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The key to success in any business is to know where you want to go and how to get there. Easily said but very hard to put into practice. Some of the very best of plans and programs go astray because we rely on gut feelings and instinct instead of actually acting in response to hard data concerning the effectiveness of what we are doing.

You work your tail off. Formulate business, promotional and advertising plans and do your level best to follow those plans. Unfortunately this is not enough. You must find a way to test the effectiveness of these plans and programs as you go along. To do this you must have a means to obtain feedback from consumers plus the means to test the effectiveness of your advertising.

A sad truth in advertising is that some ads appeal to some people and some to others. The same holds true for the advertising media selected to get your message out to the world. A killer ad for one segment of the market is a dud for another. That’s just the way it is. Big Corporations spend millions in the never ending quest to find what type of ad and what media is best for them.

Most of us do not possess the millions to waste money trying to find the ‘don’t miss’ ads and the proper media. We must proceed within the financial capabilities we have. We cannot afford to waste money on advertising which is not effective for our purpose. Small business people offline or online are faced with some tough problems in their advertising programs. There is never enough money available to do everything that needs to be done. This being the case we must be careful in what we do and when we do it.

We can help ourselves by learning the basics of writing good ads and doing some simple research to discover what specific media appears to be most effective, at the moment, for businesses like our own. The data is there it just takes a little time and research to discover it. OK, fine we have done our research and are satisfied that we can produce effective ads and know the media we wish to use. What now? Remember we don’t have a whole lot of money available so we want to get the biggest bang for the buck that we can.

Well, if it were me I would look for a program through which I could visibly see the results of my advertising. If I placed an ad, I would wish to be able to see what the exact response to that ad has been. I would want to know who saw the ad? When? How? Then I can measure the effectiveness of the ad by the actual response of the viewers. How many viewers actually asked for more information or purchased my product or service based on the ad they viewed? Pretty strong stuff is it not? This is exactly the type information you need to judge the effectiveness of your advertising.

Would you believe that programs exist on the net, now, which can actually do this for you? This is true for all online media. Just go to your browser and search for ‘Ad Trackers’.

What you must look for is a system which is fully automated, easy for the user to work, and one that in fact does furnish all the basic data you need to determine the effectiveness of you ads. Some systems are better than others and they all cost money. You must carefully examine the benefits you receive compared to the costs involved. You have more than likely spent money placing your ads and now you are spending money to track how well these ads are bringing in customers. You must make the judgment here. Only you can judge where these activities are taking you.

It makes sense that money considerations dictate that you start something like this on a small scale. One or two ads on one or two media so you may learn first hand what is working and what is not. We must throw away any pride of authorship regarding the ad copy we write. The only important criteria here is that the ad works or does not work. If it works you use it more widely and keep using it until it loses it’s effectiveness. You keep this process going on a constant basis, exploiting effective ads and replacing bad ads. And you do it based on the factual data you gain from whatever ad tracking system you employ.

For those of us who are really serious about making a success of our own business it makes a lot of sense to be able to know what our advertising is doing for us. Not only that but we need to identify the ever changing audience out there so we may change directions as we may need to. Tracking your ads is a key to this capability. None of us can afford the millions the large Corporations spend for this purpose but we have to dig in our pocket and somehow find the money to purchase one of these affordable ad tracking systems.

Such an action is critical if you are going to successfully compete for business on the Internet. Some would say that your survival counts on it.

A free traffic exchange is one of the best ways for webmasters to get free website traffic to their sites or affiliate marketing campaigns. Free Traffic Exchanges allow you to surf other members websites, and for each viewing, you get so many of your own URLs and banners added into the rotation for other members to view. There are hundreds, if not thousands of free traffic exchanges online today, and each traffic exchange has thousands of members surfing each and every day. That’s a lot of potential traffic you can get for little or no cost for your advertising efforts. All you need to do is spend some time surfing the exchanges to get credits for your websites to be viewed by thousands of potential customers.

You do need to find which traffic exchanges work best for your website and/or promotions. No two free traffic exchanges are created equal and the most active ones are not necessarily the best ones for your needs.

Free traffic exchanges are a great marketing tool for a variety of reasons. The most obvious reason is that you get lots of people looking, and hopefully clicking on your website or promotional pages. But there are hidden benefits to free traffic exchanges you may not have even considered.

Search engines love free traffic exchanges because of all the incoming and outgoing links they generate. Plus the rapidly changing content is another reason the search bots love these things. Exchanges that have more content also generate a higher page rank, and therefore more traffic, and increased memberships. The key is to find exchanges that are very active and have lots of members. The more members they have, the more potential customers you get looking at your offer and your chances for sales conversions are that much better. But bigger isn’t always better.

Some free traffic exchanges may convert sales like crazy for one person, and be a complete waste of time for another. If everyone promoted the same website or affiliate program in the same traffic exchange for example, then your chances of making sales would not be very good. Even if you were promoting the #1 best product or service on the internet, the fact is if everyone promoted the same program, your chances are much lower that someone will purchase through your website or link to make you any money. Also, when people see the same ad over and over again, they get desensitized to it. Don’t fall into this trap. It’s one thing to try and sell a very popular product/service/ebook etc, but it’s another thing when a thousands of other people are doing the same thing. Competition is a good thing, because it validates your market, but too much competition is tough and it’s time to move on to something else.

We all know clicking on ads in a free traffic exchange can be very boring, monotonous and can take a lot of time. That’s why you need to make the best of your opportunity or you will just be wasting a lot of your time and effort on something that just isn’t working. If you have your own niche website, then you already differentiated yourself from the pack. If you are an affiliate marketer, then you need to find products/services that everyone else isn’t promoting, especially within that particular traffic exchange.

One way to use free traffic exchanges to your advantage is to join a few at first, and see if your sales pick up. If your sales aren’t doing well, then test out a few more. When you do find a few traffic exchanges that appear to be generating sales for you, then narrow those down until you find the one, or two that are working best for you. Now concentrate your efforts on those because they’re the ones you want. At least for now anyway. Things may change, so keep an eye on your campaigns and if sales seem to be falling off, then it might be time to change your offer or find another traffic exchange that could pick your profits up again.

As I mentioned, your individual promotions are key to your success. If you’re trying to promote something everyone else is, I don’t care what traffic exchange service you’re using, your sales conversions are going to be very low, or nothing at all. You cannot always blame the exchange. Sometimes you have to look at yourself and think if you’re doing all you can to make sales. The same goes for any advertising methods such as Pay-Per-Click (PPC) services like Google AdWords.

If you’re going to be using multiple free traffic exchanges, and I recommend that you do, your first priority should be to pick up a multi-tab web browser. Many of these browsers are free and run on PCs and MACs. The tabs feature allows you to have one web browser open with multiple tabs each going to a separate website. You could easily put a half dozen of your free exchange sites in these tabs, and earn credits for all of them at the same time. So instead of surfing for 1/2 an hour or an hour earning 200 hits for one exchange, you could earn 200 hits for 5 or 6 exchanges in the same amount of time. This is a huge time saver and multiplies your earned hits by 5X or 6X and increase your sales conversions.

Getting free traffic to your website is a lot of work. If you don’t have the money to spend on full blown PPC (pay-per-click) campaigns like Google AdWords, free traffic exchanges are a great way to get the free website traffic you need.

Andrew Daigle is owner and creator of TrumpTraffic.com, a Free Traffic Exchange http://www.trumptraffic.com , Free DXInOne E-Currency Exchange Training Site and Forum http://www.dxout.com and Free Google AdWords Training http://www.adwording.com

With the legal civilisation growing all throughout the world, owning professional indemnity insurance is becoming ever more and more needed. If you do not at this time have liability insurance written-in into your building insurance, then now is perhaps the moment in time to look at acquiring improved insurance. Here is some information about why you need insurance, & what to watch out for.

What is public liability cover: Public Liability insurance is an insurance policy that shields you from claims that other individuals may possibly make against you in the event of an accident. If someone damages their belongings or hurts themselves in or around your property or company then the professional indemnity insurance will protect you for any compensation claims that could take place. Cover generally ranges from ?250,000 up to one million pounds.

What are you insured for: Insurance will insure cover against accidents or loss that other individuals might suffer in or around your house or organisations grounds. You are protected from claims from robbers and injury that might occur to a person from falling items or people carrying out repairs. If a mishap happens on your grounds & somebody claims against you, your cover will assist you to pay any compensation.

What’s included A lot of contents or property insurance policies contain integrated liability insurance. You would be recommended to check with your insurer if this is the case, and if so what level of protection you get. Even if the insurance is included, you need to guarantee that you are suitably protected for any type of accidents that may possibly crop up. Find cheap public liability insurance quote online with Insured Risks.

Premiums: The premiums that you pay depend on the specific kind of protection you get. If you just protect your house, then the premiums are very likely to be not as much as than if you are covering a business. Although, payments are relatively cheap for the level of protection that you get, & it is therefore essential for any individual running an organisation.

If you haven’t experienced listening to satellite radio yet, be sure that you schedule some time to do so soon. It’s a real breakthrough in radio broadcasting technology that improves the entire listening experience. For so many years, radio broadcasting has been essentially static, with no real improvements or significant changes in the technology at all. But thanks to XM satellite radio and it’s competitor, Sirius, the radio broadcasting landscape has been changed forever. Here are the top 5 reasons why you need XM radio now:

1. Over 100 channels of unique programming including over 65 music channels that play almost any kind of music that you could want to listen to. But there is also talk radio and sports programming too, including MLB games. If you can’t find something interesting to listen to on XM radio you just aren’t trying very hard. And new, more original radio shows are constantly being made available as well.

2. The sound is incredible. Since the radio signal is recorded in digital instead of analog format, you get to hear crystal clear CD-like sound. So it’s like having your CD player with you wherever you go, without having to lug along all those CDs at the same time.

3. No loss of signal. Because the signal is digital and transmitted to a group of satellites that orbit high above the earth in the atmosphere, there are no obstructions like trees, buildings, or even the curvature of the earth’s surface that can prevent you from receiving any of the available channels no matter where you go. So you can drive for hundreds of miles and listen to the same radio channel if you like.

4. No commercials. On most channels there are no commercials or ads whatsoever because the XM radio service is a monthly subscription. That means that there is no need to run ads to pay for the service. It’s paid for by it’s subscriber base instead. What that means for you as the listener is no more irritating interruptions of your favorite programming by pitchmen that want to sell you something that you probably don’t even want anyway.

5. If you happen to live in Canada, you are now able to receive XM satellite radio in your area too. XM is the only provider at this point that is making satellite radio available to Canadians.

If you add up all the features of XM satellite radio including it’s incredibly diverse programming, it’s digital sound quality, it’s lack of on-air ads, and more it’s easy to see why almost 6 million people have already subscribed to XM radio already. How about you?

Jim Johnson is a successful author and publisher on consumer related matters. You can find out more about xm satelite radio and xm radios by visiting our Satellite Radio Review website.

Among a variety of technologically advanced and mechanically upgraded boatlifts, hydraulic boatlifts deserve special mention. In the search for protection that’s tough on waves - but easy on the environment and community aesthetics - many have found a solution in floating wave attenuators.

Most hydraulic boatlifts are standard with non-corrosive stainless steel bolts, stainless cable and brass nuts, giving you many years of service while maintaining a clean appearance. Thick urethane sheaves are used to maximize cable life and to ensure lasting performance under heavy use. Most of the hydraulic vertical lifts offer rigid diagonal V-bracing on both sides, giving uncompromised strength on demand when your boat is raised to maximum height. There are a number of companies who offer a variety of hydraulic boats ready to give these pleasures and advantages. Certain characteristics and features of hydraulic should be highlighted:

The hydraulic cylinder is enclosed in a beam assembly. Stainless bolts, pins, and brass nuts are used on all lifts and accessories to provide years of reliable service. The hydraulic pump, motor, and battery are enclosed in a poly box that can be locked to protect your investment.

The hydraulic lift comes standard with a two-button remote for raising and lowering the lift. Additional remotes are available and are easy to program to each specific unit.

No matter which kind of hydraulic boatlift you choose, see if you can get a one-year warranty, or an even longer one if possible. That way, if it ever breaks down, you won’t end up throwing away even more money than you spent in the first place. A boatlift is meant to save you money on repairing your boat; it should never become an ongoing expense unto itself.

Boat Lifts provides detailed information on boat lifts, used boat lifts, floating boat lifts, boat lift motors and more. Boat Lifts is affiliated with Boat Docks.

Every marriage starts with a lot of hope and dream
about life long association filled with love and
togetherness. But very few marriages fulfill the hopes
of the participants in totality.

There are various reasons for this but here we single
out 6 of those. Every young person who is planning
marriage should be aware of these most common pitfalls.

1. Marrying for the sake of love without first
checking the depth of love.

No denying that all relationships start with a sense of
love and mutual liking. Committing to a long term
relationship like marriage solely on the basis of that
feeling of love is a mistake. Because most of the time
this kind of feeling is superficial and can not pass
the test of time. Romantic feeling dies as time passes
and far more important issues like ‘family background’,
‘values’, ‘religious faith’, ‘financial stability’
raise their head, and these issues are of real
importance which almost every body with feeling of
mutual love ignore.

2. Marrying someone who does not share an interest or
hobby.

While marriage with a person who does not share an
interest or hobby does not itself make the marriage
unstable, presence of such an interest or hobby can
make life more enjoyable for both the partners. And
this can make a real difference so while selecting life
partner this aspect must be taken into account.

But for some reason or other this aspect is often
overlooked before marriage. And efforts start after
marriage to adapt the partner to one’s own interest or
develop a new common interest. While that is not an
impossible task, the process of adapting may become un-
palatable and may lead to unstable marriage.

3. Not knowing what questions to ask for checking
compatibility.

As discussed earlier that marriage decision based on
initial sense of love may be counter productive. To
make a marriage successful one should do some simple
homework. Knowledge of future partner’s background and
certain other things can play a crucial role here. But
many young persons either do not try to know all these
important facts or do not know what are important
aspects s/he must know to make their marriage
successful.

4. Thinking proper and careful quarries may offend
her/him.

One may think that too much investigation about future
partner’s back ground may not be a good idea. As the
other partner may find it distasteful. This kind of
thought process keeps many young man and woman from
asking the right questions before marriage.

5. Depending too much on a friend or relatives
recommendation.

A sizable number of young man and woman often get
married on the recommendation of relatives or friends.
While generally relatives and friends are regarded as
well wishers, marrying on their recommendation is not a
good idea. As their knowledge of a person can never
equal to the knowledge the person has about herself or
himself. So the person to be married is in a much
better position to select compatible life partner. Best
way out is acting on their recommendation only after
successful completion of compatibility check.

6. Getting married to make somebody else happy.

Sometimes people get married to make someone else
happy. It may be parents or it may be relatives. There
is no problem in making someone happy if that does not
jeopardize one’s own marriage. But most of time in such
cases marriages occur without exercising enough
caution. As a result one may end up marrying someone
not compatible.

If you are really serious to make your marriage an
exciting, loving and enriching experience you need to
be careful about the above things before your marriage.

Tapan Sarkar

About the Author

Tapan Sarkar,

Ask right questions before your marriage.

http://findyoursoulmatetoday.com

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=========================================================== How To Prevent Tonsil Stones (Those Nasty, Whitish/Yellow, Foul-Smelling, Lumps From Your Tonsils!) ===========================================================

WHERE DO TONSIL STONES COME FROM? ARE THEY NORMAL? WHY ME?

Tonsil Stones (tonsilloliths) are caused by an accumulation of sulfur-producing bacteria and debris that become lodged in the tonsils. This debris (which can include mucous from post nasal drip) putrefies in the back of your throat, and collects in the tonsil crypts (small divots or pockets which appear on the surface of the tonsils).

When this debris combines with the Volatile Sulfur Compounds produced by the anaerobic bacteria beneath the surface of your tongue, along with the tonsil stones it can also create chronic Halitosis (and other stubborn bad breath and taste disorders).

Important: If you do not have your tonsils then you will NOT experience tonsil stones. However this does NOT mean that you should run out and get your tonsils removed.

As we get older, tonsillectomies become increasingly dangerous, but aside from that, even if you have your tonsils removed, you will most likely still have bad breath! Why is that?

You see, the sulfur-producing bacteria breeding beneath the surface of your tongue (which are integral to the creation of those tonsil stones) are also the most likely candidates to cause bad breath!

So, even if you have your tonsils removed, unless you remove or hinder these anaerobic bacteria, your friends may still exhibit those tell-tale signs that YOU have bad breath! (i.e. pulling away, offering you gum, twitching at their nose, etc.)

And, since you can’t have your tongue removed (at least not in the U.S.), there is a better idea: Fortunately, getting rid of tonsil stones is not that difficult…

SIMPLE STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO REMOVE TONSIL STONES (WITHOUT SUGERY!)

A simple combination of items will effectively eliminate tonsil stones without unnecessary tonsil surgery. Plus, occasional use of an oxygenating spray will help to immediately neutralize the anaerobic sulfur-producing bacteria on contact.

Now keep in mind, if you have read my e-book (the Bad Breath Bible), and you truly want to prevent bad breath then you must use an oxygenating toothpaste and mouthwash and ideally a tongue scraper to effectively neutralize the anaerobic bacteria from the very back of the tongue.

When you use such an oxygenating toothpaste and mouthwash, you will experience a residual effect that will stop the tonsil stones from ever forming again.

From my clinical tests at the California Breath Clinics (office visits available in Los Angeles and San Francisco), we’ve found that most people following this formula have reported a significant reduction or complete elimination of tonsil stones.

Uncover the REAL Causes of Bad Breath! Dr. Harold Katz, founder of the California Breath Clinics, is a worldwide expert on the topics of bad breath, halitosis and dry mouth.

His ‘Bad Breath Bible’ is an easy-to-read guide to help YOU enjoy fresh breath every day for the rest of your life. Request your free copy at: http://www.therabreath.com/a/1164/ebook.asp

Start by saying a little prayer. Thank God for a beautiful morning and another day to live. Learn to appreciate the sunshine, the air you breath and the life you’ve been given. Be thankful that you have the strength to wake up, for the eyes to see the beauty of earth, the ears to hear the birds chirp and people calling your name, and for all the senses that lets you feel.

Appreciate life’s little blessings and you’ll learn that you have more to be thankful than to complain. Look at each day with a positive outlook saying, “each day will be a great day”. Take each step at a time and never rush on things. Be careful with each word that you say to avoid hurting other’s feelings. Always follow the golden rule. Be considerate with others. Love yourself so that you’ll have more love to give. If things didn’t turn out the way you wanted, there’s always be tomorrow. Let go and move on. You can always try to do it better the next time. Learn from your mistakes and start picking up the pieces. Somehow, along the way, there will be sunshine after the rain. A window of opportunities might open whenever a door closes. It’s never too late to learn new things. Never dwell in the past.The good life that you wanted is within your reach.

Italian is one of the most widespread languages in the world, and speaking it can give you a tremendous sense of accomplishment, an edge in your career, and even a stronger bond with your ancestors if you are of Italian descent. There are many ways you can learn Italian, including textbooks, tapes, CDs, software, group classes or private lessons, but there are also ways you can begin or continue your studies of the Italian language entirely for FREE!

1. Online: Online, you can join an active community of people who are learning the Italian language just like you. One site is Impariamo - http://www.impariamo.com - which in Italian means “let’s learn”. Impariamo is a forum where you can meet people from around the world who are learning Italian and share tips to improve your Italian language skills. It is also a great starting point for finding new tools that will help you develop your Italian skills - all for FREE! Impariamo also has a feature called Quiz of the Week, where you can have a new Italian language quiz delivered to your e-mail in-box each and every week. In addition to Impariamo, you can also find other online communities at Yahoo! Groups - http://groups.yahoo.com - or at MSN Groups - http://groups.msn.com. Simply type in “learn Italian” in the search box on either of these sites and you will find many groups that may appeal to you to join - again, for FREE!

2. Offline: Offline, you can join a group in your geographic area whose members share your interest in learning the Italian language through a free online service called Meetup - http://italian.meetup.com. Meetup helps people find others who share similar interests, and form lasting, local community groups that regularly meet face-to-face. All ages and levels of proficiency are welcome to these group meetings! You can sign up to participate in any one of nearly 300 Italian language Meetup groups. Practicing your Italian among friends will help you improve your language skills significantly.

Learning Italian allows you to immerse yourself in a rich and diverse culture, and this can open entirely new avenues of self-exploration and personal growth. Whether you want to the Italian language for personal or professional reasons, you can make new friends, have new experiences, and open yourself to a new and beautiful culture. Buon divertimento!

Mindy Prian is the Site Administrator of http://www.impariamo.com - a warm, welcoming community of people from all over the world who interact with one another to improve their Italian language skills.

Mistake #1: Most boring storytellers tell you half-stories.

Fact: The world’s best storytellers tell you the whole story.

How many times have you finished watching a movie, reading a book or listened to a lecture and wondered, “What was all that about?”. Well, you may think that the fault was yours but the fact remains that the storyteller did not tell you the whole story. They told you parts of it but really, unless they tell you the whole story you will neither understand the story nor feel satisfied.

I have many times played this game with people: I say: “Imagine that you are a reporter and you have ten minutes to hand in a story about an accident that just happened. If you do not get the story done, you may lose your job.

And this is what I ask them: What are you going to write?” The typical response is something like: “I can’t do this. Ten minutes is too short a time. I hope I don’t lose this job. .. etc.”

To all of these I ask, “Do you actually have the necessary information for telling this story?”

The typical answer: “Ermm … I don’t know. I think I have the whole story!”

Then I nod and say, “Well if you do not know whether you have the story or not, then how in the world are you going to tell the story?”

Mistake #2: Believing that telling stories is one of the poorest of professions in the world.

Fact: Telling great stories is one of the HIGHEST paid jobs of all time …

Steven Spielberg, J. K. Rowling, Enid Blyton, Salman Rushdie, John Grisham, Sidney Sheldon, Stephen King, Donald Trump, Corey Rudl, Jay Abrahams, George Bernard Shaw, Nelson Mandela, Whitney Houston …

If you’re wondering what politicians, singers, internet marketing gurus and the sort are doing in that list, then you need to know that one of the most important things that all of these people did was to use the most important rules - they told stories from their own experiences in their own unique way. Internet marketing gurus created tools and books which made them millionaires when they told their own stories!

Note: most people don’t think of successful business executives and celebrities as storytellers. These storytellers aren’t really storytellers at all but really great ‘repetitors’. Which leads us to Mistake #3:

Mistake #3: Great storytellers have to invent new stories.

Fact: The world’s best storytellers do not re-invent the wheel

Storytelling has been one of the oldest of traditions in this world. It is a universal art which transcends time, space and people. In its crudest of forms, it is using gestures, drawings, hieroglyphics, signs and so on to convince people that their stories are true and get what they want. They told the same stories over and over and over again but they used their own individual style.

From time immemorial, there have been people telling horror stories. There have been thrillers, murder mysteries, corporate takeovers, mergers, acquisitions, love gone wrong, starting a new venture, failing and then starting all over again, abandonment and so many more themes. The result, they interact with thousands (and even millions) of people each year, make the most money and effortlessly rise to the top of every profession…

Mistake #4: Most boring storytellers tell stories that they do not themselves find interesting.

Fact: No one wants to hear a boring story.

Have you ever told someone else’s joke and no one laughs … then to get out of it, you say something like, “You just had to be there to understand how funny it was…”

It is a universal fact that if you do not know the principles of effective storytelling, then even the most interesting of stories you tell will sound dull.

Mistake #5: Great salespeople have a ‘gift’.

Fact: The world’s best storytellers learn the skill.

Great storytellers have a skill. They were not born with this skill. It was developed and they became masters in this skill. They then use it to their benefit and in the process, enjoyed themselves and entertained others.

*******************

Aneeta Sundararaj, a storyteller, is the creator of the bestselling program “How To Tell A Great Story”. Aneeta’s technique and famed “R.P.I. Principle”© has been used by many people and offers simple, cutting-edge strategies applicable universally. She is also the author of two ‘traditional’ books The Banana Leaf Men and Mad Heaven: the biography of Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Dr. M. Mahadevan. Visit http://www.howtotellagreatstory.com to learn more.