Thursday, 15 December 2011

Welcome to Desiclassifieds: Free Classifieds, Free Ads, Free advertisement


The modern world is in a continuous movement and people everywhere are looking for quick, safe means of accessing accurate information. Prompt information is vital for people who want to keep the pace with a constantly evolving society, and many people are turning to the Internet for help in their quest for knowledge.

The Internet is not only the best means to quickly access information, it also has the merit of bringing people all over the world together, allowing them to interact in a safe, exciting environment. Desiclassifieds web site promote effective means of expressing ideas and exchanging information, by offering subscribes the opportunity to post their ads on a web page, or to access the ads posted by others.

Desiclassifieds.com web site provides accurate information, well-structured in various categories: Announcements, Autos, Arts, Business Opportunities, Services, Website Ads, Business, Computer,Caterers, Jobs, Financial services, Employment, Education, Matrimonials, Florists, Health, Personals, RealEstate, Travel, Vehicles,roommates and more

We are providing so much space for you to add various ads.Here, we are inviting You to place your advatisements in various categories.

Announcements:

It will be very effective to place your announcements on birth, wedding, missing cases, conferences, invitation movies, photo birth, picture releases, movie reviews, news, graduation, engagement, photo graduation, public service, announcements here.

Business Opportunity:

We are providing Space for online business opportunities like small business, new business, business opportunities for women, internet business, work from home, home based, work at home, global business opportunities, business opportunities in canada, singapore, los angeles, us, japan, china, germany, california, philadelpia and more.

DesiCaterers:

Place your ads on catering, wedding caterer, barbecue caterer in northern virginia, caterers in chicago, canada, philadelphia, florida, london, houston and any where on world wide caterer, reception, fabulous food.

Florists:

Every one including florist, like retail, online, toronto, oregon city, san diego, florist flower, hong kong, florist delivery, florist shop, diego, california, florist online like los angeles, canada, california, florida, fransico, philadelphia, country wide florist supply has a space here to place an ad.

Insurance/Taxation:

Post ads related to car insurance, insurance on health, homes, land, vehicle, business, insurance pet, car insurance quote, travel, homelife, medical, insurance renters, broker insurance, department of taxation, taxation and finance, australian taxation office, insurance taxation, taxation of life insurance, insurance, company insurance, car company insurance, farmer insurance, progressive insurance, insurance life quote term, auto insurance online quote, health individual insurance.

Miscellaneous:

Post your ads related to miscellaneous music albums, retail store, services miscellaneous, opportunities, food store, entertainment, adult, gallerys, photos, games, sports, marketing, online dating, regulation licensing inspection of miscellaneous commercial sector, information, facts, income, trade, revenue act and miscellaneous provisions.

Services:

Post services ads related to industrial goods and services, auction services, attorney legal services, dating services online, professional services, online services on mental health, media, child care, senior citizen, shipping, conference call, catering, health and human, hosted component, taxi, nursing services, pet sitting services, community social, security, cell phone, scanning and printing services, transportation services, credit repair and publishing.

ArtGallery:

Post ads related to art gallery like online art museum, fine art, free clip art, modern art exhibitions, art martial, painting, art book comic, art fantasy, art digital, art fine, art print, arts school, 3d art, art comic, theatre art, artists, pictures, indian musicians, movies, music.

Buy&Sell:

Ads exclusively to buy & sell features like cellphones, mobile phones, motorcycles, vehicles, furnitures, computers, electronic goods, used items, Jewellerys, buy sell & auction, magazines, buy & sell classifieds, newspapers, premium cars like bmw, ford, mercedes, chevy, honda, hyundai, ford, ferrari, honda city, clio, mazda, fiat,octavia, corsa, sorento, opel, wolksvagen.

Education:

Ads on higher education, career, online, distance, driver, training, adult, schools, continuing education online, online college education, education in countries like us, uk, japan, austrailia, canada, denmark, europe, ireland, germany, swedon and education abroad.

Health&Beauty:

In health and beauty, ads related to health beauty consultant, cosmetics, health and beauty product, health and beauty aids, technologies, fitness, dating, services, medical pdoducts, hair, health beauty supply manufacturer, wholesale health and beauty, hollywood health and beauty, health and beauty spa, health and beauty tip, health beauty fitness, health & beauty centre, fitness, health, beauty tips can be placed.

Jobs:

Post ads related to jobs like job search, employment services, staffing services, job listing, hand job, event jobs, monster jobs, hot jobs, government jobs, nursing job, job fairs, usa jobs, post job, online jobs, job opportunity, california job, teaching jobs, home jobs, part time jobs, los angeles jobs, foot job, federal jobs, medical jobs, nurse jobs, health care jobs, teen jobs, computer jobs, job bank with job opening date, for freshers, internet jobs, find a job, hrdc with job description absolutely for free.

RealEstate:

Ads on real estate agent, real estate broker, real estate listing, real estate investing, real estate & property management real estate agents agent listings Douglas County Georgia GA REALTOR REALTORS realty mls homes for sale home values appraisals new houses moving relocating mortgagereal estate agents agent listings REALTOR REALTORS realty mls homes for sale home values appraisals new houses

Travel:

Post your ads free to find the best insider tips, reviews and pictures from locals and travelers for Worldwide hotels, restaurants, must see activities, trvel to europe, mexico, asia, america south, spain, france, america central , canada, taiwan, china , germany, switzerland, austria, japan, italy, argentina, russia and more by travel guide, discount travel, cheap travel, vacations, tourism information, travel, adventure travel, family travel, honeymoon vacations, family trips, hotels, cheap hotels, luxury hotels, to travel any place on world wide.

Autos:

Desiclassifieds provides you the required space to project your auto classifieds ads on a wider portal which includes bicycle, motorcycles, cars, automobile, race cars, automotive, auto, trucks, used cars for sale, dealership, classic cars motors, automobiles prices, used car prices, travel trailers, boats, auto mall and accessories.

Computers/Internet:

Place ad on computer, internet, discount computers, used computers, cheap computers, computer games, desktop computer, computers companies like dell, comptech, sony, samsung etc., computer desk, softwares, anti viruses, computer parts like cd roms, floppy drives, all mother boards services, scanners, printers, computer services, computer hardware, internet business, browsing, internet radio, cheap internet and more.

Financialservices:

Place your ads on online financial services for homes, cars, offices, industries, companies, higher studies, careers in financial services training, jobs and business purpose.discover financial services, outsourcing sevices, loans, loans for car, home, studies, financial services india, student financial services.

Matrimony:

Desiclassifieds provides a huge range of shadi classifieds for those who are looking for indianmatches and looking for desi brides and bridegrooms like sindhi, arya, vysya, hindu, muslim, maharashtrian, oriya, gujarati, punjabis, kashmiri, kerala, gujju and all other desi indian, pakistani marriage and this also has the linguistic matrimonials like kannada matrimony, tamilmatrimony, bharat matrimony.

Rentals/Roommates:

Place roommate and rentals related ads like roommate search, finder roommate, rental roommate, find roommate, referral roommate svcs, roommate wanted, easy roommate, college roommate, car rental, dvd rental, video game rental, movie rental, movie rental review, on line movie rental, online movie rental, rental, vacation rental, online dvd rental, dvd movie online rental, budget car rental.

WebsiteAds:

This is cyber world and netizens instead of newspaper classifieds would like to go for classifieds online, so enter the new era of advertising completely for FREE!Use desi classifieds to place free classifieds related to message boards, bulletin, forums, dating, buy&sell websites, web master services like logo design, logo maker, personal web hosting, e mail hosting, dns, banners, domains, registrations, web hosting, seo, web promoting, free email services, absolutely for free.


Desiclassifieds.com web site contains a valuable source of information and they also enable people to interact and achieve their goals.


Advertising Defined, What's It Good For And How An Online Campaign Can Really Save You Big Bucks


A variety of definitions of advertising exist but the best I've found yet to cover what advertising is can be summed up in the following 2 statements:

ad•ver•tis•ing n.: The activity of attracting public attention to a product or business, as by paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic media.

Also defined as "the non personal communication of information through various media, paid for by the advertiser and is usually convincing in nature about the need to buy products and services" - the advertisers of course.

Advertising your company’s products and services to your targeted audience is essential to maintain a long lasting and prosperous relationship. If you’re not continually winning your customers over than the competition will.

So, What Does An Advertising Agency Do?

If your business can afford it an advertising agency will really help you allot. Advertising agencies spend all day long just doing advertising for various businesses. They will already know the cost/thousand numbers of the various media available in your area, they'll also have a good idea of what will or will not work well for your type of business. This will come at a price but will definitely be the short track to your businesses success, unless your time is not worth much to you, and in that case go ahead and waste it if you'd like. (:--) A successful advertising campaign will strongly depend on how the advertising agency has designed your advertisements; therefore I've provided the following help.

Tips For Choosing An Advertising Agency 1) The popularity and reputation of the advertising agency 2) The charges / work ration of the advertising agency 3) The working efficiency of the advertising agency

The longevity and overall success of your business can be obtained by the help of a good advertising agency saving you precious time and huge amounts of money should you not know what your doing.

The Latest Types Of Advertising

Now a days advertising on the internet has become a very popular and effective tool to promote and reach your target audience. Known as digital advertising, pay per click advertising or internet advertising marketing, the benefits are huge. Considering the cost savings of knowing ahead of time what the consumer response of one advertisement over the other is will be essential information to a great ad campaign.

With an online advertising campaign you have the immediate benefit of testing of your campaign rather than waiting till it's over with traditional media. Through text advertisement programs like Google Adwords for example you can have a campaign up and running within minutes to test how well various words will be clicked. You can than test this further to ensure the clients that are going to your site are the type of customers you want and not just "tire kickers" so to speak.

Once your online advertisement campaign is able to draw the right clientele you'll be in a better position to launch an offline, more expensive traditional style advertising campaign.

An online advertising agency can help you plan, design and implement internet advertising of your products and services to take the confusion out of the web if online advertising is new to you.

Many advertising careers exist and have for years. With the advent of the net of course a new stream of advertising career has been opened up for those desiring to work from their computer rather than the traditional face to face approach. Myself, I recommend a combination of both online and offline for total success of your business.


Is Fax Advertising Still a Good Marketing Choice in Canada?


Until 2000 the Canadian laws on fax advertising were not uniform across the country. It applied to some providers but not to all. Also prior to this it was not customer friendly; it was very confusing for the average consumer to understand what the rules were. When this new generalized rule came down there was also a ruling saying what the calling hours could be for proper calling times. The decision took into account each areas time zone.

Unsolicited fax advertisements are not enforced or punished by the government. They are enforced and punished through the media carrier. The national rules that have been set up are an agreement that was reached via the commissioner of the CRTC and the various telecom service providers in the country.

If a person is wishing to not have their fax number contacted for fax advertising they may place themselves on a voluntary do-not-call list. Their number will remain on the list for a period of three years. During the time that their number is on the list the companies do not call them out of choice. If they do choose to call a person that is on the list the violation of that can not be enforced by law though. That means if a person feels that they have been violated by the company then they are not able to sue. The do-not-call list is more like a gentlemen’s agreement than an actual strict law.

If a consumer is receiving these fax advertisements and they no longer wish to be, they can look on the fax advertisement for a way to contact the company to let them know that they no longer wish to be contacted.

Fax advertisements can be a wonderful tool for helping any business to get more costumers. However, customers prefer to be treated with respect. If they are not happy and feel that they are being bothered by a business in any type of way they will not be so kind as to spend their money there. Through fax advertising a solid business relationship can be either formed or destroyed depending upon how well the customer is treated through it. It is best for any business to abuse the media forms that they have at their fingertips. By following the general rules and guidelines set forth by the powers that be a company will portray the image of a responsible integrity based company that values their clients.


Dramatic Advertising That Sells


Think about the last car purchase you made... Did you watch closely for advertisements that explained all of the features before you bought the car? Probably not. In fact, studies show that most of us notice the ads AFTER we have purchased our new car.

Let's face it... consumers are emotionally driven. They make purchases for the feeling they get, and then look for the logical benefits to justify the purchase. That's why we notice all of those ads after the fact!

Wise marketers make good use of this insightful knowledge. Good advertisements get the benefits in front of the customers so vividly that they experience the benefits before they even buy the product. Once they see themselve enjoying it, they've just "gotta have it!"

1 Make It Picture Perfect
Forget about your product or service for a minute and focus on the consumer. What will he enjoy when he has dug out his money and taken home your product? Put yourself in his shoes, and then describe the experience in vividly dramatic detail.

What does it feel like to be a stay-at-home mom and still be able to make money? Describe the freedom, the confidence, the things she'll be able to afford. Tell the story in bright words that compel the reader to enter and experience it for themselves.

You've caught them... hook line and sinker once they've experienced those feelings. Chances are they've dreamed about them, and now the know they can fulfill the dream through your product or service.

2. Throw In The Logic They'll Need to Justify Themselves Later.
You've probably met up with the "after the sale jitters." You make the purchase, enjoy it for a day or two and then it hits home... you've got a payment to make and start wondering if you've made the right choice.

Sure, your customers will second guess themselves after they make the purchase too... that's why you need to supply the logic for the sale upfront - even though you know they buy for emotional satisfaction.

Let them know that it's a special, reduced price... if they buy it now. That'll make them feel better about not waiting.

Tell them about other customers who are "glad they did" to make them feel like they aren't alone. Others thought it was the thing to do too so it must have been.

Hey, the customer who enjoys the product, and can feel good about the purchase is one satisfied customer who'll do business with you again. Take care to set your advertising campaign up for success.


How to Create Product Names that Sell and Tell


What’s in a Name? Does a Rose by Any Other Name Sell as Sweet?

Good product names act as advertising for your product. They differentiate you from your competitors and keep your customers coming back because they remember you and your product name. There is an art to naming products, and all great product names have the following qualities:

1. The words sound familiar even if it is a new word combination.
2. The word combination illustrates exactly what it product is.
3. The name shows how the product works/operates.
4. The name looks good on the page and on the product.
5. Words are easy to pronounce and sound pleasant.
6. The name grows on people over time.
7. The name is completely different from competitor names and is not confused with other products.
8. After hearing it once, people remember the exact name.
9. It appeals to the demographic of the product.
10. There’s something unique, wacky, fun, humorous or original about the name.
11. There are no trademarks with the same name.

Tips for Creating Your Own Great Product Names
The first thing to do is to keep a list of names you love. Now next to each name write why you like the name. On another page write down competitor names and what you don’t like about them. On the bottom of the page write how you could improve your competitors’ names.

On a separate piece of paper, write down all the words that describe your product. Is there a saying or term that is similar to what you see? Are there any words that jump out to you from the page?

On another page write down what your product does and the needs it fulfills. Use the computer thesaurus to generate similar action verbs.

When you are in good mood and in nice relaxed place, like in a garden or someplace you like. The creative part of the brain works better when you are in a positive or meditative alpha state. When the right brain is an alpha state it ignites your imaginative and creative characteristics as well as your intuition out. In this state the ideas will flow like a river. The alpha state makes you more conductive to innovative thinking, and it creates new ideas rather than just processing old ones over and over again. Sometimes people get in the alpha state while hiking, driving, singing, swimming, dancing, or playing. Do what you love to get into a good state of mind.

Without editing write down all the names for your product that come to mind. Get really silly, see if there is a funnier way of saying what you want. How would a great comedian say it? What would an artist see? What would your crazy aunt call it? Give it an foreign accent. Say it like a teenager. Say it like a baby or little kid. Does it relate to movie name or a saying? What song would it be on the radio?

Once in a meeting room with executives who uncreative but wanted a new product name, I asked, “Bachelor Number One, if you were a hit song on the radio, what would you be? If you were a flower how would you smell? If you were a dog, what breed? What saying would you be on a T-Shirt?

In a flash he came out with the perfect name for the product. Keep asking silly and inane questions and eventually you will get an answer to your prayers.

When you get a good name, it’s like you hear a cash register ring. When you say it to other people their eyes light up with joy and comprehension. It like a hit song, you want to sing over and over again.

If you don’t get any good reactions it will be time to get back to the writing board or hire a professional who thinks out side the dictionary. Maybe some like Lynn Walford at Freelance Writer Now...


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