Mercy Blog: January 2008

Monday, January 28, 2008

Website Startup Guide - Mix And Match Your Advertising Offerings

There are literally thousands of people out there right now who want to start their own online business. The problem is where to begin and how to get started.

Oh sure, they know they can buy a domain and a web hosting account, but that is not the problem. The hold up is that they dont know what to sell on their websites that will allow them to make a nice income to supplement the income from their regular jobs.

Day and night, people browse this World Wide Web looking for a hint or an insight that will point them in the direction of the next big thing on the internet.

Lets be honest. Most people who want to start an online business are only looking for enough extra income to pay an extra car payment or to buy some clothes for their kids. Not everyone is looking to get rich online.

Looking For Something To Sell

Most people online who are looking for an opportunity to make money look first to common themes of products they already buy.

If you go to Google and type in flowers for your search, you will find 339 million pages found. If you take the same search to Yahoo, you will still find 202 million results. With that kind of competition, why would anyone want to try to break into that industry as an online entrepreneur?

Suppose the next thought takes the aspiring entrepreneur to jewelry? A Google search will turn up 551 million to Yahoos 261 million pages. Again, why would someone try to tackle such an overcrowded marketplace?

On top of that, as part-time entrepreneurs looking for some extra money, they dont have the time or resources to try to knock heads with these major corporations who run the competing websites in these markets.

Add to that the need to handle actual products and product fulfillment, and your part-time start-up entrepreneur really starts to lose interest. People tend to shy away from product fulfillment related industries. Their homes are already crowded enough without adding retail products to their space.

Something To Sell That Does Not Require A Warehouse or a Huge Investment

It is at about this time the opportunity search changes gears. There are many forks in the road, and the road you choose can be as hard or as easy as you make it for yourself.

Where to go from here:

1. Digital products E-books and Software
2. Product Drop-Shipping
3. Affiliate programs
4. On-site Advertising

Lets look at each one of these individually:

Digital Products E-Books and Software

We all have some kind of knowledge to share. If you determine that you have some kind of knowledge that you can share, then there is likely someone out there in the world who would be willing to pay you to obtain that same knowledge.

E-books are an ideal way to disseminate this information. With the e-book format, there are no printing costs, since your book is stored as a digital file. Self-publishing a digital ebook is not nearly as hard as you might think it would be.

Software is a similar beast. Since it is a digital product, you dont have to cover the costs of packaging and distribution. You can sell your software online, cutting out the middleman, keeping the extra profits for yourself.

Product Drop-Shipping

Some wholesale companies will allow you to buy products from them on a piecemeal basis. Of course, the cost is a bit higher than what it would be if you bought products a pallet at a time, but the convenience to you more than makes up for the additional cost.

The drop-shippers allow you to sell a product to your customers, and then you can take the money you collected from your customer to the drop-shipper. The drop-shipper will ship the product directly to your customer.

In some cases, the drop shipper will even put your own custom label on the outside of the container, making the fact that you used a drop-shipper completely unseen by your customer.

To find wholesale companies who offer drop-shipping services, check these folks out: http://www.vasrue.com/dt/t.php?id=167

Affiliate programs

With an Affiliate program, you can register with a seller, and the seller will give you a unique URL that you can use to promote their products or services. When someone uses your affiliate URL to visit the sellers website, the seller will track that person until the visitor leaves the site. (Some Affiliate sellers will drop a cookie on the computer of the visitor, and if that person returns to the sellers website within one year, then you will get credit for that visitor returning to the sellers website.) If the visitor buys a product or service from the seller, then your account will be credited for bringing a buyer to the website. This will result in your earning a commission for bringing the buyer and seller together.

On-Site Advertising

Both Google and Yahoos Overture services offer an option to webmasters to carry their advertising on your website. When someone clicks a link on your website and visits the advertisers website, then you would get paid a small payment for having connected the potential buyer to the sellers website.

This is a type of advertising that pays you when someone visits the sellers website. Contrast that with the Affiliate program, which pays you when someone buys a product from the sellers website, and then you can see the fine line difference between the two types of advertising.

How Much Can You Make Utilizing On-Site Advertising?

Truth be told, there are a lot of people on the internet who makes tens and hundreds of thousands of dollars per month --- yes, I said, per month --- using only Googles on-site advertising program, called Adsense. The rest of us make hundreds or thousands per month.

The truth is that with Googles contextual advertising program called Adsense, your income is based on what the advertisers are willing to pay for your traffic and how much traffic you can generate.

The Profit-and-Loss Factor for the Advertiser

It is a matter of profit-and-loss for the advertiser. If the advertiser pays one dollar for a visitor, and every 35th visitor buys what the advertiser is selling, then the advertiser is getting one buyer for every $35 spent. If the advertisers profit margin is enough to afford spending $35 to acquire one customer, then the advertiser will feel his advertising is worthwhile, and he will keep on coming back for more advertising.

If on the other hand, the advertiser is only earning a gross profit of $20 per transaction, then he or she will have a hard time justifying the $35 advertising expenditure.

This is why you will find that most Google and Yahoo advertisers are only willing to spend 25 or 50 cents to get one visitor to their website.

And then depending on a number of factors, you will only earn 30-50% of the gross revenue that Google or Yahoo earned for that visitor.

Taking the lowest case denominator approach, 30% of 25 cents is roughly eight cents that you will be paid for each visitor that you send to an advertiser.

Some of these guys who are knocking down ten thousand dollars a month are actually doing so at eight cents per click! What is their secret to success? They are getting thousands of people to visit their website everyday.

The Profit-and-Loss Factor for the Affiliate Seller

On the flip side, let us take a look at the same scenario for the Affiliate seller. Instead of paying for visitors, advertisers are paying for actual sales.

The Affiliate seller knows his or her margin well enough to know that they can afford to pay anywhere from 2-50% of the actual transaction amount to the person who referred the buyer to their website.

The Affiliate seller is not paying for advertising on a gamble, instead, they are paying for advertising on a sure thing.

It is not unheard of to earn $20, $50 or $200 on a single Affiliate sale transaction.

If you are able to convert one person in thirty-five to buyers of an affiliate product or service, you could conceivably make more money with less traffic, than the guys knocking down the big bucks with Adsense.

Mix-and-Match For The Greatest Success

This is really important to your bottom line. If you fail to heed my advice, your website may fail to survive.

Unless you are the owner of a product or service sales website, then you will be relying on the various advertising opportunities to survive.

You are best to mix-and-match your offers for the greatest success. Yes, do set up Google Adsense on your site, but also set up Affiliate programs on your site.

You may sell a few products each week, and the sale from those products might make a good income for you. But, for the people who arrived on your site who are not interested in your main offering, give them another advertisement to click on before they leave. This way, you can get the Pay-Per-Click advertising revenue from those people who chose not to buy the products and services that you are selling through the Affiliate programs.

Diversification Is Your Key To Success

Dont let yourself be fooled by the idea that you can be profitable with only one product or service offering or advertising revenue generator. Many people have entered this medium with a Made For Adsense (MFA) site, and many of those people have gone out of business in just a few months.

Dont put all of your eggs in one basket. Or else, when you fall, you will have nothing to show for all of your hard work.

Ramon Sanchez, writes E-Business articles for Online Cash by Vasrue. Read more E-Business information here: http://www.vasrue.com/dt/t.php?id=168 Maryjane Blog27749
Maryellen Blog38337

What Are American Depositary Receipts?

The investment known as ADR stands for American Depositary Receipts, which is a tool used to make it easier for investors to invest in foreign markets. Instead of having to find a broker with capabilities in the foreign markets where the securities trade, an investor can just receive ADRs from a depositary bank that collects the foreign companys shares.

These ADRs can be then represent shares in that foreign market. There are many advantages to using ADRs that we have talked about in class such as the liquidity of these assets. Since the whole process of investing in foreign markets has become easier, the market has become far more liquid. The annual dollar volume of ADRs has increased from $75 billion dollars in 1990 to $550 billion in 2002. Instead of having to different brokers and red tape to sell foreign investment we can simply trade ADRs.

As technology advances it has become easier to invest in foreign companies and we can see this through the use of depositary receipts. Not only are depositary receipts issued in America but they are also issued in other countries as well such as Euro DRs, Singapore DRs and China DRs. In the Wall Street Journal on 2/24/06 there is an article, Bank of Communications Seeks Listing where we can see that Hong Kong-listed Bank of Communications Co. has gained approval to offer shares on Chinas stock exchange and are willing to offer China depositary receipts (CDRs). By issuing CDRs, the bank is better able to sell shares to foreign investors.

For more information on American Depositary Receipts, try checking out some of the Wall Street Journal articles in their online database. Just go to their webpage at www.wallstreetjournal.com. It is a great resource. I would also try checking out some of the other articles you may find in a google search.

Andrew Leone is an active network-marketer training and developing the skills of entrepreneurs all over the net. Find out how to take charge of your own financial freedom by taking his FREE tour. => http://www.LeoneGroupMarketing.com. Minnie Blog65967
Mariellen Blog9437

Why Do 95% Of People Fail At Network Marketing?

It is a sad fact that 95% of all Network Marketers end up losing money and eventually leave the industry disillusioned. Why is the failure rate so high?

There are typically two primary reasons why people fail in a network or affilliate marketing business.

The first is that network marketing is a business of marketing, training and business ownership. Unfortunately, the vast majority of people in the industry have not been trained on how to market, how to train or how to become successsful business owners.

The second prime reason for the high failure rate is the lack of a proven, successful and duplicatable business system.

Not a great many people have a natural ability to sell an opportunity on the phone or face to face to a complete stranger - it takes a huge amount of skill and experience. The phone skills and closing techniques necessary using a traditional network marketing approach are certainly not duplicatable, and not something that your downline can just copy for instant success.

Network Marketers need a duplicatable business system and the knowledge to work that system on a daily basis.

Let's take a look at McDonald's. They are a Billion Dollar franchise. The most successful and duplicated business model in the world. And one that happens to be run by a largely unskilled workforce. How can this be so?

The answer can be found in the system that makes up the foundation of the franchise. Do you ever feel like you bought a business in a box, but that a few parts might be missing? You know... The pieces that actually turn your actions into "production".

Well, if you feel like that, it's because you're right. Ray Kroc, the franchise master of McDonald's was a genius in more ways than one.

MLM & affiliate marketing has been compared to a McDonald's franchise in many ways, on many occasions. If you haven't come across these comparisons before, I'm sure you can quickly think of a few on your own. Here is what you may not have realized about Ray, McDonald's, and your business...Ray's primary mission was to sell McDonald's franchises to franchise buyers ...which then sell the burgers to the customers. More franchises = more burgers sold.

Our job as networkers is no different. We sell our franchise opportunity to others, and collectively market the product to the end consumer.

The key to McDonald's success with both franchise owners and customers, was their duplicatable system.

Ray knew his food couldn't compare to the quality of other franchises. He also knew that potential franchise buyers didn't give a hoot about McDonald's or their burgers. What they did want, was to make money.

So Ray sold them EXACTLY what they wanted, which wasn't a restaurant, but a machine that acquired customers, and turned them into cash.

He didn't sell them the food, he sold them a system.

In fact the system was so fine-tuned, that you could take a team of unskilled, inexperienced high school kids, and have them run the show.

All they did was train each other on how to flip the switches, that ran the machine, which did the majority of the work behind the scenes.

Franchise owners started buying and setting these machines up by the thousands, turned them on, and got the end result.

So, as a network marketer, selling a business franchise, what are you selling to your potential buyers?

Unfortunately, you are probably trying to sell them on your company and your product. (A "mine-is-better-than -yours-burger-with all the trimmings").

You have a ton of websites and material about your company's history, their record breaking growth, their debt-free finances, the ORAC value of your product, the Physician's Desk Reference number, the user testimonials... etc etc.

People get rich in this world by solving other people's problems, and when you sell someone your opportunity, you are not solving a problem, you are giving them a BIGGER ONE!!!

Product and comp plans don't make you successful. Systems do.

These machines (ads and marketing) should be doing the work for you. All you need to do is push the 'Go Button' and become buddies (customer service, cashiers) with the folks who come through the system. Not because you are unskilled or lazy, but because a system is duplicatable and you are not.

Your job is not to sell, but to BUILD RELATIONSHIPS, because THAT is the glue that binds this industry.

A system that is not backed up and glued together by a heart, by people, by relationships, is a ticking time-bomb.

Show them and sell them a system for attaining the results they want, be a mentor, friend, and a coach, and they couldn't care less about ORAC values, price points, and competition.

Don't sell people on the business. Sell them on you, your team and your system first (because these are the ONLY things that will bring results), and THEN sell them on your company...(Or should I say allow them to sell themselves on your company).

Solve their problem with your system and with your leadership.

Do these two things, and you will be successful.

Copyright 2006 Rick Williams

Rick Williams has been an online marketer for the past 3 years. He specialises in helping network marketers grow their businesses by harnessing the power of the internet. Click the link below to learn of a duplicatable system that could rapidly grow your network or affiliate marketing business: http://www.home-business-profits.ws/mlm-success.htm Modestine Blog31724
Merilyn Blog80660

How To Win With Clickbank

ClickBank is a marketplace for digital products such as software and e-books. It is also a collection of information products that you can promote as an affiliate. But if you want to be a successful affiliate marketer and actually make money, then, Clickbank is an ideal place to start.

ClickBank is a third-party online payment processor that handles all of your financial processes. Clickbank is geared towards digital products, which makes it very popular.

IMPORTANT POINT: The reason people will promote another product as an affiliate through Clickbank is because they know they are going to get paid on time. Clickbank is a program that I know quite a few bloggers use. Using ClickBank is a guarantee that everyones affiliates always get paid.

ClickBank is a very easy and cost effective way to start selling internet products. Clickbank is a very powerful tool for you as an affiliate manager. Clickbank is one of my favorite networks because it is very easy to use and provides an excellent way for me to earn money as an affiliate.

ClickBank is the Internet's largest digital marketplace, where thousands of the web's most popular products are sold every day. Thats why you need to be a part of it.

If you're a "newbie" or newcomer to internet marketing, you may not have heard about Clickbank, so in this article I will Endeavour to explain some of the more important aspects of it.

It is this combination of features that makes Clickbank a formidable competitor to other online marketing structures. Check out Clickbank now, and have a look around for yourself.

The benefits of affiliate marketing through Clickbank far outweigh any potential negative experiences that may arise due to an unscrupulous few. It is one of the best places to start in affiliate marketing. Affiliate Marketing is the easiest way to build a business on the Internet, you dont need a website, domain name, (You can if you want to but its not necessary) and everything is done for you.

Every internet marketer should have Clickbank in their arsenal of marketing tools. There are other "affiliate marketing" websites, but Clickbank is one of the most popular. Click Bank is arguably one of the largest online marketing networks.

Over 100000 affiliates rely on ClickBank for accurate tracking and timely payments plus a load of other valuable resources. Your affiliates can enter their ClickBank nickname, and with a click of their mouse, have their own secure, encrypted affiliate link.

Although, for those that like a bit of control in managing their affiliates ClickBank gives you little control, however it is still an excellent option . All sales that come in are stamped with their affiliates ClickBank nickname, so the program knows who to pay. Your affiliates can now feel more confident in promoting your products knowing that their info is protected all the way to Clickbank's order page.

And you can tap into the 100000+ affiliates on ClickBank and have them promote your product. Stop waiting for commission checks-- Affiliates are paid by Clickbank twice per month instead of quarterly. If they have not done so already, all affiliates must sign up on the Clickbank website.

Among the top selling products on the net, over 75% of sales are generated by affiliates. Overall affiliates generate over 50% of all ClickBank sales. To make sure you get your commissions on time, most affiliates join through CLICKBANK. Affiliates Earn anywhere between, 20%-75% or every sale. Many thousands of affiliates sell ClickBank products, making it an easy and excellent choice for anyone selling a digital product.

Subscription to the affiliate programs is absolutely FREE, and you can get started instantly upon signing up with ClickBank.

The first step in getting set up in the affiliate program is to get your own personal Clickbank "nickname", as they call it.

Over the years many people have made incredible incomes as a Clickbank affiliate.

Using ClickBank is a guarantee that our affiliates always get paid, they have a very good reputation for paying on time every time.

Clickbank is such an attractive proposition for affiliates to use, because its so easy to use. Thats why so many affiliates make Clickbank their first stop when looking to promote something.

Clickbank is an excellent place to get a start in product sales on the Internet; if youve got your own product then this is the best way to sell it. Youll find thousands of affiliates ready to start making you loads of cash.

Len Cecchetto writes articles to help people on varied subjects. Clickbank is one of them, he knows the power of this program. To find out more on how to make a constant and good income using Clicbank, check out this site now. http://www.ozmarketing.info/domcb/ You can use this article so long as the bio box remains in the article.Milicent Blog16068
Marget Blog35330

Pre-Selling -- The Key To Effective Affiliate Marketing

Affiliate marketing is successful business model if done right. An important component to affiliate marketing success is pre-selling. In fact, pre-selling is central to affiliate marketing. It involves establishing a trusting relationship with your web site visitors and getting them in a ready-to-buy frame of mind before you send them to a merchant's product sale page.

Unfortunately, pre-selling is also one of the most misunderstood and underestimated skills of the affiliate marketer. One of the biggest mistakes new affiliate marketers make is trying to make the sale themselves when really, that is the job of the merchant.

The function of the affiliate marketer is different from the merchant. You, the affiliate, must PRE-sell. The merchant sells. Your job is to get targeted traffic and put them in a buying state so that when they do arrive at the merchants site (through your affiliate link, of course), they are receptive to the merchants product offering.

The secret about pre-selling is in the content the affiliate shows to his prospects. The content of your landing page or affiliate review article should provide useful information for the intended audience. So, you should have a good idea who your possible audience would be, what the person's concerns or problems could be, and why he might be interested in your web page or article in the first place.

The affiliate marketer should try to establish a trusted relationship with the web site visitor. You should try to be the reader's friend. Be sincere in your desire to address the target market's concerns with the product or service your are pre-selling to them. Avoid any hard sell, but only sprinkle your affiliate recommendations in your writing.

Establish credibility by speaking to the visitor in a way that shows you understand him and can help him. It helps to speak the language of your target market. Your content can written from that perspective. It is also wise to make sure your content agrees with the product information and message the merchant gives in his sales page.

When you have written your landing page or article review, then put yourself in the visitor's shoes, think of your target market's concerns, and then read what you have written from that perspective. Hopefully, your content will give the visitor the feeling that he is talking to a friend who is giving good advice.

The more targeted your content is to the audience visiting your web site, the more likely the reader will trust you and follow your suggestions. When you can do this, you are in a position to direct the prospect to the merchant's sale page confident that they will be more receptive to the offer the merchant presents.

Pre-selling is vitally important to your success in affiliate marketing. You have to present information in a way that makes your prospects like and trust you.

Prospects convinced of your good intentions are more likely to opt-in, accept your recommendation to visit the merchant's sale page and, if the merchant has a good sales page, buy a product. Affiliates who pre-sell effectively see much better conversion rates than those who simply send visitors cold to the merchant's selling page.

You will discover other informative articles about how to start, build, run and grow your home based affiliate business at: http://www.myaffiliatecashmachine.com/

Dan Vila is a successful work-from-home Internet marketer. His website, http://www.myaffiliatecashmachine.com/ , has products, product reviews, articles, tips and resources for affiliate marketing.Mildrid Blog43275
Melessa Blog97225

How To Build A Money Making Affiliate Website

An Affiliate Website is a site in which you sell other peoples E-products. You make money on commission.

example: you have created a web page on selling a Build Your Own Website Program. 10 people click on to your website and 1 of them buy the product. The cost of the Program is $40. The person selling the Product then turns around and pays you 50% which equals $20.

So you find a niche that suits you, improve your web site and offer more products. you sell 10 books a day at a commission of $20 a piece and that is $200 a day, $1400 a week, $6000 a month.

At this point you could afford to sit around and watch Young And The Restless all day or Keep moving forward and start Making Money Off Of Goggle Adsense, Take full advantage of Goggle Adwords, Create a Drop Shipping Business or even wholesale and become an E-Bay Power Seller.

How To:

Join an Affiliate Network.

Get someone to build you a web site or build your own. (building you own website can be very easy with the proper software). The site I have been using is XSite Pro. It is half the price of Dream Weaver, gives your more support and no html Knowledge needed.

Get a Free Domain Name. Free domain name for life a $29.99 value.

Look for a good deal on hosting. midphase is low cost with great support.

Choose your niche and enjoy starting your own business.

Affiliate websites can be one of the easiest and less expensive ways to make money online. Many of the top online marketing companys selling E-books offer free web sites. There is no html knowledge needed to manage the sites offered. The site is already preset with the money making links. You will then have to enter a sales letter pitch on a one page format. You should then get a free adsense account and bring in extra online income.

Heather O'Neal is a self proclaimed Internet Marketer that provides stay at home mothers with the resources and specialized knowledge needed to work at home and start up information for online business owners.Melodee Blog76262
Moira Blog68795

Conscious Consumption: A Place To Start

While attending language school in Mexico a number of years ago, I was suddenly hit with the idea that I could live without much of what I had been obsessively acquiring and consuming in the states. I had two weeks worth of clothes with me that seemed to be serving me well as I washed and wore them for months. I rarely watched television and never saw a computer, instead choosing to read, take a swim, or socialize with others. I never stepped foot in a supermarket and instead shopped at the local outdoor market. I ate better, I felt better and I slowed down to pay attention to the world and the people in it.

Once I returned to the U.S., I tried to make that simplicity a priority in my life. Over the years, I have become more aware of my community, my world, and my planet. I visit the farmer's market on weekends for locally grown produce, I buy more organic and even became a member of a farmer's cooperative. I combine errands so I drive less, and I recycle every bit of paper, plastic, metal and glass in my household. I do not buy throwaway gadgets like disposable toilet bowl wands (though I must confess my daughter did wear disposable diapers) and I try to avoid buying from companies who have no social conscience. As an e-retailer, I sell handcrafted items rather than mass-produced goods providing customers with an alternative to the big box stores, and I donate a portion of all sales.

The point is, being a conscious consumer requires setting some boundaries and holding one's self accountable. If you've ever wondered what you could do to make a difference, but didn't know where to begin, here are some ideas. Start small, perhaps making one change this week, and another next week, and so on. Every effort by every person adds up and makes a difference. Don't wait, use your power as a consumer to make global changes today!

Check out this list of ideas you can incorporate into your life one step at a time.

1. Watch one hour less of television

2. Seek out locally grown produce

3. Start a vegetable garden and grow your own

4. Buy organic products

5. Buy from the bulk bins to reduce packaging

6. Join your local co-op

7. Rather than going to the mall, shop small businesses in your community or shop small businesses online and save gas

8. Avoid socially irresponsible companies and support progressive ones - Read The Blue Pages: A Directory of Companies Rated By Their Politics and Practices or visit The Responsible Shopper.com website for more information

9. Find alternatives to chemical-based household cleaners and products

10. Turn off lights, turn down the heat, and raise the setting on the air conditioner by a few degrees

11. Reuse or recycle

12. Buy fair trade products - Read the 32 page booklet The Conscious Consumer: Promoting Economic Justice Through Fair Trade

13. Bring your own cloth bags to the grocery store (many will offer a discount)

14. Bring your travel mug to your favorite coffee shop (Starbucks offers a 10 cent discount)

15. Avoid impulse purchases - think as you buy and consume wisely

16. Take public transportation

You can probably think of dozens more ways to make a positive change. Go ahead, I dare you!

Sheila Hull-Summers is the owner of http://www.sunriseimports.net, an e-commerce site specializing in unique handcrafted gifts from Mexico, Central America and the U.S. To purchase The Conscious Consumer booklet, go to http://www.sunriseimports.net/consciousconsumer.html Nada Blog33112
Margit Blog64238

Birthday Party Tips for children with ADHD

Many years ago when my children were of that age I organized quite a few parties, I don't remember how many. In those days there were no theme parties or professional organizers to run children's parties for you.

At the time my kids got pretty hyper, they weren't as out of control as some, but, as I knew nothing about ADHD in those days, I was always perplexed about why mine got so excited while the neighbors could handle it so nicely.

Now I know that birthday parties can be a big problem for children with ADD or ADHD, and also for Moms who have ADD (ADHD). It's a made to order overwhelm situation. More people, more movement, more food than any of them are used to. Children who are hyper can go through the roof and if they are hypo they can disappear into space.

Here are some tips which could help you have a great birthday party with ADHD whether or not you are having a professional organizer do the work.

Before the party

1. Review the program for the party with your children before the big day so they know what to expect when. Children with ADHD can easily get lost when there are many things happening.

2. Have your birthday child draw a timeline for the party with pictures to illustrate each event on the program. Post it in the party room and during the party help him stay focused by referring to the time line.

Food

Sugar does not cause ADHD, but we do know that a high intake of sugar can aggravate hyperactive behavior and even make some kids who are not really ADHD act hyper.

3. Serve some protein rich food such as tuna fish sandwiches before the ice cream and cake. Protein provides food for the brain to function better (not necessarily perfectly) and it will slow down the absorption of the sugar in the cakes and ice cream.

4. Consider having a carrot cake which provides fiber and carbohydrate to slow the absorption of pure sugar or a cream cheese cake which has protein.

5. Limit the amount of sugary treats. Give non food things as favors or prizes.

Social skills

Many children with ADHD have difficulty making and keeping friends. A birthday party is an opportunity to practice some basic social skills for being accepted in a group.

6. Greeting guests. Some children just don't know how or forget under the stress of the moment. Rehearse in advance how to greet a guest. Smile, look the guest in the eyes, and say "Hi...... I'm glad you could come, and thanks for the present." On the big day, stay near-by so you can prompt him gently if necessary.

7. Taking turns. If your child has difficulty taking turns explain (maybe for the umpteenth time, repetition does get through eventually) why its important to respect the rules of a game. Talk about the game(s) you will play during the party.

8. Saying goodbye. By the end of the day, he's tired, you're tired, I wouldn't make a big deal about saying goodbye. Just " So long, thanks, see ya" or what ever is the parting expression in your neighborhood.

If you have a child who is inclined to be oppositional and knows what to do but does the opposite, tell him about Joey the Zebra who has no stripes. You will find Joey at home on my web site.

These ideas are not guaranteed and I haven't even tested them because I didn't know then what I know now. They are based on current knowledge of what works for managing ADHD. If you have some experiences, pro or con, I'd love to hear about them.

Sarah Jane Keyser worked for many years with computers as programmer and user trainer, but inattentive ADHD kept getting in the way. Once ADD was identified and the great need that coaching filled, she added ADD Coach training to complete her preparation for a new career as ADD Coach. Merridie Blog53802
Marlene Blog75786

How To Protect Your Affiliate Links From URL Trimming

You have joined your affiliate program and received your own personal referral url. You place ads for this url anywhere you can. Free ad pages, classifieds, ezines, your newsletter and website, but you dont get the response you had expected.

Now there could be a number of reasons for this, a badly constructed subject or ad text, a miss typed url or long urls breaking across 2 lines in newsletters and ezines. In the worst case, people may be cutting and pasting your links without your affiliate id.

If you are sure that your subject line and ad text are attracting the desired attention and that your urls are correctly typed and are not being broken, then affiliate id cutting could well be the problem. Id cutting is a common occurrence and can cost affiliates hundreds of dollars in lost commissions

So how do you go about protecting yourself from this? Well youll be pleased to hear that there are a number of ways that you can protect your urls. Each method has its own pros and cons as with all things.

One of the quickest and easiest methods of protecting your url, is to use a redirect service such as tinyurl.com or funu.org. These work by taking your affiliate url and replacing it with a new unrelated url. You then place the new url in your advertising material, then when someone clicks on that url they are redirected to your original page. They are extremely useful for preventing long urls from breaking across 2 lines in newsletters or ezines, as they tend to produce much shorter url lengths, typically around 12 to 20 characters long.

The benefit of using the redirect service is that there is no affiliate information contained in the redirect url that can be trimmed off. But there are 2 problems associated with them. One is that your full url is displayed in the address bar of the browser, so it is still possible for people to cut and paste the url without your affiliate ids into a new browser. The other is that you cant edit the the destination of the redirect url if you need to. For example, if you use the redirect url to place ads in ezines, and your affiliate company modifies your affiliate url for some reason, you have no way to reflect that change in the redirect url.

Another more effective way to protect your urls is to use some sort of ad tracking software. This will perform 2 important tasks, the first is that it will track the number of clicks your ad is receiving, and secondly it again gives you an unrelated url with not affiliate ids to trim. Depending on the quality of your ad tracker you may also have the ability to cloak your url, so that your affiliate url is not displayed in the address bar of the web browser.

There are many sources of ad trackers available to you on the net. You can use a remotely hosted ad tracker where you pay a monthly fee for the service or you can purchase a script and host it yourself. But which ever method you choose it pays to do a little homework first, as not every one offers the same level of service. Some will offer the ability to cloak your links and some will not, some will let you edit your tracking url and again others wont.

If you have your own web hosting then you can use my preferred method that gives you complete control over how your affiliate url is displayed. With a little bit of html you can created your own cloaked pages that will display your affiliate site, but hide your affiliate information, while still allowing you to easily change your affiliate url if you need to. Due to space constraints I cant go into details on how to do this here, so Ive set up a tutorial which you can view at the following url.

http://www.incomebuilder.bybweb.com/cloakpage.htm

While there is no infallible way to protect your affiliate links, the methods mentioned here should stop all but the most persistent url trimmers. With a little bit of creativity you can also increase the power of your personally hosted pages to include a signup box for your own mailing list. But thats another article in itself..

Paul Stone owner of 'Paul's Online Income Site'Merle Blog90338
Milena Blog95338

How To Protect Your Affiliate Links From URL Trimming

3 Essential Tools For The Affiliate Marketer

Although affiliate marketing is touted as one of the easiest and most effective ways to earn money online, it is not as easy as it sounds. The wise affiliate marketer plans every action and executes it the best way he can. He should also maximize the potential to earn by using the right tools. Below are the top three necessary tools for a successful affiliate marketing business.

Important Tool #1: Your Own Website

The most important and indispensable tool in Affiliate Marketing is your own website. The first step in any successful affiliate marketing business is building a good, credible and professional looking website. Your website is the jump off point of all your marketing efforts. Thus, you must first build (or get someone else to build for you) a user-friendly website, which will appeal to your prospects and encourage them to click on the links to the products and service you are promoting, and make a purchase.

Most web users go online to look for information, not necessarily to go and buy something. Above all else, make your website full of original, relevant and useful content. People will love articles that are appealing and helpful. Keep in mind that content is still king, and good quality content will not only build your credibility, it can also help you achieve a higher search engine ranking. By posting relevant and useful articles, you establish yourself as a credible expert in the field, making you a more trustworthy endorser of the product or service you promote. Establishing a good reputation is a good step in building up a loyal customer base.

Important Tool #2: Incentives

Competition is extremely tight in the internet world, and although competition is a good thing (it does help to establish a market). You must always be one-step ahead of your rivals to ensure that you capture a significant share of your target market. Therefore, you must use every possible means to encourage people not only to visit your site but also to click and proceed to the websites of the products and services you are promoting. Building an opt-in email list is one of the best ways to gather prospects. Offer a newsletter or an e-zine. Better yet, offer incentives to your prospects to encourage them to subscribe to your newsletters. You can present free softwares, videos, access to exclusive services, and other freebies that will be helpful to your prospects.

Important Tool #3: Link Popularity

The importance of driving highly targeted traffic to your website cannot be emphasized enough. The all-important web traffic is at the top of the list. Attracting people to your site should be the first step you should carry out. Do everything to achieve a high search engine ranking. Link Popularity is one of the factors that search engines use to determine search engine rankings. Therefore, to enhance your link popularity, you must launch an aggressive reciprocal link campaign.

One of the best ways to do this at no cost at all is by submitting articles, with your website's link at the resource box, to e-zines and free article sites. You will not only gain exposure, you will also have the opportunity to advertise for free, just include a link back to your site. The more sites you submit your articles to, the better your link popularity is. Make your articles original, relevant and useful so that more websites will pick it up and post it.

These are just three tools that an affiliate marketer can use to maximize earning potential. The possibilities are endless and are limited only by your imagination, creativity, resourcefulness and determination. You can always explore other ideas and adapt other strategies, which you think might help you become a high rolling affiliate marketer.

Chris Haycock is an information publisher specialising in helping people start their own home based business. Why not go to http://www.easyebizz.com where you can get an absolutely no cost two hour video on how to create your own information products in one day, without writing a single word, and start your own niche ebook business.Melli Blog29726
Melly Blog48501

Make Money Online - Is It Possible

If you want to make money online, than you will first have to defeat that negative voice in the back of your head that says it isn't really possible.

I can tell you firsthand it is possible and I am living proof that anyone with a little persistance and effort can crack the code and make money online. Now if you would have asked me that question several years ago, I probably would have had said "I am not sure".

But today I can definately say that is possible for you, but first you have to get your mind in the right place. In a positive place. Instead of being a doom and gloom type of person, you have to look at every step you take wether good or bad and learn from them.

I am not going to pull your chains and tell you that you are going to get rich overnite, because making money on the internet can take weeks or even months to set yourself up for success. But all of the investing and effort that you apply now will pay off later as long as you are'nt one of these many people that join a make money program and than give up when they don't see overnite wealth!

As a society we want everything to be done for us and in the blink of an eye. Answer me this question; "If you knew that in one year if followed certain steps you would be financially well off, would you pursue the steps or just say no thanks?

My guess is that financial independence would be a strong motivator for you. Guess what, it is the motivating factor for everyone that wants to make money online. The difference between you and the other guy is your desire and perseverance.

You may have to deal with family and friends along the way that tell you that you will never make money and your time is wastaed because all money making programs are scams or rippoff's! I am telling you that this is what I dealt with when I first came online, but now that I am cranking out money from my online business those people are the first ones to help me spend it! So don't get caught up in all of that negative crap!

Even when it feels like your online business moves two steps back if you keep at it, your business will jump forward and you will make money online.

Chris Peterson help's people make money online at his website http://www.affiliate-homebusiness.net. He is a living example of how you can make money online by using your computer, visit his site today at http://www.affiliate-homebusiness.net Marysa Blog32424
Mireille Blog66306

Becoming an Affiliate - The Fast Track to Internet Marketing

If you are new to internet marketing, and looking for a way to create guaranteed income without having to wade through the virtual minefield of "easy money", "get rich quick" and other online schemes that promise the moon but generally fail to deliver, becoming an affiliate or a reseller and following a proven success formula is the quickest way I have found to develop a positive online cash flow quickly.

This is also one of the most effective ways of learning the skills needed to survive in a very competitive market.

What most people dont tell you when you first start out, is that usually to become a success with an online marketing business, you definitely need to have more than a working knowledge of internet marketing principles and applications. This can take years to master before you see a reward for your efforts. This is one of the main reasons a great majority of new online business owners fail or give up in their 1st year.

By becoming an affiliate you are not only learning from years of successful online marketing experience, but the profits you make from your affiliate membership can greatly enhance your financial circumstances and also give you the funds needed to market your own future campaigns.

Being able to develop multiple streams of income is also a huge advantage, and of course the more streams of income you can develop the better your results will be. As an affiliate this can be achieved with readily available resources and generally at an affordable cost.

Getting traffic to your website is another major factor with online success, and learning through an affiliate programme with a step by step system that shows you exactly what to do, allows anyone to succeed.

The hardest part of marketing online and making a serious income, is not learning how to become an expert marketer overnight, it's picking the right program, product or opportunity, and following a formula of proven success that will enhance your own future online success and prosperity.

For those just venturing into internet marketing, at the following link you will see my reviews of what I believe to be one of the best and most affordable affiliate Internet Businesses to be associated with right now. http://www.multiplereturns.com

For those wishing to learn from success, without paying a small fortune for the privilege, the Pay It Forward 4 Profits System is a 100% generic funded sponsoring franchise system which is revolutionizing the home based business industry...
http://bghm.payitforward4profits.com With this programme you will discover a completely different approach to Building an Online Business that really works! Being able to copy and duplicate what Joel Broughton & Paul Birdsall, two very successful wealth building internet marketers are doing, no matter what business you're trying to build, is a real winner in my view.

YES, there is money to be made on the internet, but it doesnt come instantly. It does require work on your part, but being able to work with, and learn from affiliate partners who will provide you with the knowledge and resources to build a solid foundation for a successful online career, is definitely worth the time and effort in the beginning.

To your online success
Graeme Holland

Graeme Holland has had a career as an offline personal development trainer/mentor and more recently devoted his professional skills to building a successful MLM enterprise. Internet marketing has been a recent venture. http://bghm.payitforward4profits.com.Millie Blog26490
Modesty Blog98170

How to use URL Redirection to Make Money

I have found a way to use URL redirection to make very easy money. This technique is perfect for those that want to make an extra buck or for those that want to multiply this system and make some serious cash. First, you need to sign up for a few affiliate programs (I recommend http://ClickBank.com and http://CJ.com). These companies will give you a commission for every sale made through your link.

Find a few products that look appealing and get your affiliate link for them. If you are having problems finding your affiliate link, then contact your affiliate manager. Now you need to create a list of keywords for each product. Use SeoBook(http://tools.seobook.com/general/keyword/) to find some keywords and how many times each one has been searched. I recommend finding about 4-5 keywords and focusing on only them.

Now you will need to create redirections for each of your affiliate links. I use http://7P6.net because they allow me to edit the title/description/keywords and track where my visitors are coming from. Plus, their ads are very minimal and they have a Links Bar that becomes a very important tool when using this tactic (more on that later). Be sure to include some of your keywords in the url, and use slashes to space out the keywords. Example: www.some-keywords-here.xxxx.net.

You will be using this url to earn commissions from your list of products, and the majority of your visitors will come from search engines. So, the search engines will need something to read, right? Therefore, you will need to edit your url Title, Keywords, and Description. Obviously, you can't do this with your regular affiliate links. But you can do this with a good url redirection service like 7P6.net. So get on there and include your 4-5 keywords on the Meta Tag forms in your account.

So, once you have your link created, submit it to MSN, Yahoo, and Google. Here are the direct submission links:

http://search.yahoo.com/info/submit.html
http://beta.search.msn.com/docs/submit.aspx
http://www.google.com/addurl/?continue=/addurl

Don't worry about any other search engines! Focusing on these will provide you with the most hits. The other search engines will eventually pick up your page anyway.

The last part of this process is to get incoming links to your site (ie: you need other sites linking to your url). The easiest way to build your links is to get on as many forums that allow advertising and post your url on their site. Make sure that you use your keywords in the link. This will directly improve your search engine rankings. And don't forget to use different keywords for each of your postings! Post as much as you can before moving on to the next product. The more posts, the better your search engine ranking. Also, using the link in your signature can help.

Another way to build links is to find link partners (ie: people that will exchange links with you). But it has been impossible to do this with a traditional url redirection website - until now. The redirection service that I use - 7P6.net - allows me to add other peoples links directly to my url via a Links Bar. It helps me build my search engine rankings when I'm starting a new url. And, if I get a decent search engine ranking, it allows me to sell a few extra links on a 'per month' or 'per year' basis via Paypal. This is just a bonus and it is not required to make money with this tactic.

There are a few things to keep in mind when exchanging links. You will find that most of the people you ask will reject you or not even respond. This is all part of link building and it works this way even if you have your own domain name. Be persistent and polite and you will get some link partners. And if you can't get any link partners for a few of your urls, it is likely that you will still rank in the search engines just by posting on forums.

There are two things that make this tactic so effective:

1. You are showing them the home page instead of a sales pitch website or blog.
2. People that view your site will bookmark your redirection page instead of the company page. So when they re-visit, you will still get your commission!
3. It doesn't take much time to create a url. Then you can easily create more and more to recieve a regular flow of commissions.

Here is a real life example:

Lets say I want to promote ink cartriges. The first step would be to create 'cheap-ink-cartriges.7p6.net'. Notice the use of keywords in the title and the slashes used to space out the keywords. Next, submit your link to MSN, Yahoo, and Google.

Then I would make a list of 4 specific ink cartrige keywords: 'buy ink', 'buy ink cartriges', 'cheap ink cartriges', 'cheap printer ink'.

Here is what I would fill out on the Meta Tag forms (notice the use of keywords):

----------------------------------------------
Title: Buy Cheap Ink Cartriges For Your Printer
Keywords: buy ink, buy ink cartriges, cheap ink cartriges, cheap printer ink
Description: The best website to buy cheap printer ink cartriges.
----------------------------------------------

Next I would add my link on forums that allow me to advertise. Remember, the more posts, the better your search engine ranking.

Here is an example posting:

Here is the best website to [URL=http://cheap-ink-cartriges.7p6.net]buy cheap ink cartriges[/URL].

One thing to keep in mind is that it is 10X easier to get hits from MSN and Yahoo than to worry about Google! Also, Be Patient! It takes time to get listed and while you are waiting, you need to be creating more pages. More pages = more money. You may not make millions doing this, but this is some easy automated money and you can work as little or as much as you want.

TIP: Create multiple urls to promote a single product. This way you can focus on more keywords and get more hits to your affiliate link!

You can also make money by creating a website on a free host and promote multiple products in a single category. It is still recommended that you create a different redirected url for each page on your site to receive the most search engine traffic. You could also monetize your url with Google Adsense and Adbrite by using a free host and a redirected url for each page.

I hope you decide to use url redirection to make some cash. This is one of the only 100% free ways to make money online. Good luck.

This article was written by online entreprenuer Craig Johnson.Mirilla Blog64287
Melessa Blog30889

Enjoy Your Dream Car Through Bad Credit Car Finance

You need to buy a car but you think your bad credit may come in the way of availing finance. There is no need to worry at all on the front of taking required funds from loan providers as bad credit car finance is especially designed for bad credit people. You are fully eligible for buying any car new or used one through taking bad credit car finance.

Also because of the bad credit car finance availability at easier terms, you need not to settle for a used car that is of old high mileage which is bought from a buy here pay here dealer. Bad credit car finance is attractive also because you can take the finance instantly within 24 hours.

Bad credit of a car buyer does not count much at the time of seeking the finance. This is because provider of Bad credit car finance secures the loaned amount by using the car itself as collateral. The lender will take in his possession the necessary car deal papers only to return them back when the loan is fully paid back by the borrower.

Despite your bad credit, the finance is provided at comparatively lower interest rate as the finance is well secured through the car itself. Usually the finance is offered for a shorter period. But a bad credit person should take note of few measures so that the finance is approved quickly.

Before approaching the lender for the finance, make sure that you are not paying more than 30 percent of your annual income towards your debts. If the more of your income goes in clearing previous debts then it gives a feeling of insecurity to the lender about safe return of the loan. So, in case you are paying more than thirty percent of your annual income towards debts, better pay off some easy debts to bring down debt-to-income ratio before applying for the finance.

Also, prior to applying for bad credit car finance, get a copy of your credit report from a reputed credit rating agency and check the report for errors and inaccuracies. It would benefit more in terms of the finance availing cost and quick approval if online lenders are approached for bad credit car finance. When you fill application form for the finance, it is immediately approved and you receive car finance package that includes check and necessary instructions and you can shop for the car. Then you can enter the settled purchase price and sellers name on the check and send it to the lender and the car is all yours.

It is very easy to access bad credit car finance but remember that since you have bad credit, ensure that you pay off the finance in time. This will also help in improving your credit score.

Eva Baldwyn aims to inform common men and women of the several issues involved in personal loans and mortgages through her articles. An MSc in Economics & Finance from the Warwick Business School is proof enough of the knowledge that she possesses in the field of finance. To find Bad credit car finance, Bad credit new car loan, Bad credit used car loan, Online bad credit car loan, personal car loan visit http://www.carloaninuk.co.uk Moselle Blog53940
Mufi Blog27739

Article Marketing Wins Over PPC

Most affiliate marketers think that PPC or Pay Per Click campaigns are better at driving traffic, as compared to article marketing. Theyre wrong. The fact is, article marketing carries with it far less risk and much more impact than PPC campaigns.

How does PPC work?

For those of you new to PPC, heres an overview on how it works. Basically, PPC uses advertisements to get a readers attention. Once the reader clicks on the ad, the affiliate marketer earns a commission. A lot of research and money goes into placing ads in strategic positions. The competition is so fierce that organizations scramble to get their products listed in the PPC campaigns. Millions of dollars are spent each day on these campaigns.

Why spend so much when you can avoid it?

Yes, PPC campaigns, for all their hype, do not provide the same results as article marketing does. Why is it that article marketing is better than PPC?

Credibility: Article marketing helps an affiliate marketer to establish credibility on the subject. Writing for an extended period of time on a related subject establishes the person as a subject matter expert. This ensures more customers will turn to you for any information on this subject. PPC does not provide any such platform to establish credibility.

Inexpensive: Article marketing is free. It doesnt cost a dime to start writing and posting articles on directories. PPC, on the other hand, requires plenty of investment to get the company listed among search engine results. With such tough competition around, if you dont have adequate funds, someone else will get listed.

Low risk: Article marketing is less risky when compared to PPC. Its free and therefore, even if you take some time to succeed, it wont have an adverse impact. Whereas in PPC, the initial investment is so high, that not finding success can mean incurring heavy losses.

Displacement: With PPC, there is always the fear of being displaced by competitors. People are willing to shell out top dollar just to get their company listed. In article marketing, there is no such danger involved.

Adherence to search engine rules: PPC demands that advertisers strictly adhere to search engine rules and regulations as well as layout. Therefore, in case of any change in plan of a search engine, even the PPC advertisements need to be in sync with the new format. Article marketing does not carry any such drawbacks with it.

Not enough content: PPC campaigns require to be up and running very quickly. This can mean not having enough time to build content around the keywords provided. This has led to many disappointed visitors clicking on a PPC link and then discovering lack of content to back it up. This also adversely impacts the reputation of the organization. Whereas in article marketing, you have sufficient time to build content around the keywords.

Trial and error: PPC does not provide anyone the luxury of testing out the effectiveness of keywords. With high investments and lack of time, organizations are expected to be bang on target on the very first attempt. Else they lose out in the race. Article marketing provides ample time to try out keywords and analyze their effectiveness. This provides scope for improvement as well.

Only for large scale businesses: PPC campaigns are at best only suited for the large-sized businesses. The high amount of investment needed, coupled with chances of high risks, means that a small sized start up cannot afford such PPC campaigns. Article marketing, on the other hand, provides more leeway to experiment, test effectiveness and try new approaches. The best part about it is that it is free of cost. It also provides a steady way to grow an affiliate marketing campaign. With the right set of keywords, and well thought out articles, one can dramatically enhance traffic to an affiliate site, in a very short time span.

Nye Morgan is a successful work at home entrepreneur who has made money from several internet businesses. His latest project is the Online Entrepreneurs Toolbar, a 'must have' free download for people wanting to make money online. Get your copy at http://download.OnlineEntrepreneursToolbar.com/r/004 Melloney Blog19194
Marjory Blog18776

A Guide To Starting A Career In Video Games Prepare Yourself For A Break-In!

Starting a career in the video game industry used to a difficult thing; there were very few options and very few schools that could teach the required cutting edge skills. If you wanted to choose this path you had to be self taught. Today this dilemma has been turned upside down. You now have a plethora of schools to choose from and lots of programs and specialties to decide amongst. Here is some advice on what the industry has to offer and what you can do to prepare yourself.

The video game industry has changed over the past ten years. It has matured and is now a full-fledged industry. This means that there are plenty of opportunities to find a rewarding career without being a hot-shot game programmer. As a matter of fact, the days of the hot shot developer are pretty much over. In todays world the creation of a state of the art video game now requires a dedicated team of employees with a wide range of skills and interests.

What does this mean for you? It means opportunity in a lot of different disciplines and it means that you have to specialize within a subgenre of the big picture of "Making Video Games". But before you pack off and go to a video game school or dish out the dollars for an online school there are some things you should do and some things you need to know.

1. Learn the basic concepts of game design

Have an understanding of video games, how they're played, and what they're all about. You should have a feel for the game industry; know what games are out there, what styles of play they have, and how they handle the game playing experience. Chances are good that you already fulfill this requirement.

Have an understanding of the underlying principles of game design. There are several ways that you can do this. I recommend one or both of these methods to get you started in this:

Build Mods Mods are modifications of existing games. Quake is a famous game for this approach. You use the mod builder software and you build levels or worlds that can be added right into the game itself. The Mod sub culture is very vibrant and you can find a lot of support and help. To gain even better experience that translates well into a corporate environment you should join a volunteer Mod development team. This gives you good teamwork experience and gives you insight on how a video game project is broken down into pieces.

Get a free or inexpensive Game engine development suite and build your own games. You can build adequate and fun to play games on your own this way. I recommend you do this with the Genesis 3d Game development software. It is completely free.

2. Get familiar with some of the professions in the industry and the tools that are used.

There are a whole host of tools that game design teams use. And the tools you would use are dependent on what role you would play on the team. Here is an overview of some of the different jobs in the industry and what software tools they would use.

If you like drawing and painting with traditional tools you might want to consider being a concept artist. They do all their work with off computer art tools. They would conceptualize and draw the scenes and the creatures in a game.

If you think you might like computer designing worlds and scenes in a video game you should consider being a 2-dimensional artist. They create all the structures, textures and backgrounds in game worlds. Photoshop is the de-facto program for this job. If you can afford a copy of this program you will get a definite insight into this career path. If you cannot afford Photoshop you should consider getting Paint Shop Pro. It is less expensive and very similar to Photoshop and it will give you a good foundation into the world of 2-dimensional artwork.

If Characters and models are what you are enthusiastic about you should consider becoming a 3-Dimensional Model Artist. This type of artist is concerned with making the characters, monsters, creatures and objects that inhabit a video game world. In this area of game art the choice of software is not as straight-forward as in the 2d art. The most accepted software is 3D studio Max. Two other popular programs are Maya and SoftImage. If you are looking for a free 3d modeling tool that will get you started you may want to get Milkshape. It is a tool designed for the game Half-Life.

The concepts of modeling are universal so the skills will transfer from one tool to the other. You will just have to learn the specifics of the new tool which will be easy enough.

Animator - This is the person that makes the characters and objects in the game move. It is a very specific skill and it takes good understanding of animation to get things right. There are many software programs that are used for animation and they include Macromedia Flash, Alias/Wavefront, 3D Studio Max and Lightwave 3D.

Programmer - This is something that is a little more traditional when we think of video game making "Programming" and it is a very wide field that can find you doing almost anything in the video game making arena. A programmer could be called upon to do any number of things from managing a database to designing the artificial intelligence within a game or creating specialized software tools that other designers use to create the game.

Other Opportunities in Video game design - There are many other jobs in the video game industry ranging from Script and story writer to even network administrator or computer maintenance and repair technician.

Today there are many different career paths that can be taken into the video game industry. This requires you to specialize in a set of skills. Understanding what these different skills are and getting a head start now will increase your marketability in the very competitive video game industry.

Will Kalif is the author of two self-published epic fantasy novels, an amateur video game designer and an avid classical guitarist. You can download free samples of his work at his personal website http://www.stormthecastle.com Melli Blog9800
Mellisent Blog68723

The Value of the Unpaid Internship

fter a grueling initial interview, you have reached the second interview stage and you find out the position is going to come down between you and two other applicants. Each of you possess similar credentials from credible academic institutions, held office in a couple of academic clubs, and sport impressive GPAs. The Department Manager reviews the resumes one more time and decides on one of your competitors.

Why did they pick him / her? Because last summer, while you were soaking up the sun and surf in San Diego, your competition was gaining valuable on-the-job experience, volunteering their time through an unpaid internship. Even though all of the paid internships through the Placement Office were taken, there was another little-used option ... the unpaid internship. If you are still looking for a strategy that can help your career in the long run, consider these factors about an unpaid internship:

REAL-WORLD EXPERIENCE

Training costs are a major factor considered by business entities when making hiring decisions. Department Managers want to be sure that (1) you can be brought up to speed on the job duties quickly, (2) you can successfully function in the corporate culture. An internship targeting your career path can provide you valuable real-world experience that your resume writer can use to give you resume the edge over the competition.

Additionally, the employer's only has to check your references to learn that you take direction well and respond to Supervisor input ... factors many employers wish they had known about recent college graduates before the hiring decision was made.

NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES

We've all heard the phrase "It's not what you know ... it's WHO you know." Being ejected from a bachelor degree program without any connections puts you behind the proverbial eight ball right away. Working an internship gives you the opportunity to build your network within the industry even before you are available for permanent hire.

While your internship employer may not be in a hiring mode at the time, they may be able to point you in the right direction ... and even put in a good word for you. Imagine the weight this can carry in a close competition with another graduate.

SHOW YOUR DEDICATION

Want to "WOW"an interviewer? Tell him how you volunteered your time in the summer to learn the industry and position specifics ... and that you did it for nothing! Congratulations ... you have immediately communicated your dedication and seriousness to your career in the eyes of your interviewer. Now, when you convey to them that you are looking to be a serious player in the company and the profession, it is backed by your willingness to sacrifice your free time to do so.

CAREER COMPATIBILITY

Let's not forget you in this equation. How do you know if this career path is for you? Does the profession have inherent characteristics you wouldn't find out about in a classrooms setting? Your internship just might show you that this path isn't for you ... before it is too late.

There are many employers who would love the luxury of to bring someone in to perform ground-level duties for a couple of months and not have to pay the associated employee costs, so a little leg work will surely find you a position that can give you the experience and professional insight you can use to get you over the top. Just remember, next summer's beach trip will be much more enjoyable with a paycheck to fund it.

William Mitchell is a certified professional resume writer and Owner / General Manager of the Resume Clinic (http://www.theresumeclinic.com), serving clients in the United States and Canada with highly targeted and effective resume and cover letter packages since 1995. You can E-mail William at wmitchell@theresumeclinic.com.Marni Blog32477
Milena Blog60396

The New Age Is Here

It is really amazing how over the course of only a few decades how the world has changed. One of the things that stick out in my mind as a kid growing up in a small town in eastern Canada is how far we have come in such a short time. I lived in a house that didnt have any indoor plumbing we had one TV and we had just gotten that and there was only 3 channels on it anyway. That was it for electronic devices along with your good ole AM radio. These items were not much for real entertainment that I have grown accustom to over the years.

The biggest impact on the world today as we know it has to be the PC (Personal Computer). It was introduced to the world 25 years ago and has for ever changed how we communicate, get news and do business. I dont know if they really knew the impact that it would have on our lives, but could you ever imagine getting anything done today without one. Computers have become the ultimate tool for the whole family to use and enjoy weather it is for work, school or just entertainment.

With most advances in technology comes risk with the use of these advances. The PC is no different. With the introduction of the internet and computers becoming more and more accessible for people to own, came the exploits to damage these personal computers. Computers are being used for many things from storing personal data and conduct financial transactions online. The risks have grown even more when using the internet to do these things.

Internet exploits and crime has become a billion dollar industry for internet criminals. There are still people who are either not using the proper internet security products or none at all to protect themselves and families online. Not taking the proper action to make sure your computer, children and identity is safe when using the internet is just not smart today. Dont become a statistic just another person who has become a victim of internet crime. With the price of software these days it just doesnt make sense not be protecting you and love ones from the threats and exploits that are present all over the internet these days. They say that an unprotected computer on the internet will last only about 20 min before if will become compromised by some sort of maleware or exploit on the internet.

How many stories have we heard about children getting exploited or becoming subjected to some kind of inappropriate material? The internet is a great tool for kids to use for research for school; its like having a library right in your home. Not taking the proper steps to make sure your kids are protected while on the internet falls all on the parents. If you want to control your kids access to the internet and what the can view you have to have some kind of parental control installed on your computer.

I know most parents think my child would never do anything like that or they know what they are allowed to do on the computer. Well if you believe that that is just hogwash.

I will tell you a little story about a phone call I received from a shaking mother of a friend of my daughters. My daughter is 13 by the way, well I get a call from the mother of her friend and she tells me what the girls were doing when they were over her house on the computer. These are three young teenage girls chatting on msn using bad language and viewing material that they shouldnt be viewing. Needless to say I had a long talk with my daughter about this stuff and what is appropriate to be doing while on the computer especially in someone elses house. I didnt ground her because you know how kids can be especially when they get into a group there is that thing called peer pressure.

The problem I think is with the parents, you would like to trust your kids and believe that they wouldnt do anything like that but they are kids and will explore the unknown. If the parents had some kind of parental control on their computer in the first place none of it would have happened. My daughter has a computer and it has parental control on it not because I dont trust her but because I have to protect her from the unknown.

With computers you cant wait until you have a virus that has to be fixed or your identity and personal information has been stolen or your kids get themselves in trouble that is going to bring harm to them. You have to protect your computer and your family before any of this can happen by getting yourself some internet security and information on how to protect yourself while on the net.

John FallsMaria Blog41865
Milissent Blog65526

Which Veterinary School Is Right For You?

No matter whether you are only considering or sure that you want to follow a veterinary career, there will be a veterinary school or collage that will suit you. To become a veterinarian you will have to attend a school or collage just as doctors have to attend a medical school.

In the U.S, there are more than 50 veterinary schools and colleges that you could perhaps enroll in; they're located in numerous states, Florida, New York, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Oregon, California, Colorado, Virginia and Wyoming, to name just a few. Veterinary schools and colleges can also be found in Canada and the United Kingdom, in fact, nearly anywhere in the world. Should being a veterinarian be your destiny, then you should research the all the veterinary schools and colleges to discover which one is best suited to you.

What Will I Be Taught At Veterinary School?

If you wish to qualify as a veterinarian, then it will be necessary for you to attend a veterinary school or college in order for you to obtain the many skills that are crucial to this career. In a veterinary school or college, you will get the chance to be taught the many different practices and techniques that will assist you greatly in your knowledge of veterinary science. You will acquire knowledge concerning the basics of animal care. You will also acquire knowledge concerning veterinary laboratory procedures that you will employ as a professional veterinarian. Various other topics that will be covered in a veterinary school or college will include veterinary hematology and veterinary pharmacology. Training will also be received in the many clinical veterinary procedures.

Not all of your time will be spent learning from the lectures and textbooks. Most veterinary schools and collages will require its students to also complete a residency in addition to the classes, this is where students will learn, observe and be involved with hands on activities. Residencies offer some of the best experiences for student veterinarians.

Do You Specialize or Not Specialize?

Like doctors have the opportunity to choose to specialize in the varied areas of medical field, veterinarians also have this opportunity too. For instance, a veterinarian could choose to specialize in veterinary dental care or in veterinary cardiology. The choices are endless - howsoever, often specializing will require a specific program or additional veterinary school or collage course work.

Only you will be able to determine whether or not it is worth the extra investment and time to specialize in a particular area. To specialize in veterinary dental care would mean that you would have to find a specific program that offers that training and to specialize in veterinary cardiology may require a much longer residency.

To find help and advice for all things veterinarian visit Jose Havers veterinary website. Here you will find help about everything from pet care and treatments to veterinary careers advice. Click here: http://www.oshsveterinary.com Meara Blog3772
Monah Blog66308

Introduction to Affiliate Marketing - Part 1/2

This is Part 1 of 2

Affiliate Program History

Invented by CDNow.com at the end of 1994 and pioneered by Amazon.com in 1996, "affiliate programs", also known as Associate Programs or Partner Programs, are a simple way for Web sites to generate revenue by directing traffic toward other sites and a great way for the operating site to increase its traffic and revenue.

Because affiliate programs are so convenient and work so well, they have become the industry's dominant method of online Marketing.

There are 4 different kinds of affiliate programs to compensate "Affiliates" (or referring sites) for generating traffic to the Affiliate Program operating Website: Pay-Per-Impression, Pay-Per-Click, Pay-Per-Lead and Pay-Per-Sale.

Pay-Per-Impression (CPM)

Cost-Per-Mil (Mil = 1000) Impressions. Publisher gets from Advertiser $x.xx Amount of money for every 1000 Impressions (Page Views/Displays) of the Ad. The Ad can be Text (AdSense), Banner Image or Rich Media.

The Pay-Per-Impression and Pay-Per-Click Model are not common to be used in Affiliate Marketing anymore. They were used in the Past, but were mostly abandoned due to Fraud and lack of Results.

The CPM (cost-per-impression) compensation Model was revived by Google for Google AdWords in summer 2005. The feature is called "Site-Targeting" in AdWords and allows you to display your Adsense Ad on a specific Website that runs AdSense Ads.

Pay-Per-Click (CPC) Model

Cost-Per-Click. Advertiser pays Publisher $x.xx amount of money, every time a visitor (potential prospect) clicks on the advertiser's Ad. It is irrelevant (for the compensation) how often an Ad is displayed. Commission is only due when the Ad is clicked.

Like the Pay-per-Impression model was the Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Model popular during the dot com boom at the end of the 1990th but was mostly abbandoned by Advertisers for Advertisements on other Websites due to rampart problems with click fraud.

The PPC Model was kept alive by the PPC Search Engine GoTo.com which became later Overture.com and is now owned by Yahoo! and renamed from "Yahoo Sponsored Search" to Yahoo Search Marketing.

Google launched their PPC Service AdWords in 2000. Ask Jeeves, now simply Ask.com followed with their PPC Service in 2005 called Ask Sponsored Listings and MSN.com in 2006 with AdCenter. Other PPC Services are Miva/FindWhat.com and 7Search.com.

Contextual Advertising

The big come-back of PPC came when Google launched AdSense in 2003, the birth of contextual Advertising. What is Google AdSense? Here is a quote from Google's History at Google's corporate Website.

Google AdSense: "... offering web sites of all sizes a way to easily generate revenue through placement of highly targeted ads adjacent to their content. Google AdSense technology analyzes the text on any given page and delivers ads that are appropriate and relevant, increasing the usefulness of the page and the likelihood that those viewing it will actually click on the advertising presented there."

Yahoo's Version of AdSense called Yahoo! Publisher Network was launched (beta) in 2005. Microsoft is also working on their own Version of AdSense which is expected to be launched (beta) in 2006.

Search Engine Marketing (SEM)

Classic PPC Search Engine Marketing (Cost-Per-Click (CPC) advertising) is not Affiliate Marketing. It is an entirely different type of Internet Marketing and only has some technical details in common with old PPC/CPC Affiliate Marketing.

Ads are primarily displayed at the Search Engine Search Results Pages (SERPs) next to organic, free, Search Results. Contextual Advertising introduced with Google AdSense is also not Affiliate Marketing since no direct Partnership between the Advertiser who creates and pays for the Ads and the Publisher who displays the Ads on his Website.

This type of Marketing is generally referred to as Search Engine Marketing (SEM) and is often and wrongly mixed up and confused with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) which is about improving the ranking of a Site in the organic, free, SERPs at major Search Engines via technical means and deep understanding of the complicated ranking algorithms used by modern Search Engines.

Pay-Per-Call

This is a new compensation model. No official abbreviation exist yet. Advertiser pays publisher a flat $x.xx amount in commission for phone calls received from potential prospects as response to a specific publisher Ad. Recently developed call-tracking technology allows to create a bridge between online and offline Advertising. Pay-Per-Call Advertising is still new and in it's infancy.

Pay-Per-Call Advertising is neither Search Engine Marketing (SEM) nor Affiliate Marketing. It is expected to become the 4th major type of Internet Marketing next to Affiliate Marketing, Search Engine Marketing and Search Engine Optimization within the next years.

The Affiliate Marketing shifted almost entirely to the Pay-Per-Lead (CPA or CPL) and Pay-Per-Sale Model (CPS) which is also known as Performance Marketing. The paid commission is usually a percentage of the referred sales or a flat dollar amount.

The Pay-Per-Lead (CPA or CPL) Model

Cost-Per-Action or Cost-Per-Acquisition (CPA), Cost-per-Lead (CPL). The Advertiser pays the Publisher a flat $x.xx amount in commission if a referred visitor performs a specific action on the Advertisers Site. It could be Actions like filling out a Form, Signing up for a Newsletter or Creating an Account.

The CPA Model is very popular with Online Services like Credit Card Providers, Insurance Services, DVD and Video Game Rental Services and Loans and Mortgages. Due to the usual high flat commission amount is the CPA very attractive for PPC Affiliates that do not have a permanent Website and an established User Base.

Before you consider the CPA Model for you problem, make sure to have mechanisms in place to validate the quality of referred leads. Your program will be vulnerable to become a victim of fraud, affiliates that generate tons of "fake" leads if you do not have anything in place to verify the quality of the produced leads.

The Pay-Per-Sale (CPS) Model

Cost-Per-Sale (CPS). Advertiser pays the publisher a percentage (%) of the Order Amount (Sale) that was created by a customer who was referred by the publisher.

This Model is used by most Online Merchants today.

Here are same basic tips for Advertisers that consider starting an Affiliate Program with CPS Compensation Model:

Do not pay commissions that you end up loosing money on an order. You will gain new customers because of the Affiliate Program, but you will also pay commissions for returning customers.

Shoppers on the internet are more savvy today. Comparison Shopping Sites, Coupon Sites, Cash-Back Shopping and Charity Sites, that make up a large percentage of successful affiliates, are often visited by Shoppers first. See the Affiliate Program also as a Customer Retention Tool.

CPA or CPS?

If your competitors have affiliate programs and you don't, chances are good, that you are loosing a considerable amount of business to them, because the lag of an affiliate program for your site.

If you want to use an Affiliate Program as an Online Merchant for the whole purpose of customer acquisition, consider the CPA Model and pay a flat commission for new customers referrer by affiliates.

Do the math to come up with a Flat Commission that makes it worthwhile for affiliates to promote you. Affiliates are not waiting for you, the next Merchant that has a Program is only one click away.

What you do and what commission you pay is up to you. You can also mix compensation models. The best thing to do is always to check first what your competitors are doing and use their compensation model as reference.

Pay-Per-Sale is by far the most common compensation model. 2/3 to 3/4 of all Affiliate Programs today are Pay-per-Sale Programs. The operating Site only pays "Commission" to their Affiliates for actual Results (a Sale, Sign-up etc.) and not just for promises (Clickthroughs, Banner Impressions).

Carsten Cumbrowski operateds the Internet Marketing and Web Development Resources Portal http://Cumbrowski.com. For Affiliate Marketing Resources visit http://www.cumbrowski.com/CarstenC/affiliatemarketing.asp . If you are new to Affiliate Marketing viist http://www.cumbrowski.com/CarstenC/affiliatemarketing_training-courses.asp first.Morna Blog44600
Maud Blog49052

Dreaming Of A Web Business? Do You Have What It Takes?

After many months of worrying, searching, and procrastinating you finally decide to take the plunge. Are you ready for this?

Heres what I found you absolutely need to start and run a successful small business on the Web.

Deceptively Simple

If you are reading this, you can obviously navigate on the Web. You also have a more than passing interest for the subject clearly stated in the title of this article.

Furthermore, I would be willing to bet that you can already use your personal computer to create written documents, such as emails, or a more elaborate document, such as your personal resume (curriculum vitae).

You may even be using your computer to do your budget, for all I know.

Intuitively, you know you will need a Web site to market your Web business. You believe that you should know something about how to build a Web site that will serve the purposes of the small business you are planning to start.

This is where most people hesitate, or even drop the idea of a business on the Web. They think they need to hire expensive web site creators, and Web designers, to do what they think they cannot achieve.

Some forge on blindly and fall for the many easy solutions that are constantly being offered on the Web. Try our easy to use free templates, and just fill in the blanks. Presto! You have a Web site! Need content? No problem! Just subscribe to our free articles blahblahblah.

Yeah! Sure! But, will your Web site be a suitable marketing instrument for your business? Will it be an extension of yourself? Will it represent you, or someone elses efforts?

How are you going to be able to tell? You know (deep down) that you ignore practically everything about how to use the Web technologies to

Validate your business idea,
Research the best way to exploit it to its maximum potential,
And ensure the success of your small business.

The get rich quick, its easy (GRQ) crowd remain conspicuously silent on these vital issues!

Keep your eyes and critical mind open!

Be on the constant lookout for openly revealed answers that ring true and logical to you. Stay away from secret recipes. Use your own judgment to determine where the true solution lies. You have more common sense than you think. Dont be afraid to use it! Its in you best interest to exercise due diligence.

Marketing

You need to know the basic marketing techniques and strategies for the Web. They are very different from the ones you would successfully use on land! Seek competent advice on this.

Remember! The most reliable advice need not be the most expensive!

Look for reputable, knowledgeable people who have a vested interest in your success. They will want you to succeed because your success will be contributing to their success. These experts work for themselves as well as for you. Therefore, they do not charge extra for the privilege of contributing to your endeavor, and making your efforts worthwhile. It will be worth their while too, in the long run. They know it. So should you.

Guarantees?

Look for the guarantee behind the GRQ schemes. You will find none, of course.

If you dont believe you need a guarantee, think again! You are new to this business of starting a Web business. You a running the risk of failing, without appropriate and reliable help and support. You stand to lose your desire, perhaps forever! That would be a sorry mistake to make.

Keep searching until you find a solution provider that will openly guarantee results, if you follow their plan or your money back!. You will know, then, that you will have found a solution worth looking into seriously.

You just have to use your brain, common sense, and your motivation to keep looking further, below the surface (apparently easy solutions).

Work

You will have to work at it. That should not come as a surprise. You did not really believe that its possible to build a successful business without you contributing some level of effort, did you?

Just make sure your efforts are well supported by reliable expert guidance, and everything will turn out just fine given time, and your active participation, of course! You dont have to become one the many misguided start-ups that fail miserably, because they failed to do their homework!

You will have to be strong to resist the many temptations of promised easy way outs! Because, thats all they are. An easy way out of business!

Before you know it, time will have flashed by, and you will end up with a truly viable business. Your determined efforts will be rewarded, in more ways than one.

Drive

If you read somewhere that it takes passion to build a business, be it on the Web or elsewhere, believe it!

When you go to bed at night, and cant wait to get up in the morning to run your business, thats when you are well on your way toward a rewarding outcome.

Money?

You are considering a business on the Web. It does not require much money to start one. You will not be buying an existing one, nor will you be buying into one.

You will be building your Web business from scratch. It can even be done on a shoestring, if all your will be offering your clientele is your knowledge, your know-how, or your services. You are already warehousing that in your brain, for free!

You already have a computer, and an internet connection. No extra expenses there.

Most people will think, at this stage, that all they need next is a Web host for their business Web site. Dont make the same mistake!

You will need more than a Web hosting company. As I explained above, you will need the company of Web marketing experts to guide you through the first critical steps toward building a successful Web business, not just a Web site!

A few (rare) Web hosting firms will provide all the hand holding help you will need as part of the basic (not extra) services you will be paying for. They do it because they want to keep your business.

They want to be able to show you off as yet another success story to which they dutifully, and respectfully contributed.

My recommendation

Keep looking. Keep your eyes open for sharks. Keep a critical mind on full alert to distinguish between fools gold and the real stuff. Keep believing in your idea. Keep working at it. Above all, keep it real.

Keep your efforts honest. Do not try to fool yourself. You will be rewarded in spades!

Eventually, you will realize that you had what it takes, after all.

Claude Jollet is a former planning adviser to major industrial and commercial clients. He specialized in weather related operational planning issues. He holds a B.Sc. specializing in business process analysis and automation. He also taught Web Information Architecture to senior college students. He now devotes himself to the promotion of Web entrepreneurship through his Web site http://www.top-web-entrepreneurs-plan-it.com.Missie Blog49103
Melly Blog48501

Mercy Blog

Monday, January 28, 2008

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The New Age Is Here

Which Veterinary School Is Right For You?

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