Advertising Secrets

When I first got into the online advertising business, I was looking for the magical combination that would put my website into the top search engine rankings, catapult me to the forefront of the minds or individuals looking to buy my product, and generally make me rich beyond my wildest dreams!

After succeeding in the business for this long, I'm able to look back on my old self with this kind of thinking and shake my head.

If you're reading this article and you've come this far, you're probably looking for the magic answer yourself. You've probably read a few dozen or a few hundred articles just like this about pay-per-click advertising, maximizing return on investment, keyword stuffing, black-hat seo tactics, text-link banner exchanges, and the list goes on.

Well, I'm here to tell you that I have the one be all end all answer and I'm sharing it with the world!

The truth is that there is no magic secret to online advertising. No one method will generate the largest amount of income/exposure for every website or business imaginable - it's all a matter of trial and error, time and talent.

That's a pretty weak answer, I know. It would have been much cooler for me to tell you that buying tiny classified ads in your local paper was the key to success and riches. Well, I'm sorry. For the few of you that have been down this road before and are starting to get it, you'll hear a ring of truth in my words. The sooner you stop looking for a quick fix to make your message stick, the better.

For what it's worth, these are my thoughts.

1) The internet has only been alive for a few short years, and in that time it has changed dramatically many times over. Remember in 1995 when everyone first discovered the cool little animated envelope .gif that you would click on to send them email? Where was your online bill-pay, instant messaging, and dynamically generated page content then? And only a few short years later you can see how far we've come and use that as a measure for how far we can go.

The point is that the internet, like other forms of media, is a rapidly evolving monster. What works for online advertisers today might be completely ineffectual only a few months from now. That's why the best advertisers are constantly researching and creating their own unique marketing strategies. The trick is to find out what works for you, and to make sure that you revisit it from time to time to tune it up as the market changes.

2) You Have to Spend Money to Make Money. It's a tired line, but it's that way because everyone says it. Don't be afraid to add fuel to your advertising fire and take it to another level. Try investing (note that I said investing and not spending) five, ten, or fifty thousand dollars in advertising. If you don't jump out a window the first time you do it, you may walk away with a big smile and a little pocket money!

The hard part about investing a big chunk of money is coming up with it in the first place. If you already have $50,000 laying around for advertising and are just looking for a place to put it, give me a call. If you're not that lucky, try looking at the Small Business Administration for ideas on how to get a small business loan.

If you don't want to go farther than your mailbox, examine some of those credit checks your bank keeps sending you in the mail. A lot of people take advantage of their fairly reasonable interest rates to fund projects.

3) Presentation is Key. You'll find that excellent writing skills and good marketing go hand in hand. As you improve on one, the other is bound to follow. Knowing how to write, and how to write well will give you an extraordinary advantage of the majority of individuals vying for your customers' attention. I don't know about you, but I get a lot of spam for people wanting to sell me their "good, cheap, A+ #1 $$$ rolex watch, discount Viagra, H0t s1utz, etc."

Needless to say, I have never purchased anything from them and most likely, neither have you. If you have, please drop me a line and let me know how it worked out. I'm always wondering how many of those are a scam.

The emails and circulars that I do purchase from come from GoDaddy, buy.com, Google and a host of other professional companies that take a few minutes to earn my trust with good punctuation, grammar, and quality content.

If you don't have a talent for writing (and you know who you are) you have two choices:

Get better - easier said than done. Like most things, writing is one part talent and nine parts hard work. Take some classes, do peer editing suggestions, or send it to me look over (first ten-thousand submissions only).

Or, get someone else to do it - leaving more time for you at the helm. I like this option not only because it's a time saver for me, but also because the work generally comes out better than anything I could have done. This article is an excellent example. I provided a detailed outline, some good anecdotes, and the strategies above and the copywriters at danifer.com did the rest. I made a deal with them to write the article for $149 and we share the syndication rights. Not bad for half an hour's work.

If you can't afford to hire a pro, be courteous to yourself and your audience by simply re-reading your work, running a spell check, and letting your wife/husband/friend/co-worker look it over. You'd be surprised at how many things invisible to you will stand out to a fresh set of eyes.

OK. That's all I've got for now. Stay tuned at howtoadvertise.net for more advice on how to get started with online advertising. Please remember though that how far you go is up to you. There is no substitute for your own work and effort in succeeding in this business.

Good Luck!

Keeton

Beginner’s Overview of Foreign Currency Exchange

Foreign currency exchange trading can be very rewarding, but can also be very intimidating to a beginner. To get started, you will need to know some basics:

1. What is foreign currency exchange?
2. How is it traded?
3. What are the benefits?
4. What are the risks?
5. How can I get started?

What is Foreign Currency Exchange?

The Foreign currency exchange (FOREX) market is a cash (or “spot”) market for currency. Unlike the stock exchange, the FOREX market is not located on a trading floor or centralized on an exchange. Instead, it is entirely electronic within a network of banks and runs 24 hours per day Sunday evening (5:00 pm EST) through Friday evening (4:00 pm EST), excluding some holidays. The fact that it is all electronic means that you can tap into it from your computer.

How is it traded?

FOREX is traded in currency pairs, for example EUR/USD is the Euro base currency and the US dollar counter (or quote) currency. There are six major pairs: EUR/USD, GBP/USD (Great Britian pound vs. US dollar), USD/JPY (US dollar vs. Japanese yen), USD/CAD (US dollar vs. Canadian dollar), AUD/USD (Australian dollar vs. US dollar), and USD/CHF (US dollar vs. Swiss Franc).

Currencies are traded in dollar amounts called lots. For a “standard” account, one lot (called a standard lot) is $1,000 and controls $100,000 in currency. For example, when you place an order to buy one lot of EUR/USD, you are buying the EUR and simultaneously selling the USD. The margin you must put up to place the order is $1000 (for a standard lot). You are going long the EUR and expecting it to strengthen against the USD. For every increase of $0.0001 in the EUR, you make one “pip” (price interest point) equivalent to $10 per lot traded.

Similarly, for a “mini-account” when you place an order to sell one mini-lot (one-tenth of a standard lot) of EUR/USD, you are selling the EUR and simultaneously buying the USD. You are going short the EUR and expecting it to weaken against the USD. The margin requirement is $100.00 per mini-lot. For every decrease in the EUR of $0.0001 you make one pip equivalent to $1 per mini-lot traded.

Note that unlike trading stocks, there are absolutely no restrictions on short-selling in FOREX. Short-selling is exactly like buying – except that you’re selling of course.

The pip value and amount per pip per lot differs when the USD is not the counter or quote currency. For example, when buying the USD/JPY pair with a ask price of 109.00 (meaning 1 USD equals 109.00 yen), a change in the Japanese yen of 0.01 yen is equivalent to 1 pip or $9.17 per pip per lot traded ($9.17 = $100,000 x 0.01 / 109.00).

The broker makes money off the spread which is the difference in the quotation ask and bid prices. You buy the base currency at the ask price and sell it at the bid price. Generally, the major currency pairs have relatively low spreads. The EUR/USD is commonly two to three pips and the GPD/USD is commonly four to five pips. For example, the current bid/ask price for EUR/USD is quoted at 1.2322/1.2324. This means that you can buy 1 EUR (the base currency) for $1.2324 USD (the counter-currency). You buy at the ask price. You can sell 1 EUR for $1.2322 USD (you sell at the bid price). You will pay the broker the spread or $1.2324 - $1.2322 = $0.0002 = 2 pips. For a standard lot, the broker fee (in this example) is $10 x 2 pips = $20 per standard lot for a roundtrip trade (1 buy and matching sell or 1 sell and matching buy). For a mini-lot, the fee would be $1 x 2 pips = $2 per mini-lot for a roundtrip trade. The broker fee is automatically deducted from your account.

Obviously, if you buy (go long) a currency pair, you expect the base currency to increase in price. Your objective is to sell later at a price higher than you purchased and make a profit. On the flip side, if you sell (go short) a currency pair, you expect the base currency to decrease in price. Your objective is to buy later at a price that is lower than the price you originally sold, and thus make a profit off the difference.

There’s more to it than can be explained in this overview, but you should get the basic idea.

What are the benefits?

1. With FOREX trading, there is no inventory, no employees, and no customers. Your overhead can be as minimal as a home computer with internet access.

2. You can get started with a “mini-account” investing as little as $300.

3. Currency prices tend to repeat in relatively predictable cycles creating strong trends. Once you learn how to trade properly, you can compound your money, and potentially turn a little into a lot.

4. You can trade for a few hours per week, or much more if you want to. It’s all up to you.

5. The FOREX market is very liquid, with trillions of dollars traded every day. On its slowest day, orders can usually be placed within a few seconds if you stay with the major currencies. Instantaneous execution (1 to 2 seconds) is the norm during normal trade volume days (for the major currencies).

6. You can trade from just about anywhere as long as you have a computer with internet access to your account.

What are the risks?

1. The market can be very volatile, especially during times of major news releases, also known as “fundamental announcements.” The time of these announcements is usually known in advance. Many traders simply stay out of the market during these announcements and wait until market volatility has settled back down.

2. If you use too much margin or risk too much on any one trade, your account could suffer badly on a trade that doesn’t go your way. Proper risk management, including sound placement of stops and not risking more than 2 percent of your account on any one trade, can alleviate this risk. Do not risk more money than you can afford to lose.

3. A major world event could trigger a huge volatility swing that could wipe out your account (or even more). However, some brokers limit the loss to the amount in your account. (Of course, a major world event could also cause the trade to go your way.)

4. Trader psychology (fear and greed) can play a big role in your success or failure as a trader. Trading education is one of the keys to overcoming these human flaws.

5. You could fail to place a stop loss with your order. A change in price could force a liquidation of your trade if your account falls below the required margin maintenance. To alleviate this risk, always set a stop loss when you place an order.

This list is not meant to be inclusive. There are other risks.

How can I get started?

You can easily open an online account by selecting one from many available FOREX brokers. You can, and should open a demo account to practice (and learn) for several months for free. The practice account makes simulated trades using real-time data. This is called “paper trading.” You should not trade your real account until you have proven to yourself that you can be profitable in your demo account.

Once you get started, you can trade currencies from just about anywhere. About all you need is a computer with internet access to your trading account. Many brokers also provide free charting software.

Jim McCabe

Taco Pumps - useful component for residential use

Taco is highly used in the business of developing and manufacturing hydraulic based components for use in residential, commercial, industrial and institutional heating and cooling systems.

A pump is a device used to move liquids, or slurries. A pump moves liquids or gases from lower pressure to higher pressure, and overcomes this difference in pressure by adding energy to the system (such as a water system). A gas pump is generally called a compressor, except in very low pressure-rise applications, such as in heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning, the equipment is known as fans or blowers.

Pumps or circulator pumps are an integral part of any hydronic system when installing or adding radiant heat to homes and businesses. These pumps are used to send water to an area of the hydronic system when it is called for, or to keep the flow of water in the system. PexSupply.com features a large selection of Cast Iron and Bronze taco pumps, including the best-selling 007 Taco Pump, reliable Bell and Gosset pumps and Taco IFC Pumps with Integral Flow Chek.

Bosch Tankless Water Heaters

Bosch Pro Tankless Water Heaters also known as Aquastar Tankless Water Heaters come in Natural Gas (NG) and Propane (LG). We also carry Ariston and Powerstar electric tankless water heaters.

We offer competitive prices on Taco Flo-Control Valves, which can be used in forced hot water heating systems to prevent "gravityک circulation during periods when the boiler is hot, but the space heating zone is not wanted. Taco Flo-Cheks come in several sizes and connection types.

Taco Flo-Control Valves

Taco Flo-Control Valves have a combination of straight/angle configurations in sizes 3/4 to 2 for easy installation. They have removable top caps as well that allows easy cleaning and service without removing pipe connections. The manual operating position f PEX Supply is a leading online distributor of plumbing supplies and heating supplies from leading manufacturers such as Taco pumps and Wirsbo. They specialize in Radiant Floor Heating, PEX Tubing, & PEX Plumbing Supplies. It is a place from where you can gt the best quality products in the best prices. The quality of the products offered by us is something that you would not get anywhere easily.

ThermaPEX Radiant Heat PEX Tubing

ThermaPEX Barrier PEX tubing for radiant tube heating is the strongest and most flexible Oxygen Barrier PEX tubing available today. ThermaPEX Tubing is competitively priced, and is available for same day shipping. With the facility of fast shipping now you do not require to wait long for your product.

or vertical lift disc permits gravity circulation.

For the best in radiant heat equipment and discount plumbing supplies from thermocouples and flow switches to thermostats and relays, trust the radiant heat pros at PEX Plumbing Supply. The prices offered by the company are incompatible low and affordable. Our motto says, “Wholesale Prices at Your Fingertips.

How to Improve Emergency Situations With Affordable Emergency Monitoring Systems

Elderly Healthcare Alert Report - It's no secret that the aging population is on an increase. And it's no secret that more adult children will be facing the challenges of caring for their elderly relatives, many of whom live in fear of living alone safely. What is a mystery to some, though, is that as aging issues become more a part of everyday life, what is being done to help? And what can be done?

So far, many leave safety up to the elderly themselves. However, this posses many challenges. For example, take into account three recent news cases.

FALLS - The first involved a 90-year-old woman found dead outside her home, at the bottom of a rock wall. Her nephew found her, and surmised that she had probably gone out looking for her cat in the evening and fallen, as her glasses were lying atop the wall. And unfortunately temperatures had dropped into single digits that night.

CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING - In the second case, 'Weird Al' Yankovic found his parents dead in their California home due to carbon monoxide poisoning. His dad was found in a chair, mother in on the bathroom floor, a wood fire had been recently going, the flue found closed.

FIRE - And in the third case, an 89-year-old man was found dead amidst a house fire in San Diego. He was known to often smoke cigars while relaxing in the part of the house were he was discovered.

In many cases, like the three above, home safety systems may have been able to prevent early deaths

"Home safety systems are a great low cost option for families to consider," said Steve Rowin, owner of Widescope security systems. "They preserve the independence that seniors want while providing safety and peace of mind for their family."

Widescope Security Systems provides the G.E. Caregard home safety system nationwide. And with the U.S. population age 65 and over expected to double in size within the next 25 years, as reported by the U.S. Census Bureau (SeniorJournal.com 2005), that's important. In fact that translates to 1-out-of-5 Americans - or approximately 72 million people - aging by 2030 and in possible need of help in emergency situations, but not getting it. Especially for those aged 85 and older, the fastest growing segment of the U.S. population, life threatening situations need to be taken more seriously.


For more information on safety systems, call: (866) 736-8148 or visit Widescope security systems online at http://www.EmergencyMonitoringSystems.com .

The Good Thing Bout Digital Flyer Printing

When you are trying to make people aware of your business, whether you're selling a new product or opening a new business, a flyer perhaps is one of the cheapest but highly effective ways to attract attention. A flyer is a great way to communicate; it is also a quick and easy tool for relaying information. It is important that your flyer should capture the attention of your target audience with it bold captions and an intriguing design.

In reality, in creating or making a single flyer it takes skill to make one that will look professional and stand out from the pack. Fortunately, thru the expansion of our technology in printing, there are now more printing companies offering services such as flyer printing. However, only some companies that are reputable enough out there that can handle the job of making flyers that look professional and will advertise your business well.

When creating a flyer a full color and digitally made perhaps a good choice. This can only be made in digital flyer printing. Making use of colors are always best when you are about to capture attention. But be careful in using colors, use colors that match the theme or products on your flyer to create a mood about the product.

Flyer printing can be difficult or an easy job, affordable or inexpensive, this is depending on the type of flyer you want. For instance, if you want a full color flyer that is double-sided this type of flyer can be more complex to print than one-sided flyers. About the cost, full color, double-sided flyers can be more expensive than one sided flyers, which is also important to keep in mind when you are about to place an order.

If you are on a strict budget, but you don't want to compromise the quality of your flyer is it a good idea that you search your printing company online. The reason is that you can never go wrong with an online printing facility. Through the use of internet, you can find more digital flyer printing services online, which can handle all the printing needs you have.

A good online printing company doesn’t have this overpriced operating cost, and thus can produce top quality products at a more economical cost. Remember, that always ask for a sample first before you place a big order, as you will want to see what you are going to be paying for. A good and reputable professional printing company will be willing to give you a sample and to put your mind at ease.

However, conceptualizing the design and choosing what kind of font you will be using is not enough to make a good flyer that can surely attract your prospective customers. You might consider adding a special offer, or a discount coupon into your flyer, to drum up business. Remember, attracting clients is the difficult part, once your business starts thriving, the repeat customers will keep you going into your next financial quarter.

Choosing a Forex Third Party Signal Provider

With the growing popularity and easy access to the foreign exchange (ForEx) market, more and more people are drawn to it as their financial vehicle of choice. Along with this popularity come all the extras. This includes all kinds of software, trading systems for sale, books, videos, and third party signal party providers. Today I’m going to touch on a few points when seeking out a third party forex signal provider.

Before we get into choosing a provider we need to have a good understanding of what a third party signal provider is. A signal provider is a trader or analyst that generates trades that in turn get placed on your account. You can have several signal providers trading your forex account or just one.

Like anything else, all third party signal providers are not created equal. At first glance a trader may look like a home run. That same trader may well end up completely torpedoing your entire account in one afternoon. To help make sure this doesn’t happen we’ll set down a few guidelines. These guidelines will give us something to look for when choosing our third party signal provider.

1. The first thing I look at is weather the trader is a winner or a loser. This may seem obvious to nearly everyone, but I often see losing signal providers with 50-100 people trading their signals.

2. The next thing I look at is how long they have been a winner. If a trader has been winning for a week that means nothing to me. I recommend that you don’t trade any signal provider with less than a few months of results to show you. Any one can place a few good trades one week and get lucky. If you are going to be trading this trader’s signals they need to be established.

3. Look at the max draw down. This is the largest peak to trough draw down in equity that the trader has historically had. Some traders refuse to take a loss. This causes them to hold on to losing trades forever or until they turn to a winner. Turning a loser into a winner sounds great, but it will eat up a huge chunk of margin and may never turn around. If it doesn’t turn in your direction, you will have your entire account destroyed by a trader that could have taken a 30 pip loss but held on until it was an 800 pip loss.

4. The first three are easy to look at. They will be displayed right on the main screen of signal providers to choose from. Once you get a few signal providers you are thinking of using, its time to dive a bit deeper into their history.

a. Look at their actual trades. Do they have a good win rate because they have opened a ton of trades all at the same time on the same currency pair? They may have 20 winners in a row. This looks great, but if you look a bit deeper you will see that its really only 1 winning trade places 20 times. Not as impressive is it?

b. Look at their draw down on individual trades. Do they let a trade go 300 pips against them and then close it out when it hits 5 pips of profit? This is a trader who lets their losses run out of control and cuts their winning trades short. It’s not a trader that you want in control of your money.

c. Do they add to losing positions? A trader who constantly adds to losing positions hoping it will turn for them is not someone you want trading your account.

5. Choose a signal provider that suits you. Some traders may provide larger returns over time, but take bigger risks leading to bigger draw downs. This might be OK with you. If you are more conservative and cannot stomach large drops in equity you probably should choose a more conservative trader.

These are just a few things to look for when choosing a third party signal provider to trade your forex account. You should always trade a demo account before opening a live account with real money. Remember it’s your account. In the end you choose the signal providers, and you are responsible for what happens.

Understanding Forex - #1 - What is Forex?

This is a series of articles about The Foreign Exchange Market. You will learn here what Forex is , how it works and how profitable it can be. The whole series contain the following articles . . .

1. What is Forex

2. Technical analysis

3. Fundamental analysis

4. Money management

5. Compound interest

What is Forex?

The word Forex is an acronym for The Forex Exchange Market. This is the most liquid market on the world where you can trade or exchange one currency for another. For example, if you think that the Euro will appreciate in value and you have US dollars, you can trade the dollars for the Euros. If you are right and the Euro appreciates in value in relationship with the dollars, then you can close the position realizing a profit.

That’s the basic idea behind the Spot Forex Market. This is an interbank system which means that it is not centralized. There is no central exchange where currencies are traded. It is a global market. You can trade Forex online 24 hours per day, 6 days per week.

This market emerged at the beginning of the 70's decade. The reason was that currencies where not backed up by gold anymore. They began floating freely. Their value depended on forces of supply and demand due to economic factors, speculation, etc. This originated the Forex Market.

You can trade Forex on the Internet as I said above. There are many brokers like www.oanda.com that allow you to open an account with just $300 to $500 and start trading online. You can also get a demo account first and trade with play money just to “test the waters” and see if you like this market or not.

Demo accounts are free with most brokers. Some brokers offer demo accounts which expire within 30 days while others never expire. It is important to trade on paper, because you can test your strategies and see if they work or not.

Trading Forex is risky, but it can be very profitable too. You can trade at anywhere from 20: 1 to 400: 1 leverage. This means that the broker will lend you more money than you have on the account to trade.

For example, let’s say that a broker allows you to trade at 100: 1 leverage. If you use all the leverage, for every dollar that you have on the account you can trade 100. Let’s say that you have $1,000. With $1,000 at 100: 1 you can trade $100,000 worth of dollars in exchange for other currencies. You multiply your trading potential a lot. This allows you to realize bigger profits, but you also incur in bigger risks.

Let me show you an example. Let’s say that you have 100: 1 leverage on the account and you trade at full leverage with $1,000. The EUR/USD pair (Euro/US Dollar) is trading at 1.2500. So, you enter a position on this pair.

Let’s say that you are long. If the market moves in your favor by just one cent (1.2600), you will double your money and end up with $2,000 on the account. If the market moves against you by just one cent (1.2400), you will lose all the money that you have on the account or most of it depending on the broker you are trading with.

This can happens really quick. The market can move this much in a matter of minutes or hours. This is what makes Forex very profitable, but also very volatile. I don’t know if novice traders can understand the magnitude of what I am saying here. Many people get into Forex trading only seeing half of the truth. They get pulled into this market by all the hype flying around it.

I do believe that no other market in the world offer the opportunity to make money like this market does. On the other hand, there are some risks involved. It is important for new traders to trade on paper first before compromising real capital. We learn doing. I didn’t learn many basic concepts about this market until I started trading with a demo account.

Now, let me explain other important facts. The Spot Forex Market is traded in currency pairs. Whenever you enter a position you trade one currency for another. For example if you buy EUR/USD you are buying Euros and selling US Dollars. If you sell EUR/USD you are selling Euros and buying US Dollars.

When you enter a position, you can not trade other currency pairs unless you have additional funds on your account, but you can trade several currency pairs at the same time as long as you have enough margin/funds to trade. If you have never traded Forex before, you can see how all this works when you practice with a demo account.

Another thing that you would like to know is that Forex is traded in pips. Your profit on every trade depends on many aspects. One of those aspects are pips. Another one is how much leverage you are using per trade. A pip is the minimum unit that the price of a currency pair can move.

For example, in the case of the EUR/USD a pip is equal to 0.0001. If the price is at 1.2500 and it moves to 1.2501, it moved one pip. If it moves from 1.2500 to 1.2600 it moves 100 pips, like in the example above.

Now, how much you make on every trade depends on how many pips you make and how much money you invested on that trade. Also, what is the leverage for that account. If you trade at full leverage with a 100: 1 leverage account and you trade $1,000, if the market moves 50 pips in your favor, then you will make $500. This can happen within just a few minutes after you enter your order.

Most experienced traders wouldn’t recommend you to trade this way though. The reason is that if the market moves against you, then you could lose everything within minutes. It is better to have lower profit goals for every single trade and compound your profits over time.

Money management principles stay that it is better to never risk more than 1% - 3% of your capital, specially if you are an inexperienced trader. This is something that I will explain more under other article of this series.

Well, I hope this information have been helpful to you. This was an introduction to the Forex Market. You can read more about Forex on my other articles.




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