Rarest Words

Money Is Not Everything

Almost all material things here on earth can be bought with money. Money is a medium of exchange to acquire any services or material things that we want or need. For many people, money is everything. They believe that having a lot of money can bring them to the satisfaction of which they have dreamed. That’s how powerful is money. It can control the mind of an individual. Many people, because of their obsession to have more money will do anything, even if they have to transfigure people into objects to acquire what they really want. That is why in our economy today, the rich become richer, and the poor become poorer. How sad it is to know that kind of reality.

Money can be acquired in many ways. Most people will work to earn money. Some will create a business to accumulate and increase the amount of money they have. In moments of desperation, most people would pawn their jewelry and other belongings to obtain instant money. Some of them would sell their properties and even their structured settlements in order for them to have available cash. The worst thing of all is that a person would risk his own life and dignity by doing a criminal act only to have money. How ironic it is. They think of money as everything to their lives, but they’re wrong, absolutely wrong.

The reality that we should embrace is that we need money, but it does not follow that money is the only reason of our existence here on earth. Money is important, but it is not everything. There are many factors that can create fulfillment here on earth, not money alone. They are our family, our friends, and even our new acquaintances. They can help us grow and reach our goals. Remember that money is only a material thing. It is created for our convenience, but it should be used for good. It is created for us to control; it is not made to control us. Imagine a person has enough money to buy anything and everything that he wants, but can you imagine that with only that resource that such a person could be truly happy and fulfilled?

Money is good but loving it makes it bad. We can work hard to earn more money. We can sell our properties and our other belongings to have money in emergencies. Remember, we should work not only for the reason of receiving but also for the reason of giving. Money is indeed important, but it is not everything.

Clive Green is a writer with expertise in the fields of self-improvement and finance. http://www.cashstructuredsettlements.com

How to Earn Money in Retirement and Beat the Pension Crisis

The call to earn money in retirement is fast becoming a necessity and this is so because when you retire from the workplace you continue forevermore to face the prospect of escalating living expenses: food, shelter; clothing, power supply, insurances, communications, income tax, etc, with less left over than you had at your disposal before for enjoying the minor luxuries of life.

For the majority of seniors the prospect is doubly daunting as a direct result of vastly reduced incomings due to the world wide pension crisis and so the need to earn money in retirement becomes imperative.

What do you do when there is too much month left at the end of your pension - do you bite the bullet and settle for cutbacks in the quality of life?

Not inevitably so because with tried and tested guidance you can stretch your abilities to make some extra cash in retirement and for some this is not so much an option as a necessity.

How do you visualize life in retirement?

You have reached or are approaching your 60th/65th year and are eligible for retirement. Or maybe you’re only 50 and opted out early.

o Do you punch the air with a tightly clenched fist now that you have finally escaped from the workplace?

o Or do you ask yourself, ‘What do I do now?’

For many retirees, lounging around the house or lying in the sun in a deck chair is not a prerequisite for third age enjoyment and fulfilment.

While the world is undoubtedly aging and the number of elderly people is increasing, the current crop of senior citizens is in better health and lead longer, more active lives than their parents did.

o They want action, not eternal relaxation;
o Excitement, not enforced leisure;
o Accomplishment, not resignation.

Conventional retirement is just too dreary, and many remain emotionally unprepared to throw the working life concept entirely to the wind. Some could also make good use of opportunities to increase basic income.

So, in lieu of conventional retirement, a significant number of third age people are turning to entrepreneurship as an alternative.

With valuable commercial skills acquired through years of practical experience, many of these retirees give serious consideration to launching their own businesses. They believe they still have what it takes and are highly motivated to succeed on their own.

Is it hard to earn money in retirement?

o Is it so restrictive that only a small number can succeed?

o Is it so demanding that only able-bodied retirees can make a go of it?

o Is it so difficult that only the super-intelligent stand a chance?

No - anyone can do it. If, for example, you are disabled or handicapped to some degree and would find it impossible to engage in a physical money-making activity you can still participate in ‘online’ enterprise - for which alternative route you will find many options.

So who is Jim Green and why should you read what he has to say about how to earn money in retirement?

Jim Green is 75 years young and as active in business as he was 50 years ago. He is also a bestselling author with 24 titles to his credit including “Your Retirement Masterplan” and “Earn Money in Retirement”
http://earn-money-in-retirement.com

Jim Green - EzineArticles Expert Author

Increase Your Chances of Getting Pregnant with Fertility Calendars

Having trouble on getting pregnant? It has been years and you still don’t have your first kid? Well, there is a simple solution for this, the fertility calendars. As you must know, every woman is different, so every woman’s menstrual cycle is also different. Therefore, if you are trying to conceive there will be much more chances of getting pregnant if you have sex during the most fertile days of your cycle.

The fertility calendars predict the days that you are most likely to be fertile so that you can achieve pregnancy. This will show you a range of fertile dates, ovulation, end of menstrual cycle, and possible due dates.

That’s the reason for using fertility calendars. With this you will learn a great variety of ways to help you chart your fertility cycle and how to use the fertility calendars, so you will be able to know when is the best time for having sex with big chances of conceiving.

But that is not all you can get, you can be able to specify a gender preference, so the fertility calendars will provide you with tips to help you time intercourse to maximize your chances of conceiving a boy or a girl. Here is a little explanation: sperm carrying X-chromosomes lives longer and swims slower than male Y-carrying sperm. That means, if you have sex about 3 days prior to ovulation, you have a better chance of conceiving a girl; and if you have sex closer to ovulation you will have more chances are of having a boy, so we could say that it is up to you to decide the sex of your baby.

On the other hand, maybe you are in the opposite situation and you may want to avoid getting pregnant, whether it is because you want to wait before having your next kid or you do not want to have more kids. The fertility calendars may help you with this too. The natural way to avoid unwanted pregnancy is to abstain from unprotected intercourse during your fertile days. The most fertile time is the day of ovulation. Fertility calendars calculate the days in which you can have sex without chances of conceiving, helping you avoid an unwanted pregnancy.

You don’t have to know anything about corpus luteum, progesterone levels, or terms like that, the fertility calendars do all this work for you. All you need to know to begin with this is the length of your menstrual cycle and the date of your last period. Simply enter this little information and the fertility calendars will do the rest!

So, are you convinced you should use the fertility calendars? We assure you will be satisfied with the results.

J Herrera is a freelance writer for health topics.

http://www.fertility-pregnancy.com/fertilitypregnancy/4/fertility-calendar.html

Home Sellers - Be Ready for Holiday Buyers

Maybe we should take our home off the market during the holiday season. Nobody buys houses during the holidays Thanksgiving, Kwanza, Hanukah, Christmas, and New Years. Maybe you don’t but sales can and do take place at this time. Life events take place every day one of them could be the sale of your home.

Seller Tips:

• Holiday buyers are serious, usually ready now to buy and close. You must not let your guard down. Be ready for a buyer every day, expect the appointment call for a showing, we all know the calls come when you are not ready.

•These buyers maybe transfers or job related and knowing they want to be able to get the kids into school right after the break not missing any time. Be ready to close quickly and move on.

•Honor your beliefs, but remember we are selling to Mr. & Mrs. Everyone decorate home but don’t cover up your home so that the buyer can’t see themselves in it.

•Work with your agent or better yet keep them on the ball don’t let your agent get lazy. Ask questions about your advertising; invite him or her over to critique your home as a potential buyer.

Keep safe, there are others who are not buyers who use your for sale sign as an excuse to be in your home this time of year. Put gifts away don’t leave expensive items lying about.

•If you have family visiting overnight or for an extended time please have your agent stop showings until they leave. It’s nearly impossible to keep your home looking just right with 6 or 8 guests in the background.

Make your home accessible, clear the snow and ice completely and check it all day, keep decorations away from the doors and have plenty of space on the porch. Make sure buyers can walk around with out knocking things over. They may be so concerned about being careful that they never see your home.

Have a great holiday season and be ready to make your sale.

Bill Carey - EzineArticles Expert Author

Bill Carey with over 30 years in real estate sales, investments, and home building offers a unique perspective to the buying and selling process of residential real estate for F*R*E*E consumer information and reports log on to http://www.CharlotteNCExecutiveHomes.com and see
“Insider Real Estate Secrets Revealed”
…a must-read for Home-Owners and Renters!
It’s a F*R*E*E 12-lesson e-course covering more than 20 topics exposing the realities behind buying and selling a home.
It Could Make(or Save) You Thousands of Dollars

See http://www.BillCareyRealtor.com and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter with tips for buyers, sellers, home owners and soon to be home owners.

(Your Comments are Welcome)

The Power of PR

Savvy small business owners know the importance of saving money. There are definitely times when going cheap spells disaster (you’ve seen those Hefty commercials, haven’t you?); but this isn’t one of them. Welcome to the wonderful world of PR - public relations; or, as we like to call it, free advertising - an essential part of any effective marketing strategy.

Are you making effective use of this important strategy for reaching your target market, or do you shy away from PR because you feel it is:

  • Too expensive

  • Too time-consuming
  • Too scary
  • Too expensive

    Yep. I said that one, twice. Truth is; the issue of price holds most small business owners back from using this very powerful and successful means for getting attention for their business. Don’t fret. PR doesn’t have to be that hard. Here are some ways that you can take baby steps toward a full-on PR campaign.

    Write a press release. What is a press release? Technically, it is an announcement that an organization or group issues to the news media, and other specific publications or outlets, with the goal of informing the public about developments within, or important to that organization or group. Maybe you still think that only big wigs in ivory towers, or 50-story glass ones, have the power to issue such an important document. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

    Important news stories can come from a variety of sources these days: cell-phone-carrying tipsters, whistle-blowers, activists, letter-writing school children, or small business owners whose new product or service can help members of the community in some significant way, or who have a story that is just right for the end-of-the-news “chuckle” piece. You know, something that will help us rebound from all of the talk of war, gas prices and uncontrollable weather. Besides, how do you think people get those “ask-the-expert” spots on the local and national news? Usually through the strategic use of press releases and other PR methods.

    Write articles. Everyone is an expert on something. If you’ve got the gift - you’ve got to use it. Are you an IT whiz? Then write an article on the best ways to keep your PC bug-free. Are you a chef? Help those who aren’t culinarily inclined learn to make a simple dish that will impress their friends with very little effort. Do you own a nursery? Tell people with black-thumb about plants that not even they can’t kill. You get the idea. If your article gets published in a targeted newspaper or periodical, the benefits are obvious. But, even if you submit them for free to a content distributor like www.ezinearticles.com; there is still a great opportunity for a payoff. Use the handy-dandy resource box provision to include a few snappy sentences about you, and your expertise, with a link back to your website. Who knows how long those articles will circulate, giving you additional exposure to people with an interest in your products or services.

    Produce an informative newsletter or blog. Here’s an opportunity for you to, again, share helpful information with your readers while building a relationship. Even if the reader never buys from you, they are likely to refer others to you, who are in the market for your goods or services.

    Speaking engagements. Do you know a lot about your industry, or target market? Do you enjoy talking with people, face-to-face? Then get in front of your target market through the use of speaking engagements. Start with groups within your comfort level, like your local chamber of commerce, then widen out. Before long, you might discover that you are a highly sought after, well-paid speaker with oodles of leads and more business than you can handle.

    If any of the above methods seem to risqué for you, at this stage of the game, think of investing in the services of a virtual professional who can help you make use of public relations as a way to increase your visibility, credibility and profitability.

    Remember, being a small business owner can be equally as tough as it is gratifying. It certainly isn’t for the squeamish. The fact that you’ve decided to step up to the challenge of being an entrepreneur means you were obviously willing to take a risk. So, if you’ve got the talent, bite the bullet and delve into public relations; or hire a capable professional who can help you through it.

    You don’t have to go for an expensive PR firm; there are hundreds of qualified virtual professionals who specialize in this area. One of the areas you might consider enlisting help with is in putting together your Media Kit. This is simply a physical, or electronic, information packet that will provide the media with much of the basic information they’d like to know about your organization, when deciding whether your story is newsworthy or not.

    Whether you discover that you have a previously hidden aptitude for public relations, or you recognize your need for help in this area, public relations may very well be some of the best money that you never spent.

    Roxanne Ravenel is the President/Owner of SOHO Support Solutions LLC, a full-service Copywriting & Virtual Assistance Firm. Her firm produces business articles and a variety of marketing collateral for small to medium business organizations and independent professionals. Visit http://www.SOHOSupportSolutions.com/ to learn more about her firm’s services. She is currently conducting online seminars teaching small business owners how to use low-cost and no-cost technology tools and virtual collaboration to Take It Virtual (http://www.TakeItVirtual.com).

    Copyright © 2006 Roxanne Ravenel

  • Taking a Chance: Coming to Terms With It

    The inconvenience of physically going to a brick and mortar gaming hall should be reason enough to let it be if it can be avoided. On a closer look all those traffic jams, the inconvenience, and tasks at hand seem not worth the toil for that chance of trying your luck at brick and mortar gaming hall, though in case you are the sort of person who greatly pines for betting rooms then having a try at card playing thru the web is sure to be the more obvious answer. Learn the best net casino strategy at this top site.

    For this there’s no call for you to leave your familiar desk to experiment with online poker since you can access it easily from your familiar home office if you have a fully functional computer with an Internet access account. Though, before you’re getting all excited, there are quite a number of important things which you must first be familiar with concerning online poker, notably should you be a greenhorn regarding this subject. So, calm down that tizzy of yours to traverse the following. Here is my layout that elucidates what to consider if you’re tracking down a trustworthy online poker website. The foremost thing which a street wise internet wagerer like yours truly will make sure to look for is an online poker webpage of the kind capable of promoting high winning odds. Below, you’ll find various alternative details concerning localizing your online betting webpage.

    You definitely must be sure to confirm that the online betting webpage has a license, for example by inspecting the licensing information on the casino site. If it’s not possible to localize any licensing information on any given online betting webpage, don’t try to test the odds there. Next thing you should diligently ponder the variety of premiums that the online betting webpage presents you with. Furthermore, another weighty bit of advice would be to play at the beginning in small amounts instead of splurging so much that it hurts right off. First thing, check the integrity and status of this online betting organization before triggering some serious injury– notably in terms of money… Finally, mind this most crucial guideline concerning virtual casino. It can obviously only be this- always to call to mind that gambling in online casinos should actually be concerned with pleasure and less about making big bucks. Casino betting is not a trade, on the contrary - it’s a diversion which is supposed to help you feel glad and your life amusing.

    Just having complied with the given tips, you are free to go ahead surrender to the wonders of online betting!

    Top 10 Trade Show Tips

    1. Message
    Is your message clear? Does it speak to your primary audience? Is it relevant? Does your message have an emotional attachment? Are you trying to say too much when you only have a few seconds to grab your audiences attention?

    2. Pre-Show
    Have you contacted attendees even with something as simple as a postcard asking them to come by your booth for a prize or gift? Are you in a good location? If not, what will you do about it?

    3. Trade Show Display
    Have you checked it recently? Does it say things that are no longer true or correct? Is the hardware intact and functional? Does it fit in the space you reserved (last you had a 10×10, this year you have a 20×20). Was your booth designed as an integrated component of your marketing strategy or a piece-meal production with various photos and logos? How will your booth compare to others at your trade show? Not to keep up with the Jones’, but you also do not want to stand out for having the least appealing booth either.

    4. Accessories
    Do you have the proper accessories? Shelving, Lighting (that works), Podiums (with your correct phone, logo, and web address), Literature Stands, Seating, Conference Room, Overhead Fabric Signage, Banner Stands, Fabric Displays, Lightboxes, Plasma/LCD Displays and Mounts, and Counters.

    5. Literature and Giveaways
    Do you have current literature in the proper quantity for your show? Do you have business cards as described before? Is your literature in alignment with your trade show display? Is your literature in alignment with the audience that will attend your show?

    6. Events
    Are you going to a very large trade show where a seperate event for your top clients and prospects will help people remember you? Will your top account executives or customer service staff be at the event? How will you reinforce your brand or message at the event so that it is memorable?

    7. During the Trade Show I
    When and how many people will staff your booth? Is everyone on the same page with regard to what to say about your company and its products? While your booth is being staffed are the employees out in the show meeting with prospects, clients, and vendors or strategic partners?

    8. During the Trade Show II
    While in the booth do your people know the basics, do not sit, do not eat, go out and meet people in the isle, do not stay behind a table or counter, smile smile smile, use breath mints, speak to people directly [do not act as though you are looking for the next hot prospect], and be honest.

    9. During the Trade Show III
    If it is clear you are speaking with someone who is a great prospect, suggest that you meet later for a drink or dinner, go to the cafe area of the show and sit and talk as long as your booth is covered, do not try to have a one hour conversation in your booth.

    10. After the Trade Show
    Follow up with prospects and customers, send everyone who visited your booth a note, postcard, or email thanking them for attending. Set meetings with your best prospects. Have a post-show meeting to discuss how you can exhibit better in the future.

    If you would like more information on this topic or if you would like to suggest a topic for a future article, please contact Peter Winters at: peterwinters@presres.com
    For over 10 years Mr. Winters has been consulting businesses on strategic planning, marketing, and public relations.

    He is the owner of Exhibit Warehouse a Richmond Virginia-based trade show display and trade show exhibit fabrication company.

    Make the Connection: Start Disciplining with Love

    How to stay connected with kids while setting limits.

    To discipline is to teach. When we discipline we teach our
    children to have self-control, to be considerate of others, and
    to feel secure. A home with no discipline is a recipe for chaos.
    Parents become exhausted and easily stressed. Children feel out
    of control, oftentimes exhibiting unacceptable social behavior
    without any real consequences. As parents we owe it to our
    family to maintain order. We discipline our kids as a means of
    setting limits and restoring a state of equilibrium in the home.
    But how do we effectively discipline? The first step to
    discipline involves saying “NO”. This can be difficult for some
    parents at first since a verbal “NO” is usually encountered by
    whining, anger or sobbing from a child. But who said
    disciplining was an easy task? It is difficult as it involves an
    array of emotions, but doable since we are mature adults powered
    by love for our kids. Through our love for our children we are
    inspired to be positive role models and to discipline with love.

    When we discipline with love we go a step further. We want our
    kids to understand the consequences of their behavior. We say
    “NO” but we also help to redirect our children’s inappropriate
    behaviors. We offer alternatives and present opportunities for
    good behavior. For example, John is preparing lunch in the
    kitchen for his four year old son, Mark. As he glances out in
    the living room, he sees Mark tearing sheets of newspaper and
    spewing it all over the carpet. He says “NO” to his son in a
    serious tone and suggests that he helps him set the table for
    lunch. Mark reluctantly responds and helps his father. With
    patience and love, John has helped redirect his son’s behavior.
    Mark can understand through his father’s approach that his
    actions were inappropriate.

    When we discipline with love, we only discipline when it is
    absolutely necessary. We learn to choose our battles wisely.
    This is important since children often feel the urge to stop
    trying when parents constantly criticize their every move. We
    can help our children improve their behaviors by presenting
    fewer rules for them to follow. Younger children (birth to 2
    years) in particular need to start with only one or two rules.
    Older children can possibly handle more, but how much a child
    can handle is solely dependent on the child’s personality and
    his developmental stage. The key is to help boost your child’s
    self-confidence by giving him opportunities to achieve a bit of
    early success.

    Disciplining with love usually incorporates some level of
    understanding. We need to understand the developmental
    milestones in each stage of our child’s life. When we compare
    his actions to the actions of the average child in his age group
    then we can better understand if his behavior is appropriate or
    not. For instance, a seven month old banging on a glass table
    may receive a different parental feedback versus an eight year
    old doing the same action. What we deem appropriate for our
    young children, we can also deem inappropriate for our older
    children. At times it is also easy for us to confuse
    self-exploration with aggression and misbehavior.

    Disciplining with love helps us to bond with our children by
    giving them the security that they need. By being consistent
    with our rules and consequences, we are showing our children
    that we are responsible, credible parents. Consistency is a
    difficult part of discipline since it is the area most tested by
    our children. Being consistent also takes a lot of patience and
    perseverance. Our emotions can sometimes get in the way of
    consistency and we let things slide when we are happy but we
    always reprimand when we feel miserable.

    When we discipline with love we try to stay connected to our
    kids. We focus on the behavior and not the character of the
    child. We try to change the bad behavior without making the
    child himself feel like he is bad. We aim to explain the cause
    and effect of a situation before resorting to time-out and
    seclusion. We try to understand the reason for the behavior. Is
    the behavior caused by a need for attention? Is the child
    displaying some behavior seen at daycare or at school? Is the
    child being bullied on the playground? As parents we are our
    child’s best advocate. Taking a loving approach to discipline
    helps strengthen the communication bond between you and your
    child. It assures the child that in times of need you will be
    there.

    Can You Control Your Customer’s Mind?

    Republishing Guidelines * You may republsih this article with
    the author’s bylines. * An email to mafoor@mafoor.com is
    appreciated if you do. * You may make slight changes to avoid
    spa’m blockers. * Words: 878 Lines: 146 * Email:
    mafoor@mafoor.com SMS: +94 777 763682

    Can You Control Your Customer’s Mind?

    Is it possible to control your customer’s ‘buying’ decision? Let
    me start off with an example. Say many people selling bags in
    one place and John wants a bag. John buys the bag with the most
    attractive packaging.

    What influenced his decision? The packaging. This bag had
    something better. So in a different view, this bag influenced
    the ‘buying decision’ of John. This is just a simple example to
    get you familiar with the concept.

    Almost all of the modern marketing campaigns are designed to be
    effective from the customer’s point of view. They all try to
    control the customer’s feelings. You must follow the trend or
    you’ll be a loser.

    Just brainstorm / think what can influence the decision to buy
    ‘your product’. You can come up with a lot. Call each of them a
    strategy and jot them down in a paper. I will discuss 3 generic
    strategies that can be used with any business and how to apply
    them, so it will give you some idea as what to think of and how
    to apply them.

    1. Curiosity

    2. Because / Reason Why

    3. Greed

    Curiosity

    ———–

    What is it? Curiosity can be defined as “the desire to know the
    unexplored” in simple terms. People want to know things that
    many others don’t know. They like to discover the ’secrets’ that
    only some people know. The desire to know is a compelling force
    in marketing, so we have:

    * Secrets of the Diet Industry Uncovered

    * What Time Share Companies Don’t Want You To Know

    * Msteries of A Youthful Appearance Revealed

    * The Hidden Keys of Car Buying

    People don’t want

    * How to Diet Successfully or

    * A Guide to Buying Cars

    for example. First set of titles surely outshines the second set
    of titles because the former takes advantage of curiosity. You
    must design your advertising in a way that arouses curiosity.
    Getting to see the powerful of curiosity? (When compared the two
    sets above)

    Because / Reason Why

    —————————-

    Telling people a valid reason for your action is another great
    influencer in human behavior. People will trust you if you can
    offer a reason for what you are doing. Say you offer a 50%
    discount on your digital cameras for the last 10 days in this
    month. People are too smart today and start to think it’s
    probably because you want to get rid of your defective products
    or because its 2 days before the expiry date (in case of food
    items). Wouldn’t you and I think the same way when we see a
    similar message?

    Give them a true believable reason. For example, let’s say you
    have a slow time of the year and you want to increase your
    business during this period. Make a special, limited time offer.
    Offer to throw in an extra free bonus or a special discount
    simply because it’s your “slow time” and you need to pay your
    staff anyway.

    Don’t you think people will believe it? If you can give a solid
    reason for a particular action, people will have no doubts about
    what you say - there is simply very little room for doubt.

    Greed

    ——-

    People are greedy. I’m not talking about food but ‘greedy’ in a
    marketing perspective. Everybody feels from “what’s in it for
    me” syndrome. They really want to know how your product can
    benefit them. Notice that, the “customer’s will buy benefits and
    not products”. Confused? You’ll see what I mean in a minute.

    Analyze the following list of benefits written about a digital
    camera.

    * Can store over 200 photos

    * Supports every color you can see

    * Manual included so you can start even if you have no previous
    experience

    This will certainly open the eyes of a person who has an idea of
    bu’ying a camera one day. This is in complete contrast to the
    following, where the ‘product’ is described.

    * Has a memory of 6000k

    * Supports 16-bit colors

    * 60-page manual included

    Customers don’t want a memory of 6000k, but they want to store
    200 photos. Get it? You must clearly tell the customer how will
    they benefit by bu’ying your produc’t. You can then describe the
    prod’uct itself, when they are looking for more information.

    To make this point clearer, understand that,

    “Customer’s will bu’y benefits and ‘not’ the features.”

    Okay.. Whats the difference between features and benefits?
    Features describe the product itself - what it has. Benefits
    describe the advantages a customer gets by bu’ying the product.
    The first list above is a benefits list and the second is a
    features list.

    Benefits will drive customers to explore more information about
    the product. This is when you should give them the features and
    describe the product itself. To summarize, get customers into
    looking for more info by telling them the benefits and then
    describe the prod’uct. This will assure the best results.

    I laid out just 3 powerful strategies here. There are many more
    ‘explored’ and ‘unexplored’ tactics, and hope you can discover a
    few too. Please let me know if you do. I hope this information
    was helpful to you and wish you good luck and success in your
    future mark’eting efforts.

    Modern Marketing With Postcards

    Postcards may be one of the best kept secrets of modern
    marketing. They produce even better results now than in the
    past. That’s probably because postcards deliver information
    the way people want to get it today …fast and with little
    or no effort.

    Use Postcards to Generate Website Traffic and Sales Leads

    A brief captivating message on a postcard with an enticing
    offer sent to the right prospects will generate a flood of
    traffic to your website - or a large number of sales leads.

    Keep your postcard simple. Make it look at first glance like
    a message from a friend instead of like an advertisement.
    This creates a pleasant emotional response from readers even
    though they quickly realize that it is a commercial message.

    State the biggest benefit you offer to customers. Then
    briefly add a few other advantages or features you provide.
    End with a compelling reason for prospects to contact you
    …or to go to your website for more details. It’s that
    simple.

    Tip: Don’t try to close sales directly from a postcard.
    There’s not enough space on a postcard to provide all the
    information your prospects need to make a buying decision.

    People Read Postcards

    Almost everybody will read a postcard - even those who
    usually throw out other direct mail without opening it.
    That’s because it’s almost impossible to throw out a
    postcard without looking at the message.

    This high rate of readership is the main reason why
    postcards produce a bigger response than other types of
    direct marketing. With other types of marketing you often
    lose prospects who would have responded to your offer - but
    they never saw it.

    Tip: Postcards are an excellent low-cost alternative to
    email. People get so much email today that even legitimate
    messages are getting deleted unread. But they get few if any
    postcards. Your message is guaranteed to get their attention
    when it’s delivered on a postcard.

    Postcards are Cheap to Produce

    Postcards cost less than 2 cents each to produce if you
    print them using your own computer. You can print postcards
    individually on blank 4 x 6 inch index cards or print 4
    postcards on 8 1/2 x 11 sheets of index card stock and cut
    each sheet into quarters.

    Your postcards will cost between 4 cents and 9 cents each to
    produce if you use a commercial printer …depending on the
    number you have printed and the quality you want.

    Postcards are Cheap to Mail

    Even the postage for mailing postcards is cheap - 23 cents
    each to send them by First Class Mail in the US. The only
    requirement for this special rate is that the dimensions of
    your postcards must be at least 3 1/2 x 5 inches but not
    over 4 1/4 x 6 inches.

    Tip: Always use a real 23 cent stamp on your postcards. It
    produces more replies than a printed indicia (imprinted
    postage) …probably because people associate a printed
    indicia with junk mail.

    Don’t overlook postcards the next time you want to drive a
    huge amount of traffic to your website or generate a flood
    of new sales leads. They’re simple to use, highly effective
    and very low-cost.

    Copyright 2004 Bob Leduc. http://BobLeduc.com

    Bob Leduc spent 20 years helping businesses like yours find
    new customers and increase sales. He just released a New
    Edition of his manual, How To Build Your Small Business Fast
    With Simple Postcards …and launched *BizTips from Bob*, a
    newsletter to help small businesses grow and prosper. You’ll
    find his low-cost marketing methods at: http://BobLeduc.com
    or call: 702-658-1707 After 10 AM Pacific Time/Las Vegas, NV

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