does change, it is best to go in having at least an idea), and regular maintenance. To budget for maintenance, you will need estimate the costs of 4 oil changes a year, plus some extra money just in case. Used cars are, well, used: they arent new are generally not under warranty. If you want a warranty, consider buying a used car from the dealership, who can often offer warranties even on used vehicles.

Suitability

What kind of driving do you do? You probably dont need a four-wheel drive behemoth of an SUV if you do mostly city driving. Conversely, if you live on a gravel road, you might feel more comfortable driving in winter if you have something larger than a neon. For most drivers, the way that you drive a car will mean that you are open to many options. However, if this is a limiting factor, it is important to take into consideration.

If you are a commuter, then you will have to take other factors into consideration. You might not want to buy a car with a very high mileage, because you will be adding the miles to that odometer. You might want to find a car that has very comfortable seats to make your ride go better. Things that could be less important, like the stereo, become much more important when you spend a lot of time in your car each day.

Look

Some people would rather have a car that looks good or prestigious. Its okay to admit that you are one of those people. For instance, for $3,500 you might be able to buy a 6 year old Honda civic; this same money could also buy you a much older BMW. If you value appearances, dont lie to yourself when you are shopping. You want to get a car that you will love, and theres no point looking at Ford Focuses if the only thing that will spark your delight is a Ford Mustang.

Load

How many people do you normally travel with? What is the most number of people that you have taken in your current car at once? If you dont already have a car, estimate the number of people you will have with you on a regular basis. If you only drive around 7 people during the hockey tournament once a year, you can probably skip buying a minivan. However, if you normally drive three people around, it might be a pain to get a two door vehicle. For truck drivers, you will want to consider the amount of load that you generally put in the back of your truck to help you judge your purchase.

Your Loan

Not only do you want to get the right car, you want to get the right car loan. It is wiser to have your financing lined up before you go to a dealership. You can set up used car loans at any bank: but one often overlooked type of used car loan is to go to a credit union, where you can generally get lower interest than at a major bank. For more information on loans, (and we wont even try to sell you a loan!) visit www.theguideto-carloans.com.

In the End

You will be the one driving. Make the decisions based on your needs and what you feel is right. Though it is great to get lots of advice (and sometimes it helps to take someone savvy about mechanics along with you to check out the car), considering these facts will help make you capable of choosing the right car.

Andrew Dillan is the editor of http://www.theguideto-carloans.com/used_car_loans. He is an automotive enthusiast, who currently drives a used car of his own. Find out about how to finance your car, boat, motorcycle, or RV from his information-only site.Han Blog10833
Girish Blog24997

Diversity and Bully-busting: 4 Tips To Stop Bullying and Bias Before It Happens

Fasten your seat belt and get on the diversity train!

Experts agree that bullying not only exists in every school and community in our country, but it is also escalating at a frightening pace. Bullying, defined as strong preying on the weak has reached epidemic proportions in the U.S. as nearly one out of three American children have experienced bullying, either as the victim, perpetrator, or both with few victims letting on they are, in fact, victims. A Google search on "bullying," returns more than three million sites. Meanwhile, millions of research dollars are being poured into studying child and adolescent violence and the National Institute of Mental Health considers bullying one of the anti-social behaviors to watch for.

According to social scientists the common causes of bullying are rooted in diversity: racial differences, differences in family formation/structure, perceived sexual orientation, learning disabilities, and religious differences.

As the percentage of different children in schools and in society increases the problem of bullying grows along with it. We cant escape diversity-even if we wanted to. It is reflected in the languages we speak, the colors of our skin, our gender, our age, our traditions, our sexual orientation and identity, the structure of our families, and the financial and educational resources available.

The fundamental way to bully-bust is to teach young kids to respect and celebrate all cultures, choices and abilities. Decades of social science research has found that diverse classrooms and communities improve childrens experiences through more realistic representations of the world around them, increase opportunities for authentic civic engagement and increase social interaction between members of different racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds. Thats a fancy way of saying that our kids are less likely to be bullied or tolerate bullying of any sort if they are exposed to diverse people as early as possiblewithout any editorial from the adult peanut gallery.

So how can you become a bully-buster? Just follow these simple steps and empower one child, one family, one school, and one community at a time.

1. Bias-recognize, and then forgive yourself of your biases.

We are all human. We all have biases-both positive and negative: the super-smart Asian, or the mysterious villain in a turban. The trick is to be aware, acknowledge and not unconsciously pass them on. And dont let the media or other institutions get away with it either. You can fight back and win!

2. Insist that school and home environments reflect the world young children live in.

Look at the books, dolls, toys, magazines and musical instruments, the colors of paint, paper and markers your children play with. Watch how gender roles are displayed in your homes and classrooms and ask: Do they really reflect our diverse world? Pay particular attention to books as they are proven way to influence a child's worldview, help form concepts of right and wrong, and raise awareness for social issues. Cinderellas impact on generations of young women should be all the proof you need to convince yourself of the power of the written word. Dont forget what is absent is almost as important as what is present because the missing link can provide children with the vital information necessary for beating bullying and diversity.

3. Language matterWatch what you say and write!

Sticks and stones really do break bones and names do hurt. We are not even talking about the racial slurs of the past, but we are talking about other insidious and hurtful language. Use what sociologists call people first positive language. For example, a person is blind. He is not a blind person. A child was adopted, not is (meaning permanently adopted). People first positive language applies to racial and ethnic stereotypes, i.e. we sit like pretzels and not Indians. Asians are not Oriental and not every black person is African-American. If this seems like political correctness run amok, one glance at the mountains of sociological and psychological studies demonstrating languages role in shifting perceptions should be enough to convince the most ardent nay-sayers. And silence isnt always golden, either. Silence equals complicit agreement when racism rears its ugly head.

4. Teach your child how to be successful.

Tweak assignments (or help teachers) to create a win-win for all. A simple and seemingly innocent family tree assignment can send a child in a non-traditional family into a tailspin. A family orchard assignment may accomplish the same educational objective yet allow everyone-no matter what their family looks like feel successful and included. Create family or classroom contracts of behavior that includes bully-busting values like Respect, Honesty, Compassion, Fairness Responsibility and Courage. Get everyone on board the diversity and bully-busting train and stick to it.

These four simple steps to stop bias and bullying in its tracks will provide everyone with a huge payoff: safer, more secure children who can thrive in an incredibly complex and diverse world. And who knows where that might lead? Next stop: world peace!

Deb Capone, President and CEO of As Simple As That, and the author of three award-winning childrens books helps parents and educators break the cycle of bias and bullying. Sign up for her FREE MONTHLY newsletter Breaking the Cycle today at http://www.endbullyingtoday.com/ and learn how to bully-proof your kids and classrooms.Garth Blog17086
Harold Blog59752

We Found A Rock Star: Hiring The Best Of The Best

Colleagues, I feel your pain on this issue.

Scenario 1: Youve got a critical position that needs to be filled by a qualified candidate, and quick. For every day the position doesnt get filled, your in-box fills up a bit more with work to be done because your unfilled position hasnt been staffed. You see tons of resumes and have interviewed scores of candidates, but the rock star youre looking for isnt emerging. You refuse to settle for a mediocre candidate, but the work is piling up and youve got to do something.

Scenario 2: Three months ago you thought you had the perfect candidate for a job and decided to hire him. You negotiate a compensation package, relocate the candidate, and do some internal public relations work with the team. Two months after the candidate hit the job, you realize that your candidate was a PURE (previously undetected recruiting error); the candidate had a major issue with responding to pressure and would become rude and angry with peers, employees, and customers whenever the heat was turned up. Youre now faced with either making a massive investment in the person or making a job change. Not a pretty picture.

Finding the right candidate for a job can be highly frustrating for both managers and recruiters. If you wait too long, the work will keep piling up and your management may start thinking you can get along without the position. Pull the trigger too soon and you risk hiring a candidate that is a PURE. There are legitimate situations where it just takes a long time to find a suitable candidate. You need to minimize the situations where you either hire the wrong candidate or take forever to find the right one. Here are some simple techniques to help you find that rock star for your organization:

Know what you are looking for - Sounds pretty basic, but I have been amazed at how frequently managers dust off a job description that hasnt been changed in years to use as the basis for hiring a new employee. Hiring to an out-dated job description can lead to ineffective resume screening and poor-fit candidates. Give the job description a good working over and ensure the skills documented in the job description accurately reflect what youre looking for.

Use multiple interviewers who can focus on different skills - Based on the job description, your candidate may need a combination of functional, technical, leadership, and people skills. A candidate who may be a technical wiz may also have the people skills of a head of lettuce. Use trusted interviewers who have expertise in each area of focus and ask them to drill the candidate for their respective area to ensure the total skills package is there.

Look beyond the obvious - One of my best hires several years back didnt meet the stereotypical requirements of the job, but had some outstanding core skills that were easily translatable to the new job. Had I stuck with my mental image of what I was looking for, I would have rejected the candidate during the resume screening process. If your job for a procurement analyst requires strong analytical skills, consider looking at candidates from other functional disciplines, i.e. finance, to fill the role. Ive continually been amazed the number of times out-of-the-box candidates have become rock stars. Dont limit yourself to candidates with stereotypical requirements.

Get a glimpse into critical thinking skills OK, so youve probably heard about the why are manhole-covers round type of questions and may be chuckling at the prospect of asking a candidate such an off-the-wall question. The truth is, critical-thinking questions are a great way to understand how a candidate thinks through problems, how they respond to pressure, and how quick-on-their-feet they can be. Ive changed my hiring decision (both ways) based upon the critical question I asked during the interview. A great approach to this is to think about your own business and create some hypothetical questions, i.e. if youre an automobile manufacturer ask the candidate how they would design a car that gets 200 miles per gallon. Think about the tough questions you can ask and observe your candidate as they wrestle with their response.

Get a hundred-day plan from the candidate Wondering what a candidate would do when they land on your doorstep? Ask them! During your final selection process, ask each of your candidates to put together a hundred-day plan of what they are going to get accomplished during their first hundred days on the job. This technique is very effective in assessing how a candidate will take the ideals discussed during the interview process and put them to action if they were to be hired.

Give peers and candidates prospective employees a voice A key aspect of a candidates fit potential is how they will get along with peers and, if the candidate will be managing people, his or her prospective employees. You may have a functional and technical maestro but if he doesnt have the teaming or collaboration skills you might be creating a mess for yourself and the team. Just be cautious to get a cross-section of opinions; you dont want to base team chemistry decisions on just one persons viewpoint.

The rock stars are out there and can be delivering value in your organization; just make sure you keep focus on some of these basic hiring strategies and youll get the best of the best driving results for you.

Lonnie Pacelli is an author with over 20 years experience with Accenture and Microsoft and is president of Leading on the Edge International. See more at http://www.leadingonedge.com.Hernan Blog22959
Herrick Blog48607