Free Laptop with Broadband Contract
Why is it so easy to get a credit card?
Beingthe owner of a credit card can be disastrous especially in today’s societywhere it is so easy to obtain one. In most states, in order to be eligible fora credit card you merely have to be eighteen. Companies today don’t care
Hiring a Financial Advisor – A Necessity
A smartperson is capable of managing his funds very well. However, I still stronglyadvocate the necessity of hiring afinancial advisor if, you’re planning to make investments. It isn’t a sinto ask for help nor is it a crime. Getting some professional advice is a must inthe present situation,
Vitamins – Vital for Life
Vitamins are a group of nutrients which, in small measures, areessential to sustain life. It is quite impossible to sustain lifewithout all the vitamins. They together with minerals form micro-nutrients,which though in smaller amounts are extremely necessary for our well-being. Thevitamins are not produced in our body (if produced, it is in a very negligibleamount)
The Basic but Useful Course on Dog Training
Welcometo the mini course in dog training. Reading these steps you willreceive basic advices from how to potty train your puppy to howcreate him into that wonderful loyal friend as only a dog can be. This is lesson one and it is about puppy training.
Of course, beforethe puppy is brought home to you certain things are needed, such as,a bed, food and water bowl, a collar and a leash and toys. To havethese things ready will not only make it easier for you, but it willalso be easier for the puppy to feel at home.
Health Tips about Lead Poisoning
Leadpoisoning is a disease caused by eating or breathing in lead. It isa serious health problem in young children from six months to sixyears of age
CommonSigns and Symptoms:
Low-levelsof lead
The Wonder of Virgin Coconut Oil
Virgin coconutoil is a product taken out from fresh coconut meat by natural method.Its manufacture does not use any chemicals, additives, orpreservatives to keep the fundamental properties of the oil. It canbe consumed with no extra processing required because it is said tobe rich in vitamins and minerals. It is termed “virgin” due toits pure, complete, and unrefined form.
Useful Tips of Skin, Hair and Nail care
Skin,Hair and nail care is an important but neglected aspect in pre andpost cancer therapy. Looking Good is very important to start feelingbetter while undergoing various chemotherapeutic and radiationtreatments.
But why is skin care important during therapy?
Winter Health Tips for Swimmers
Aswe watch the snow fall, and think about all the cold and colds tocome, there are a few things you can do to help your athlete stayhealthy and able to train.
1. Give your swimmer time to dry their hair before they leavethe locker room and pool area. Teach them to drytheir ears safely and thoroughly by letting the warm air blow overtheir ears
Learn How to Get out of Debt Faster without Getting Ripped off!
Introduction
If you're losing sleep worrying about credit card, debt, or if you're having trouble paying your bills every month, then you're not alone. Many Americans have found that getting into debt, borrowing money – and then struggling to pay if back – is very stressful.
If you're losing sleep worrying about credit card, debt, or if you're having trouble paying your bills every month, then you're not alone. Many Americans have found that getting into debt, borrowing money – and then struggling to pay if back – is very stressful.
Earn Money, Buy and Sell Digital Goods With Gold Currency
Whatcan you do?
Almost regardless of who you are in theworld, where you live, or what you do now, the gold economy allowsthe individual and small to medium business owner to:
Own acurrency that is not organized by a government agency and can be usedonline semi-anonymously and for your benefit. This means that you canearn money online, trade with people around the world particularly indigital goods and services, but also in physical goods
Almost regardless of who you are in theworld, where you live, or what you do now, the gold economy allowsthe individual and small to medium business owner to:
Own acurrency that is not organized by a government agency and can be usedonline semi-anonymously and for your benefit. This means that you canearn money online, trade with people around the world particularly indigital goods and services, but also in physical goods
The Complete Debt Tips
Youhave to be some kind of sadistic to say that you like debt. Thefact of the matter is, everybody at some point in time will havesome. It is almost completely unavoidable with the price of housing,transportation, and let’s face it, GREED!!! We are a “gotta haveit now” people and sometimes it doesn’t workout the way we hadoriginally hoped. Maybe everything that has happened to you hasnothing to do with spending habits and has everything to do withfactors out of your control, i.e. medical emergencies etc. Whetheror not you have a lot or a little or you can or can’t pay
thebills. Everyone has need of a plan in one way or another.
thebills. Everyone has need of a plan in one way or another.
Soyou find yourself on this website wondering if there is going to beanything here for you. After all you are the only person in theworld going through what you are going through, right? The fact ofthe matter is that there is always a solution. It may not be whatyou thought or had hoped it would be and in some cases it might beexactly what you thought. The purpose for this is to give you theinformation and materials to not only analyze your specific situationbut to understand where you fit and the options available to youbased on your needs and situation.
Soyou are loaded, you fill up your credit cards every month and justpay them off, fantastic. If that is you then if you don’t alreadyhave some rewards cards that you are using then get some. Let thecard company send you on vacation at some point. For those of you inthis situation, maybe you can learn some budgeting strategies or tipson how to save thousands of interest on your mortgage. The point ofthis is to help regardless of your situation.
Youhave to be some kind of sadistic to say that you like debt. Thefact of the matter is, payments or even pay way over the minimums. Or maybe you are the person who is lucky to make the minimum eachmonth or your budget is so tight that if you have to buy poster paperfor you child’s school project you are going to go withoutsomething to cover the difference. Or say something has come upwhether it be job loss or hours cut, anything, and you have to putall of your bills on your cards each month and you scrape by just tocover the ever increasing minimums.
Thenlet’s do something about it.
Theoptions available to you are completely dependent on your situation. Don’t think you are beyond help or above help. Here you don’teven have to ask for it. It is here if you want it.
Let’sexplain some basic truths:
*The “Banks” are on the “Banks” side, period. No man canserve two masters.
*The people that call to collect debt are not your friend. Their jobis to get money out of you, that’s it. They will use every toolthey have in their box to do that. Be nice, be mean, threaten you,whatever they can to get something out of you. This universal truthis as real as gravity.
*You can’t borrow your way out of debt.
*You can’t beat compound interest. (that doesn’t mean you can useit to your benefit)
Sowhat are the options?
*Mortgage Checking Account. This is a program that allows youto use the banks tactics against them to accelerate the pay off ofyour debt, specifically your mortgage much faster than normal. Spoken plainly, your mortgage interest is calculated off of youraverage daily balance in the account and not a fixed monthly interestrate. You can use your whole pay check to pay down your mortgage andthen live out of the account increasing your balance throughout themonth. Sounds complicated however it does work and can save you upto half the time and interest you would normally pay on yourmortgage. A great program but is limited to those who have goodcredit and equity in their home.
*Debt roll up/Debt snowball. This is a program which analyzesyour debt and put the debt a pay off order. This program iscalculated using factors like interest rate, balance, minimumpayment. If used properly will save years and thousands of dollarsin interest. The great part about this kind of program is that itisn’t credit dependent, it works, and you don’t need a thirdparty to set anything up for you. The downside is that it takes hugediscipline and you have to be able to make more than the minimumpayments on your debt.
*Debt Consolidation. This term is often misused and tied toprograms like Debt Settlement or Credit Counseling. Those programsare very different and you need to understand that. DebtConsolidation is grouping all of your debt under one “loan” andone “payment”. People can do this by getting a signature loanfrom their bank, a refi on their home basically or a loan to pay offdebt. Most people do this to try to lower payments or interest. Where you can lower payments by lowering interest rate it isn’t assignificant as you might think so the way most people lower thepayments is to extend the term. It is mathematically impossible toshorten term and lower payment. Example: 10k worth of cc debt willcost generally between $200 and $250 dollars a month in minimumpayments. What some people don’t understand is that for the mostpart credit card payments aren’t calculated on interest but onpercentage of balance. The difference in term between 9% and 15%interest rate on a credit card could be as much as 10 years howeveryour minimum payments are the same. Say your where to get asignature loan at 12% from your bank for that same 10 worth of creditcard debt. (Keep in mind every bank is different and this in no wayencompasses every bank, credit union or loan program). Most bankswill put you on a term of 36 months for that amount of debt whichwill put your payment around $350 per month so at best your only $100more than you where paying. On the flip side say you pulled someequity out of your house and got at second mortgage at 6% with a termof 20 years would put your payment at around $71.64. Great, Right? Sounds good until you look at what you are paying back at the lesser6% interest rate. You will pay over the course of 20 years$17,194.35. That’s $7,194.35 in just interest. You can’t borrowyour way out of debt!!!
*Consumer Credit Counseling/Debt Management Plan. This is theprogram where you have a company negotiate down your interest ratesand they put you on a payment that you can “handle”. There aremany companies that do this, some are non profit but almost all ofthem will be compensated by credit card companies, you, or both. This is a program that is often thought of as a way to save yourcredit because “ideally” the credit card companies will begetting a payment that is on time so they have no reason to post latepayment history on your credit report which should keep your FICOscore up. What they don’t tell you is that this is reported on thecredit report as “Third Party Management” of your finances andwill show up as DMP or CCCS. The problem with that is when you gofor loans in the future many lenders look at that like a Chap 13Bankruptcy. Can make it difficult to find financing. It is alsovery expensive because not only are you paying your debt back withinterest, you are paying a company fees along with that.
*Debt Settlement/Debt Negotiation. This is the process ofnegotiating the debt balance with the creditor, not interest or term,the debt balance. The purpose of this is to get the creditor toaccept less than what they are asking for, ideally, less than 50%. Taking interest out of the equation if you only had to pay back halfof the debt, how much quicker could you be out of debt. This programis an ethical way to avoid Bankruptcy, to get the creditor somethingrather than nothing. This kind of program you should only do if youhave no other option. You borrowed the money, pay it back if youcan. This isn’t about kicking the creditors in the teeth, it’sabout trying to find a win/win in an otherwise extremely difficultsituation. As with anything, there are thousands of debt settlementcompanies and unfortunately most are horrible, and are there to dolittle more than take advantage of a situation where people trulyneed help. There are good companies out there but they are becomingharder and harder to find.
*Bankruptcy. There are two main types of Bankruptcy, Chap 7and Chap 13. Chap 7 is a complete dismissal of your debt and a cleanslate so to speak. Chap 13 is a reorganization of your debt and isbasically a Debt Management Plan orchestrated by the court system. Since 2005 and BAPCA it has become increasingly difficult to fileChap 7 and most people are forced to file Chap 13. This may be thebest option for some of you.
Sowhat do I do?
Hereare some questions to ask and don’t lie.
*Do I have a handle on my money?
*Can I cover all of my bills?
*If I cut of all of my credit cards, can I live?
*Do I have a realistic budget?
*Do I live by the budget?
*What do I do with extra money I have? Do I save it or spend it?
*Where do I want to be financially? 30 years from now? 20, 10, 5, 1?
*If I lost my job today, how long can I go without income?
*Do I have a plan?
*Is the lack of a plan worth the stress?
*How would I feel in 5 years if I had no debt?
*What would it mean to you if you didn’t have to worry about whereyou where going to get the money to feed yourself?
*Do I have a retirement plan that isn’t a 401k?
*What do I want out of this life financially?
*If I keep doing what I am doing am I ever going to get to where Iwant to be?
*How does that answer make you feel?
Believeme if you don’t get on top of all of this, nobody will do it foryou!
Sowhat is the first step?
1st Decide where you want to be and write down some goals. Itall starts with a goal of where you what to be. You have to knowwhere you are going. Your goals are more than where you want to bewhen you are 60+. Where do you want to be next month?
2ndAnalyze your finances. Download and fill out the budget planner. Be honest and accurate with this because it will set the pace forthe rest of your life. What is in the past is past, do not dwell onwhat your results have been up to this point because you are notgoing to be doing it the same way. New plan and actions = NewResults. If you fail to plan you plan to fail. Nobody runs abusiness successfully without a plan. No boxer goes into the ringwith out a game plan. No Coach goes on to the field of play withoutknowing what they will do. Period… You can not predict yoursuccess without a plan.
3rdUnderstand where you are currently, pride and delusions ofgrandeur will not change the reality of the situation. Understandyour situation, accept it and do what is required to get to where youwant to be.
4thCommit to your plight. If you decide to take control of yourlife then do it full steam ahead, no looking back, tuck your chin andjust start swinging. A man I respect highly, a very successfulentrepreneur once told me that if you start out with a plan and doeverything you believe it will take to be successful then you have noreason to not expect that you will be successful. Be accountable toyourself.
5thBuild your plan. Start with where you want to be and build theplan backwards from there. Know what you need to do every step ofthe way so that there are no surprises. You also need to be able toadapt. The only things guaranteed in life are death and taxes. Beflexible and if you need to modify your plan don’t throw you handsup and quit. ADAPT and move on.
6thExecute your plan. Be unstoppable, positive and immovable. Thisis your life and it will be exactly what you make it. Make itgreat!!!
Tips for writing a good abstract
Thereare rules that help to build a good abstract and that increase thepossibility of acceptance by the SPP.
Thepurpose of the Annual Congress of the SPP is to provide an exchangeof knowledgeand experience within the paediatric community nationwide.
Writean abstract for the Annual Congress is an important way of share yourresearch or clinical experience with its peers and
colleagues.
Writean abstract for the Annual Congress is an important way of share yourresearch or clinical experience with its peers and
colleagues.
SPPreceives dozens of abstracts that will be evaluated by threereviewers independent and ranked of4-20 according to the relevance of the study, rigor in applyingmethodology, contribution to health gains and originality.Abstracts with rated higher than 10 are accepted.
Mostof the time, the work presented in a rejected abstract is welldesigned and made, but the way as it’s exposed not allow hisacceptance. This leads to a good scientific work that can not beshared with colleagues the way it deserves.
Inan attempt to prevent this occurrence, the subsequent informationgive practical advice on how to write an abstract that has the bestchance of being ranked well by reviewers and selected for nextcongress.
Whywrite an abstract?
Anabstract is a short version of the first draft of an article. It’simportant for several reasons:
•Provides the first opportunity to advertise and quote the preliminaryresults of its study
•Allow you to communicate your findings to your colleagues and haveanswers and critics
•It is the first step towards the ultimate goal of job research: writeand publish an article with conceptualized reviewers.
Theoptimal structure of a resume should include:
Title
Thetitle should contain an accurate summary of the content. Must expose
asmuch as possible, the content and objectives of the study. Ideally,the title
shouldhave 10 - 12 words and should include the scope of research, studydesign and objectives.
Ispreferable that the title describes what has been investigated thanis a statement of findings or conclusions. The title should be simpleto allow easy understanding and so, should avoid jargon, acronyms orunfamiliar abbreviations.
Authors
Thelist of authors should be restricted to those who worked on thestudy, who conceived, designed, obtained the data, analyzed thenumbers and wrote the abstract. The author submitting the abstractmust appear on first place. All authors must read and approve thesummary before its submission.
StructureSummary
Agood summary should address the five relevant issues listed below:
1."Whydid it start?" - Introduction or historical
Mustsynthesize, preferably in one sentence, the current knowledge orthe
stateof the art, specifically related to the work presented.
2."Whatdid you tried to do?" - Purposes and objectives
Hereyou must define the purpose of the study and ideally include a shortstatement of the hypothesis to be tested. A legitimate study does nottake place "to prove that any find is true”, but "todiscover whether a certain fact is true”. The difference seemssmall but is in fact abysmal. Exposing a formal hypothesisdemonstrates objectivity.
3."Whatdid?" - Methods
Insummary, the description of the methods should be concise and mostdetails should be omitted. However, in a short sentence should giveto the reader a clear idea of the study design, the context in whichit is made and the type of patients or measurements that wereincluded.
4."Whatwere your findings?" - Results
Itis important to mention the main results of the study, not justsubjective point of view ("we found that the equipment X wassuperior to the equipment Y ") but in the form of real data.Should make choices for data that will choose to present in theabstract and findings of which will base its conclusions. Do notinclude a table or figure unless strictly necessary to display yourresults.
5."Whatis the significance of this study?" - Opinion
Spaceconstraints usually limit it to a single sentence, explaining why youthink your results are important and potential implications. Keepyour findings within reason, supported by the results of your study.Remember that your study was restricted to certain patients or to aparticular therapy or a specific device and the results can not beextrapolated beyond these determinants.
Somebasic rules for writing abstracts
Followthe instructions
Asgood as your study is, he deserves to be reviewed and presented. Thismeans that you must follow the rules for submission to the SPPCongress.
Usesimple sentences
Exceptthe basic and universally accepted (e.g.: ARDS, FEV1) the acronymsand abbreviations should be exposed in full version the first timethat are used in the abstract. As well, local expressions and slangshould be avoided. Remember that health care vary from place toplace.
Askcolleagues
Beforesubmitting the abstract it should be rechecked, not only for theaccuracy of the data presented but also the methods and otherdetails.
Tablesand figures should be checked particularly well. The reading by oneor more colleagues who have not been involved in the study that cancriticize constructively can be extraordinarily useful.
Cite: Translatedand adapted the suggestions of the European Respiratory Society, 2008
Tips-Marketing Your Business Website Successfully
Marketingyour website
Nowadays,having a website has become an essential part of every company’smarketing strategy, as more and more people use the internet on adaily basis to research and possibly buy products online. Once youhave created your business website, you need to market it so peopleknow about it. In marketing your website there are a few steps youneed to follow, which I am going to outline in this article
.
.
Enter your websites into directoriesand search engines
Onceyour site is ready, the first step to make it become visible issubmitting it to directories and search engines. A directory (i.e.Yahoo directory) divides the websites into categories andsubcategories. The person looking for a website in this way islooking for a specific service and will browse the directory, almostin the same way as browsing the yellow pages. Directories are oftenedited by humans, who will take a look at your site and decide if itis good enough and relevant to a certain category.
Theother main research tools are search engines (i.e. Yahoo or Google).Users browse them when they are looking for very specific informationand the links they find can lead to any page on your site. In thecase of search engines, there are no humans who check your site forrelevance; the whole process is made by specific software, whichcrawl web sites searching for relevant text. Most SEOtechniquesare aimed at enhancing a site’s relevance assessed in this way.
Optimise your website for searchengine purposes
Submittingyour website to search engine is not enough. You also need to makesure that it is visible in the first page of results. For this tohappen, you need to optimise your site.
Thereare many ways to optimise a site and this is a field that iscontinuously changing because the technologies involved changerapidly. The help of a good SEO specialist (who keeps him/her selfalways up to date with new developments) will be invaluable inhelping your site achieve high visibility. Some SEO tips include:creating a rich and informative text with a lot of keywords, linksexchange, frequently update the content of your site.
Other web marketing tools
Anotherway to market your website and position it high in the search enginesresults, is Pay Per Click. Both Yahoo and Google provide this tool,which consists in bidding a certain amount of money for each keyword.If you bid for a certain keyword, your site will come up on the sideof the page, once the user types the keyword in. If the viewerdecides to click on your advertised link, the search engine willcharge you money. PPC also provides you with countless statistics onevery aspect of the visits your website receives (i.e. whatpercentage of visitors left your site after visiting a certain page;the most popular keywords and much more), thus PPC can be a veryuseful tool to develop a marketing strategy for your site.
Other web site marketing tips:
Wehave seen how important it is to have a good content, rich ofrelevant text and information, for search engines to consider listingyour site. Now, the content is also very important to keep thevisitors browsing your site and end up buying your products orservices.
*The site’s content must be interesting and relevant.
*Avoid ‘under construction’ pages or inactive links; keep yourwebsite tidy, or the site and your company will look unprofessional.
*Make sure that your contact details are always visible and clear onevery page.
*Word of mouth is important in getting your site known. In cyberspace,blogs, forums, chat groups and RSS are equivalents of socialgatherings where people exchange ideas. Use these tools to youradvantage to promote your site.
*Ads on ‘traditional media’ such as papers, magazines, TV, radioetc can also help make not only your products, but also your websiteknown.
10 Ways to Maximize Your Profits When Buying or Selling Real Estate
Whetheryou’re an investor or buying for your personal use you’ll find these tipsextremely beneficial to your bank account. Here are the 10 best ways to putmore money in your pocket on every real estate transaction that you’re involvedin.
"APenny Saved is A Penny Earned” --- Ben Franklin
Withreal estate a 'Penny' can easily turn into several hundred or thousands ofdollars. Whether you’re a 'buy and hold' landlord, a wholesaler, arehabber, or you’re buying for yourself you have to watch the numbers carefullyto maximize your profits, or savings, on every
purchase or sale. Below is alist of places that you can save (or lose) money in every transaction.
purchase or sale. Below is alist of places that you can save (or lose) money in every transaction.
SURVEY – closing costs can be a killer when they addthem up; always check to see if the previous owner has a survey that you canutilize
TITLE COMMITMENT – along with a survey, the previousowner may have a title commitment that you can get partial credit for andreduce your closing costs
HAVE THE BUYER/SELLER PAY THE TITLE INSURANCE – anegotiation point that is often overlooked. In Florida
‘NET’ SALE
TERMITE INSPECTION – don’t pay for them. I use aguy that will inspect for free and if there are active termites I give him thework. I don’t necessarily pay for it, I just give his estimate fortreatment to whoever is responsible.
HOME INSPECTION – this will cost you money upfrontbut will save you money in the long run. When buying this goes without saying,and when selling you can show your prospective buyers a clean report or correctthe issues before they come up. It’s always cheaper to get the work donewith a handyman than having a licensed contractor do the work, which most realestate agents will require.
PRE-HAB – once again this is aninvestment. Especially for wholesale deals that just look ‘ugly’, a fewhundred dollars in cleanup and fixing the ‘ugly’ will open up your property tomany more buyers who wouldn’t otherwise be interested and net you more money inthe end.
LOSS MITIGATION FEE – if you are negotiating a shortsale always ask for a negotiation fee or marketing fee to get additional moneyfrom the transaction. This doesn’t mean they’ll accept it, but if youdon’t ask you could be leaving money on the table.
CURB APPEAL – every buyer sees the front of the housefirst and their opinion of it will be based on the first impression. Plantsome flowers, paint the house (if only the front side) and make sure yourproperty looks as good, or better, from the outside than it does inside andyou’ll be sure to get the most you can for any property.
STAGING – this is another simple selling investmentthat makes a bigger difference in the buyers eye than you canimagine. Staging hides imperfections and flaws by drawing your buyersattention away from them. You can do something as simple as buying $100worth of towels, candles and accessories from discount chain stores, or go allthe way by hiring someone to paint and stage with furniture. Either wayyou’ll be getting a good return on your investment. (On the flip side, whenbuying, don’t let these items deter you from looking at the property moreclosely.)
Utilize as many of these strategies as you can on every real estate purchase orsale to maximize your profits and savings. Remember that every dollar yousave or “create” can go straight to your next vacation or new car and you won’tever leave money on the table again!
Seven Steps to Successfully Plan Your Girl Scout destination
Ifyou follow these guidelines, you will be on your way to attending aGirl Scout destination.
1.Start Planning NOW!
a.If you are even thinking about going on a Girl Scout destination,start considering the costs now. Get started as soon as you thinkyou might want to apply – even if you don’t go on a Girl Scoutdestination this summer, you might go
on one next year!
on one next year!
b.www.studio2b.orglists all of the currently available Girl Scout destinations,so you can find out the costs of those you find interesting. Does itseem impossible? Look for a more affordable option – Girl Scoutdestinations cover a wide range in price.
2.Discuss the Trip with Your Family
a.Can your family help you with the costs? This doesn’t mean theyhave to write a check. They can:
i. brainstorm money-earning ideas with you
ii.help you sell more cookies this year
iii.provide transportation so you can attend more money-earning events
iv.give you some of the costs of the destination as a birthday orholiday gift
3.Check Your Balances
a.Do you have a savings account or a rainy-day fund? Think about howmuch of it you are willing to use for this experience. If you don’thave any money in a savings account, don’t worry, there are manyother options discussed on this handout.
b.What is your individual amount in your troop’s checking account? Doyou have cookie money left over from previous years? Is it availablefor you to use for the Girl Scout destination? Prioritize youruse of this money.
4.Sell Girl Scout Cookies
a.Girl Scouts are known for our cookie sale and it is a primeopportunity for a Girl Scout Teen to earn money for a Girl Scoutdestination. A Girl Scout Teen can effectively explain her goals,dreams and aspirations to inspire customers to buy cookies.
b.Little Brownie Bakers has excellent teen materials on their websiteabout entrepreneurship and outside-the-cookie-box strategies to sellmore cookies. http://www.littlebrowniebakers.com/
c.Girls accepted to Girl Scout destinations will be givenadditional opportunities by GSCNC to sell cookies and learnentrepreneurial skills from women professionals.
5.Get a Job/Fundraise!
a.If you can work at a part-time job or baby-sit to earn money for yourdestination, do it! If this is not possible for you, don’tworry, just keep working through all of these steps.
b.There are a lot of creative ways to fundraise. Check out page 10 inExploration:The Girl Scout Guide to Global Traveland also review themoney-earning information on the GSUSA Website:www.girlscouts.org/program/gs_central/money_earning/
6.Ask Your Service Unit and Association
a.Many Teen Groups, Service Units and Associations have money set asidefor Girl Scouts Teens to participate in Girl Scout destinations.Ask your leader to introduce you to your Service Unit Manager,Association Chair or Teen Group leader. Practice your “ask” aheadof time.
7.Apply for a GSCNC Girl Scout destinations Program Grant
a.Who is eligible? AnyGSCNC-registered girl or adult with financial need.
b.What expenses are covered?Program Grants can cover program fees and transportation costs for aGirl Scout destination.
c.Who decides? The Program GrantsPanel, which is made up of volunteers from around the council, meetson a monthly basis to review applications. Members of the Panelunderstand the value of expanding your horizons through educationaltravel. The Panel is very interested in helping girls that haveplanned ahead for their participation in a Girl Scout destination.
d.How is it decided? The Panellooks at your financial need, your planning and budgeting, and yourmoney-earning activities.
e.How do you apply? Fill out FormB252, the Request for Program Grant or Troop Loan. The form isavailable in Green Pages or on the website:http://www.gscnc.org/financial.html. The meeting is the third Monday of each month and the deadline isthe second Monday. Please submit requests at least 6 weeks before apayment is due.
Avoiding The 10 Biggest Home Buyer Mistakes
The following buyer’s mistakes,although not inclusive, are the ones that have consistently appearedin my decade of real estate experience.
MISTAKE #1 - Not Obtaining aMortgage Pre-approval. It may seem strange to start the homebuying mistakes with finance but there is an old real estate salesmaxim “If you can’t finance
it, you can’t sell it.” As ahome buyer, your similar maxim should be “If I can’t finance it,I can’t buy it.” There is no sense wasting your valuable timelooking at or making a purchase offer on a home which requires a newmortgage if you weren’t able to get one.Your first stop as a homebuyer shouldbe a mortgage lender’s office where you can get pre-approved inwriting for as large as a mortgage as possible. Most lenders arefree service for pre-approval. You may have to pay small fee forcredit report.
Most lenders use ratios to qualifyhome loan borrowers. For example, some lenders say your home loanpayments should not exceed 28% of gross family income and your totalmonthly loan payments, such as for an auto loan and credit cardloans, should not exceed 36%. All mortgage lenders are not the same!If you have excellent income and a perfect credit report with nodelinquencies more than 30 days, your mortgage will be considered “A”and you will get the lowest available interest rate.
The loan pre-approval increases thechances your purchase offer will be accepted from the home seller.
MISTAKE #2-Not Timing Your PurchaseCorrectly. One of the biggest mistakes is that home buyers taketoo long to acquire your home. If you take a year to acquire a homeand the market appreciate 10%, the market value of a $100,000 houserises to $110,000. Translated, this means that you need an extra$10,000 down payment to have the same equity in the home that youcould have purchased it at the beginning. Another consideration inan appreciating market is the return on your investment (downpayment). The paper return on a $5,000 down payment, ($100,000 homethat appreciates at the rate if 10%) is $10,000 or 200%. Imaginewith a steady growth over just a few years what your annual returnwill be!
MISTAKE #3 – Not Determining WhatType of Home Do I Want, What Features Must I Have. The next keyquestion for home buyers shifts the focus to the type of home youwant. Include the features it absolutely must have, and whatfeatures you would like it to have within your price range.
Please take some time now to write ona separate piece of paper the type of the home you want and thefeatures it must have. Be reasonable and practical.
MISTAKE #4 – Only considerLocation while ignoring other factors such as, how long will my jobcommute be, and what is the quality of the community. Evenlocation has its pros and cons. None is perfect. Commute to workduring the morning rush hour and home again in the evening rushhours. Those far-distant suburbs, which seem so quiet and wonderfulon the weekends, will seem much less desirable after you’vesurvived an hour or more commute each way. Unless there is noalternative location for you to buy a home, wasting more than onehour each way getting to and from your work each day may not be asmart use of your time. Also before buying a home, please carefullycheck the quality of schools in the community where you areconsidering buying a home.
MISTAKE #5- Not Using a Real EstateAgent Who will Represent You as a Home Buyer If you are buying ahouse, to use an agent will help you to familiar with neighborhoods. The agent knows of local trends, it will give you access to all theavailable properties. The agent knows your local area and can giveyou professional services. The agent can give you information thatyou don’t have access such as new noisy development being builtnear the home you buy. When you sign the purchase contract, theagent can protect you from cost mistakes and speak for your bestinterests.
Please note - ads are sometimescreated to make the phone ring! Many of the homes have somedrawback that's not mentioned in the ad, such as traffic noise, powerlines, or litigation in the community. What's not mentioned in the adis usually more important than what is. For this reason, I want youto be very careful when reading ads.
Remember that the person writing thead is representing the seller and not you! The most importantthing you can do is has someone on your side looking out for yourbest interests. So whether you decide to work with me or not, pick anagent you feel comfortable with and enlist the services of that agentas a buyer's broker. Then you become a client with all the rights,benefits, and privileges created by this agency relationship, andyou're no longer just a shopper. Did you know that many homesare sold WITHOUT A SIGN ever going up or an AD EVER BEING PUT IN THEPAPER? These "great deals" go to those people who arecommitted to working with one agent. When an agent hears of a greatbuy, who do you think he's going to call? His client, who he has alegal obligation to work hard for you, or someone who just called onthe phone and said "keep your eyes open"? So to get thebest buy on a property, I always recommend that you hire your ownagent and stick with him or her.
You are probably aware the realestate agent that lists the home for sale represents the seller. The seller’s agent can also represent you as a buyer, called a“dual agency,” but that is not a good idea. The reason is theagent then has a conflict of interest, trying to get the seller thehighest price while also trying to get you the lowest cost. When theseller gives the listing agent to sell the house, the commission isfixed rate, usually 6%. The seller doesn’t care who bring abuyer because the commission is fixed cost. Seller only cares tosell the home to the highest bid. By working with the seller’sagent, the buyer is not especially well represented and certainlywon’t be encouraged by the agent to consider other homes forpossible purchase. It won’t help you to negotiate price. It’sthe seller who makes decision to sell, not the listing agent.
MISTAKE #6—Before making apurchase offer, neglecting to ask your agent to show you a writtenfair market value of the home. Before making a purchase offer,ask your agent to prepare a written CMA (Comparative Market Analysis)form showing fair market value of the home. This is like“mini-appraisal”. The CMA form is the same one that was given tothe home seller by the listing agent at the time of listing theresident for sale. It shows recent sales prices of comparable nearbyhome as well as asking prices of other neighborhood homes currentlylisted for sale. With the help of your agent, you can add orsubtract value for the pros and cons of the home you want to buy ascompared to the recently sold houses. Your agent should haveinspected all the recent nearby home sales so you can be told abouttheir special features.
MISTAKE #7—Before making your offer, failure to request a fullwritten disclosure of all known defects in the home you want to buy.
Michigan now has a law requiring homesellers to disclosure in writing, all known defects in the residence. Before making your offer, asking the agent for a copy of this sellerdisclosure statement. It is very important to have this defectdisclosure information before you make your written offer. Forexample, if the roof leaks, you will want to subtract the cost of anew roof from the amount you offer for the home. In Michigan, if theseller fails to disclosure a known defect in writing, you have thelegal right to cancel the transaction and obtain a full refund ofyour money.
MISTAK #8—Failure to ask whatpersonal property is included in the sales price. The generalrule is the sale of real property includes personal property that hasbeen permanently attached to the structure. Such items are called“fixtures.” To illustrate, drapery rods are included in the salebecause they are permanently attached, but not the drapers (sincethey are not permanently attached and can be removed without damageto the building).
Most printed home purchase contractsspecify what personal property will be included in the sales price ofthe home. For example, you probably want the kitchen appliances,washer, dryer, carpets, window coverings included. Be sure toitemize them in your purchase offer, even if the listing informationsays they are included.
MISTAKE #9—Failure to ask your agent what contingency clausesyou should include in your purchase offer.
Virtually every home purchase offershould contain at least two contingencies: (1) a finance contingencyclause and (2) professional inspection and approval contingencyclause. Even though you are pre-approved for a home loan, you stillneed a finance contingency clause just in case the house doesn’tappraise for the amount of your purchase price. You should need aprofessional inspection contingency clause so you can have the housethoroughly inspected. In addition, include contingencies forcustomary inspections such as for termites and radon. Your agent cangive you full details.
Be sure to accompany the professionalinspector. He or She will point out any defects discovered and theirapproximate cost of repair. Many defects look far more serious thantheir area. For example, a few years ago I bought a house with a bigcrack in the basement wall. When I accompanied the inspector, hetold me the crack wasn’t as bad as it looked and could be repairedfor about $200. It turned out the repair cost was only $180. Butthe ugly crack, I’m sure, prevented other perspective buyers frombuying the house. As a result, I got a bargain price. Theprofessional inspection contingency clause not only protects you frombuying a “lemon” house, but it also gives you leverage over theseller to repair any defects that are discovered.
MISTAKE #10—Failure to ask youragent, “How Much Will My Closing Costs Be?” Before yourpurchase offer is presented to the home seller, ask your real estateagent to prepare a written estimate of your closing costs. These arethe expenses you will be expected to pay at the time the sale closes. They normally amount to 3 to 5% of the home cost. For example, theyinclude costs for the mortgage loan fee (already quoted by themortgage lender at the time your home loan was pre-approved),homeowner’s insurance premium, pro-rated mortgage interest to theend of the current month, pro-rated property taxes, escrow fee,recording fee, title insurance, etc.
Summary. These 10 tips are importantconsiderations for buying your next property correctly, so you don’tmake costly mistakes. Never be afraid to ask your agent anyquestions you have.
Top 10 Tips for Home Buyers to Beware of Before and During their Loan Process with Today’s Lending
1. Before applying for a loan pay all your bills on time. Bills that are reported to credit bureaus take priority. Paying bills on time will create a positive history and increase your credit score rating.
2. Before and during your loan do not apply or open any new credit cards, car loans, debt or lines of credit. This will for a period of time decrease your credit
score.
3. Before and during your process save as much money as possible. Try even paying your minimum payment due on each bill. Don’t try paying off your credit cards when you are in the processing stages of a loan. This allows you to save more for your down payment. Use cash to make purchases while getting qualified.
4. Prior to and during your loan process do not cancel any credit cards or lines of credit. Canceling open lines of credit or credit cards can lower your credit score rating especially if it is one with a history of being paid on time.
5. Before and during the process keep your credit cards, auto loans, school loans at fifty percent or below their available limits. When limits are maxed out or have no room it burdens your credit score rating. This implies to the credit bureaus that your income isn’t covering your monthly bills and therefore you need to charge.
6. Before getting approved seek out a lender who will help you find a grant or assistance that you may qualify for to receive a down payment. Many cities and states offer grants or loans.
7. Before getting approved find a lender who has a variety or products. No Down Payment Programs do still exist. Find a lender who knows what they are and the locations the homes need to be in.
8. Before getting approved ask parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles for your inheritance now. I know this sounds morbid, but if they wait until they pass you may be taxed on your inheritance. You can use gift money as a down payment with most loan programs. You may only need 3.5% of the purchase price for the down payment.
9. Before you get approved consider a 2 or 3 unit home as an option to buy. If you need more income this can be a great way to increase your chances on an approval. Most loan programs will allow you to count a portion of your future rented apartment income to help you get qualified.
10. Before deciding on a lender seek out a trusted company or referral with many loan program choices. Most mortgage companies offer a variety of lenders. They most likely can even choose from local lender to fit you into several optional loan programs. All rates are controlled by the Federal Reserve. If you trust your lender that is key to a safe loan program with great rates for your specific needs.
2. Before and during your loan do not apply or open any new credit cards, car loans, debt or lines of credit. This will for a period of time decrease your credit
score.
3. Before and during your process save as much money as possible. Try even paying your minimum payment due on each bill. Don’t try paying off your credit cards when you are in the processing stages of a loan. This allows you to save more for your down payment. Use cash to make purchases while getting qualified.
4. Prior to and during your loan process do not cancel any credit cards or lines of credit. Canceling open lines of credit or credit cards can lower your credit score rating especially if it is one with a history of being paid on time.
5. Before and during the process keep your credit cards, auto loans, school loans at fifty percent or below their available limits. When limits are maxed out or have no room it burdens your credit score rating. This implies to the credit bureaus that your income isn’t covering your monthly bills and therefore you need to charge.
6. Before getting approved seek out a lender who will help you find a grant or assistance that you may qualify for to receive a down payment. Many cities and states offer grants or loans.
7. Before getting approved find a lender who has a variety or products. No Down Payment Programs do still exist. Find a lender who knows what they are and the locations the homes need to be in.
8. Before getting approved ask parents, grandparents, aunts or uncles for your inheritance now. I know this sounds morbid, but if they wait until they pass you may be taxed on your inheritance. You can use gift money as a down payment with most loan programs. You may only need 3.5% of the purchase price for the down payment.
9. Before you get approved consider a 2 or 3 unit home as an option to buy. If you need more income this can be a great way to increase your chances on an approval. Most loan programs will allow you to count a portion of your future rented apartment income to help you get qualified.
10. Before deciding on a lender seek out a trusted company or referral with many loan program choices. Most mortgage companies offer a variety of lenders. They most likely can even choose from local lender to fit you into several optional loan programs. All rates are controlled by the Federal Reserve. If you trust your lender that is key to a safe loan program with great rates for your specific needs.
How To Create A Liberty Reserve and Ebuy Gold Account !
Step1: Set up a Free Liberty Reserve Account at www.libertyreserve.com
Step2: Set up a Free Ebuy Gold Account at http://ebuygold.com
Youcan view the demo: http://ebuygold.com/demo/reg.html
Step3: Log in to your Ebuy Gold account and add your Liberty Reserve account name and account number (which starts with U) into theappropriate boxes
Gohalfway down the page you will see 3 drop boxes.
- In the 1st drop down box "Please choose e-currency you wish to buy." Highlight "Liberty ReserveUSD"
- In the 2nd box enter $280
- In the 3rd drop down box choose method Western Union.
Clickon Proceed... Then Print the information instructions.
Afterprinting the instructions then click on confirm. You will then Receiveyour EBUYGOLD Confirmation number (EBG1111111)
Step5: Head to Western Union
Onyour Western Union transfer at the bottom, check add message tobeneficiary (recipient)
Themessage you put is this box is “EBUYGOLD.COM No EBG1111111”
Makethe (EBG111111) your confirmation number that you received in Step 4
Note:You can use any of the Western Union walk-in locations
Ifyou are living in USA or Canada, you can send money via Western Uniononline.
Aftersending the money online you must call to confirm your transaction,otherwise Western Union will cancel your order. Also I noticed bypaying online, the Western Union Fees Triple.
Afteryou finish the process of payment, write down the 10 digit MoneyTransfer Control Number (MTCN) of your payment at Western Union
Step6: Go back to the www.ebuygold.comsite and update your order status to 'Pending' after sending themoney.
2) Choose the Order Number you placed and click.
3) Enter exact amount you sent to Ebuy Gold and submitting WesternUnion 10 digit MTCN.
4) Click confirm button.
Afterthis keep an eye on your email to see when the transaction iscomplete. Upon payment verification the payment will betransferred to your Liberty Reserve (USD) account:
Onceyour Liberty reserve account is funded then you can Join TVI bygetting you referrers link and clicking on join now at the top rightand follow the process.
WithLiberty Reserve, instead of using the prepaid voucher option, youwill choose the pay via liberty reserve account and TVI will take the$275 out of your Liberty Reserve account.
13 Critical Points To Making Your Website Actually Make You Money
Everyoneknows that you need to have a website to compete in business thesedays, right?
Youmight ask, Is that true, even for a contractor?
Ofcourse it is. Especially if you are marketing to homeowners. If you are doing work with General Contractors, then you can still use yourwebsite as a marketing tool to get work with GC’s that give youbetter paying jobs.
Inany case, it is vital to any business these days to have a website.And most of you probably already do. However, there is a differencebetween having a website, and having a website that actually makesyou money.
Ican’t get over the companies that spend thousands of dollarsdesigning a fancy website that turns out to be an oversized businesscard. Getting them no sales, costing them tons of money, andaccomplishing nothing.
Thegood news for you is that if you don’t have a website up andrunning right now, it is dirt cheap to get it done. In fact you canprobably hire a high school kid to get your site done for you and hecould do just as good a job as the computer programmers that havebeen doing it for 10 years.
However,having a fancy site is not what is important when it comes to gettingmore sales, or closing the right kind of deals.
Whatis important is using direct response marketing techniques whendesigning your website. This is something you can’t buy from thehigh school kid or a career computer programmer. No matter how muchexperience a web designer has, if they don’t understand what weknow about direct response marketing, then you are wasting your timeand money. Most of them know nothing about it.
Thismanual will educate you on the 13 critical points you need tounderstand and implement into your website to get maximum resultsfrom minimum cost. Lets get started!
CriticalPoint #1. Your Website Needs a Purpose!
FirstI need to ask you a question:
Whydo you have a website?
Isit to show off your company to friends and family?
Isit so you can feel good about yourself when you log onto the internetand you see your company there?
Ithink we’d both agree, your bank account balance is more importantthat a fancy website that you can show off to your friends.
Soyou need to decide what is the purpose of your website? Do you wantit to generate highly qualified leads, do you want to educate people?Do you want to capture email addresses? Do you want to sell products?You can even have your website set appointments with prospects foryou.
Iwould highly suggest that you use your website to do one thing.Capture the contact information for qualified leads.
Bynow you should know what type of lead you want. You know what yourperfect job looks like. My recommendation is that you decide tocapture these interested prospects contact information.
However,you decide what your websites purpose is, and build everything aroundit.
Makethis your top priority, then nurture them and market to them throughdirect mail, fax broadcasting, email courses
Secret2: Your Website Needs a headline.
Thisshould come as no surprise to you if you have read the other manuals. Most websites are nothing more than oversized inadequate businesscards. If you bore your visitor they will leave your site. Thesurest way to draw them in is to grab their attention with a greatheadline.
Bynow you should have created your unique selling proposition. Youshould have also identified at least one niche, if not multipledifferent niches. You may choose to buy several domain names, adifferent one for every different niche.
SoWhat makes a good headline for a website?
Ifyour headline conveys a benefit of interest to your key reader, thenyou have a much better chance at getting them to stay on your websitefor just a moment longer. (No guarantee that they stay and read thewhole thing, but at least you get them for a moment longer.) If youuse a weak headline your website is history. The reader closes thewindow in the blink of an eye.
Oneway to write good headlines is to brain storm them. Sit down andwrite 10 or 15 headlines. By doing this, you may uncover the diamondthat really works for you.
Headlinedesign:
Don’tuse a fancy fonts. Don’t use crazy colors. Use as simple of adesign as possible. Times Roman Font is the tried and true font ofall time. It is easy to read. Make sure your readers can see clearly,make it big enough to capture their eye right off the bat.
Simpleand Direct is the best.
Secret3: Opening paragraph
Youmust keep your reader interested. The Headline’s job is to makeyour reader interested enough to read the next sentence. That iswhere your opening paragraph comes into play.
Theopen paragraph must also be interesting. Make it captivating. Startwith a story, or meaningful questions. Or a bold statement.
Don’ttalk about you and your company. They don’t care about you, theycare about whatever problem or issue is on their mind.
Youmust try to tap into that problem or issue. If you know most peoplego to your website looking for a painting contractor to paint acouple of rooms in their home, then speak to that prospect.
Talkto them about the difficulties of finding a good painter. Explain tothem the damage a bad painter can do to their home or job. Give thema check list of qualifications to ask every painter they talk to.
Ispend a lot of time on the opening paragraph and headlines of mymarketing pieces and websites. It is critical that you get thisright.
Youjust don’t have a lot of time with your prospects, they won’tstand for being bored.
Getbold and outrageous if you have to, but make sure you don’t losetheir attention.
Secret4. Testimonials
Againthis should come as no surprise to you if you have read and studiedthe other manuals.
Testimonialsare an extremely important marketing tool. You want to load yourwebsite up with as many testimonials you can. You really can’toveruse testimonials.
Onething you want to make sure you do with testimonials is have themeach deal with a certain topic or concern your audience has.
Ifyou know many of your clients are concerned about having a contractorstart the work but not finish it for 2 or 3 weeks longer than theypromised, use a couple testimonials that say:
“ABCConstruction was on time when they started and they even finished thejob earlier than we expected. They did a great job, and it was donefast!”
Usetestimonials on the home page, but also in your emails you send out,the letters you use to market to them and everything else you do.
Alsouse pictures on your website along with the testimonials. This isextremely powerful. People are skeptical. If you can use picturesalong with the testimonials, then you are going to be even morebelievable.
Remember,you can’t over use testimonials. Just make sure you have a systemto collect them from every satisfied customer, EVERY TIME!
Itsalso best to make sure they sign the form saying that they are okaywith you using their name in your marketing, etc.
Secret5: Capture Data
Aswe talked previously, your marketing dollars need to be focused onthe people that are interested prospects.
Thebest way to do this is through lead generation advertising. Just torecap, Lead Generation advertising is the advertising you do to makeyour prospect raise his or her hand and say
“Hey,I’m interested in that, can I have some more information?”
Thisis what we are looking for from your website as well. So it iscritical that you capture information from your interested prospectsas effectively as possible.
Youdo this by giving them something of value for free.
Itdoesn’t have to cost you anything. In fact it shouldn’t cost youanything. It should be information.
Over80% of all people go on the web to look for information. To educatethemselves on a particular topic. So you need to use this to youradvantage.
Ifthey are coming to your website they are doing it for one reason.They want more information about you and your company, or whateveryou offered them to get them there.
Youmay send out your direct mailers directing them to a website to get afree report instantly.
Thisis the way to capture the interested prospects. Just the way I run mybusiness. I offer a free report of value, and the only way to getthat free report is to give me your contact information.
Anothergreat way to capture data, is by offering a “Home Improvement”email course or “Keep your Lawn and Garden Looking Great” emailcourse.
Theseemail courses can be 4 or 5 weeks long, you write an email each weektelling your prospects how to do whatever it is they are interestedin learning.
Itdoesn’t even need to be the same service that you provide. Youcould be teaching them how to keep their garden looking great, eventhough you aren’t a gardening contractor. If you explain to themwhy you are qualified to teach them, then they won’t have a problemwith it.
Maybeyour partner company “xyz gardening” has been in the business for29 years and he’s the one writing the email course. You can offerseveral different courses, but make sure you don’t get toocomplicated.
Atfirst I would start with 1 free report, and 1 email course.
Justkeep it simple and start to capture the data!
Secret6. Using Audio and Video
Thisis another great way to keep people at your website a little longer.Putting audio and video on the internet has become easy andmainstream these days. With more and more people being connectedthrough high speed internet connections
Peoplelike to be involved with multiple media. Meaning that it ismore interesting to a person to see movement, hear sound and readthan just one of those items alone.
Agood way to use audio is to have your voice and picture on the homepage. As soon as someone comes to the website your voice startstalking. You welcome them to your website and then you can just startreading the home page, or say something of interest to them. Usuallyit’s a good idea for them to be able to turn off the sound if theywant to.
Anothergreat use of audio and video is to put them on as testimonials.Videotape a job you have done and then capture the owner of the homeor project on film.
Getthem to give you a testimonial while you are filming them on video.
Thisis a great way to use audio and video.
Secret7. The Ego Meter
Thisis more of a copywriting technique than anything. But it is vitalthat you use good copywriting on your website as well as in yourdirect mail and other marketing materials.
Partof quality copywriting is focusing on your reader not yourself.
Forsome reason websites tend to be even more self centered than otheradvertising mediums. The home page talks about “Me, Me, Me, or Us,Us, Us”
Theyeven have a whole page dedicated to “About Us”.
Now,some people do want to know that you are reputable company thatstands behind their product or service, etc. I’m not saying youshouldn’t discuss this, just make sure you don’t focus on you,but you focus on the prospect.
Noone cares about you. They are interested in getting what they wanttaken care of. If they have a problem they want it solved. If theyare looking at putting in a new swimming pool they want to know howto make the best decision.
Somake your website “Them” oriented. Let your prospect know all thebenefits of doing business with you.
Secret8.Using Multiple Websites
Thisis really a great way to SUPER NICHE your prospects.
Ifyou want to do remodeling work for high end home owners you cancreate a website specifically for that niche. Then you can haveanother site for the rest of your regular business.
Thereason this is so effective is that the more you can match yourmessage to the market the more responsive the market will be.
Forexample if I were to say “Attention Contractors!” That’s apretty broad statement. But if I say “Attention CaliforniaResidential Landscaping contractors who specialize in high endhomes.” That will certainly get the attention of the guys thatqualify for that statement. Do you get it?
That’sthe benefit of using Multiple websites for your different niches. Ifyou are going to pursue 3 or 4 specific niches (which you may need todo depending on the size of each niche) then you may find itworthwhile to create several different web pages. Most of the contentcan be the same, testimonials can be the same if you want, so itdoesn’t have to be too much work for each additional site.
Secret9: Using a Non-Branded Website
Firstlet me define what I mean by non-branded website. A Non-Brandedwebsite is a site that you own and operate but your prospects don’tknow it. It has nothing to do with your company. No company nameslogos, etc. You want it to be completely separate from you. Why?
Becausestudies have shown the a consumer is 3 times as likely to believesomething coming from a unbiased third party, than they do fromcompany trying to sell them something.
Isn’tthis deceiving?
Itcan be if you do it incorrectly. What I am suggesting you use thenon-branded site for is only consumer education.
Pushyour prospects to the website using a non-branded direct mail piece.It could be a flyer that is a consumer education bulletin on findingthe right contractor to paint or remodel or carpet your home andsaving money on it.
Youtell them to visit your website for a free report. Once they havedone this you obviously have started to create a list of hotprospects that are interested in whatever service you provide. So youcan then mail to this list your own mailing piece. Now you have agood high quality list!
Secret10. Getting Traffic To Your Website Through Joint Venture Marketing
Thisis one easy and cheap way to start getting more and more traffic toyour site.
Thefirst thing to do is identify other websites or vendors who dobusiness with the same clientele that you want to be doing businesswith.
Youthen must approach them about some kind of Joint Venture. It can beas easy as them putting a link on their website and you paying amonthly fee for it, or you can arrange to share lists, and give themlimited access to your customers and vice versa.
Anothercreative way to do joint venture marketing is to offer the otherparty a monetary reward for every lead that comes to you or every jobyou do from his leads. This way he is compensated for any qualityleads he sends your way and you don’t have to pay anything if youdon’t get anything out of the relationship.
Itis important to make sure you match your target niche with that ofyour joint venture partner. If you want to be doing work forhomeowners who are extremely wealthy, then you don’t want a list ofpeople who own a tiny home and have trouble paying the bills.
Itsnot that complicated, but it does require some work on your part. Theeasiest way to get started is to identify who is doing business rightnow with the target market that you want to be doing business with.Then approach them, get to know them. Make sure you really do matchwith their customers.
Ifyou do, then make a list of everything you can offer to them. Andwhat benefits you want to gain from the deal.
Youdo need to make sure that they are getting a great deal otherwise youare dead in the water.
Youmust make it worth their while, and if it is you’ll start to gettons of great leads without the hassle of drumming them up yourself.
Secret11. Explain Your Guarantee’s in Vivid Detail!
Youcan really gain a lot of credibility by having great guarantees. Yourguarantees will set you apart from your competition if you let them.
Wehave already discussed in great detail how to create your guarantees,so I won’t re-hash that. Suffice it to say that if your prospectdoesn’t know about your guarantee, it does you no good.
Soall you really need to do is make a HUGE deal out of your outrageousguarantee.
Ifyou don’t have room for the whole thing on your home page, make alarge attention grabbing link that says
“CHECKOUT THE MOST OUTRAGEOUSLY BOLD AND GUTSY GUARANTEE IN THE INDUSTRY!CLICK HERE TO LEARN ALL ABOUT IT!”
Thenhave a page for them to read about how wonderful you guarantee is.
Makesure you advertise it!
Secret12. Set Up Appointments Online!
Thismay seem obvious now that you are reading it. But you might besurprised how few contractors actually give their prospects theopportunity to schedule a consultation or appointment right on thewebsite.
Likewe discussed earlier, people like to get answers now! Nobody has anypatience anymore. We are in an instant gratification society, sobenefit from it.
Ifyou have someone on your website that wants to meet with you and youhave the capability of allowing them to schedule a time right thereon your website that you can allow them to schedule when it works forthem, imagine the power of this technique!
Certainlythere are some considerations you need to take into account, but itdoesn’t change the fact that you’ve given your prospect what theywant, instant gratification.
Theywant you to come out, and now they have scheduled a time for that tohappen.
Oncethey input the time, you get notified. If that time doesn’t workyou call him back and reschedule, and even if it does work, you callhim back and make sure he is a qualified prospect.
Thisis a very powerful addition to your website!
Secret13. An Irresistible Offer
Againthis is something that you have probably already heard previously inthis toolkit. But it is a vital element to your website making youmoney.
Youhave to give your prospects something they absolutely can’t refusein return for what you want.
Wantyou want is probably pretty simple. You want contact info, or anappointment, or you want them to call you so you can get anappointment or close the sale.
Sowhat do you give away in return for that? A high value item that yourprospect desperately wants. We discussed previously email courses on“Doing It Yourself” consumer advisories, free reports etc.
Thebest way to beef up an offer is to give them more. So instead of justgiving them a free report, give them a “Toolkit” that includes afree report, and audio cd.
Youcan beef it up still by having a free report, audio cd and even aDVD.
Thenyou can add more value by giving them a coupon for cost savings ifthey are one of the first 39 to order your free toolkit.
Itsas simple as that. Find out what your prospect wants and give it tothem. But make sure they return what you want as well!
Iknow that these 13 secrets will dramatically improve the performanceof your website.
Startslow implement a few of them, and eventually you’ll have the mostprofitable website in the industry!
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