Groundbreaking Work

Every writer knows that the urge to write is not always present. As a result, the dedicated writer writes anyway. Professional writers face the task without think too much about the actual activity. They have established the habit, so they sit down and put their thought to paper whether they are relevant to the project or not. They know that they can rewrite, revise, edit, and improve. They know that the first draft is not or need be the last.

The writer forces him or herself to write, usually at a prescribed time and in a set place. Most successful writers have an office, a place set aside for writing, and so they go to that place to write. Seldom do such writer's experience what is know as writer's block which is a state of mind that can be changed with a conscious effort.

And interesting thing about writing-putting thoughts to paper-is that the very act clarifies one's thinking, and fosters more thoughts. The simple act of putting thought into words, sentences, and paragraphs causes the mind to sift, to correlate, to organize, and intensify thinking. From a blank mind to one teeming with ideas is the usual process that occurs as one writes.

Thus one sees that writing is related to mood, which changes from one moment to the next. During the day, one experiences many moods from joy to sadness, from calm to anger, from activity to idleness, while state of mind tends to be less volatile. Since mood is so capricious, it is only a matter of time until the urge to write takes over, and writing becomes a joy rather than a chore.

So what is difficult writing can be excellent and worthwhile. Often, after reviewing earlier writing, it is difficult to know what was arduous and what was effortless. Often the burdensome is the finest.

Charles O. Goulet has a BA in history and BEd in English literature. He has several historical novels published and available from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca, Barnes and Noble and many other bookstores. His website is http://www.telusplanet.net/public/go1c. His blog is http://go1c.blogspot.com

Free Traffic Course - Day 4

This day 4 of "Free Traffic Course" is devoted to mailing lists, their power to increase targeted web site traffic, automate online advertising and give more sales from web site visitors.

What is an email message in terms of communicating in Internet? Usually people say this is a specially coded message that can deliver information to the specified address(es). But this is a very formal explanation.

Email is your voice in Internet. Though the technologies of transferring sounds and live video images are developing rapidly, still email remains the most universal tool for communicating in Internet. So, email is the voice of your web site. If the web site "speaks" with a professionally set voice, using good tone - the web site gets high credibility. That is why a proper management of email for the web site is very important.

But emails are not only message carriers to your clients or prospects. They can be a powerful advertising cool, educational guideline or eZine which helps to promote the product/service better. Emails can serve as a good feedback from the clients. Only your imagination can limit the benefits of using emails for your online business.

MAILING TOOL ON ANY WEB SITE SHOULD BE PROFESSIONAL AND SHOULD HAVE MANY OPTIONS TO USE

If you have used any mailing tool before, then you perhaps know this problem - everything works good. But so many features and options are simply unavailable, other features have many limits and restrictions.

Some mailing tools have limit on the number of mailing lists inside them. Some tools should be installed for each web site separately which often means you have to pay for every installation of mailing tool to the new web site. Some mailing tools do not show statistic data - how can you track your work with clients if you do not know the mailing statistics details? Some mailing tools do not allow to personalize messages, and this is a huge step back for clients. The drawbacks are numerous.

One of the modules integrated in Free Traffic System has a revolutionary mailing list tool that solves all the problems mentioned above. It fully automates the mailing routine for your web site, giving amazing benefits and advantages.

Read each of the benefits and advantages and see how they will help your web site and online business.

#1. Mailing List module is unlimited - you can create as many mailing lists as you wish, you can add as many subscribes to these mailing lists as you wish, you can send as many messages as you wish.

#2. Mailing List module manages the mailing for all your web sites from ONE web site where you have installed Free Traffic System. No routine installations - put the system to one of your web sites, and the Mailing List module will manage your correspondence from one "captain's deck". Very convenient and saves time.

#3. You can personalize your messages the way you wish. Mailing List module supports more than 20 macros elements: web site name, mailing list name, date of user registration in mailing list, first and last name, user's email, subscriber's date of birth, country, state, etc. You can customize your messages so your clients will feel the real personalized approach to them. Clients like when someone cares about them.

#4. You can send messages in HTML and TXT formats. Send your clients the messages that will be in the format that suits your clients better.

#5. You can test and preview all messages before sending them. Thus you will know how exactly your messages will look. If there any mistakes in the message, you preview the letter and correct mistakes before your clients see them.

#6. You can attach files to the messages. If you have any important file that has to go separately or cannot be pasted in the letter body, use the attachment feature.

#7. A huge base of ready-made letter templates. Some say that templates are for lazy people. This is not true - templates are for those who want to save their time and still get a good-looking result. Plus you can edit existing templates or make the templates by yourself.

#8. The system has also preinstalled mailing lists: directory, spider, autoresponder, mailing list, site news, etc. You can use them if you do not want to create your own mailing lists. You can also edit them the way you wish and create your own lists.

#9. One and the same message can be sent to subscribers of different mailing lists. You just tick the necessary mailing lists and Free Traffic System automatically sends message(s) to the subscribers of all these lists.

#10. You can send messages in queue. You set the date when the message should be sent, and then leave the office. You can even go on a vacation; when the time for sending comes (in a week or in a year), your message will be sent to necessary email addresses.

#11. You get full statistic data for new, unsubscribed users for the mailing lists. You choose the period for displaying statistic data, and Free Traffic System shows you everything.

#12. You can add new subscribers, edit profile of existing subscribers, delete the profile, filter and search the subscribers in mailing list base. You can transfer (import and export) the subscribers from one mailing list to another. Or save the subscribers' database in a special file.

These are not all the features and options you get with Mailing List module of Free Traffic System, but even now you can see that your mailing activity becomes really unlimited with such a tool.

REAL ONLINE BUSINESS EXAMPLE.

Ok, just one example to illustrate how much you can do with this module for your web site. Let's say, you decided to make eZine about your food recipes. You go the Mailing List in Free Traffic System and do the following.

1. Choose the appropriate eZine template. If you found the one that you like, customize it. If you want to make your own eZine - make your own template and use it.

2. The eZine message is ready. Ok, choose when you want to send it - set the date, and feel free to do anything you wish. Free Traffic System will automatically send it on the day set by you.

3. Now you choose what clients from your web site will get the eZine. If you have many mailing lists and want all their subscribers to get the eZine - tick all mailing lists and eZine will be sent to all their subscribers.

4. If you already have many messages in your eZine - you can queue them. The messages can be sent every day, once a week, whenever you wish.

You get absolute freedom in mailing tactics. Only you set the limits to your email activity: you go to settings of Mailing Lists and adjust them to your current needs.

Actually, this day of "Free Traffic Course" could be several times longer, because the mailing features of Free Traffic System are really versatile.

But you can save your time, visit the web site http://www.FreeTrafficSystem.com and read the features for this and other modules.

But this module has one surprise - Mailing List includes the Autoresponder which is already integrated into the system. This adds a perfect follow-up marketing power. If you want to know more about it and other useful features of Free Traffic System, the next days of "Free Traffic Course" will explain everything in details.

Grow your knowledge, traffic and profits.

Nickolay Bokhonok - CEO And Owner Of DesktopMoney LTD. Inventor of Internet marketing software and scripts. Successful Internet entrepreneur. You can learn more about these traffic building strategies, schemes and tips in "Free Traffic Course" at http://www.FreeTrafficSystem.com FreeTrafficSystem - Your Web Site Traffic Doctor.

A Bellyful of Mindfulness

Taco Bell, the Mexican fast-food franchise, has a new ad campaign focusing on the slogan, "Get full." The commercials show people ecstatically announcing that they are full--thanks, of course, to the huge value meals now available at Taco Bell.

We know that feeling full isn't simply a matter of building a bigger, better burrito. There's a whole lotta emptiness going on, and it's not always filled by what we put into our bellies.

The search for connection, for meaning, for love--these are longings not met by the bags we pick up at the drive-thru window. To feel full in the truest sense, we must figure out what we are lacking in our lives. We're not always mindful of this quest.

Seeking satisfaction in activity? That can work. Be honest here--is your time spent actively avoiding emptiness or actively seeking fullness? These are two different things. If you find yourself with a full calendar and an empty heart, you're bathing yourself in distraction, and sooner or later, that's going to plug up your bathtub.

Being full doesn't mean you're packed with positive thoughts and emotions all the time. We need the whole enchilada to help us develop as caring, compassionate humans, and sometimes that means we are full of frustration, sadness or despair.

Hey, it still counts as being full! You're a vessel, and you should be continually filled, but not necessarily consistently filled with the same stuff. It's the emptying and filling that keeps things interesting.

"A full cup must be carried steadily."--English proverb

Getting spilled is part of life. What are you doing to spill yourself...and what are you doing to get filled up again?

Spend time this week contemplating the concept of fullness. Be mindful of opportunities to notice when you are feeling depleted or overflowing.

Concentrate on paying attention to thoughts, emotions, stories, people, places and activities that make you feel full, and practice saying, "This is full" whenever you notice it.

Good full or bad full--don't judge that. Just be mindful of that sense of fullness wherever you feel it.

Taco Bell entices people to "get full" and this is good advice. But skip the "full-on value meal" and concentrate instead on your own fullness whenever you see an ad or drive by a Taco Bell.

Ask this: Am I full? What is filling me right now?

Fill what's empty. Empty what's full. Stir things up and start again.

That's a recipe for full-on living.

Maya Talisman Frost is a mind masseuse offering specialized mindfulness training in Portland, Oregon. Her work has inspired thinkers in over 100 countries. To subscribe to her free weekly ezine, the Friday Mind Massage, please visit http://www.massageyourmind.com

Putting Benefits Before Features

Having spent so many years in retail, I always enjoy being on the listening end of a sales persons presentation.

As I listen patiently and attentively, I privately critique the sales person as they make their pitch.

I look for certain things, the basics, are they making eye contact with me, do they have a healthy knowledge of their product, do they ask me open-ended questions? Etc., etc.

The one thing that I have noticed about the majority of sales people, even the ones I see on infomercials, is that they spend the majority of their presentation discussing their products features, and not it's benefits.

As a consumer it is very important to know all the features of a product, however, I find it much more important to know the benefits of the product.

What is it going to do for me?

How much money will I save?

How will it make my life easier?

These are the questions your potential customer wants to have answered. They want to know how they will benefit from your product.

For example, I was in my bank the other day opening a safe deposit box. As I sat filling out the paperwork, the branch manager wisely seized his opportunity to be proactive. He asked me if I was registered for their on line bill payment. When I replied that I had not, he proceeded to tell me all about it.

He told me how easy it was to sign up, how easy it was to access, and how easy it was to pay my bills over the computer.

He even gave me an on line presentation right there in his office. The only thing missing was the pop corn.

During his entire verbal and visual presentation, he never once mentioned a benefit to the product. The features were great, but how did this benefit me?

What he should have included in his presentation, was that by using on line bill paying, I would no longer have to purchase checks, and I would no longer have to purchase stamps, I would be saving money!

The benefit to this product was, I could save money!

We all want to save money, but this point was never mentioned. Needless to say, I enjoyed the presentation, and I did sign up for the on line bill paying.

The next time you are selling one of your products, take the "features and benefits" and reverse them. Tell your customer up front what your product can do for them.

Think "benefits and features" not "features and benefits"

Tell them how your product can save them money, how it will make their life easier, tell them how it will benefit them. It will make all the difference.

Jay Conners is a former loan officer with more than fifteen years of experience in the mortgage business. You can read more articles just like this by subscribing to his free news letter by visiting his site at http://www.jconners.com a mortgage resource center. He also owns http://www.callprospect.com a mortgage lead company.

Preliminary Survival Steps for Adwords Success

What I find is a lot of marketers do have a great set of keywords, they have a great product to promote (whether it's their own or someone elses), BUT, they go and ruin it all by structuring their campaign all wrong.

What I mean by structure is the preliminary stages you should go through to set up targeted ad groups that work WITH the ad.

It's important not to just lump all your keywords into one adgroup, but it's also important to have some initial, central key terms that you are going to write your ad around.

Here's how (as in my video) to set up and structure a targeted adwords campaign. Follow this step-by-step everytime, you should be fine :o)

- First, find your main niche keyphrase. This is the most general, ideally 1-word term that encompasses your product's or service's niche. IN my example for promoting a grant claiming service, the top level keyword is, yes, "grant"

- Next you need to split this top level keyword into ideally 2-word phrases that cover what different searchers on Google will be looking for. E.g. look at the different areas your product covers such as (in my example again) EDUCATION grant, BUSINESS grant, DAYCARE grant etc.

These will also be your Adgroup names and what your ads will be written around for various benefits such as emboldened text.

- write your ad (you will look at expanded keywords later, and my course goes into this in part 2)

so if the first adgroup is BUSINESS grant, we want to write the ad around that central term so we are targeting a specific type of person here - someone who is looking for info on how to claim for a bizz grant!

- first, put that central term as the first line in your ad, followed by a trail off (a trail-off is where the reader has to go onto the next line to finish the sentence or phrase)

With trail-offs, this makes them read the whole ad, rather than just getting closure on the first line and clicking on your ad without getting the full picture - ver important they read ALL of your ad to get the full idea of what you're offering them.

- include 2 hard hitting benefits. Take these from the website you're promoting, so when the visitor clicks through, they will see these benefits almost uncannily and as a familiar kind of reinforcement. Psychology! Again, use trail-offs on line 2 so they have no choice but to read onto the final line...

- Close with a call to action such as "get yours now" or "don't miss out". I've found the cliche and classic action phrases work the best, people don't seem to turn away from them even if they sound cheesy!

A call to action will push the reader to click on your link, and now they've read all your ad, and seen a couple of benefits, they should be primed nicely for a sale.

TIP: to prime them even more, send them onto a landing page that compares similar services or products so they have a choice and they have a chance to take another positive action.

TIP: liven the URL in your ad up a bit by capitalizing each word - e.g. www.futureaffiliate.com would just be FutureAffiliate.com

Follow these preliminary steps and you should be in a great position with your sponsored ad!

Again, you can watch my video on this (sinks in better) as a gift to you at http://www.futureaffiliate.com/ppc1.html

If you enjoyed that video (or found it completely boring but learnt from it) you should see the rest of my course which looks at promotion methods for affiliate products and inventive affiliate marketing to earn money online. It's free...

The video is located at: http://www.futureaffiliate.com/ppc1.html (afterwards, if you're interested in seeing the rest of my course, go to http://www.futureaffiliate.com)

Mike Beatham runs a free video e-course on affiliate marketing. If you're interested in making money selling other people's stuff online sign up at http://www.futureaffiliate.com

ADHD: Dialogue with a Non-Believer, Part Four

Dear Sir,

It was with some interest that I read the article What You Should Know About Attention Deficit Disorder by Edward W. after having it handed to me by a member of our church. There were elements of the article that were insightful, helpful, and needed to be said in a public forum, especially the discussion of the moral and spiritual dimensions of behavior. For this part of the article I applaud Mr. W.

However, Mr. W's discussion on the physiological/biological aspects of ADD ADHD was lacking to the point of being misleading to the readers. I am sure that Mr. Welch had no intention of misleading any readers, as that would hardly reflect the "biblical guidelines with which to understand ADD" that he seeks to communicate. Therefore, for the sake of clarifying some details, may I present the following evidence. Perhaps in the near future you would run an article that would present some of this information to your readers, so that they have an accurate understanding of the disorder.

We continue the dialogue here in part four. Mr. W writes,

"The popular assumption is that there is an underlying biological cause for the behaviors, but the assumption is unfounded. Although there are dozens of biological theories to explain ADD, there are presently no physical markers for it; there are no medical tests that detect its presence. Food additives, birth and delivery problems, inner ear problems, and brain differences are only a few of the theories that are? unsupported by evidence."

". . . there are presently no physical markers for it;"

This is not supported by research. There are many physical markers for it. One just needs a fMRI, SPECT scan, QEEG, or PET scan, to see them. I have personally performed hundreds of EEGs and some QEEGs, and can attest first hand to the differences in brainwave patterns of ADHD individuals vs. non-ADHD subjects.

". . . there are no medical tests that detect its presence."

This is also misleading to the readers. Many, if not most, biologically based medical conditions are diagnosed by the observation and experience of a trained clinician or physician. Many medical conditions have no "medical tests" that detect its presence.

For example, I am presently house-bound recovering from pneumonia. Did you know that until July, 2000, there were no "medical tests" that detect the presence of pneumonia? Just last summer a urine test was approved by the FDA which is between 75% and 80% accurate in diagnosing pneumonia. There are no blood tests, or other forms of "medical tests" to diagnose it.

My pneumonia was diagnosed solely on the observation and experience of the physician. He listened to my breathing and coughing. He observed and interpreted a chest x-ray. Then he made a judgment, a diagnosis, based on observation and experience (not on empirical, objective results from any medical tests), and began treatment. The x-ray, my coughing, etc., gave him evidence of a condition only. He had no "medical tests" (he did not try the new urine test) to tell him if I had viral pneumonia, bacterial pneumonia, or mycoplasmic pneumonia. Yet based on observation and experience he started a course of treatment. The treatment involved the use of powerful medications, and the treatment has so far been beneficial.

The fact that there are no blood tests - "medical tests" - to diagnose pneumonia is hardly evidence that I am not suffering from a medical condition.

ADHD is also diagnosed by clinicians through observation and experience. The clinician would rely on developmental, family, academic, and genetic histories, behavioral rating scales, and objective testing. There are tests, psychological and neurocognitive tests, that are extremely helpful in making a diagnosis, such as continuous performance tests and other tests of executive functions. There aren't any blood or urine tests - "medical tests" - as Mr. Welch would say. But that does not invalidate the biological basis for the condition.

Mr. Welch further writes: "There are some medical problems that can provoke ADD symptoms. For example, thyroid problems can affect energy level, and hearing or visual impairments can make paying attention difficult."

Yes, these are true. But they describe thyroid problems, and hearing or visual problems, completely separate medical conditions which happen to share some symptoms with ADHD. They do not cause Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Depression and anxiety can cause symptoms that look like ADD, but they are not ADD. A head injury can cause symptoms that look like ADD, but a head injury is not ADD.

The neurological problems that cause ADD are the causes of ADD. Mr. Welch is simply unwilling to admit that there is a neurological, biological, physiological basis for a very real condition called ADHD. His position, however, is not supported by the reality presented in the research.

This is the end to part four of this discussion. You can learn more about Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder by visiting the ADHD Information Library's family of web sites.

Douglas Cowan, Psy.D., is a family therapist who has been working with ADHD children and their families since 1986. He is the clinical director of the ADHD Information Library's family of seven web sites, including http://www.newideas.net, helping over 350,000 parents and teachers learn more about ADHD each year. Dr. Cowan also serves on the Medical Advisory Board of VAXA International of Tampa, FL., is President of the Board of Directors for KAXL 88.3 FM in central California, and is President of NewIdeas.net Incorporated.

Ephedra Product Ban

Ephedra is a naturally occuring herbal dietary supplement that has been marketed as a weight loss drug. The principal active ingredient is an amphetamine-like compound. Because it has been marketed as an herbal supplement and not a drug, you may not have considered talking to your doctor about it, but if you have been using Ephedra or any dietary supplement containing ephedrine alkaloids, such as ephedra, ma huang, Sida cordifolia, and pinellia, stop immediately and consult a doctor! The FDA has advised consumers to stop using these dietary supplements and published a final ruling in 2004 to ban the sale of all supplements containing ephedrine alkaloids.

After reviewing Ephedra, the Food and Drug Administration found that it has little positive effects beyond temporary short-term weight loss. To the contrary, Ephedra raises blood pressure and stresses the heart. Many people using Ephedra to lose weight have suffered strokes and died. Recent studies have confirmed that Ephedra use raises blood pressure and stresses the circulatory system. Furthermore, a study of calls to poison control centers revealed that a disproportionate rate of negative reactions were cased by Ephedra as opposed to other herbal products.

If you are using ephedra or ma huang, discontinue use immediately. If you used ephedra in the past and are now experience symptoms of high blood pressure, intense headaches, or heart palpitations, contact a lawyer right away to discuss your case.

To find out why you need an Ephedra lawyer and read articles about dangerous drugs and Ephedra side effects, visit our website at hugesettlements.com.

If you have any questions or concerns about filing a Ephedra lawsuit, please contact a professional Ephedra attorney right away!