How I Became a Freelance Writer
I am a Graduate in English and based in India. I started out as a computer hardware professional about 14 years ago and stumbled upon 'writing' as a career, and have been doing just that for the past 6 years. Mainly because I found it more interesting and fulfilling than tinkering with the entrails of desktop personal computers and laptops. What I did not realize at the time was that even though I was being paid much more than I had expected to earn, I was being taken for a royal ride by my employer.
The first two years were pretty happily spent writing for websites and seeing my writings appear on many sites from all over the globe. I got engrossed with my work and never realized that I was working from 8:30 to 6:30, six days a week. I would be found at my computer in the office as late as 9:00 pm at least five days a month. I averaged 11 straight hours of work a day for five years. During this time, I realized on the 2nd of January 2007, that during my 5 year stint with the content writing company I had worked for, I had written over 14000 400-500 word articles with a lot of e-books, Press Releases thrown in, and much more editing of the work done by the other two employees working with me.
It was when I was given preference over the others in the firm that politics raised its ugly head. This is when I discovered that the boss was inclined to be biased towards the fairer sex. Things began to get bitter and I decided to move on, but not before ensuring a future in a profession I had so begun to enjoy – writing.
During my 5 years with the firm it had not struck me to figure out where the boss was getting his projects or contracts from. I had always presumed his relatives in the UK and US were helping him out through their contacts there. Lady luck smiled on me in December of 2006 and the boss asked me to draft an email to a client who was very dissatisfied with a certain submission, and the project in question was in jeopardy. The blame could not be laid on me as I had not edited any of the projects submissions. Politics turned again and the boss began to favor me once more asking me to take over and ‘handle’ the client. The client had to be convinced that he was dealing with a person whose ‘mother tongue’ was English, me. So, I was given direct contact with the client. It was through one of the emails from the client that I discovered where or how the boss was getting his work – Bidding Sites!!!!!!
I decided to try my hand at it – bidding I mean. Researching the net and singling out one of the free bidding sites, I submitted about 30 bids for projects at prices I thought were quite ‘reasonable’ never once thinking that I was grossly underselling my services. I bagged one project on the 24th December 2006, my Christmas gift from God! The project was for 400, 250 word articles priced at US $1.50 each. That totaled US $600.00 !! This made me do some math.
During the past 5 years I had written over 14000 articles for my employer and was paid Rs. 6000 per month (US $150). I would write about 10 SEO articles a day, 6 days a week plus edit 20 odd articles written by the others AND write sample articles, that I now realize he was using for bidding on new projects. Here I would write 25, 250 word articles a day and finish the whole project in 16 days AND earn US $600.00 (Rs. 24000). That is 4 times my monthly salary earned in 16 days. I also discovered I had much more time for myself, family and friends. With the math done and my payment assured, I took 3 weeks leave from work for the Christmas season and worked like a madman (taking three days off, two for Christmas and one for the New Year). The boss reluctantly extended me the favor of allowing me leave of absence for three weeks considering that I had only taken a total of 20 days leave in my five years with him.
When I returned to work I was more confident in my abilities and how I was going to treat the firm’s seasoned politicians. I was surprised to find a person in my place. I was also richer and had three more projects in hand, awarded to me by a very satisfied client, who is till date keeping me quite busy. The person in my place was recommended by a very close friend of the boss and so, had acquired some extent of authority over me. I was informed that I will be working “closely” with the new man. This characteristic of the boss, putting his ego before his business was the cause of many losses to his business, and he realized that a bit too late.
This ‘new man’, having mingled with my adversaries for three weeks in my absence, had obviously developed a dislike for me even without having the opportunity to meet me, started “editing” my English. I do not mind someone of authority or experience pointing out my flaws, and I do agree I am not a perfect writer of English and do make mistakes, I am more of a technical hand than a writer, but I do know when a person who asks me, “did it rain tomorrow? You are not knowing where the mistakes are?” is rather incompetent to correct my English.
The boss did not seem to want to displease his acquaintance through whom he got this “editor” and asked me to handle a smaller project independently. This was the last straw and we decided to part ways. Today I am glad I did, I am also glad the company has survived, albeit with new employees, but no longer writing articles but are engaged in data entry. I earnestly wish them all the luck they need, after all people are earning their bread and possibly a bit of butter from the firm I spent 5 years of my life with.
I have a lot of work in hand and am earning more than 8 times compared to when I was working for a person who did not appreciate hard work, least of all recognize quality over the nonsense being doled out by his so-called ‘writers’. I never let my ego get in the way of my professional decisions, and if a client tells me I have fallen short of quality standards, I make it a point to find out what he or she found wrong with my work. I then use the feedback to improve – not to gauge the client’s knowledge of the subject.
I have learned, through experience, never to bid on projects that require one or more “samples”, and I definitely do not accept projects that will pay you after the work has been “approved”. I feel these projects reek of dishonesty and fraud. I do understand the clients need for a sample of my work and so submit just enough for him or her to assess my work and if I get the project I give it my best then leave the rest to God ,after all he brought me to the bidding sites.
In retrospect, comparing what I was earning to what I am earning today in proportion to the effort I put in, I cannot help but be grateful to the almighty and my supporters. Thank God for introducing me to biding sites.
For more information on my work and style please visit http://www.ewriterz.com/
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
So What Is Organic Gardening All About?
by: George Mole
Organic gardening is growing without chemical fertilizers, naturally building the soil to support healthy plant life. Organic gardening is a constantly evolving dance that allows you to be a full participant in your garden.
It is not a fad or new in any way. In fact, it is the oldest method of cultivation and had its first serious beginnings in Europe. It's good for your family, and it's less expensive to do. Organic gardening is really about designing the garden as a complete ecosystem, a natural environment where the gardener is a participant, not an observer. The key to organic gardening is to work with nature in the growing of plants so that the resources consumed by the garden can be replenished both minimally and consistently.
Although organic gardening does require a few changes in the way things are done from traditional gardening, you will quickly discover organic gardening is easy and fun. Reduced pollution of the environment through recycling of garden, household and other wastes rather than dumping or burning them is seen as a beneficial by product. One of the basic tenant of organic gardening is to "Feed the soil and the soil will feed the plants". This involves the mysterious world of compost making. Organic compost is a great soil conditioner, is nutrient rich and will give your plants, crops and flowers all they need to prosper.
Organic matter (decayed plant material) is an essential ingredient in fertile soils, improving the soil tilth while preventing soil compaction and crusting. Adding organic matter improves any soil's texture as well as attracting soil organisms that create nutrients in the soil. Sadly, many people still view organic gardening as a niche or trend, not realizing the incredible benefits gained. Organic gardening benefits not only you and your family, but your land, animals and the earth. Benefits to our children and pets, which are often accidentally exposed to pesticides sprayed on people's lawns and gardens.
Benefits to wildlife if pesticide residue is kept out of our waterways and land. Benefits to the world (a recent study has shown that global warming IS happening, and it IS caused by humans) by keeping pesticides, herbicides and fungicides out of our air and soil. Remember that organic gardening is much more than preparing soil, using mulch, avoiding synthetic disease and pest controls, and planting your plants. When the kids discover how much fun organic gardening is, they will look forward to making this a normal part of life when they grow up.
by: George Mole
Organic gardening is growing without chemical fertilizers, naturally building the soil to support healthy plant life. Organic gardening is a constantly evolving dance that allows you to be a full participant in your garden.
It is not a fad or new in any way. In fact, it is the oldest method of cultivation and had its first serious beginnings in Europe. It's good for your family, and it's less expensive to do. Organic gardening is really about designing the garden as a complete ecosystem, a natural environment where the gardener is a participant, not an observer. The key to organic gardening is to work with nature in the growing of plants so that the resources consumed by the garden can be replenished both minimally and consistently.
Although organic gardening does require a few changes in the way things are done from traditional gardening, you will quickly discover organic gardening is easy and fun. Reduced pollution of the environment through recycling of garden, household and other wastes rather than dumping or burning them is seen as a beneficial by product. One of the basic tenant of organic gardening is to "Feed the soil and the soil will feed the plants". This involves the mysterious world of compost making. Organic compost is a great soil conditioner, is nutrient rich and will give your plants, crops and flowers all they need to prosper.
Organic matter (decayed plant material) is an essential ingredient in fertile soils, improving the soil tilth while preventing soil compaction and crusting. Adding organic matter improves any soil's texture as well as attracting soil organisms that create nutrients in the soil. Sadly, many people still view organic gardening as a niche or trend, not realizing the incredible benefits gained. Organic gardening benefits not only you and your family, but your land, animals and the earth. Benefits to our children and pets, which are often accidentally exposed to pesticides sprayed on people's lawns and gardens.
Benefits to wildlife if pesticide residue is kept out of our waterways and land. Benefits to the world (a recent study has shown that global warming IS happening, and it IS caused by humans) by keeping pesticides, herbicides and fungicides out of our air and soil. Remember that organic gardening is much more than preparing soil, using mulch, avoiding synthetic disease and pest controls, and planting your plants. When the kids discover how much fun organic gardening is, they will look forward to making this a normal part of life when they grow up.
Saturday, October 13, 2007
How I Became a Freelance Writer.
I am a Graduate in English and based in India. I started out as a computer hardware professional about 14 years ago and stumbled upon 'writing' as a career, and have been doing just that for the past 6 years. Mainly because I found it more interesting and fulfilling than tinkering with the entrails of desktop personal computers and laptops. What I did not realize at the time was that even though I was being paid much more than I had expected to earn, I was being taken for a royal ride by my employer.
The first two years were pretty happily spent writing for websites and seeing my writings appear on many sites from all over the globe. I got engrossed with my work and never realized that I was working from 8:30 to 6:30, six days a week. I would be found at my computer in the office as late as 9:00 pm at least five days a month. I averaged 11 straight hours of work a day for five years. During this time, I realized on the 2nd of January 2007, that during my 5 year stint with the content writing company I had worked for, I had written over 14000 400-500 word articles with a lot of e-books, Press Releases thrown in, and much more editing of the work done by the other two employees working with me.
It was when I was given preference over the others in the firm that politics raised its ugly head. This is when I discovered that the boss was inclined to be biased towards the fairer sex. Things began to get bitter and I decided to move on, but not before ensuring a future in a profession I had so begun to enjoy – writing.
During my 5 years with the firm it had not struck me to figure out where the boss was getting his projects or contracts from. I had always presumed his relatives in the UK and US were helping him out through their contacts there. Lady luck smiled on me in December of 2006 and the boss asked me to draft an email to a client who was very dissatisfied with a certain submission, and the project in question was in jeopardy. The blame could not be laid on me as I had not edited any of the projects submissions. Politics turned again and the boss began to favor me once more asking me to take over and ‘handle’ the client. The client had to be convinced that he was dealing with a person whose ‘mother tongue’ was English, me. So, I was given direct contact with the client. It was through one of the emails from the client that I discovered where or how the boss was getting his work – Bidding Sites!!!!!!
I decided to try my hand at it – bidding I mean. Researching the net and singling out one of the free bidding sites, I submitted about 30 bids for projects at prices I thought were quite ‘reasonable’ never once thinking that I was grossly underselling my services. I bagged one project on the 24th December 2006, my Christmas gift from God! The project was for 400, 250 word articles priced at US $1.50 each. That totaled US $600.00 !! This made me do some math.
During the past 5 years I had written over 14000 articles for my employer and was paid Rs. 6000 per month (US $150). I would write about 10 SEO articles a day, 6 days a week plus edit 20 odd articles written by the others AND write sample articles, that I now realize he was using for bidding on new projects. Here I would write 25, 250 word articles a day and finish the whole project in 16 days AND earn US $600.00 (Rs. 24000). That is 4 times my monthly salary earned in 16 days. I also discovered I had much more time for myself, family and friends. With the math done and my payment assured, I took 3 weeks leave from work for the Christmas season and worked like a madman (taking three days off, two for Christmas and one for the New Year). The boss reluctantly extended me the favor of allowing me leave of absence for three weeks considering that I had only taken a total of 20 days leave in my five years with him.
When I returned to work I was more confident in my abilities and how I was going to treat the firm’s seasoned politicians. I was surprised to find a person in my place. I was also richer and had three more projects in hand, awarded to me by a very satisfied client, who is till date keeping me quite busy. The person in my place was recommended by a very close friend of the boss and so, had acquired some extent of authority over me. I was informed that I will be working “closely” with the new man. This characteristic of the boss, putting his ego before his business was the cause of many losses to his business, and he realized that a bit too late.
This ‘new man’, having mingled with my adversaries for three weeks in my absence, had obviously developed a dislike for me even without having the opportunity to meet me, started “editing” my English. I do not mind someone of authority or experience pointing out my flaws, and I do agree I am not a perfect writer of English and do make mistakes, I am more of a technical hand than a writer, but I do know when a person who asks me, “did it rain tomorrow? You are not knowing where the mistakes are?” is rather incompetent to correct my English.
The boss did not seem to want to displease his acquaintance through whom he got this “editor” and asked me to handle a smaller project independently. This was the last straw and we decided to part ways. Today I am glad I did, I am also glad the company has survived, albeit with new employees, but no longer writing articles but are engaged in data entry. I earnestly wish them all the luck they need, after all people are earning their bread and possibly a bit of butter from the firm I spent 5 years of my life with.
I have a lot of work in hand and am earning more than 8 times compared to when I was working for a person who did not appreciate hard work, least of all recognize quality over the nonsense being doled out by his so-called ‘writers’. I never let my ego get in the way of my professional decisions, and if a client tells me I have fallen short of quality standards, I make it a point to find out what he or she found wrong with my work. I then use the feedback to improve – not to gauge the client’s knowledge of the subject.
I have learnt, through experience, never to bid on projects that require one or more “samples”, and I definitely do not accept projects that will pay you after the work has been “approved”. I feel these projects reek of dishonesty and fraud. I do understand the clients need for a sample of my work and so submit just enough for him or her to assess my work and if I get the project I give it my best then leave the rest to God ,after all he brought me to the bidding sites.
In retrospect, comparing what I was earning to what I am earning today in proportion to the effort I put in, I cannot help but be grateful to the almighty and my supporters. Thank God for introducing me to bidding sites.
I am a Graduate in English and based in India. I started out as a computer hardware professional about 14 years ago and stumbled upon 'writing' as a career, and have been doing just that for the past 6 years. Mainly because I found it more interesting and fulfilling than tinkering with the entrails of desktop personal computers and laptops. What I did not realize at the time was that even though I was being paid much more than I had expected to earn, I was being taken for a royal ride by my employer.
The first two years were pretty happily spent writing for websites and seeing my writings appear on many sites from all over the globe. I got engrossed with my work and never realized that I was working from 8:30 to 6:30, six days a week. I would be found at my computer in the office as late as 9:00 pm at least five days a month. I averaged 11 straight hours of work a day for five years. During this time, I realized on the 2nd of January 2007, that during my 5 year stint with the content writing company I had worked for, I had written over 14000 400-500 word articles with a lot of e-books, Press Releases thrown in, and much more editing of the work done by the other two employees working with me.
It was when I was given preference over the others in the firm that politics raised its ugly head. This is when I discovered that the boss was inclined to be biased towards the fairer sex. Things began to get bitter and I decided to move on, but not before ensuring a future in a profession I had so begun to enjoy – writing.
During my 5 years with the firm it had not struck me to figure out where the boss was getting his projects or contracts from. I had always presumed his relatives in the UK and US were helping him out through their contacts there. Lady luck smiled on me in December of 2006 and the boss asked me to draft an email to a client who was very dissatisfied with a certain submission, and the project in question was in jeopardy. The blame could not be laid on me as I had not edited any of the projects submissions. Politics turned again and the boss began to favor me once more asking me to take over and ‘handle’ the client. The client had to be convinced that he was dealing with a person whose ‘mother tongue’ was English, me. So, I was given direct contact with the client. It was through one of the emails from the client that I discovered where or how the boss was getting his work – Bidding Sites!!!!!!
I decided to try my hand at it – bidding I mean. Researching the net and singling out one of the free bidding sites, I submitted about 30 bids for projects at prices I thought were quite ‘reasonable’ never once thinking that I was grossly underselling my services. I bagged one project on the 24th December 2006, my Christmas gift from God! The project was for 400, 250 word articles priced at US $1.50 each. That totaled US $600.00 !! This made me do some math.
During the past 5 years I had written over 14000 articles for my employer and was paid Rs. 6000 per month (US $150). I would write about 10 SEO articles a day, 6 days a week plus edit 20 odd articles written by the others AND write sample articles, that I now realize he was using for bidding on new projects. Here I would write 25, 250 word articles a day and finish the whole project in 16 days AND earn US $600.00 (Rs. 24000). That is 4 times my monthly salary earned in 16 days. I also discovered I had much more time for myself, family and friends. With the math done and my payment assured, I took 3 weeks leave from work for the Christmas season and worked like a madman (taking three days off, two for Christmas and one for the New Year). The boss reluctantly extended me the favor of allowing me leave of absence for three weeks considering that I had only taken a total of 20 days leave in my five years with him.
When I returned to work I was more confident in my abilities and how I was going to treat the firm’s seasoned politicians. I was surprised to find a person in my place. I was also richer and had three more projects in hand, awarded to me by a very satisfied client, who is till date keeping me quite busy. The person in my place was recommended by a very close friend of the boss and so, had acquired some extent of authority over me. I was informed that I will be working “closely” with the new man. This characteristic of the boss, putting his ego before his business was the cause of many losses to his business, and he realized that a bit too late.
This ‘new man’, having mingled with my adversaries for three weeks in my absence, had obviously developed a dislike for me even without having the opportunity to meet me, started “editing” my English. I do not mind someone of authority or experience pointing out my flaws, and I do agree I am not a perfect writer of English and do make mistakes, I am more of a technical hand than a writer, but I do know when a person who asks me, “did it rain tomorrow? You are not knowing where the mistakes are?” is rather incompetent to correct my English.
The boss did not seem to want to displease his acquaintance through whom he got this “editor” and asked me to handle a smaller project independently. This was the last straw and we decided to part ways. Today I am glad I did, I am also glad the company has survived, albeit with new employees, but no longer writing articles but are engaged in data entry. I earnestly wish them all the luck they need, after all people are earning their bread and possibly a bit of butter from the firm I spent 5 years of my life with.
I have a lot of work in hand and am earning more than 8 times compared to when I was working for a person who did not appreciate hard work, least of all recognize quality over the nonsense being doled out by his so-called ‘writers’. I never let my ego get in the way of my professional decisions, and if a client tells me I have fallen short of quality standards, I make it a point to find out what he or she found wrong with my work. I then use the feedback to improve – not to gauge the client’s knowledge of the subject.
I have learnt, through experience, never to bid on projects that require one or more “samples”, and I definitely do not accept projects that will pay you after the work has been “approved”. I feel these projects reek of dishonesty and fraud. I do understand the clients need for a sample of my work and so submit just enough for him or her to assess my work and if I get the project I give it my best then leave the rest to God ,after all he brought me to the bidding sites.
In retrospect, comparing what I was earning to what I am earning today in proportion to the effort I put in, I cannot help but be grateful to the almighty and my supporters. Thank God for introducing me to bidding sites.
Friday, October 12, 2007
This is an article I found on http://www.articlecity.com/ - Kudos Royleena
Brand Yourself And Success Will Come!
by: Royleena Nicholas
The internet is growing daily with folk who are looking for ways to earn a comfortable living from their home base. However, the sad truth is many online business owners never make a profit online! Sadly, even in today's online market, many business owners have no idea how to effectively market their internet business. In addition, they don't understand the importance of "branding" their name to build a quality online presence and reputation.
To welcome online success, "branding you" should be the number one online business owners' priority. When beginning an online Internet career, it is detrimental to online longevity that the online promoter cultivate a squeaky clean image.
Many online business owners tarnish their name, by promoting worthless downloadable software and eBooks. It is a good idea to test-drive any eBook or software package before you decide to promote the product as an affiliate marketer. It's not an intelligent idea to promote worthless products to your opt-in list, so be careful what you endorse online.
Another way you can ruin your branded name and good reputation is opportunity jumping or program hopping. To highlight this point, I will talk about only five popular online business programs that are heavily promoted online. The programs are Perfect Wealth Formula, edc Gold, Passport to Wealth, Wealth Magnet System and Roadmap to Riches.
Lets go back a few months to when Passport to Wealth launched in February 2007. Since February I have seen the same top earners, jump from :
(1) edc Gold to (2) Passport to Wealth to (3) Perfect Wealth Formula to (4) Wealth Magnet System and now to (5) Roadmap to Riches.
What a great way to earn instant cash daily! Now. I am not saying, that all these business opportunity promoters are all tarred with the same brush, but in amongst this group of business promoters are a few bad eggs, that like nothing more than to take your hard earned money and thereafter never return your emails or phone calls.
The good news is it doesn't take long before the online internet community, catches onto these dirty quick cash generating tricks and unlike the offline business world, this type of underhanded home business owner can't move to another state or country, and start all over again!
To profit quickly on the net, firstly brand and protect your name. Next make sure you do your research and only promote quality products. To explode your success online, in your first year, it is a good idea to find yourself a personal eCoach to educate yourself in online advertising and marketing methods.
To conclude, every new internet business promoter should understand that online marketing success doesn't happen overnight; sometimes it can take 2-3 years to build a successful online presence. I believe, perseverance is the key to success, with any Internet business and online marketing endeavour.
http://www.ewriterz.com
http://dexterfigg.blogspot.com
http://figgdexter.blogspot.com
http://viewzornewz.blogspot.com
http://hadesviking.sulekha.com
http://infoonwork.blogspot.com
Brand Yourself And Success Will Come!
by: Royleena Nicholas
The internet is growing daily with folk who are looking for ways to earn a comfortable living from their home base. However, the sad truth is many online business owners never make a profit online! Sadly, even in today's online market, many business owners have no idea how to effectively market their internet business. In addition, they don't understand the importance of "branding" their name to build a quality online presence and reputation.
To welcome online success, "branding you" should be the number one online business owners' priority. When beginning an online Internet career, it is detrimental to online longevity that the online promoter cultivate a squeaky clean image.
Many online business owners tarnish their name, by promoting worthless downloadable software and eBooks. It is a good idea to test-drive any eBook or software package before you decide to promote the product as an affiliate marketer. It's not an intelligent idea to promote worthless products to your opt-in list, so be careful what you endorse online.
Another way you can ruin your branded name and good reputation is opportunity jumping or program hopping. To highlight this point, I will talk about only five popular online business programs that are heavily promoted online. The programs are Perfect Wealth Formula, edc Gold, Passport to Wealth, Wealth Magnet System and Roadmap to Riches.
Lets go back a few months to when Passport to Wealth launched in February 2007. Since February I have seen the same top earners, jump from :
(1) edc Gold to (2) Passport to Wealth to (3) Perfect Wealth Formula to (4) Wealth Magnet System and now to (5) Roadmap to Riches.
What a great way to earn instant cash daily! Now. I am not saying, that all these business opportunity promoters are all tarred with the same brush, but in amongst this group of business promoters are a few bad eggs, that like nothing more than to take your hard earned money and thereafter never return your emails or phone calls.
The good news is it doesn't take long before the online internet community, catches onto these dirty quick cash generating tricks and unlike the offline business world, this type of underhanded home business owner can't move to another state or country, and start all over again!
To profit quickly on the net, firstly brand and protect your name. Next make sure you do your research and only promote quality products. To explode your success online, in your first year, it is a good idea to find yourself a personal eCoach to educate yourself in online advertising and marketing methods.
To conclude, every new internet business promoter should understand that online marketing success doesn't happen overnight; sometimes it can take 2-3 years to build a successful online presence. I believe, perseverance is the key to success, with any Internet business and online marketing endeavour.
http://www.ewriterz.com
http://dexterfigg.blogspot.com
http://figgdexter.blogspot.com
http://viewzornewz.blogspot.com
http://hadesviking.sulekha.com
http://infoonwork.blogspot.com
Ten Ways to Write Great Blog Posts That Get Attention
by: Courtland Bovee
Millions of blogs fight for readership online (over 75 million by some counts), with thousands more being created every day. Making yours stand above the rest may seem like a daunting task, but here are ten suggestions for making your blog posts stand out from the crowd.
1. Write each post title so it grabs the reader's attention. It is the first thing someone reads, and it should get your reader's attention right away. Your title should both pique the reader's interest and be informative. Do not write "Business Writing Advice"; instead, say "The Best-Kept Secret to Reducing Your Business Writing Worries." Longer titles have the advantage of describing in detail what your post is about; 8-12 words are a good range.
2. Keep sentences short and clear. A little goes a long way. Readers are busy people and they will not spend hours detangling complex syntax or sifting through blocks of text. Also, use strong language. Start a new paragraph every few sentences, and limit each post to 250 words, if possible. If you cannot write it in under 250 words, split it into two entries.
3. Break up the text. Use numbered lists, bullet points, and subheadings to make your posts easy to scan. Lots of white space on the page is a good thing-it allows your reader to take mental breaks and let the knowledge soak in. In addition, with the inevitable clutter of banner ads and side text, this technique puts some distance between your writing and all those distractions.
4. Keep current. No one wants to read old news. Your job is to stay up-to-date so your readers do not have to themselves. Read newspapers. Scour the web for references. For example, if you write a blog about business communication, subscribe to Google News Alerts using keywords related to the field, such as blogs, podcasting, instant messaging, business letters, memos, and business reports, so you will always be well informed. Posting items from last month or last year will lose your reader's interest faster than you can say "Enron."
5. Be bold. Timidity is an easy path to anonymity. Do not be afraid to create and state your opinions. Of course, there are some situations in which objectivity rules-but you have to give people a reason to read this blog by you and not by the person next door.
6. Be accurate. If you make a statement, be prepared to back it up. Know what your sources are and quote them accurately. Misinformation spreads like wildfire online; do not be the spark that sets it off or the wind that fans it.
7. Contribute to the conversation. Links are great-but then what? Do not just post links to the same tired sites, offer your reader something new. Contribute to the conversation. Your goal is to be the site to which everyone else is linking-so you had better have something worth writing about.
8. Stay focused. Once you have defined the theme of your blog, stick to it. A blog about piggy banks has no business posting about the latest innovation in alternative energy. Such a deviance will only confuse your reader and chip away at your virtual authority.
9. Use key words liberally. Keywords are, well, key. Harness your blog's search engine potential by dousing your title and post with effective keywords that will help interested parties find your page in the vast, muddled blogosphere. This is one of the most important elements of getting your blog read-go at it with gusto.
10. Be consistent. Keep a schedule and stick to it. Post frequently-at least several times per week if you want to increase your potential of attracting new readers. Let your blog languish for weeks without updates and your audience will move on to fresher ground.
Maintaining an informative blog that people want to read takes hard work and good writing skills. Find what makes your writing unique-and flaunt it for all it is worth.
by: Courtland Bovee
Millions of blogs fight for readership online (over 75 million by some counts), with thousands more being created every day. Making yours stand above the rest may seem like a daunting task, but here are ten suggestions for making your blog posts stand out from the crowd.
1. Write each post title so it grabs the reader's attention. It is the first thing someone reads, and it should get your reader's attention right away. Your title should both pique the reader's interest and be informative. Do not write "Business Writing Advice"; instead, say "The Best-Kept Secret to Reducing Your Business Writing Worries." Longer titles have the advantage of describing in detail what your post is about; 8-12 words are a good range.
2. Keep sentences short and clear. A little goes a long way. Readers are busy people and they will not spend hours detangling complex syntax or sifting through blocks of text. Also, use strong language. Start a new paragraph every few sentences, and limit each post to 250 words, if possible. If you cannot write it in under 250 words, split it into two entries.
3. Break up the text. Use numbered lists, bullet points, and subheadings to make your posts easy to scan. Lots of white space on the page is a good thing-it allows your reader to take mental breaks and let the knowledge soak in. In addition, with the inevitable clutter of banner ads and side text, this technique puts some distance between your writing and all those distractions.
4. Keep current. No one wants to read old news. Your job is to stay up-to-date so your readers do not have to themselves. Read newspapers. Scour the web for references. For example, if you write a blog about business communication, subscribe to Google News Alerts using keywords related to the field, such as blogs, podcasting, instant messaging, business letters, memos, and business reports, so you will always be well informed. Posting items from last month or last year will lose your reader's interest faster than you can say "Enron."
5. Be bold. Timidity is an easy path to anonymity. Do not be afraid to create and state your opinions. Of course, there are some situations in which objectivity rules-but you have to give people a reason to read this blog by you and not by the person next door.
6. Be accurate. If you make a statement, be prepared to back it up. Know what your sources are and quote them accurately. Misinformation spreads like wildfire online; do not be the spark that sets it off or the wind that fans it.
7. Contribute to the conversation. Links are great-but then what? Do not just post links to the same tired sites, offer your reader something new. Contribute to the conversation. Your goal is to be the site to which everyone else is linking-so you had better have something worth writing about.
8. Stay focused. Once you have defined the theme of your blog, stick to it. A blog about piggy banks has no business posting about the latest innovation in alternative energy. Such a deviance will only confuse your reader and chip away at your virtual authority.
9. Use key words liberally. Keywords are, well, key. Harness your blog's search engine potential by dousing your title and post with effective keywords that will help interested parties find your page in the vast, muddled blogosphere. This is one of the most important elements of getting your blog read-go at it with gusto.
10. Be consistent. Keep a schedule and stick to it. Post frequently-at least several times per week if you want to increase your potential of attracting new readers. Let your blog languish for weeks without updates and your audience will move on to fresher ground.
Maintaining an informative blog that people want to read takes hard work and good writing skills. Find what makes your writing unique-and flaunt it for all it is worth.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
When Gambling Becomes a Problem
While most people enjoy casino gambling, sports betting, lottery and bingo playing for the fun and excitement it provides, others may experience gambling as an addictive and distractive habit. Statistics show that while 85 percent of the adult population in the US enjoys some type of gambling every year, between 2 and 3 percent of will develop a gambling problem and 1 percent of them are diagnosed as pathological gamblers.
Where can you draw the line between harmless gambling to problem gambling? How can you tell if you or your friend are compulsive gamblers? Here you can find answers to these questions and other questions regarding problem gambling and gambling addiction.
What is the Meaning of Problem Gambling?
Problem gambling or compulsive gambling is defined as an uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the destructive effect of gambling on the gamblers life and despite feelings of guilt and remorse. Problem gambling tends to have a negative effect on the gamblers financial state, relationships and daily life. Severe cases of problem gambling can be defined as pathological gambling.
Am I a Compulsive Gambler?
1) Do you gamble until your last penny runs out? 2) Do you gamble to win back your former losses or debts? 3) Did you ever had to borrow money to continue gamble? 4) Did your gambling habit ever made you lie to your friends or family? 5) Did you ever skip work or other obligation to gamble? 6) Do you tend to gamble to forget about your personal problems or to celebrate happy occasions? 7) Does gambling have a negative affect on your daily life or relationships?
If you have answered yes on at least one of the questions listed above, then you have a problem.
Can Anyone Become a Compulsive Gambler?
Theoretically, yes. Any gambler can develop gambling problem regardless to the type of gambling he is occupied with, the amount of money and time he is spending on gambling. Researches show that slot machines that can be found in bars and convenient stores are the most addictive type of gambling activity, while lottery draws and bingo games are located on the other end of the scale. Gambling addiction is an emotional problem; its symptoms, causes and treatments are similar to any other form of addiction.
How Can I treat Gambling Addiction?
1) Group Therapy:
Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12 step self help program similar to the one offered to alcohol addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous. Group therapy also offers gambling addicts advice and support from professional counselors and other gambling addicts in different phases of their recovery process. Gambler Anonymous centers are available in more than 1,200 locations statewide.
2) Individual Therapy:
Cognitive or behavior therapy can help gambling addicts to identify their unaware thinking and acting patterns, which led them to gamble compulsively, and to replace them with controllable and healthier ways of thinking.
3) Psychiatric Medication:
It has recently been proven that antidepressant medications from the family of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be affective in treatment of gambling addicts.
While most people enjoy casino gambling, sports betting, lottery and bingo playing for the fun and excitement it provides, others may experience gambling as an addictive and distractive habit. Statistics show that while 85 percent of the adult population in the US enjoys some type of gambling every year, between 2 and 3 percent of will develop a gambling problem and 1 percent of them are diagnosed as pathological gamblers.
Where can you draw the line between harmless gambling to problem gambling? How can you tell if you or your friend are compulsive gamblers? Here you can find answers to these questions and other questions regarding problem gambling and gambling addiction.
What is the Meaning of Problem Gambling?
Problem gambling or compulsive gambling is defined as an uncontrollable urge to gamble despite the destructive effect of gambling on the gamblers life and despite feelings of guilt and remorse. Problem gambling tends to have a negative effect on the gamblers financial state, relationships and daily life. Severe cases of problem gambling can be defined as pathological gambling.
Am I a Compulsive Gambler?
1) Do you gamble until your last penny runs out? 2) Do you gamble to win back your former losses or debts? 3) Did you ever had to borrow money to continue gamble? 4) Did your gambling habit ever made you lie to your friends or family? 5) Did you ever skip work or other obligation to gamble? 6) Do you tend to gamble to forget about your personal problems or to celebrate happy occasions? 7) Does gambling have a negative affect on your daily life or relationships?
If you have answered yes on at least one of the questions listed above, then you have a problem.
Can Anyone Become a Compulsive Gambler?
Theoretically, yes. Any gambler can develop gambling problem regardless to the type of gambling he is occupied with, the amount of money and time he is spending on gambling. Researches show that slot machines that can be found in bars and convenient stores are the most addictive type of gambling activity, while lottery draws and bingo games are located on the other end of the scale. Gambling addiction is an emotional problem; its symptoms, causes and treatments are similar to any other form of addiction.
How Can I treat Gambling Addiction?
1) Group Therapy:
Gamblers Anonymous offers a 12 step self help program similar to the one offered to alcohol addicts in Alcoholics Anonymous. Group therapy also offers gambling addicts advice and support from professional counselors and other gambling addicts in different phases of their recovery process. Gambler Anonymous centers are available in more than 1,200 locations statewide.
2) Individual Therapy:
Cognitive or behavior therapy can help gambling addicts to identify their unaware thinking and acting patterns, which led them to gamble compulsively, and to replace them with controllable and healthier ways of thinking.
3) Psychiatric Medication:
It has recently been proven that antidepressant medications from the family of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors can be affective in treatment of gambling addicts.
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Internet Marketing - Making Waves!
Recently, there has been a lot written about email and its (impending) death. From what you read on forum boards and in newsletters from well-known internet marketers, email marketing is dead. Too many ISPs are taking it upon themselves to limit the number of emails you can send at one time, or are blocking your emails from even getting to your subscribers’s inboxes.As a way around this, many marketers are telling you to get a blog and an RSS feed. This makes good sense, and there is some indication that RSS and related technology will become more popular in the near future, but before you invest in an ebook or multimedia course from a marketer, ask yourself if that marketer has a vested interest in moving you over to an RSS system (i.e., they conveniently sell an RSS starter kit, or affiliate for someone who does).On the contrary, though, email marketing is not dead. Recently, on a membership-only forum, discussion centred on how Getresponse and Aweber have improved their open and deliverability rates for emails, even as high as 85% for deliverability. One contributor, who owns an autoresponder company, noted that many tricks marketers use to get their messages past spam filters (such as using "f^ree" for "free") are actually backfiring and triggering spam filters, resulting in emails being blocked. Instead, marketers should focus on trick-free, valuable content in their emails.Apparently, email marketing works much the same way as search engine marketing (and, really, all good marketing) does: in the long run, you are rewarded for building (and sending out) trick-free, useful, and informative content.So how should you build your business? With one quality blog post or article at a time. And how should you market with email? With one quality email message at a time.
Recently, there has been a lot written about email and its (impending) death. From what you read on forum boards and in newsletters from well-known internet marketers, email marketing is dead. Too many ISPs are taking it upon themselves to limit the number of emails you can send at one time, or are blocking your emails from even getting to your subscribers’s inboxes.As a way around this, many marketers are telling you to get a blog and an RSS feed. This makes good sense, and there is some indication that RSS and related technology will become more popular in the near future, but before you invest in an ebook or multimedia course from a marketer, ask yourself if that marketer has a vested interest in moving you over to an RSS system (i.e., they conveniently sell an RSS starter kit, or affiliate for someone who does).On the contrary, though, email marketing is not dead. Recently, on a membership-only forum, discussion centred on how Getresponse and Aweber have improved their open and deliverability rates for emails, even as high as 85% for deliverability. One contributor, who owns an autoresponder company, noted that many tricks marketers use to get their messages past spam filters (such as using "f^ree" for "free") are actually backfiring and triggering spam filters, resulting in emails being blocked. Instead, marketers should focus on trick-free, valuable content in their emails.Apparently, email marketing works much the same way as search engine marketing (and, really, all good marketing) does: in the long run, you are rewarded for building (and sending out) trick-free, useful, and informative content.So how should you build your business? With one quality blog post or article at a time. And how should you market with email? With one quality email message at a time.
Saturday, October 06, 2007
Testosterone – The key to development of the body!
There is a group of Human growth hormones called the ‘Androgens’; among this group of growth hormones resides a very important human growth hormone called ‘Testosterone’; It is a growth hormone that is produced by the testicles in a man, and so, is equated with all that is masculine. Testosterone has gone to hell and back when it comes to taking a lashing for misuse especially in the sporting arena. This hormone, testosterone, has certainly acquired a reputation – and with it a personality of its own.
Testosterone maketh a man. Or does it?
Athletes and bodybuilders are the main abusers of this growth hormone and so testosterone is often believed to be the cause of aggression, bulging biceps and the all-masculine hairy chest – something the bodybuilder believes to be the worst side effect of the use of the growth hormone as a catalyst propelling him faster on his journey to the better side of masculinity. Physicians believe the worse side effects are heart disease, kidney failure and a host of other life threatening developments due to the prolonged use of testosterone, but these are mere ‘difficulties’ the body builder and athlete is willing to put up with as long as he can attain an advanced level of development in as short a time as possible. Testosterone has, what can be termed in psychological terminology as a ‘split personality’. While the use of testosterone will produce a lot of desired results such as strength, muscle mass and athletic looks, the undesirable darker side of the human growth hormone produces effects that the health conscious would avoid like the bubonic plague. So, on one hand the growth hormone can be looked upon as a hero and on the other hand, it is the villain leading you on a faster journey to your nemesis.
Testosterone – outlawed and wanted
Despite the side effects of testosterone and its cousins- the anabolic steroids - the demand for the hormone, come to be known as HGH, has increased considerably in recent times because of its widely demonstrated seemingly positive effects on the human body. The price of the hormone along with anabolic steroids increased when its use was banned for purposes other than medical therapy in the 1940’s; this gave rise to a huge black market that was estimated to be worth millions of dollars. While the law enforcers look upon the hormone with a great deal of contempt the medical fraternity admires it for its many uses as a therapeutic hormone in medicine to treat deficiencies caused by testosterone imbalances.
But will nature ever reveal all?This simple hormone that is really a series of carbon rings can wreck havoc in the human body in either circumstances – too much or too little. So how much of human behaviors and growth is actually controlled by testosterone? Does testosterone really make a man a man? Scientists are in debate since the time testosterone was discovered whether extreme high levels of the hormone actually produce criminal tendencies in men and whether it really is the hormone of desire – no reference to the part of the body where it is produced. Will we ever know? I guess not, not even if the scientific fraternity spends all the millions allotted for the research on the subject there will still be objections from other quarters of the science and research world – but then, the other faction will attribute the objections to lower levels of the hormone in the connective tissues of their objecting colleagues, I guess.
There is a group of Human growth hormones called the ‘Androgens’; among this group of growth hormones resides a very important human growth hormone called ‘Testosterone’; It is a growth hormone that is produced by the testicles in a man, and so, is equated with all that is masculine. Testosterone has gone to hell and back when it comes to taking a lashing for misuse especially in the sporting arena. This hormone, testosterone, has certainly acquired a reputation – and with it a personality of its own.
Testosterone maketh a man. Or does it?
Athletes and bodybuilders are the main abusers of this growth hormone and so testosterone is often believed to be the cause of aggression, bulging biceps and the all-masculine hairy chest – something the bodybuilder believes to be the worst side effect of the use of the growth hormone as a catalyst propelling him faster on his journey to the better side of masculinity. Physicians believe the worse side effects are heart disease, kidney failure and a host of other life threatening developments due to the prolonged use of testosterone, but these are mere ‘difficulties’ the body builder and athlete is willing to put up with as long as he can attain an advanced level of development in as short a time as possible. Testosterone has, what can be termed in psychological terminology as a ‘split personality’. While the use of testosterone will produce a lot of desired results such as strength, muscle mass and athletic looks, the undesirable darker side of the human growth hormone produces effects that the health conscious would avoid like the bubonic plague. So, on one hand the growth hormone can be looked upon as a hero and on the other hand, it is the villain leading you on a faster journey to your nemesis.
Testosterone – outlawed and wanted
Despite the side effects of testosterone and its cousins- the anabolic steroids - the demand for the hormone, come to be known as HGH, has increased considerably in recent times because of its widely demonstrated seemingly positive effects on the human body. The price of the hormone along with anabolic steroids increased when its use was banned for purposes other than medical therapy in the 1940’s; this gave rise to a huge black market that was estimated to be worth millions of dollars. While the law enforcers look upon the hormone with a great deal of contempt the medical fraternity admires it for its many uses as a therapeutic hormone in medicine to treat deficiencies caused by testosterone imbalances.
But will nature ever reveal all?This simple hormone that is really a series of carbon rings can wreck havoc in the human body in either circumstances – too much or too little. So how much of human behaviors and growth is actually controlled by testosterone? Does testosterone really make a man a man? Scientists are in debate since the time testosterone was discovered whether extreme high levels of the hormone actually produce criminal tendencies in men and whether it really is the hormone of desire – no reference to the part of the body where it is produced. Will we ever know? I guess not, not even if the scientific fraternity spends all the millions allotted for the research on the subject there will still be objections from other quarters of the science and research world – but then, the other faction will attribute the objections to lower levels of the hormone in the connective tissues of their objecting colleagues, I guess.
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Search Engine Optimization for Small Business Success
Whether you have an established large-scale business or whether you are a one-person start-up, it is important for your website to rank high in search engine queries for your important keywords and search phrases. If you are not ranked properly you will not get much traffic, and if you depend on Internet traffic, then this can mean failure for your business. One of the best ways to improve your ranking in the search engines is by applying the methods of search engine optimization to your website. Here is a guide to search engine optimization that can help you to get started in this important task:
1. Start with a clear and simple website design
A good website design should be easy for your human visitors to enjoy and understand, and it should also be intelligible for the search engine robots that also visit your site. What looks good to the human eye may not look good to search engines. If your site is 100% flash then it may impress your visitors, but the search engines will not find text and will not be able to properly classify your site. Similarly a site designed with frames is also search engine unfriendly. Check with your web designer and make sure that the design you are getting is user-friendly and search engine friendly as well.
2. Focus each of your web pages around one or two distinct concepts
A well-organized site will help you to get better search engine rankings. Suppose you have ten different products. It may be difficult to get number one rankings for all of these products from one single page of your site. However if you make sub-pages for each different product and optimize those pages to highlight the particular product or service on that page, then those sub-pages stand a good chance of coming up in search engine queries. Remember, people do not enter your website only via the main page; rather they often enter via the "back" and "side-doors." Prepare all the pages of your website properly and you will get more traffic.
3. Put your main keywords in the meta-tags of your web pages
Once you have decided what will go on your web pages, then you have to optimize each page separately. Never use the same meta-tags for all the pages of your site. If your page is about "Riding Lawn Mowers," then put these words in the Title, Description and Keywords meta-tags of your website. The title tag is the most important of the three tags, and your keywords should be right at the front. Resist the temptation to put your company name first! If you are new, then no one knows about you and they are searching for Riding Lawn Mowers and not you. Do your branding elsewhere, not in the meta-tags
4. Put your keywords in the headlines and sub-headlines of your web page
A search engine is trying to find out what your page is all about. If you want to know what a magazine article is all about, without even reading it, the first thing that you would do is scan the headlines. Search engines do the same thing. Put your most important keywords in a headline right at the top of the page. Mark the headline with an H1 tag (ask your web designer to help if you do not know what this is). Make sub-headlines using an H2 or H3 tag. Putting your keywords in headlines is a vital part of search engine optimization.
5. Place your keywords strategically in the text of your web page
Write naturally and logically and you will succeed with your web page optimization. In the first paragraph mention your main concept, and then develop your ideas summarizing in the last paragraph what you have said on that page. Your keywords should appear in the beginning of the document, and they should be repeated at the end. As mentioned in point 4, they should also appear in headlines and sub-headlines. The keyword density should be between 2-5%. If you write 400 words then your keyword can be repeated 12 times without any problem.
6. Include your keywords in link text on your web pages
When you link to other sections of your website you should pay attention to the clickable portion of the links. Instead of making a link that says "Click Here." Make a phrase that says click here for more information about "Riding Lawn Mowers." The clickable portion of the link should be your keywords and not click here!
These are the main points that you need to take care of when optimizing your website. If your small business is Internet-based or in any way dependent on search engine traffic, then it is imperative to apply the best methods of search engine optimization to each and every web page of your site.
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Emotional? Get Ready To Lose Your Shirt In The Forex Game!
“Go with your gut.”
Yeah right. That's advice to doom you at the currency exchange game.
When it comes to forex trading, that’s a trading strategy that is bound to lose you money – unless your gut is highly trained and impervious to emotion. The trick to making money in the currency exchange market is to avoid making emotional decisions and follow a carefully thought out strategy that takes the current market and history into account.
Forex trading is a highly volatile market. Emotions tend to run high – and low – and either of those extremes can influence your trading decisions, unless you have a strategy planned in advance, and stick to it, no matter what you THINK you’re seeing at the moment. The keys to success in Forex are system, analysis and perseverance. Note that emotion is not one of them. Going with your gut is a losing proposition in forex trading.
Letting your emotions rule your decisions can hurt your trading in several different ways. It’s the reason that most experienced traders tell novice traders that they need to develop a system – and stick to it no matter what. The system tells you when to buy, what to buy, when to trade and what to trade for. By sticking to your system even when you want to fly in the face of accumulated data, you’ll maximize your profits.
A system based on technical analysis of historical market trends is one of the most potent tools that you can utilize if you’re just getting started in forex trading – and many traders with years of experience continue to use their system to keep the profits rolling in. In fact, many will tell you that when their ‘gut instinct’ and their system collide, the system is almost always right.
The third key is perseverance. Analysis of trends in the market will show you that the market moves in dips and spurts within overall patterns that are predictable. No trend moves smoothly in an up or down line – there are inevitable periods of time when values suddenly spiral up or down based on some outside factor. These are the times when emotion can hurt your portfolio. When a currency that you’re holding takes a sudden dip south, it’s tempting to succumb to panic trading, cut your losses and run even if your system tells you to hold on. On the other hand, it’s easy to catch the rising excitement as a trade starts increasing in value and scramble to buy more of the same. These are exactly the times to rely most heavily on your trading system. It will tell you exactly when to trade for maximum profit.
Using a mechanical system takes the emotion out of your trading, eliminating one of the key factors that people fail. Your system doesn’t get stubborn about proving a theory. It isn’t swayed by bad news, or elated by good news. It doesn’t hold onto a bad trade hoping against hope that if it just holds on long enough, the trend will turn around and become a moneymaker.
To be effective, your system – whether you develop your own or adopt one created by someone else – should identify the entry point of your trade, the exit point of your trade, mitigating factors, and an exit strategy. In laymen’s terms that means:
- Under what conditions should I acquire a currency? For instance, you may have a buy order for when a particular currency drops more than 5 pips because your analysis tells you that that’s likely to be as low as it goes.
- Under what conditions should I trade that currency for another – and which one? There are two reasons to exit – to maximize your profit, or minimize your loss. That means you have a set stop-loss order and a set take-profit order at which point to cash out your trade.
- What factors will I allow to change that decision? If you’re not careful, this is where emotion will sour deals for you. While the money market moves in predictable patterns, there are always individual variations of a trend within those patterns. If you’ve taken those variations into account, it will be far easier to decide when a factor really does make a difference, and when it’s just wishful thinking.
- How will I trade out of a currency? Your exit strategy may be as simple as ‘a stop-loss order when my loss hits 5% or a take-profit order when I’ll make 40% profit’.
By employing a system to tell you when to get in, out or stick, you’ll minimize the impact of your emotions on your trading and maximize your profit.
Currency Exchange Terms Every Forex Trader Should Know
Before jumping into the forex market, you need to arm yourself with some terminology that will be used in any course or software on this subject. The following set of terms were put together with the idea of providing the novice forex trader with the fundamental concepts of the forex trading business. While they sound technical, most are easy to understand and apply.
Let us begin with the instruments that are traded in the forex markets. Currencies are traded in pairs so the instrument will always be in this double denomination. The reason for this is simple; the basis of forex currency trading is to exchange one currency for another. So if the pair is the Euro and the US Dollar, and the forex trader is taking a long position or buying the Euro in hopes that it will appreciate, effectively the trader is also selling US Dollars to buy the Euros. The most widely traded pairs are the Great Britain Pound and the US Dollar (indicated as GBP/USD), the Euro and the US Dollar (the EUR/USD pair), the Aussie Dollar and the US Dollar (AUD/USD pair), the USD and the Japanese Yen (USD/JPY pair), and the Canadian Dollar and the USD (USD/CAD pair). These pairs account for well over 80% of the total volume of the trading in the forex market. The advantage to trading in these currency pairs is that they are highly liquid and allow the investor to convert their portfolio to cash very quickly to realize a profit.
In every pair, the first currency is called the base currency, over which the second one is countered to imply the price of the pair, or commonly referred to as the "cross currency". The second is therefore called the quote currency and the pair price is recorded in terms of the units of the quote currency required to buy one unit of the base currency. Thus, assuming the price of the GBP/USD pair is 1.5, this implies that 1.5 USD will buy 1 GBP.
Every pair is quoted in terms of a bid ask spread. The bid price is the rate at which your forex broker bids to buy the currency at, while the ask price is the rate the forex broker is asking to sell the currency to the forex trader. The bid price will always be less than the ask price and the forex trader will buy at the ask price and sell at the bid price. The bid ask price will be quoted as: GBP/USD 1.532/5, meaning the bid price is 1.532 and the ask price is 1.535.
A pip price interest point), as it is commonly called, is the smallest incremental change a currency pair will experience, for instance, a change in the GBP/USD price from 1.532 to 1.542 is a change of 10 pips. A trading margin is a deposit which is a minimum amount or a small percentage of your traded amount that you have to put up. The remaining amount is supplied by your broker. This amount can vary from 1% to 0.25%, also referred to as 100:1 and 400:1. Most often, forex brokers will offer 100:1 or 200:1 to most clients. This is risky but enables the trader to leverage a large amount that he or she would not otherwise have access to.
Finally, a margin call can happen when the forex trader allows the balance in the trading account to go below the margin deposit percentage agreed upon with the forex broker. The broker will automatically sell your long positions or buy your short positions and clear the entire trading account, returning the margin amount to the trader to protect the trader from losing more money than they have.
http://ewriterz.com
The Price of Freedom
Isn't it wonderful to be free? Are you free; truly free? What is true freedom anyway? Is it the freedom to choose a mate, religion, profession or lifestyle? If you're privileged to enjoy all of them, can you honestly say that you feel free? Are you free from stress, abuse, self condemnation and unforgiveness?
The Israelites had been slaves for centuries. They had forgotten what it was to be free like patriarch, Abraham and have the privileges of Joseph, who had the highest honor under Pharaoh.
Once they were set free and saw all the miracles, they went back to the old attitudes and lifestyles they had been used to. They did not know how to handle freedom except by complaining about what they did not have.
God gave Moses the Ten Commandments in order to keep them from completely turning away from God. They had to live by every precept of the law, from circumcision to sacrifices, and what to eat and how to prepare their food. As long as they obeyed the law, they were be blessed. If they did not, they were cursed! (Deut. 28)
But, that was not God's best! He wants you to walk in the freedom of Abraham, in childlike faith. Abraham was not under any law. He knew God and was steadfast in faith until one day he wavered. He decided to give God a hand in bringing his promised son to birth.
Not walking in faith has consequences. God was not pleased. He had promised them a son, and it would not need to make sense. It just required simple, childlike faith! If God said it; then it would come to pass!
Abraham's two sons are representative of the two covenants: Ishmael, the Law of Moses; and Isaac, the New Covenant. The Law was a curse as it required doing works to get God's blessings.
Jesus, Abraham's physical and spiritual heir, became that curse by hanging on the cross, the symbol of a curse. (Gal. 4: 22 - 26) He did it so that all nations would have access to true Freedom through the Holy Spirit. (Gal. 3: 13 - 19) Whosoever believes in Him is free indeed. (John 8: 36)
Do you realize that you are, like Isaac, the spiritual child of Promise? As long as you think and live according to the flesh, you are in bondage to the things of the world.
Once you come to the realization that you "can do all things through Christ who strengthens you," (Phil. 4: 13) you know you're free! When the flesh is weak, the Spirit will help you soar over your problems!
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free. " (Gal. 5: 1) The new Covenant is the perfect law of liberty (Jas. 1: 25)
Pure religion is to show God's Love to those in distress, (Jas. 2: 27) and do His Will from the heart. (Eph. 6: 6)
"But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. 11: 6)
Are you completely free? That is; can you release all your troubles to Him and know without a doubt that what He says in His Word He will do for you?
"Ho, everyone that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come. Buy wine and milk without money and without price." (Isa. 55: 1)
I pray that you may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, forget the past, and embrace your freedom in Christ. (Phil. 4: 10; 13)
'My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4: 19)
http://www.ewriterz.com
Monday, September 17, 2007
Advantages of Working From Home
Make Money While Enjoying LIfe
As defined by the United States Census Bureau, an extreme commute is a daily journey to work that takes more than 90 minutes each way.
According to the bureau, about 2% of American adult workers are so-called "extreme" commuters.[1] Not surprisingly, the number of extreme commuters in the New York, Baltimore, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas is much greater than the national average.
Midas sponsored an "America's Longest Commute" award in 2006. The winner drove 372 miles (about 4 1/2 hours) to and from work each day.
Well, for starters, I commute an average of 140 miles a day.
So I guess this makes me an extreme commuter. What????????, “Yes, I heard you.” Everyone has the same reaction. It gets even better--I’ve been doing this commute for 22 years.
I live in the Princeton, New Jersey , and work in White Plains, New York. Take a moment and imagination the stress, time, gas, and tolls that being an extreme commuter entails. So you can understand why I am involved in a home-based business, part time right now, but quickly getting to the point that I will be working from home full time.
Benefits of working from home:
· With the price of gasoline at an all time high, how much money could you save by not having to commute ?
· If you’re a parent with small children, how nice would it be not to worry about babysitters, or daycare?
· For people living in remote areas, working from home gives the advantage of not having to worry about access to major cities where employment is more plentiful.
· Being a virtual worker, gives the freedom of not having to consider time zones.
With the internet offering a myriad of opportunities to make a substantial income online, no wonder there has been a mushroom effect of people of all ages and economic levels making the decision to work from home.
There is such a proliferation of of business opportunities online, how does one find the right opportunity to make money?
1. What are your interests or passion? 2. What are you good at? 3. How much time are you willing to devote to your business? 4. Is the opportunity or company reliable? 5. What is the payment structure of the opportunity or business?
Answering these questions should enable you to find the right fit for creating a successful online business.
As defined by the United States Census Bureau, an extreme commute is a daily journey to work that takes more than 90 minutes each way.
According to the bureau, about 2% of American adult workers are so-called "extreme" commuters.[1] Not surprisingly, the number of extreme commuters in the New York, Baltimore, and Los Angeles metropolitan areas is much greater than the national average.
Midas sponsored an "America's Longest Commute" award in 2006. The winner drove 372 miles (about 4 1/2 hours) to and from work each day.
Well, for starters, I commute an average of 140 miles a day.
So I guess this makes me an extreme commuter. What????????, “Yes, I heard you.” Everyone has the same reaction. It gets even better--I’ve been doing this commute for 22 years.
I live in the Princeton, New Jersey , and work in White Plains, New York. Take a moment and imagination the stress, time, gas, and tolls that being an extreme commuter entails. So you can understand why I am involved in a home-based business, part time right now, but quickly getting to the point that I will be working from home full time.
Benefits of working from home:
· With the price of gasoline at an all time high, how much money could you save by not having to commute ?
· If you’re a parent with small children, how nice would it be not to worry about babysitters, or daycare?
· For people living in remote areas, working from home gives the advantage of not having to worry about access to major cities where employment is more plentiful.
· Being a virtual worker, gives the freedom of not having to consider time zones.
With the internet offering a myriad of opportunities to make a substantial income online, no wonder there has been a mushroom effect of people of all ages and economic levels making the decision to work from home.
There is such a proliferation of of business opportunities online, how does one find the right opportunity to make money?
1. What are your interests or passion? 2. What are you good at? 3. How much time are you willing to devote to your business? 4. Is the opportunity or company reliable? 5. What is the payment structure of the opportunity or business?
Answering these questions should enable you to find the right fit for creating a successful online business.
The Three Rules of Work From Home Business Success
You may dream of making good money while working from the comfort of your own home, being your own boss and going to work in your PJ’s, if you want to. And for many, this is a reality that is both lucrative and satisfying.
However, the majority of network marketing, direct sales, affiliate sales and other home business efforts do NOT succeed. Why not? After 10 years running my own business from home, “failing forward” a few times, and creating successful residual income streams, I understand the basics of how to succeed in a home business.
The three pillars of work from home success are:
1) Developing the right work habits 2) Cultivating the right mindset 3) Choosing the right program
DEVELOPING THE RIGHT WORK HABITS
Most employees are used to being told what to do and so have not developed the right discipline to keep a home business going long enough to succeed. Here are the key elements:
Treat it like a business. Treat this like a hobby and you’ll make what a hobby makes – nothing! Treat it like a business and you can make what a business can make – lots! Take this seriously if you want serious results.
Schedule Your Work. Even if it is only 1 hour a day, set aside time to work your business, and stick to a schedule. The more focused energy you can give it the faster it will grow.
Create a productive work space. Create a quiet space where you can focus for that hour or whatever time you can give. Shut the door, turn off the phone, and eliminate all distractions so you can be productive.
Stay focused. Take a look at your short and long range goals every day and make sure what you are doing is moving towards those goals. It’s no good to stay busy if you are not moving in the right direction. Do not allow yourself to be distracted by the thousand other things you might be doing.
Set aside an ad budget. Even with a 95% automated system, which I highly recommend, you still have to drive traffic to your website. You can do this with eZines, banner ads, coop advertising and many other sources. Make sure you are getting a positive return and track your results. As long as you are at least breaking even or making some money on the front end, you will be reaping the residual rewards later.
CULTIVATING THE RIGHT MINDSET
Without the right mindset, you can have the best product and all the best resources and still fail. Most folks have a self imposed income cap that limits what they feel they can make that is tied to self worth. Do you have a millionaire mind that really knows you are capable and worthy of riches? Cultivating the right mindset is key.
Stay positive. Do not let the naysayers and bozos drag you down, and there WILL be those around, perhaps even in your own family. Develop the tough skin needed to stay on course and you may even need to change friends or even separate from certain family members. Regardless of what anyone may say, know that many DO succeed and if you follow the right practices and cultivate the right skills, thoughts and attitude, you will also succeed.
Read something inspiring every day. I recommend you start with “The Science of Getting Rich” by Wallace Wattles. And use motivational and personal growth support systems such as Success University. See below for the links to these resources with free access to both.
Focus on the WHY. The HOW will manifest if you keep a clear focus on your WHY. Why do you want money? What will you do with it? What good would it do you? Write down your dreams and do not be afraid to dream BIG. Create a vision board with pictures of your dream house or car or relationship or whatever it is that you deeply want. Look it over daily to remind yourself where you are going and why.
Life Balance. This is one not many talk about but is critical. Success is not just about money, though that is a significant part. Nurture your relationships and friendships and health or the rest will soon not matter. A fit, healthy body will serve you with the energy levels to propel you forward in life. A health and energy tip that has worked wonders for me: drink lots of water, starting with first thing in the morning and do some form of exercise upon waking each day even if just 10 minutes of jumping or walking. This kick starts the day, giving you greater energy for all that you do.
Take Action. Reading all this without taking action will not do much for you but if you follow these principles and take action, I guarantee you WILL succeed where others fail. Many folks online are in a constant state of overwhelm and in endless state of preparing to do something. I have spent too long in that mode myself. Yes, continue to learn as there is a lot to learn, but do not hesitate to take action as you go along. You know enough already. Now, as Nike says, JUST DO IT.
CHOOSING THE RIGHT PROGRAM
Many dive into programs with emotionally stirred dreams of riches based on a presentation from a friend or something they found online. Not many take the time to rationally evaluate an opportunity to make a really sound decision. The following may help.
The right product. First, you need a product that is in demand and that would sell even if it were NOT through a business opportunity. Too many companies are in fact selling the dream of prosperity, which is not a bad dream, but the vehicle and the product MUST stand alone. I was once involved in a travel agency program, for example, that turned out to be a money tree scheme that was shut down by the FDA. The product was not a real product and nobody was actually using it. Find something that offers real value and that would sell on it’s own.
Go digital. In my experience selling products, I have found it is much easier to sell and promote an information product or membership site. There is no inventory, no shipping, no hard product to have to store in your garage and manage manually. My early days with Amway were a logistical nightmare for this reason. Also, while many do well with health and nutritional products, most do not stay on these products, as they tend to be overpriced and when folks are not making money but spending $100’s per month, then tend to drop out.
Automated sales. Many online programs now offer each member their own website that credits all sales through that site to them. Even better, find a program that will help you build you own email list so you might market other programs to them down the road. A good autoresponder service such as Aweber is essential for automating this process. If someone does not buy right away, they will automatically get a series of messages may sell them later.
Support and Training. Find a program that will teach you how to run the business and succeed. The membership site should include all the resources you need including ad copy, banner graphics, etc. There should be 1 or 2 training calls per week you can plug into. And ideally, these should be hands on nuts and bolts training from your core group, not just the rah-rah calls that may motivate you for a while but do not really help.
Positioning. Find a relatively young company that is poised for rapid growth. There is a balance here of risk vs rewards. A brand new company will offer much greater returns if it succeeds. But many do not make it. On the other hand, a company that is more than 2 years old will not have the same ground floor opportunity for rapid growth. I recommend finding a young company that is well funded and established at least 6 months and on a clear growth trajectory.
After many false starts, I have finally found a powerful duo of programs that satisfy all the conditions above. And a riskier but potentially more lucrative ground floor opportunity.
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