Have you ever wondered what exactly is up with Communication? This informative report can give you an insight into everything you've ever wanted to know about Communication.
"A Piece of Blarney Stone" 10 ways to empower your communication
The Blarney Stone is a historical stone, or actually part of the Blarney Castle in Ireland where it was believed that kissing the stone can grant you the gift of gab. Yeah, it seems strange in this day and age, but who are we to question tradition? It's not like I'm saying that Santa Claus doesn't exist (OOPS!).
There is so much to know about conversation that anyone, even I, could ever realize. You can go though watching talk shows; radio programs; clubs dedicated to public speaking; ordinary conversations; certain rules still apply when it comes to interaction through words. It may sound tedious, I know, but even though it's your mouth that's doing the work, your brain works twice as hard to churn out a lot of things you know. So what better way to start learning to be an effective communication is to know the very person closest to you: yourself.
1. What you know.
Education is all about learning the basics, but to be an effective speaker is to practice what you've learned. My stint as guest at every Toastmasters' meeting I go to taught me that we all have our limitations, but that doesn't mean we can't learn to keep up and share what we know.
2. Listening.
It's just as important as asking questions. Sometimes listening to the sound of our own voice can teach us to be a little bit confident with ourselves and to say the things we believe in with conviction.
3. Humility
We all make mistakes, and sometimes we tend to slur our words, stutter, and probably mispronounce certain words even though we know what it means, but rarely use it only to impress listeners. So in a group, don't be afraid to ask if you're saying the right word properly and if they're unsure about it then make a joke out of it. I promise you it'll make everyone laugh and you can get away with it as well.
4. Eye Contact
There's a lot to say when it comes to directing your attention to your audience with an eye-catching gaze. It's important that you keep your focus when talking to a large group in a meeting or a gathering, even though he or she may be gorgeous.
If your Communication facts are out-of-date, how will that affect your actions and decisions? Make certain you don't let important Communication information slip by you.
5. Kidding around
A little bit of humor can do wonders to lift the tension, or worse boredom when making your speech. That way, you'll get the attention of the majority of the crowd and they'll feel that you're just as approachable, and as human to those who listen.
6. Be like the rest of them
Interaction is all about mingling with other people. You'll get a lot of ideas, as well as knowing what people make them as they are.
7. Me, Myself, and I
Admit it, there are times you sing to yourself in the shower. I know I do! Listening to the sound of your own voice while you practice your speech in front of a mirror can help correct the stress areas of your pitch. And while you're at it you can spruce up as well.
8. With a smile
A smile says it all much like eye contact. There's no point on grimacing or frowning in a meeting or a gathering, unless it's a wake. You can better express what you're saying when you smile.
9. A Role Model
There must be at least one or two people in your life you have listened to when they're at a public gathering or maybe at church. Sure they read their lines, but taking a mental note of how they emphasize what they say can help you once you take center stage.
10. Preparation
Make the best out of preparation rather than just scribbling notes and often in a hurried panic. Some people like to write things down on index cards, while other resort to being a little more silly as they look at their notes written on the palm of their hand (not for clammy hands, please). Just be comfortable with what you know since you enjoy your work.
And that about wraps it up. These suggestions are rather amateurish in edgewise, but I've learned to empower myself when it comes to public or private speaking and it never hurts to be with people to listen how they make conversations and meetings far more enjoyable as well as educational.
If you've picked some pointers about Communication that you can put into action, then by all means, do so. You won't really be able to gain any benefits from your new knowledge if you don't use it.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
Thursday, May 3, 2007
Easy Ways To Lose 10 Pounds
People want to lose weight for many different reasons, be it to look better, feel healthier, or for more confidence. A good weight loss goal to set in the beginning is to lose 10 pounds. Losing 10 pounds is achievable for anyone who sets their mind to it, and the ideal way of losing weight is to make some small changes in diet and increase in exercise.
Some people follow a strict weight loss approach in the hopes of losing 10 pounds quickly. However, because these rule are so restrictive, they are probably going to be hard to stick to, and if you stray from the diet, those 10 pounds are probably going to come right back.
A better way to lose 10 pounds is to change your eating habits. Though this may take longer to lose weight, at least the weight loss is likely to be more permanent. When you take a closer look at your eating habits, you'll realize how often you snack out of habit and not out of hunger, for example when watching TV.
People also eat way too much. The body is slow in registering the "full" signal from the stomach, so the body only "feels" full 20 minutes after you actually are full. So try to listen to your body more closely, and stop eating when you start to feel slightly full. It also helps if you chew your food more slowly, as this will allow your body more time to receive the "full" signal from the stomach. It also helps to eat less fattening food and unhealthy food such as cream cheese or salted chips or chicken skin.
Another approach to weight loss is to make lifestyle changes that incorporate more activities into your day-to-day routine. This is an easier way to lose pounds and to keep them off. Take a look at your daily habits and see where you can make small changes to help you lose weight. One way to get started is to bike, instead of driving, to work. Biking to work will help burn a lot of calories in your body, plus you will be able to save money on gasoline and be environmentally friendly. Other changes you can make include going for a quick walk during your lunch break instead of sitting idle at your desk, and taking the stairs instead of the lift.
If you are the more active type, you could go hiking or swimming, something recreational and fun, yet geared towards helping you lose weight. It is so much easier to lose weight when you are doing something you enjoy.
Many find the diet changes or exercise regimens for quick weight loss unrealistic. By making small changes in your dietary and lifestyle habits you will find weight loss a breeze, plus you will easily keep the weight off.
Some people follow a strict weight loss approach in the hopes of losing 10 pounds quickly. However, because these rule are so restrictive, they are probably going to be hard to stick to, and if you stray from the diet, those 10 pounds are probably going to come right back.
A better way to lose 10 pounds is to change your eating habits. Though this may take longer to lose weight, at least the weight loss is likely to be more permanent. When you take a closer look at your eating habits, you'll realize how often you snack out of habit and not out of hunger, for example when watching TV.
People also eat way too much. The body is slow in registering the "full" signal from the stomach, so the body only "feels" full 20 minutes after you actually are full. So try to listen to your body more closely, and stop eating when you start to feel slightly full. It also helps if you chew your food more slowly, as this will allow your body more time to receive the "full" signal from the stomach. It also helps to eat less fattening food and unhealthy food such as cream cheese or salted chips or chicken skin.
Another approach to weight loss is to make lifestyle changes that incorporate more activities into your day-to-day routine. This is an easier way to lose pounds and to keep them off. Take a look at your daily habits and see where you can make small changes to help you lose weight. One way to get started is to bike, instead of driving, to work. Biking to work will help burn a lot of calories in your body, plus you will be able to save money on gasoline and be environmentally friendly. Other changes you can make include going for a quick walk during your lunch break instead of sitting idle at your desk, and taking the stairs instead of the lift.
If you are the more active type, you could go hiking or swimming, something recreational and fun, yet geared towards helping you lose weight. It is so much easier to lose weight when you are doing something you enjoy.
Many find the diet changes or exercise regimens for quick weight loss unrealistic. By making small changes in your dietary and lifestyle habits you will find weight loss a breeze, plus you will easily keep the weight off.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
10 Ways To Keep Legal Fees Affordable
Hiring a lawyer is step one when you need legal advice or help. Step two is the most crucial as you need to have a clear idea what the lawyer is going to cost. Most lawyers charge by the hour and rates may vary from USD 60-USD 300 per hour. It depends on the lawyer, the extent of your case, and where the case is to be fought.
In cases of personal injury or worker’s compensation often lawyers agree to a contingent fee agreement. In this case they do not charge by the hour but take one-third of the compensation awarded. However you will still need to bear costs like court filing fees and costs of deposing witnesses and so on.
While most lawyers do not negotiate on fees you could think about:
1. Discussing your case and personal finances openly with the lawyer. Ask whether he will consider a consolidated fee instead of an hourly rate.
2. Explain how your case will benefit him and his firm. Sometimes even big firms and lawyers take on cases for less than their standard rates if it will benefit them in some way.
3. Think about using a lawyer attached to a smaller firm than a large one. New firms and smaller firms may quote a rate lower than an established lawyer.
4. Ask whether they offer better terms if you undertake to do a considerable amount of foot work for the case.
5. If you need legal representation for your business or family on a sustained basis many firms do offer a better rate based on the volume of work you will bring them.
6. Indicate that you will not waste too many hours of the lawyer by ensuring that you jot down facts of the case clearly, bring witnesses to meet the lawyer, and keep handy all documents necessary for the case.
7. Save money by not wasting the lawyer’s time on phone calls. Remember he will bill you even if you are just having a friendly chat or are weeping on his shoulder. Prepare to be short and precise when you speak to him. As far as possible put things down on paper and send it to his office. E-mails work better than phone calls.
8. You know your case better than anyone else so make detailed notes and prepare a file for the lawyer with details such as names, addresses, what happen when and so on. This way you will not waster time meeting with the lawyer unless unavoidable.
9. Request for regular billing and keep track of the time, costs and so on. If you study the bills carefully and recognize
Always put things down in writing, especially the fee agreement. The agreement should include the rate, services covered, and what expenses are not covered by the agreed on fees and are to be paid at actual. In fact by law any legal fees over USD 1000 must be agreed upon in writing.
By: Aaron Brooks
In cases of personal injury or worker’s compensation often lawyers agree to a contingent fee agreement. In this case they do not charge by the hour but take one-third of the compensation awarded. However you will still need to bear costs like court filing fees and costs of deposing witnesses and so on.
While most lawyers do not negotiate on fees you could think about:
1. Discussing your case and personal finances openly with the lawyer. Ask whether he will consider a consolidated fee instead of an hourly rate.
2. Explain how your case will benefit him and his firm. Sometimes even big firms and lawyers take on cases for less than their standard rates if it will benefit them in some way.
3. Think about using a lawyer attached to a smaller firm than a large one. New firms and smaller firms may quote a rate lower than an established lawyer.
4. Ask whether they offer better terms if you undertake to do a considerable amount of foot work for the case.
5. If you need legal representation for your business or family on a sustained basis many firms do offer a better rate based on the volume of work you will bring them.
6. Indicate that you will not waste too many hours of the lawyer by ensuring that you jot down facts of the case clearly, bring witnesses to meet the lawyer, and keep handy all documents necessary for the case.
7. Save money by not wasting the lawyer’s time on phone calls. Remember he will bill you even if you are just having a friendly chat or are weeping on his shoulder. Prepare to be short and precise when you speak to him. As far as possible put things down on paper and send it to his office. E-mails work better than phone calls.
8. You know your case better than anyone else so make detailed notes and prepare a file for the lawyer with details such as names, addresses, what happen when and so on. This way you will not waster time meeting with the lawyer unless unavoidable.
9. Request for regular billing and keep track of the time, costs and so on. If you study the bills carefully and recognize
Always put things down in writing, especially the fee agreement. The agreement should include the rate, services covered, and what expenses are not covered by the agreed on fees and are to be paid at actual. In fact by law any legal fees over USD 1000 must be agreed upon in writing.
By: Aaron Brooks
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
10 Ways To Minimize Calories & Maximize Enjoyment
Those of us who have been to college recall the dreaded "Freshman 15."
Equally feared are the "holiday heavies"-the 5 to 10 pounds many people gain between Thanksgiving and New Year's when healthy eating and exercise behaviors are put aside as easily as last year's fruitcake.
It doesn't have to happen again this year. Not according to Lisa Talamini, RD-chief nutritionist and program director for Jenny Craig, Inc.
"The key is moderation, not deprivation," says Talamini. "There's no need to pass up your grandmother's apple pie, or dressing with your turkey. Just take small servings, and balance out higher-fat choices with nonfat dairy products and fresh fruits and vegetables."
Here are Talamini's top 10 strategies for staying on track this holiday season:
1. Make your home "safe" by keeping fattening goodies out of sight and donating unwanted food items to charity.
2. Lighten up your eggnog by mixing equal portions of half and half with nonfat milk, and flavoring it with rum extract.
3. Use smaller plates. It'll seem like you're enjoying a lot more food.
4. Fill half of your plate with vegetables and salad; a quarter with mashed potatoes or yams; and a quarter with meat.
5. Use visual cues for portion control: 6 ounces of turkey (the size of two decks of cards), one-half cup of stuffing (small fist), and 2 tablespoons of gravy or cranberry relish (nail polish bottle).
6. Dip your fork into a small cup of fat-free salad dressing, and "drizzle and drip" onto your salad.
7. Roast your turkey without the stuffing, breast side down, to keep it moist and allow the fat to run off. For a browned top, turn your turkey right side up for the last half hour.
8. Bake dressing alongside your turkey-instead of inside, where it will absorb additional fat. Cook the dressing slowly in the oven, and replace most of the butter or oil with chicken stock and wine.
9. Instead of drippings, giblets and whole milk in your gravy-try fat-free broth, mushrooms and skim milk.
10. When preparing desserts, substitute two egg whites for every whole egg; applesauce for the shortening or butter in boxed mixes; nonfat yogurt for sour cream; minichocolate chips for regular ones (and reduce the amount by half); and graham cracker, chocolate wafer or gingersnap pie crusts for shortening-based crusts.
By: Stacey Moore
Equally feared are the "holiday heavies"-the 5 to 10 pounds many people gain between Thanksgiving and New Year's when healthy eating and exercise behaviors are put aside as easily as last year's fruitcake.
It doesn't have to happen again this year. Not according to Lisa Talamini, RD-chief nutritionist and program director for Jenny Craig, Inc.
"The key is moderation, not deprivation," says Talamini. "There's no need to pass up your grandmother's apple pie, or dressing with your turkey. Just take small servings, and balance out higher-fat choices with nonfat dairy products and fresh fruits and vegetables."
Here are Talamini's top 10 strategies for staying on track this holiday season:
1. Make your home "safe" by keeping fattening goodies out of sight and donating unwanted food items to charity.
2. Lighten up your eggnog by mixing equal portions of half and half with nonfat milk, and flavoring it with rum extract.
3. Use smaller plates. It'll seem like you're enjoying a lot more food.
4. Fill half of your plate with vegetables and salad; a quarter with mashed potatoes or yams; and a quarter with meat.
5. Use visual cues for portion control: 6 ounces of turkey (the size of two decks of cards), one-half cup of stuffing (small fist), and 2 tablespoons of gravy or cranberry relish (nail polish bottle).
6. Dip your fork into a small cup of fat-free salad dressing, and "drizzle and drip" onto your salad.
7. Roast your turkey without the stuffing, breast side down, to keep it moist and allow the fat to run off. For a browned top, turn your turkey right side up for the last half hour.
8. Bake dressing alongside your turkey-instead of inside, where it will absorb additional fat. Cook the dressing slowly in the oven, and replace most of the butter or oil with chicken stock and wine.
9. Instead of drippings, giblets and whole milk in your gravy-try fat-free broth, mushrooms and skim milk.
10. When preparing desserts, substitute two egg whites for every whole egg; applesauce for the shortening or butter in boxed mixes; nonfat yogurt for sour cream; minichocolate chips for regular ones (and reduce the amount by half); and graham cracker, chocolate wafer or gingersnap pie crusts for shortening-based crusts.
By: Stacey Moore
Monday, April 30, 2007
Top 10 Ways To Seduce Women
It's one thing to know how to attract a woman. Any guy can get dressed up, style his hair nicely, and look good at a bar. But how do you take the next step--SEDUCING women?
Camille Paglia said that "Pursuit and seduction are the essence of sexuality. It's part of the sizzle.” Indeed, it's not enough to look good. Showing your interests, flirting shamelessly, using body language: these are all ingredients that make the thrill of the hunt so fun and seductive."
First let's look at what a lot of guys do incorrectly in trying to get a woman to bed...and how to fix these errors so YOU successfully seduce women!
1. They get really, really drunk
Yeah, we've all had one of these nights. You drink a little too much (or a LOT too much), act like a creep, get really aggressive, stink of alcohol. All of it combines to drive the girl away. That's not seducing her to bed; it's inducing her to leave!
2. They have bad breath
You can have everything else going right: you're making her laugh, she's into you, you're flirting just right. But if you've got bad breath, how can you expect her to want to even kiss you, let alone go home with you? Guys, make sure you have some Binaca, gum, or breath mints handy at all times.
3. They're not dressed well
This is a simple one. If you look like you just woke out of bed, no girl's gonna be attracted to you. Let alone seduced. You don't have to dress like a model, but you sure as hell should watch what you wear and how you present yourself.
4. Bad posture/Body Language
Yeah, a little thing like bad posture can go a big way towards stopping your seduction goals. It's really important to sit up straight and have your shoulders back. You want to convey confidence and control as much as you can. Leaning over and not looking a girl in the eye will sabotage your efforts.
5. Bad BO
Bad body odor is definitely a no-no. Guys, wear deodorant! And don't overdo on the cologne; it's not a substitute for a fresh shower and anti-perspirant, and sometimes, less is more.
6. They talk down on themselves
Never, ever talk negatively of yourself. It's one thing to joke about yourself; for example, if you trip while walking her somewhere, say, "I meant to do that," not "Oh, I'm such a friggin' clutz!" Show confidence and belief in yourself. Make her believe that your life goes on without her; you've got so much going on that you can deal with rejection.
On the other hand, don't make the next mistake, which too many guys do...
7. They talk TOO highly of themselves
While it's great to show belief in yourself, it's not a good idea to come across as an arrogant jerk. If anything, talking really highly of yourself shows insecurity and selfishness...not ideal characteristics to portray when trying to get a woman in bed.
8. They try too hard
Nothing makes a woman want to get bed with you less, than you pushing her to do more. Guys who plead with women to come to bed, grab onto them without their consent, and say really obvious things like, "C'mon, come to my place, it'll be fun," are destined to a night alone. Girls don't want to seem easy; they want to feel like a man earned her body. Thinking a woman will go home with you when you basically tell her to...is not thinking at all.
9. They don't listen
Sometimes listening is all you need to do to get a woman excited. Give a girl your ear, and she'll give you her heart. Seriously, understanding her and giving her a chance to be heard goes a long way towards making yourself more attractive. In my How to Be Irresistible to Women course, I teach you some great ways to show a girl that you're actively listening--and how to make her more active in return. Unfortuantely, too many guys only want to talk about themselves. That's a bad mistake.
10. They don't have any confidence
This is the biggest problem. Even when a girl is interested in them, so many guys don't know how to proceed. They think too much about what to do, instead of just relaxing and seeing what happens. Of course, you have to have some rough idea of how to steer things to the bedroom, but for the most part, the best way is to just settle in, flirt, and talk like you mean it.
Believe in yourself, and the girl will believe in you. Then watch as she becomes more and more attracted to you...all because you believe, regardless of your looks, that YOU have the power to attract her.
It's that simple. Avoid these 10 mistakes, and instead do things with a belief that you CAN succeed with women. Now go out and seduce women with success!
By: James Brito, Relationship Expert -
Top 10 Ways to Find Love, According to Hollywood
You fork over 10 bucks at the movies so you can feel happy, scared or inspired for a couple of hours. But sometimes you leave the theater feeling just plain horrible. Why? Because nothing that romantic ever happens to you. You’ve never met a Leo on a ship headed for an iceberg and you have definitely never serendipitously met “the one.”
Since Hollywood is always right, we decided to use Tinsel Town as our love guide. So forget self-help books, here are the top 10 ways to find love Hollywood-style.
10. While You Were Sleeping
Rescue a man from an oncoming train. Not only will you have an immediate in with his family, but if he loses his memory, hey, you’ve got yourself a new fiancée! And, if he ends up being a total loser, you can always find love by going for his brother.
9. Clueless
Step-brothers are fair game. The man of your dreams may be living in the next room over. Plus, you’ll have a lot in common (like your parents) and if he’s not your blood, then it’s not incest!
8. Titanic
Get on a ship doomed for peril. Just make sure a cute working class passenger is on board and you bring your jerk fiancée. When the iceberg hits, grab a floating piece of debris and say hello (or goodbye) to the love of your life.
7. Serendipity
Rely on fate. Fate is pretty strong force. Especially when you write your name on a book and sell it to one of the million book stands in NYC and he writes his number on a dollar bill and uses it to buy gum. If you get together after all of this, than it has to be destiny. Because otherwise it’s just luck and that’s just a boring way to find love.
6. Blue Lagoon
Find a deserted island, get stranded and fall in love. Musts include making sure there are only two people (tribal groups can be so bothersome) and securing that both parties are attractive. Ability to keep up conversation for long periods of time is also a necessity. And, even if it is incest, who cares? You’re on an island (and he’s hot).
5. There’s Something about Mary
Encourage stalking. Some may call it a crime, but we call it love. And doesn’t every girl want a little attention (even if she doesn’t know she’s getting it)?
4. Scream
Tragedy is a turn-on. What can be more romantic than death? Well a lot of things. But hey, everyone has different turn-ons. Some people find love at weddings, others at church, but if you’re a cop and a reporter, what better place to hit it off than at a crime scene?
3. Speed
High pressure situations will speed up any romance. Even if he’s trying to save you from an evil terrorist plot, it doesn’t mean that he can’t make a little time for romance. If he’s successful, you’ll be moving away from the danger zone and into the love zone. First he’ll dismantle the bomb and then—your heart.
2. Borat
Aim low. Even though Pam Anderson may look amazing in a bathing suit, a poster won’t be able to give you your basic needs. Your adoring hooker may not be a looker, but if she/he’s willing to move to Kazakhstan, then it must mean something. And you won’t have to pay to get a little something, too.
1. Never Been Kissed
Head back to high school. You may not score with the cool crowd, but who cares? You can still snag an older man who thinks you’re underage. Doesn’t every man want a younger girl anyway? And nothing screams date me like having to sneak in to an 18-and-older club.
Now that you’re aware of potential scenarios for finding love, make sure you snag the opportunity to write your phone number in a book, get on a bus that’s set to blow up or rescue an attractive man from peril. And some may say movies are unrealistic. Puhleeze!
This article was originally published on http://www.savvymiss.com, a free website community dedicated to connecting, empowering and informing women everywhere. http://www.SavvyMiss.com features articles on dating, love, careers, fashion, health, beauty and important societal issues. Members also use message boards and blogs to build relationships with other members.
Since Hollywood is always right, we decided to use Tinsel Town as our love guide. So forget self-help books, here are the top 10 ways to find love Hollywood-style.
10. While You Were Sleeping
Rescue a man from an oncoming train. Not only will you have an immediate in with his family, but if he loses his memory, hey, you’ve got yourself a new fiancée! And, if he ends up being a total loser, you can always find love by going for his brother.
9. Clueless
Step-brothers are fair game. The man of your dreams may be living in the next room over. Plus, you’ll have a lot in common (like your parents) and if he’s not your blood, then it’s not incest!
8. Titanic
Get on a ship doomed for peril. Just make sure a cute working class passenger is on board and you bring your jerk fiancée. When the iceberg hits, grab a floating piece of debris and say hello (or goodbye) to the love of your life.
7. Serendipity
Rely on fate. Fate is pretty strong force. Especially when you write your name on a book and sell it to one of the million book stands in NYC and he writes his number on a dollar bill and uses it to buy gum. If you get together after all of this, than it has to be destiny. Because otherwise it’s just luck and that’s just a boring way to find love.
6. Blue Lagoon
Find a deserted island, get stranded and fall in love. Musts include making sure there are only two people (tribal groups can be so bothersome) and securing that both parties are attractive. Ability to keep up conversation for long periods of time is also a necessity. And, even if it is incest, who cares? You’re on an island (and he’s hot).
5. There’s Something about Mary
Encourage stalking. Some may call it a crime, but we call it love. And doesn’t every girl want a little attention (even if she doesn’t know she’s getting it)?
4. Scream
Tragedy is a turn-on. What can be more romantic than death? Well a lot of things. But hey, everyone has different turn-ons. Some people find love at weddings, others at church, but if you’re a cop and a reporter, what better place to hit it off than at a crime scene?
3. Speed
High pressure situations will speed up any romance. Even if he’s trying to save you from an evil terrorist plot, it doesn’t mean that he can’t make a little time for romance. If he’s successful, you’ll be moving away from the danger zone and into the love zone. First he’ll dismantle the bomb and then—your heart.
2. Borat
Aim low. Even though Pam Anderson may look amazing in a bathing suit, a poster won’t be able to give you your basic needs. Your adoring hooker may not be a looker, but if she/he’s willing to move to Kazakhstan, then it must mean something. And you won’t have to pay to get a little something, too.
1. Never Been Kissed
Head back to high school. You may not score with the cool crowd, but who cares? You can still snag an older man who thinks you’re underage. Doesn’t every man want a younger girl anyway? And nothing screams date me like having to sneak in to an 18-and-older club.
Now that you’re aware of potential scenarios for finding love, make sure you snag the opportunity to write your phone number in a book, get on a bus that’s set to blow up or rescue an attractive man from peril. And some may say movies are unrealistic. Puhleeze!
This article was originally published on http://www.savvymiss.com, a free website community dedicated to connecting, empowering and informing women everywhere. http://www.SavvyMiss.com features articles on dating, love, careers, fashion, health, beauty and important societal issues. Members also use message boards and blogs to build relationships with other members.
Sunday, April 29, 2007
10 Ways to Quit Smoking Forever
- Quitting is big business, and there's an endless array of ways to spend money on kicking the habit. Smokers spend about $2,400 per year on cigarettes, so, while some of the products and therapies are expensive, they are still less expensive than a life-long smoking habit. As with all programs, each person is different, so everyone will respond to a program in a different way. Giving up smoking is like giving up a neurotic relationship. Ultimately there comes a day when the decision is made, only to return to what you know is bad for you. Premature wrinkles and yellow teeth don't deter smokers - so, how do you quit? Here are some of the most popular program today.
Many people try to quit cold turkey. It's the easiest method to begin. Simply stop smoking and resolve -through willpower alone - to never take another puff. The success rate is about 3-5% because most smokers are not prepared to take on both sides of quitting: intense withdrawal cravings and smoking habits. If you have had a difficult time trying to quit in the past, studies show you should consider trying an assisted quit method
The patch is KING! In clinical trials, nicotine replacement therapy was shown to double a person's chances of quitting. The patch functions by transdermally (topically) feeding the body nicotine at a continuous and regulated pace over a 24-hour period, controlling the body's physical addiction which allows a smoker to sever the mental reliance on tobacco. The total cost of Nicoderm is $270 for the 10week therapy. There are normally no adverse reactions, but side effects can include irregular heartbeat, rashes, nausea, vomiting, dizziness and weakness.
Grass Roots "Smoke No More" is an herbal tincture. This option is popular because of the "oral fixation" so often associated with smoking. Whenever a smoker has a craving, the Smoke No More drops are placed under the tongue and held there until its absorbed. According to the creators, the tincture works based on healing the connection of mind, body and spirit. Relaxing the mind staves off cravings. And the absence of tobacco detoxifies the system. Reports claim that the drops are horrible tasting and burn immediately upon using. Side effects include quesiness, making the user less interested in both smoking AND eating, but it is something to do with the mouth. Smoke No More can be purchased for about $22 at herbal stores.
If you'd like to try acupuncture, don't confuse the National Board Certified or Licensed Acupuncturist with Certified Acupnucturist. The latter is a doctor or dentist who has completed only 300 hours of course work. These types are great for physical injury but are less equipped to handle internal problems. According to this Chinese tradition, inserting needles in certain points on the body will draw energy to that point and then redirect it to the area of concern. This allows the body to heal itself. For addictions such as smoking, the three points that correspond to the liver, kidneys and sympathetic nervous system are targeted and, by detoxifying the body, the cravings for nicotine are reduced and there is an increase in the flow of energy into the body. While peaceful and stimulating at the same time, for a half-hour treatment one can expect to spend $75 for the first treatment and $55 for subsequent treatments. Over a series of 20 treatments, although acupuncture is not a miracle cure, the experts guarantee the results.
Many people find the support and encouragement of counseling or group treatment helpful. Counseling can help smokers identify and overcome situations that trigger the urge to smoke. Research shows the success rates for all quit methods are higher when coupled with ready access to support. For help with your quitting effort, consider selecting a program that is at least four to eight weeks in length. The programs that work best provide plenty of encouragement and weekly one-on-one meetings with a counselor.
Deciding to do an in-home hypnosis program like Dr. Walton's or employing the services of an certified hypnotist, stimulating the occurrence of deep focus and relaxation means making yourself vulnerable to someone else. By filling out an extensive questionnaire to determine one's particular smoking habits, motivations and patterns, the hypnotist can use the subjects brain to "reprogramm" the cravings. Self-affirming phrases like "I don't want to smoke" and "I don't need to smoke" are used to convince the brain that what it has been told during hypnosis is factual, therefore allowing the body to "ignore" the need to smoke. The National Institute for Mental Health reports that 80% of smokers who use this method successfully quit smoking; it's the longest lasting form of therapy on the market. For this service, expect to do sessions again and spend $75/hour to drop your average addiction.
CHANTIX is a pill that is different from other ways to quit. It contains no nicotine but works on the same receptors as nicotine. And it's the addiction to nicotine inhaled from smoking that makes quitting so hard.
Ciga-Rest is also a pill designed to help smokers overcome the urge to smoke whenever and where ever it strikes.
Smoking cessation prescription medications are clinically proven to help smokers.
There are also the fun ones that let you think you're actually having a cigarette! E-Z QUIT is a smokeless cigarette substitute that fills your need to do something with your hands and mouth, and to inhale deeply. Smokers can use E-Z QUIT by itself or together with any other quit smoking method.
While unpleasant in any form, quitting smoking can be devastating. Most relapse and then crawl back on the wagon without successfully giving up. Picking and sticking to one of these methods is the best way to ultimately increase health and rid the body of cravings all together.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
10 Ways To Win A Slot Jackpot
Slot machines contain a "random number generator" (RNG) microcomputer that constantly spits out numbers. These random numbers correspond to positions on each of the reels in the machine. When a player pulls the handle or pushes the spin button he is not really initiating anything except the spinning of the reels, which is merely for show. He is simply telling the machine to display the reel positions that correspond to the last set of random numbers that were generated.
Certain tips on how to win a jackpot
The following are the tips of playing successfully in a slot machine.
1. Only play the best paying machines - Look for machines that payout between 95 and 99 percent. These are mostly $1 and higher machines.
2. Play non-progressive machines - This is because the random number generators are programmed to produce a higher number of reels and symbols on progressive jackpot machines.
3. Bribe a casino employee - Ask an employee in the slots area which machines are the best. Offer them a cut of your profits for helping you.
4. Physical placement - When picking a machine, location factor must be looked into. The physical placement of the machine is an indicator of how loose or tight the machine is. Loose slots are found near the change booths, on elevated carousels, near the coffee shop/cafe/snack bar, etc. You must avoid tight slots. They are generally placed near casino entrances, around or near the sports book/racing areas, near the ticket/show lines, etc.
5. Do not play multiple-payline slots - Although it seems like one can have better chances playing multiple-payline slot machine, you are increasing the odds against you drastically.
6. Always use your slots card - Do not forget to insert your players' card in the reader before you begin playing and do not forget to take it with you when you leave.
7. Play with coins rather than bills - If you want to get the most play for your money, feed the machines coins rather than using bills. However, make sure that the payout percentage is worth your time.
8. Know when to stop - Discipline is necessary when gambling, regardless of what casino game it is. It's very easy to just keep playing because you think you are minutes away from the jackpot, but that can be dangerous. Pocket 25% or 50% or 75% and add the remainder to your bankroll for more playing, or keep it all.
9. Try the machine next to you if yours is not paying off - According to industry sources, the casinos hardly place two loose machines next to each other. If you are uncertain on whether your machine is loose, it may not hurt to try the machines on either side of you.
10. Contrary to popular belief, the casinos do not "hide" or move their best machines simply because people find and play them. The casinos want them to be played. When slot machine players see and hear someone hitting a jackpot, it motivates them to pump more money into their own machine in hopes of hitting their own jackpot.
By: Stephen Crawford
Certain tips on how to win a jackpot
The following are the tips of playing successfully in a slot machine.
1. Only play the best paying machines - Look for machines that payout between 95 and 99 percent. These are mostly $1 and higher machines.
2. Play non-progressive machines - This is because the random number generators are programmed to produce a higher number of reels and symbols on progressive jackpot machines.
3. Bribe a casino employee - Ask an employee in the slots area which machines are the best. Offer them a cut of your profits for helping you.
4. Physical placement - When picking a machine, location factor must be looked into. The physical placement of the machine is an indicator of how loose or tight the machine is. Loose slots are found near the change booths, on elevated carousels, near the coffee shop/cafe/snack bar, etc. You must avoid tight slots. They are generally placed near casino entrances, around or near the sports book/racing areas, near the ticket/show lines, etc.
5. Do not play multiple-payline slots - Although it seems like one can have better chances playing multiple-payline slot machine, you are increasing the odds against you drastically.
6. Always use your slots card - Do not forget to insert your players' card in the reader before you begin playing and do not forget to take it with you when you leave.
7. Play with coins rather than bills - If you want to get the most play for your money, feed the machines coins rather than using bills. However, make sure that the payout percentage is worth your time.
8. Know when to stop - Discipline is necessary when gambling, regardless of what casino game it is. It's very easy to just keep playing because you think you are minutes away from the jackpot, but that can be dangerous. Pocket 25% or 50% or 75% and add the remainder to your bankroll for more playing, or keep it all.
9. Try the machine next to you if yours is not paying off - According to industry sources, the casinos hardly place two loose machines next to each other. If you are uncertain on whether your machine is loose, it may not hurt to try the machines on either side of you.
10. Contrary to popular belief, the casinos do not "hide" or move their best machines simply because people find and play them. The casinos want them to be played. When slot machine players see and hear someone hitting a jackpot, it motivates them to pump more money into their own machine in hopes of hitting their own jackpot.
By: Stephen Crawford
Saturday, April 21, 2007
10 Ways To Make You Feel Happy
It is a known fact that our health is being effected by the degree of happiness we feel inside of us. We know that the happier we are, the healthier we become. The more we can avoid a stressful life and live happy the more disease resistant we are.
If we go through turbulent times in our lives most of us are able to find peace in the idea that bad times will pass eventually.
However it is important for us to realize that we have the power to change if we choose to.
If we want to feel happy our social environment is of course of the utmost importance. Therefore we must learn to be less judgmental about the people we care for and learn to accept them the way they are. After all we are all unique individuals.
So, make the decision to be a happy person and follow the self motivation tips here under. Use them as self motivation exercise in order to acquire the necessary self motivation skills, which will help you to become a much more happy and healthy person.
- Be Grateful
There is so much to be grateful for. Take some time each day to think about the things that are good in your life. Make a list of these things and look at it from time to time, so that you are regularly reminded.
Take some time to specially thank the cook for preparing you that wonderful dinner, thank the taxi driver or the friend who drove you home safely, thank the dustman for taking away your garbage, thank the mailman for bringing you your mail each day. By doing this you will make a shift and feel different inside.
- Laugh As Much As You Can
We all know the expression: Laughter is the best medicine. So, if you know a good joke, tell it to your friends and family. Also try to see the humor in some of your own funny habits. Believe me, we have some real peculiar ones.
- Exercise
Run, jog, go to the gym or do something that stimulates the endorphins in your body. By doing regular exercise you change your physiology, you change your body chemicals, which will make you feel different, so you start focusing on different things.
- Leave The News For What It Is
Are you one of these people who can not start the day without having to know what’s going on in the world? Let go of that urge. News is stressful. Over 99% of it is bad news. Believe me, you can do without it.
- Practice Time Management
One thing we all have in common is that we share the same amount of hours in a day and the same amount of days in a year and although we say it often enough, we don’t realize enough that time is far too valuable to waste.
Time Management is basically a list of rules. And the rules of it can help us to waste less time. First we have to set our goals, then we need to plan them, we have to make our To Do lists and we need to prioritize them.
If you use these basic skills you will be able to work through and finish your list on a daily basis, which will help you to experience feelings of happiness and contentment.
- Work Hard
Working hard creates enormous personal satisfaction. When you have finished certain tasks you will feel that you are capable to accomplish things. And that will help to have a sense of value about ourselves.
- Learn New Things
Learning is an enriching exercise. Try to learn something new each day. It will literally expand your world and it will create more opportunities for you in the long term. Use the internet, for instance. It can provide us with infinite amounts of information.
- Express Your Feelings
Learn to express what you feel. Learn to show affection and warmth to the people around you and in that let go of your fears. Remember that fear is our worst advisor and it’s bad for our health.
- Find Spiritual Connections
It would be good for you to find some sort of spiritual connection. By being in touch with spirituality on a regular basis you would foster deep inner peace. Part of this could be meditation, which is a great way to gain inner peace.
- Help Other People
Each individual feels energized, good and warm about himself after helping another person. Be a volunteer somewhere, be a practical or financial help to someone or see how you can otherwise contribute to society. The more positive energy you put out into the world, the more you will receive in return.
I hope this article is of value to you and I hope you realize that these self motivation tips are the key to happiness. Therefore I recommend you to use these ways as self motivation exercise in order to obtain the necessary self motivation skills.
By: Ab van Deemter
If we go through turbulent times in our lives most of us are able to find peace in the idea that bad times will pass eventually.
However it is important for us to realize that we have the power to change if we choose to.
If we want to feel happy our social environment is of course of the utmost importance. Therefore we must learn to be less judgmental about the people we care for and learn to accept them the way they are. After all we are all unique individuals.
So, make the decision to be a happy person and follow the self motivation tips here under. Use them as self motivation exercise in order to acquire the necessary self motivation skills, which will help you to become a much more happy and healthy person.
- Be Grateful
There is so much to be grateful for. Take some time each day to think about the things that are good in your life. Make a list of these things and look at it from time to time, so that you are regularly reminded.
Take some time to specially thank the cook for preparing you that wonderful dinner, thank the taxi driver or the friend who drove you home safely, thank the dustman for taking away your garbage, thank the mailman for bringing you your mail each day. By doing this you will make a shift and feel different inside.
- Laugh As Much As You Can
We all know the expression: Laughter is the best medicine. So, if you know a good joke, tell it to your friends and family. Also try to see the humor in some of your own funny habits. Believe me, we have some real peculiar ones.
- Exercise
Run, jog, go to the gym or do something that stimulates the endorphins in your body. By doing regular exercise you change your physiology, you change your body chemicals, which will make you feel different, so you start focusing on different things.
- Leave The News For What It Is
Are you one of these people who can not start the day without having to know what’s going on in the world? Let go of that urge. News is stressful. Over 99% of it is bad news. Believe me, you can do without it.
- Practice Time Management
One thing we all have in common is that we share the same amount of hours in a day and the same amount of days in a year and although we say it often enough, we don’t realize enough that time is far too valuable to waste.
Time Management is basically a list of rules. And the rules of it can help us to waste less time. First we have to set our goals, then we need to plan them, we have to make our To Do lists and we need to prioritize them.
If you use these basic skills you will be able to work through and finish your list on a daily basis, which will help you to experience feelings of happiness and contentment.
- Work Hard
Working hard creates enormous personal satisfaction. When you have finished certain tasks you will feel that you are capable to accomplish things. And that will help to have a sense of value about ourselves.
- Learn New Things
Learning is an enriching exercise. Try to learn something new each day. It will literally expand your world and it will create more opportunities for you in the long term. Use the internet, for instance. It can provide us with infinite amounts of information.
- Express Your Feelings
Learn to express what you feel. Learn to show affection and warmth to the people around you and in that let go of your fears. Remember that fear is our worst advisor and it’s bad for our health.
- Find Spiritual Connections
It would be good for you to find some sort of spiritual connection. By being in touch with spirituality on a regular basis you would foster deep inner peace. Part of this could be meditation, which is a great way to gain inner peace.
- Help Other People
Each individual feels energized, good and warm about himself after helping another person. Be a volunteer somewhere, be a practical or financial help to someone or see how you can otherwise contribute to society. The more positive energy you put out into the world, the more you will receive in return.
I hope this article is of value to you and I hope you realize that these self motivation tips are the key to happiness. Therefore I recommend you to use these ways as self motivation exercise in order to obtain the necessary self motivation skills.
By: Ab van Deemter
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
10 Ways to Stay Healthy
If you wish to enjoy the pleasures of life, you have to stay healthy. To stay healthy you have to give up certain undesirable habits and maintain discipline in your eating and living habits. Given below are the ten commandments of staying healthy.
1.Do not smoke and avoid smokers— It is an established fact that the risk factor of getting lung cancer and heart attack due to smoking is extremely high. With over 300,000 Americans dying every year due to lung cancer, it makes sense to quit smoking and to avoid smokers, as passive smoking is as dangerous as active smoking. Did you know that nearly three quarters of the deaths caused by emphysema and bronchitis are the direct results of smoking? If you are a smoker, you should stop smoking right away.
2.Take balanced nutritious diet and maintain your Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.8—Your body needs vitamins, proteins, minerals, and carbohydrates in the right proportion through a balanced diet. This will maintain the right weight, lessen the fat in your body, minimize the aging process, improve the immune and cardiovascular system, and regulate sugar and cholesterol levels. It will also prevent the BMI from going up as a high BMI indicates extra weight, which is very risky.
3.Stay away from alcohol—Alcohol harms the central nervous system and the heart functions, causes stomach ailments, damages the liver, and can cause blackouts. The biggest risk of taking alcohol is that you can get addicted to it leading to many health risks. You should avoid alcohol if you want to lead a healthy life.
4.Daily exercise is essential—A minimum of 10 to 15 minutes of exercise every day is required for good health and for avoiding many diseases. You should walk at least 5000 steps daily. In your daily activities, you should avoid elevators and walk up the stairs. Instead of walking, you should do some running.
5.Get enough sleep at night—It is very important to sleep right as a good night’s sleep will rejuvenate you. Without proper sleep, the above tips will prove futile.
6.Get all your vaccinations—Your body is exposed to illnesses all the time. In order to build up the body’s immune system so that antibodies are produced to fight these illnesses, vaccines are required. It is, therefore, essential to get all of the vaccinations.
7.Use the correct condoms—Find the right condom, as there are many shapes, sizes, and colors available.
8.Visit the doctor regularly—Visiting the doctor regularly will allow an early diagnosis of any ailment so that it can be treated more easily.
9.Recognize your body symptoms and signs: It is essential to know your body as the signs and symptoms it shows are indicative of impending diseases. As such, you should be able to recognize these symptoms so that corrective measures can be taken on time.
10.Stick to your therapy: People infected with HIV have a new lease of life with the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). However, there are some problems also. Successful treatment requires strict compliance to your regimen. The above tips will help you.
It is not difficult to follow the above suggestions. All that you need is a little bit of determination and discipline to get on the road to good health.
1.Do not smoke and avoid smokers— It is an established fact that the risk factor of getting lung cancer and heart attack due to smoking is extremely high. With over 300,000 Americans dying every year due to lung cancer, it makes sense to quit smoking and to avoid smokers, as passive smoking is as dangerous as active smoking. Did you know that nearly three quarters of the deaths caused by emphysema and bronchitis are the direct results of smoking? If you are a smoker, you should stop smoking right away.
2.Take balanced nutritious diet and maintain your Body Mass Index (BMI) between 18.5 and 24.8—Your body needs vitamins, proteins, minerals, and carbohydrates in the right proportion through a balanced diet. This will maintain the right weight, lessen the fat in your body, minimize the aging process, improve the immune and cardiovascular system, and regulate sugar and cholesterol levels. It will also prevent the BMI from going up as a high BMI indicates extra weight, which is very risky.
3.Stay away from alcohol—Alcohol harms the central nervous system and the heart functions, causes stomach ailments, damages the liver, and can cause blackouts. The biggest risk of taking alcohol is that you can get addicted to it leading to many health risks. You should avoid alcohol if you want to lead a healthy life.
4.Daily exercise is essential—A minimum of 10 to 15 minutes of exercise every day is required for good health and for avoiding many diseases. You should walk at least 5000 steps daily. In your daily activities, you should avoid elevators and walk up the stairs. Instead of walking, you should do some running.
5.Get enough sleep at night—It is very important to sleep right as a good night’s sleep will rejuvenate you. Without proper sleep, the above tips will prove futile.
6.Get all your vaccinations—Your body is exposed to illnesses all the time. In order to build up the body’s immune system so that antibodies are produced to fight these illnesses, vaccines are required. It is, therefore, essential to get all of the vaccinations.
7.Use the correct condoms—Find the right condom, as there are many shapes, sizes, and colors available.
8.Visit the doctor regularly—Visiting the doctor regularly will allow an early diagnosis of any ailment so that it can be treated more easily.
9.Recognize your body symptoms and signs: It is essential to know your body as the signs and symptoms it shows are indicative of impending diseases. As such, you should be able to recognize these symptoms so that corrective measures can be taken on time.
10.Stick to your therapy: People infected with HIV have a new lease of life with the Highly Active Antiretroviral Therapy (HAART). However, there are some problems also. Successful treatment requires strict compliance to your regimen. The above tips will help you.
It is not difficult to follow the above suggestions. All that you need is a little bit of determination and discipline to get on the road to good health.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
10 Ways To Increase Your Free Ebook Downloads
1. Anticipate the objections your visitors might have about your free ebook offer. You should research your target audience's needs and wants.
2. Allow your visitors to feel good about themselves by giving them compliments. If they feel good, they will also feel good about downloading your ebook.
3. Tell your visitors the emotional and logical reasons why they should download your free ebook. It can be the goals they'll acomplish, positive feelings, etc.
4. Publish a list of respected or famous people that have downloaded your free ebook. Just remember to get their legal permission first.
5. Tell people what they're thinking and feeling as they read your ebook ad. Most people will start to actually do it, statements should back up the ebook.
6. Make your free ebook offer very rare. People perceive things that are rare as being more valuable. You could use a limited time offer or free bonuses.
7. Create rapport with your visitors by telling them something they already know is true. They'll know for sure you're not lying and download your ebook.
8. Show your visitors how much enthusiasm you have for your free ebook. Most people will start to feel the same and download your ebook.
9. Make your visitors curious about your free ebook by telling them they need to sign-up to get access to a password protected site in order to download it.
10. Motivate people to download your free ebook. Tell them a lot of positive things like: "You can now reach your goals and change your life forever!"
For more tips & tricks on increasing Your Free eBook Downloads visit our site.
By: Gabriel Ungureanu
2. Allow your visitors to feel good about themselves by giving them compliments. If they feel good, they will also feel good about downloading your ebook.
3. Tell your visitors the emotional and logical reasons why they should download your free ebook. It can be the goals they'll acomplish, positive feelings, etc.
4. Publish a list of respected or famous people that have downloaded your free ebook. Just remember to get their legal permission first.
5. Tell people what they're thinking and feeling as they read your ebook ad. Most people will start to actually do it, statements should back up the ebook.
6. Make your free ebook offer very rare. People perceive things that are rare as being more valuable. You could use a limited time offer or free bonuses.
7. Create rapport with your visitors by telling them something they already know is true. They'll know for sure you're not lying and download your ebook.
8. Show your visitors how much enthusiasm you have for your free ebook. Most people will start to feel the same and download your ebook.
9. Make your visitors curious about your free ebook by telling them they need to sign-up to get access to a password protected site in order to download it.
10. Motivate people to download your free ebook. Tell them a lot of positive things like: "You can now reach your goals and change your life forever!"
For more tips & tricks on increasing Your Free eBook Downloads visit our site.
By: Gabriel Ungureanu
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
Web internet marketing
When you think about Online Marketing, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Online Marketing are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.
1. Sell more back end products to your existing customer base. You already created rapport, trust and proved your credibility to them.
2. Make it a practice to up sell to new and existing customers. After they decide to buy one product, offer them another product.
3. Cross promote your products and services with other businesses that aren't competition. You will reach a wider audience at less cost.
4. Create joint venture deals with other businesses. You can expand your product line and target other profitable markets at a lower cost.
5. Start an affiliate program for your business. You will be able to spend less profits on risk advertising and spend more money on guaranteed sales. I trust that what you've read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.
6. Trade advertising with other businesses to save revenue. You could trade e-zine ads, banners ads, links, print ads, etc.
7. Out source part of your workload. This can save on employee costs, equipment costs, taxation costs, expansion costs, etc.
8. Add low cost bonuses to your offer that have a high perceived value. It could be ebooks, members only sites, consulting, e-reports, etc.
9. Use viral marketing to promote your business on the internet. Give away free stuff with your ad copy include on it so others can give it away.
10. Follow up with all your prospects. You can use a free e-zine, a follow-up autoresponder, an update or reminder list, etc.
The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about Online Marketing. http://www.internet-marketing-ez.com/
By: wirat
1. Sell more back end products to your existing customer base. You already created rapport, trust and proved your credibility to them.
2. Make it a practice to up sell to new and existing customers. After they decide to buy one product, offer them another product.
3. Cross promote your products and services with other businesses that aren't competition. You will reach a wider audience at less cost.
4. Create joint venture deals with other businesses. You can expand your product line and target other profitable markets at a lower cost.
5. Start an affiliate program for your business. You will be able to spend less profits on risk advertising and spend more money on guaranteed sales. I trust that what you've read so far has been informative. The following section should go a long way toward clearing up any uncertainty that may remain.
6. Trade advertising with other businesses to save revenue. You could trade e-zine ads, banners ads, links, print ads, etc.
7. Out source part of your workload. This can save on employee costs, equipment costs, taxation costs, expansion costs, etc.
8. Add low cost bonuses to your offer that have a high perceived value. It could be ebooks, members only sites, consulting, e-reports, etc.
9. Use viral marketing to promote your business on the internet. Give away free stuff with your ad copy include on it so others can give it away.
10. Follow up with all your prospects. You can use a free e-zine, a follow-up autoresponder, an update or reminder list, etc.
The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about Online Marketing. http://www.internet-marketing-ez.com/
By: wirat
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
10 Ways To Stimulate Employee Motivation
Today’s fast-moving business environment demands that the effective manager be both a well-organized administrator and highly adept in understanding people’s basic needs and behaviour in the workplace. Gaining commitment, nurturing talent, and ensuring employee motivation and productivity require open communication and trust between managers and staff.
1. Understand their behaviour
People at work naturally tend to adopt instinctive modes of behaviour that are self-protective rather than open and collaborative. This explains why emotion is a strong force in the workplace and why management often reacts violently to criticisms and usually seeks to control rather than take risks. So, in order to eliminate this kind of perspective and to increase employee motivation, it is best that you influence behaviour rather than to change personalities. Insisting what you expect from your employees will only worsen the situation.
2. Be sure that people’s lower-level needs are met.
People have various kinds of needs. Examples of lower-level needs are salary, job security, and working conditions. In order to increase employee motivation, you have to meet these basic needs. Consequently, failures with basic needs nearly always explain dissatisfaction among staff. Satisfaction, on the other hand, springs from meeting higher-level needs, such as responsibility progress, and personal growth. When satisfaction is met, chances are employee motivation is at hand.
3. Encourage pride
People need to feel that their contribution is valued and unique. If you are a manager, seek to exploit this pride in others, and be proud of your own ability to handle staff with positive results. This, in turn, will encourage employee motivation among your people.
4. Listen carefully
In many areas of a manager’s job, from meetings and appraisals to telephone calls, listening plays a key role. Listening encourages employee motivation and, therefore, benefits both you and your staff. So make an effort to understand people’s attitudes by careful listening and questioning and by giving them the opportunity to express themselves.
5. Build confidence
Most people suffer from insecurity at some time. The many kinds of anxiety that affect people in organizations can feed such insecurity, and insecurity impedes employee motivation. Your antidote, therefore, is to build confidence by giving recognition, high-level tasks, and full information. In doing so, you only not refurbish employee motivation but boost productivity as well.
6. Encourage contact
Many managers like to hide away behind closed office doors, keeping contact to a minimum. That makes it easy for an administrator, but hard to be a leader. It is far better to keep your office door open and to encourage people to visit you when the door is open. Go out of your way to chat to staff on an informal basis. Keep in mind that building rapport with your staff will effectively increase employee motivation.
7. Use the strategic thinking of all employees.
It is very important to inform people about strategic plans and their own part in achieving the strategies. Take trouble to improve their understanding and to win their approval, as this will have a highly positive influence on performance and increasing employee motivation as well.
8. Develop trust
The quality and style of leadership are major factors in gaining employee motivation and trust. Clear decision making should be coupled with a collaborative, collegiate approach. This entails taking people into your confidence and explicitly and openly valuing their contributions. By simply giving your staff the opportunity to show that you can trust them is enough to increase employee motivation among them.
9. Delegate decisions
Pushing the power of decision-making downward reduces pressure on senior management. It motivates people on the lower levels because it gives them a vote of confidence. Also, because the decision is taken nearer to the point of action, it is more likely to be correct. Consequently, by encouraging them to choose their own working methods, make decisions, and giving them responsibility for meeting the agreed goal will encourage employee motivation among your staff.
10. Appraising to motivate
When choosing methods of assessing your staff’s performance, always make sure that the end result has a positive effect on employee motivation and increases people’s sense of self-worth. Realistic targets, positive feedback, and listening are key factors.
If you follow these simple steps in increasing employee motivation, rest assured you will have a good working relationship with your staff at the same time boost you company’s productivity. Just bear in mind that people are employed to get good results for the company. Their rates of success are intrinsically linked to how they are directed, reviewed, rewarded, trusted, and motivated by the management.
By: Paul Graham
1. Understand their behaviour
People at work naturally tend to adopt instinctive modes of behaviour that are self-protective rather than open and collaborative. This explains why emotion is a strong force in the workplace and why management often reacts violently to criticisms and usually seeks to control rather than take risks. So, in order to eliminate this kind of perspective and to increase employee motivation, it is best that you influence behaviour rather than to change personalities. Insisting what you expect from your employees will only worsen the situation.
2. Be sure that people’s lower-level needs are met.
People have various kinds of needs. Examples of lower-level needs are salary, job security, and working conditions. In order to increase employee motivation, you have to meet these basic needs. Consequently, failures with basic needs nearly always explain dissatisfaction among staff. Satisfaction, on the other hand, springs from meeting higher-level needs, such as responsibility progress, and personal growth. When satisfaction is met, chances are employee motivation is at hand.
3. Encourage pride
People need to feel that their contribution is valued and unique. If you are a manager, seek to exploit this pride in others, and be proud of your own ability to handle staff with positive results. This, in turn, will encourage employee motivation among your people.
4. Listen carefully
In many areas of a manager’s job, from meetings and appraisals to telephone calls, listening plays a key role. Listening encourages employee motivation and, therefore, benefits both you and your staff. So make an effort to understand people’s attitudes by careful listening and questioning and by giving them the opportunity to express themselves.
5. Build confidence
Most people suffer from insecurity at some time. The many kinds of anxiety that affect people in organizations can feed such insecurity, and insecurity impedes employee motivation. Your antidote, therefore, is to build confidence by giving recognition, high-level tasks, and full information. In doing so, you only not refurbish employee motivation but boost productivity as well.
6. Encourage contact
Many managers like to hide away behind closed office doors, keeping contact to a minimum. That makes it easy for an administrator, but hard to be a leader. It is far better to keep your office door open and to encourage people to visit you when the door is open. Go out of your way to chat to staff on an informal basis. Keep in mind that building rapport with your staff will effectively increase employee motivation.
7. Use the strategic thinking of all employees.
It is very important to inform people about strategic plans and their own part in achieving the strategies. Take trouble to improve their understanding and to win their approval, as this will have a highly positive influence on performance and increasing employee motivation as well.
8. Develop trust
The quality and style of leadership are major factors in gaining employee motivation and trust. Clear decision making should be coupled with a collaborative, collegiate approach. This entails taking people into your confidence and explicitly and openly valuing their contributions. By simply giving your staff the opportunity to show that you can trust them is enough to increase employee motivation among them.
9. Delegate decisions
Pushing the power of decision-making downward reduces pressure on senior management. It motivates people on the lower levels because it gives them a vote of confidence. Also, because the decision is taken nearer to the point of action, it is more likely to be correct. Consequently, by encouraging them to choose their own working methods, make decisions, and giving them responsibility for meeting the agreed goal will encourage employee motivation among your staff.
10. Appraising to motivate
When choosing methods of assessing your staff’s performance, always make sure that the end result has a positive effect on employee motivation and increases people’s sense of self-worth. Realistic targets, positive feedback, and listening are key factors.
If you follow these simple steps in increasing employee motivation, rest assured you will have a good working relationship with your staff at the same time boost you company’s productivity. Just bear in mind that people are employed to get good results for the company. Their rates of success are intrinsically linked to how they are directed, reviewed, rewarded, trusted, and motivated by the management.
By: Paul Graham
Thursday, March 29, 2007
10 Ways To Make Money Online
1. Online advertising - On the Internet, a smartly organized small business may get excellent results, often competing side by side with larger corporations. Internet advertising is on an ascending trend, which shows plenty of potential for the near and distant future. As traditional media outlets struggle to keep costs down and become more attractive for potential advertisers, the virtual space offers any business the opportunity to achieve amazing results with a budget that is only a fraction of what an advertiser would pay to get the same ROI through traditional media. Using programs such as Google Adsense, placing affiliate banners on your site and making the most out of pixel advertising are all amazing ways to make some money.
2. Affiliate programs - You can choose affiliate hubs where different advertisers offer their banners and affiliate offers and you can manage them using a centralized system, or you can get a single affiliate website that will display their banners on your site. The potential profits that come from affiliate programs are strictly connected to how high your visitor counts are and how targeted those visitors are. This takes us a bit away from affiliate systems and highlights the importance of SEO in any online business. The web masters who invest money and energy into ethical SEO techniques often notice a very steady increase in traffic, which, in turn, enables them to make more profit from their online business.
3. Freelance jobs - Working as a freelancer on the Internet is one of the most popular ways of making money from home. You can try your luck at graphic design, copywriting, programming and several other dozens of ramifications and project types.
4. Electronic commerce – selling items on eBay is one of the hottest ways of making a lot of cash online. Not everyone is successful at it, of course, but those that are continue to increase their profits constantly. Auctions on eBay have a lot of potential – combine them with dropshipping and you can get a business that’s easy to run and very profitable at the same time.
5. Paid surfing and survey filling - There are a number of companies that pay you to surf the web. They display a small add on your desktop when you are connected to the Internet and give you a percentage of the advertising revenue they receive. The amount per hour is not very big, but there are ways to multiply it by referring other people. This is really the focus of all this programs. Tell everybody you know that they too, can get paid to surf, and get paid yourself for referring them. Paid surveys are also great, since they are easy to fill in and anyone can do that from the comfort of their own home.
6. Networking – while this is not actually a direct way of generating profit, you can use social networking and MLMs to generate leads and drive traffic to your online business.
7. Selling websites and domain names is becoming an extremely popular area, which still has a lot of room for development. If you bought a nice, short and relevant domain name a while ago, you can make a small fortune selling it today. If you don't believe me, check out these figures, for the top five most expensive domain sales in the last few years:
Business.com – $7.5 million
AsSeenOnTv.com – $5.1 million
Altavista.com – $3.3 million
Wine.com – $2.9 million
Autos.com – $2.2 million
8. Work at home jobs - Depending on how much time you are willing to put into a work at home opportunity, you could either do it in your spare time, or make it your main income source. Work at home jobs are suitable for everyone: from students, to retired people. You do not sign any documents or commit in writing to anything, thus you are not obliged to work if you do not feel like it. In a modern society, with parents spending more time at home raising their children and college students looking for a comfortable part time job, a work at home opportunity is the perfect answer.
9. Outsourcing – this is not a moneymaking opportunity, but a money saving one. Outsourcing is the best way to create a competitive business in countries like the United States, Canada and most of Europe.
10. Free stuff online – you will not get rich while taking advantage of all the free stuff you can get online, but it is fun and rewarding. If you are a webmaster and you wish to create a very popular website, do your best to offer lots of things for free – downloads, software, ebooks, wallpapers and so on.
2. Affiliate programs - You can choose affiliate hubs where different advertisers offer their banners and affiliate offers and you can manage them using a centralized system, or you can get a single affiliate website that will display their banners on your site. The potential profits that come from affiliate programs are strictly connected to how high your visitor counts are and how targeted those visitors are. This takes us a bit away from affiliate systems and highlights the importance of SEO in any online business. The web masters who invest money and energy into ethical SEO techniques often notice a very steady increase in traffic, which, in turn, enables them to make more profit from their online business.
3. Freelance jobs - Working as a freelancer on the Internet is one of the most popular ways of making money from home. You can try your luck at graphic design, copywriting, programming and several other dozens of ramifications and project types.
4. Electronic commerce – selling items on eBay is one of the hottest ways of making a lot of cash online. Not everyone is successful at it, of course, but those that are continue to increase their profits constantly. Auctions on eBay have a lot of potential – combine them with dropshipping and you can get a business that’s easy to run and very profitable at the same time.
5. Paid surfing and survey filling - There are a number of companies that pay you to surf the web. They display a small add on your desktop when you are connected to the Internet and give you a percentage of the advertising revenue they receive. The amount per hour is not very big, but there are ways to multiply it by referring other people. This is really the focus of all this programs. Tell everybody you know that they too, can get paid to surf, and get paid yourself for referring them. Paid surveys are also great, since they are easy to fill in and anyone can do that from the comfort of their own home.
6. Networking – while this is not actually a direct way of generating profit, you can use social networking and MLMs to generate leads and drive traffic to your online business.
7. Selling websites and domain names is becoming an extremely popular area, which still has a lot of room for development. If you bought a nice, short and relevant domain name a while ago, you can make a small fortune selling it today. If you don't believe me, check out these figures, for the top five most expensive domain sales in the last few years:
Business.com – $7.5 million
AsSeenOnTv.com – $5.1 million
Altavista.com – $3.3 million
Wine.com – $2.9 million
Autos.com – $2.2 million
8. Work at home jobs - Depending on how much time you are willing to put into a work at home opportunity, you could either do it in your spare time, or make it your main income source. Work at home jobs are suitable for everyone: from students, to retired people. You do not sign any documents or commit in writing to anything, thus you are not obliged to work if you do not feel like it. In a modern society, with parents spending more time at home raising their children and college students looking for a comfortable part time job, a work at home opportunity is the perfect answer.
9. Outsourcing – this is not a moneymaking opportunity, but a money saving one. Outsourcing is the best way to create a competitive business in countries like the United States, Canada and most of Europe.
10. Free stuff online – you will not get rich while taking advantage of all the free stuff you can get online, but it is fun and rewarding. If you are a webmaster and you wish to create a very popular website, do your best to offer lots of things for free – downloads, software, ebooks, wallpapers and so on.
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
10 Ways To Use Podcasts
Podcasting has only been popular in the public eye for a little over two years, but the technology has only recently shifted from early adopters to the rest of us. People are finding a lot of ways to use these recordings, many of which should get you thinking about how you (or your company) can begin using podcasts right away for profit and promotion. This article examines some of the different methods employed by political, educational and corporate entities experimenting with the medium today:
NEWS and MEDIA: Podcasting is a way for news organizations to distribute audio or video that compliments their existing text news for a minimum additional cost. For example, Wikinews began to podcast its News Briefs in 2005. Companies are also using podcasts as a way to distribute their multimedia news to journalists and consumers. Companies can now leverage this same medium in much the same way that news organizations do, by publicizing your product or service on your company website as an additional download. Newspapers use podcasts to brodcast audio content from print interviews and drive traffic to their websites. The San Franciso Chronicle is believed to be the first major daily newspaper to start podcasting using an external website in Feb 2005. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post was the first to use its own website and the first in Asia, having launched on April 19, 2005.
EDUCATION: Schools are now using podcasts as an educational tool. Some school districts are experimenting with podcast lessons to help teach foreign languages via audio revision and homework. In 2005, a communication studies course at the University of Western Australia used student-created podcasts as the main assessment criteria. Professors are also using podcasts as part of their academic work. The Society of Critical Care Medicine has a podcast used to update clinicians with summaries of important articles, as well as interviews.
POLITICS: Both political parties and their candidates in the United States are experimenting with podcasts as a way to inform people about their perspectives on important topics. Podcasts are available for download from their websites and provide a way for candidates to deliver, in their own words, their opinions as well as to go in to more detail in describing the motivations behind some of their positions.
RELIGION: Religion. Godcasting, the word some use to describe podcasts dealing with religion, has lately been used by many religious groups as another way of spreading their message. Many churches produce podcasts of talks and sermons, which are then uploaded to their church or temple's website and available for download.
ART: Unofficial audio tours of museums are availabe for download from art enthusiasts and museum afficionados. Official cultural or historic audio tours of cities are also a new way that some cities are using to try and lure visitors. You can find these on the official web pages of cities as well as via most search engines.
ENTERTAINMENT: Producers, writers and directors for popular TV shows have embraced podcasting as a way to create more content that will hopefully help drive viewership to their programs. For exmaple, Battlestar Galactica writer and executive producer Ronald Moore creates commentary podcasts for each new episode of Battlestar Galactica. Other television shows have since followed suit, like Family Guy (FOX).
SPORTS. In 2005, unofficial podcasts for major sports teams launched, providing fans both in and outside of the teams' direct broadcast areas with on-demand commentary. Pioneers include Cubscast, the podcasters for the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The Cubscast founders also formed the first city-specific sports podcast network, hosting one podcast for each major Chicago sports team.
BUSINESS: Podcasts are an effective tool for organizing conference and meeting alerts, since podcasts can be packaged to alert attendees to agendas, hosted roundtables and daily feedback. They are also an effective tool CEOs can use to communicate with their employees or to share news about the company on the local intranet.
LIRBRARIES: Public libraries can podcast local publications free of Copyright, offering spoken word alternatives to the visually impaired. Not only are more people able to access these podcasts, but the educational value for enabling new technologies offers a whole new multimedia library that will be even easier to maintain.
LAW ENFORCEMENT: The Chicago Police Department has a free video podcast of its half-hour weekly news magazine called "CrimeWatch," which airs on local TV. It documents community policing (CAPS) success stories.
I hope these examples of popular ways people are employing podcasts have sparked some thoughts about how you, too, can use the medium to help your employees, share your passions or otherwise communicate. Please share your thoughts on how to use podcasts at: http://www.findpodcasts.net/blog.
Good luck!
By: Steven Wright
NEWS and MEDIA: Podcasting is a way for news organizations to distribute audio or video that compliments their existing text news for a minimum additional cost. For example, Wikinews began to podcast its News Briefs in 2005. Companies are also using podcasts as a way to distribute their multimedia news to journalists and consumers. Companies can now leverage this same medium in much the same way that news organizations do, by publicizing your product or service on your company website as an additional download. Newspapers use podcasts to brodcast audio content from print interviews and drive traffic to their websites. The San Franciso Chronicle is believed to be the first major daily newspaper to start podcasting using an external website in Feb 2005. Hong Kong's South China Morning Post was the first to use its own website and the first in Asia, having launched on April 19, 2005.
EDUCATION: Schools are now using podcasts as an educational tool. Some school districts are experimenting with podcast lessons to help teach foreign languages via audio revision and homework. In 2005, a communication studies course at the University of Western Australia used student-created podcasts as the main assessment criteria. Professors are also using podcasts as part of their academic work. The Society of Critical Care Medicine has a podcast used to update clinicians with summaries of important articles, as well as interviews.
POLITICS: Both political parties and their candidates in the United States are experimenting with podcasts as a way to inform people about their perspectives on important topics. Podcasts are available for download from their websites and provide a way for candidates to deliver, in their own words, their opinions as well as to go in to more detail in describing the motivations behind some of their positions.
RELIGION: Religion. Godcasting, the word some use to describe podcasts dealing with religion, has lately been used by many religious groups as another way of spreading their message. Many churches produce podcasts of talks and sermons, which are then uploaded to their church or temple's website and available for download.
ART: Unofficial audio tours of museums are availabe for download from art enthusiasts and museum afficionados. Official cultural or historic audio tours of cities are also a new way that some cities are using to try and lure visitors. You can find these on the official web pages of cities as well as via most search engines.
ENTERTAINMENT: Producers, writers and directors for popular TV shows have embraced podcasting as a way to create more content that will hopefully help drive viewership to their programs. For exmaple, Battlestar Galactica writer and executive producer Ronald Moore creates commentary podcasts for each new episode of Battlestar Galactica. Other television shows have since followed suit, like Family Guy (FOX).
SPORTS. In 2005, unofficial podcasts for major sports teams launched, providing fans both in and outside of the teams' direct broadcast areas with on-demand commentary. Pioneers include Cubscast, the podcasters for the Chicago Cubs baseball team. The Cubscast founders also formed the first city-specific sports podcast network, hosting one podcast for each major Chicago sports team.
BUSINESS: Podcasts are an effective tool for organizing conference and meeting alerts, since podcasts can be packaged to alert attendees to agendas, hosted roundtables and daily feedback. They are also an effective tool CEOs can use to communicate with their employees or to share news about the company on the local intranet.
LIRBRARIES: Public libraries can podcast local publications free of Copyright, offering spoken word alternatives to the visually impaired. Not only are more people able to access these podcasts, but the educational value for enabling new technologies offers a whole new multimedia library that will be even easier to maintain.
LAW ENFORCEMENT: The Chicago Police Department has a free video podcast of its half-hour weekly news magazine called "CrimeWatch," which airs on local TV. It documents community policing (CAPS) success stories.
I hope these examples of popular ways people are employing podcasts have sparked some thoughts about how you, too, can use the medium to help your employees, share your passions or otherwise communicate. Please share your thoughts on how to use podcasts at: http://www.findpodcasts.net/blog.
Good luck!
By: Steven Wright
Monday, March 19, 2007
10 Ways eBay Sellers Can Avoid Negative Feedback.
Your eBay feedback is your biggest eBay selling tool bar none. If you have bad eBay feedback you will struggle to make sales and your eBay business will suffer. Therefore you must protect your eBay feedback as much as possible. Here are 10 tips that will help you maintain an excellent feedback rating.
1. Always be polite in all correspondence. This goes without saying, always treat your customers with respect and give them a pleasant buying experience. By doing so you may gain a customer for life.
2. Avoid excessive shipping charges. If you charge $10 shipping for an item and the cost is only $3 you are leaving yourself open to negative feedback.
3. Mail your items as soon as possible. Don't wait till the end of the week. Taking too long to deliver your goods means you are risking your feedback. You should always aim to have items packaged and sent within 48 hours of payment.
4. Make sure your item description is accurate. Don't say your item is as good as new if it's not. This is probably the most common reason for negative feedback.
5. Answer emails promptly. Don't wait days and days to answer any queries. This only makes your customer frustrated and this can result in a negative comment.
6. List any flaws your item has. If the item you are selling has a scratch or mark say so or you could be left a negative comment for a poor item description.
7. Don't retaliate to awkward customers. Sometimes you may get an awkward or offensive customer, that's life. Don't retaliate, just deal with their query in a polite and professional manner. This usually ends in the customer apologising and excellent feedback follows.
8. Accept returns. If a customer is not happy with your product for whatever reason allow them to return the item and refund their purchase minus shipping fees. You can then cancel the transaction through eBay and you will get your fees returned and therefore wont be out of pocket. This leaves you free to relist the item with your feedback intact.
9. Package your items carefully. If you are selling delicate items make sure they are packaged carefully with plenty of protection, the last thing you want is your customer to receive damaged goods.
10. Don't leave feedback first. If you do you are leaving yourself open to negative comments. A happy customer will always leave feedback first, if you leave feedback first you will learn the hard way, trust me.
Remember! Your customer is a real living person. I think sometimes people forget this, try to make the whole buying experience as easy and pleasant as possible. Your customers are the lifeblood of your eBay business and your number one goal should be to make them happy. This can only result in excellent feedback and in turn success for your eBay business.
By: John Thornhill
1. Always be polite in all correspondence. This goes without saying, always treat your customers with respect and give them a pleasant buying experience. By doing so you may gain a customer for life.
2. Avoid excessive shipping charges. If you charge $10 shipping for an item and the cost is only $3 you are leaving yourself open to negative feedback.
3. Mail your items as soon as possible. Don't wait till the end of the week. Taking too long to deliver your goods means you are risking your feedback. You should always aim to have items packaged and sent within 48 hours of payment.
4. Make sure your item description is accurate. Don't say your item is as good as new if it's not. This is probably the most common reason for negative feedback.
5. Answer emails promptly. Don't wait days and days to answer any queries. This only makes your customer frustrated and this can result in a negative comment.
6. List any flaws your item has. If the item you are selling has a scratch or mark say so or you could be left a negative comment for a poor item description.
7. Don't retaliate to awkward customers. Sometimes you may get an awkward or offensive customer, that's life. Don't retaliate, just deal with their query in a polite and professional manner. This usually ends in the customer apologising and excellent feedback follows.
8. Accept returns. If a customer is not happy with your product for whatever reason allow them to return the item and refund their purchase minus shipping fees. You can then cancel the transaction through eBay and you will get your fees returned and therefore wont be out of pocket. This leaves you free to relist the item with your feedback intact.
9. Package your items carefully. If you are selling delicate items make sure they are packaged carefully with plenty of protection, the last thing you want is your customer to receive damaged goods.
10. Don't leave feedback first. If you do you are leaving yourself open to negative comments. A happy customer will always leave feedback first, if you leave feedback first you will learn the hard way, trust me.
Remember! Your customer is a real living person. I think sometimes people forget this, try to make the whole buying experience as easy and pleasant as possible. Your customers are the lifeblood of your eBay business and your number one goal should be to make them happy. This can only result in excellent feedback and in turn success for your eBay business.
By: John Thornhill
Sunday, March 18, 2007
10 Analyzing Tips For Your Ebay Transactions
Analyzing your eBay transactions can be one of the best learning tools you can gain from your eBay listings.
After you have taken the plunge and bought and sold some items on eBay, give yourself a BIG pat on the back. You did it! But did you notice how some steps in your listing went really well, and perhaps others did not?
This is absolutely normal for a newbie! Don't you love that term, newbie! It is the one time in your life that you can make all the mistakes you want, ask all the silly questions you need to, and nobody cares because you are a newbie!
So you goofed up in a couple of aspects. Who cares? This is a learning experience for you, and the start of something big. Some patience is required here.
You cannot become an auction pro right away. It takes some time to develop the required skills needed to boost your listings and your sales. It also takes experience and knowledge and every time you list something on eBay, you gain more or each.
Listed below are 10 questions to ask yourself after each of your auctions in order to improve on future listings.
1. Did my auction flow nicely?
2. Did I have any problems?
3. Was I receiving a ton of questions?
4. Did I describe my item in enough detail?
5. Did I receive any feedback, negative or positive?
6. Did many people see my auction?
7. How many bid on my listing?
8. Were my pictures complete and clear enough?
9. Did I try any sales techniques that did or did not work?
10. Could I make some changes to improve my next auction?
The answers to these questions can help your next auction immensely. eBay allows you to analyze your transactions and this analysis can give you tips on how to improve your next listing.
Once you have posted your item you can receive e-mailed questions from potential bidders. These questions may be about finding out more details on your item, about postage fees or length of time, or about the colour of the item, or something else.
You should listen carefully to these questions and keep a note of them in a file. They can be your guide to improving your next listing.
If you notice the same questions are being asked over and over again, then you know for next time to include more information about the item. You cannot be too specific on eBay.
This can save you a lot of time, as well as increase your sales. E-mailing each response can be very time consuming, and especially when you begin listing many more items.
Spend less time e-mailing and more time listing, bringing in more money.
Did you get many bids on your item? Do you know eBay keeps track of this and you can easily find out by clicking on your listing or going to your My eBay page.
How many potential buyers have looked at your auction? This is important to know. You can include a "hit counter" that eBay provides at the bottom of your auction that will track this. It is a very good idea to use this feature.
If you received very few visitors then perhaps your title may need some tweaking. If you only had a few bids maybe you did not describe your item clearly enough.
Are you getting the idea that by taking note of what is happening or has happened to each of your auctions, you are gaining experience and expertise to use in your next listing. What you did right, you can continue doing and what you did not so right, you can improve on.
The value of analyzing your auctions is great. You should not be afraid to forge ahead. Once you begin to see your sales soar you will be so happy you did.
By: Pauline Kiselbach
After you have taken the plunge and bought and sold some items on eBay, give yourself a BIG pat on the back. You did it! But did you notice how some steps in your listing went really well, and perhaps others did not?
This is absolutely normal for a newbie! Don't you love that term, newbie! It is the one time in your life that you can make all the mistakes you want, ask all the silly questions you need to, and nobody cares because you are a newbie!
So you goofed up in a couple of aspects. Who cares? This is a learning experience for you, and the start of something big. Some patience is required here.
You cannot become an auction pro right away. It takes some time to develop the required skills needed to boost your listings and your sales. It also takes experience and knowledge and every time you list something on eBay, you gain more or each.
Listed below are 10 questions to ask yourself after each of your auctions in order to improve on future listings.
1. Did my auction flow nicely?
2. Did I have any problems?
3. Was I receiving a ton of questions?
4. Did I describe my item in enough detail?
5. Did I receive any feedback, negative or positive?
6. Did many people see my auction?
7. How many bid on my listing?
8. Were my pictures complete and clear enough?
9. Did I try any sales techniques that did or did not work?
10. Could I make some changes to improve my next auction?
The answers to these questions can help your next auction immensely. eBay allows you to analyze your transactions and this analysis can give you tips on how to improve your next listing.
Once you have posted your item you can receive e-mailed questions from potential bidders. These questions may be about finding out more details on your item, about postage fees or length of time, or about the colour of the item, or something else.
You should listen carefully to these questions and keep a note of them in a file. They can be your guide to improving your next listing.
If you notice the same questions are being asked over and over again, then you know for next time to include more information about the item. You cannot be too specific on eBay.
This can save you a lot of time, as well as increase your sales. E-mailing each response can be very time consuming, and especially when you begin listing many more items.
Spend less time e-mailing and more time listing, bringing in more money.
Did you get many bids on your item? Do you know eBay keeps track of this and you can easily find out by clicking on your listing or going to your My eBay page.
How many potential buyers have looked at your auction? This is important to know. You can include a "hit counter" that eBay provides at the bottom of your auction that will track this. It is a very good idea to use this feature.
If you received very few visitors then perhaps your title may need some tweaking. If you only had a few bids maybe you did not describe your item clearly enough.
Are you getting the idea that by taking note of what is happening or has happened to each of your auctions, you are gaining experience and expertise to use in your next listing. What you did right, you can continue doing and what you did not so right, you can improve on.
The value of analyzing your auctions is great. You should not be afraid to forge ahead. Once you begin to see your sales soar you will be so happy you did.
By: Pauline Kiselbach
10 Mistakes eBay Sellers Make. (Even PowerSellers)
If you are not getting the bids you want with your eBay auctions you could be making some crucial mistakes in your listings. As a PowerSeller who makes a living on eBay I find myself browsing eBay's listings on a daily basis. While browsing I see so many eBay sellers (even PowerSellers) making crucial errors in their listings. Here are 10 simple mistakes eBay sellers make.
1. Poor title. I see this so often, the most common mistake is only using a few characters. You have 53 characters at your disposal so try and use them all. Also, imagine yourself looking for the item you are selling. What keywords would you search for? Try and include these in your title.
2. Spelling errors. If you have spelling errors in your listing you will get fewer bids. All it takes is to run your listing through a spellchecker before you list.
3. Silly terms and conditions. Do you really need payment within 24 hours? Must the buyers feedback be higher than 10? Try and avoid silly terms in your listings and you will get more bids.
4. Starting price to high. Try to start your auction with a 1 cent starting price. This gets the bidding going and starts the whole process. Remember, you only need 2 people interested in your auction to make a killing.
5. No pictures. A picture says a thousand words. Make sure you include at least one picture of the item you are selling. Also, never get your pictures from the internet as people want to see a real picture of what you are selling.
6. Poor feedback score. If you have a lot of negative feedback you will get fewer bids. Treat your customers with respect and don't lie in your listings and you will have a glowing feedback score.
7. Poor listing appearance. EBay has many tools to help your listings look attractive. Adding a simple listing design can make a huge difference. Also, if you are familiar with html it helps to design your listing with your favourite html editor.
8. Bad start time. Remember, the time you list your auction is the time it will end. You will usually find you will have more success with auctions ending between 7pm and 11pm so don't list your item before you start your 6am shift.
9. High shipping or no shipping displayed. If it only costs $2.00 to pack and ship an item don't charge $5.00. Most buyers will avoid auctions with excessive shipping charges. Also, if you don't state your shipping costs you will receive fewer bids.
10. Not replying to questions quickly. If you get a question from a potential bidder try to answer within 24 hours. Also be polite with all answers. Be sure to display these questions in your listing for others to see. It also helps to keep an eye on your auction as the item comes to an end just in case you get any last minute queries.
John Thornhill trades on eBay under the username planetsms and earns over $1000 per week on eBay on autopilot. To see how he does it visit his eBay store at stores.ebay.com/PlanetSMS
1. Poor title. I see this so often, the most common mistake is only using a few characters. You have 53 characters at your disposal so try and use them all. Also, imagine yourself looking for the item you are selling. What keywords would you search for? Try and include these in your title.
2. Spelling errors. If you have spelling errors in your listing you will get fewer bids. All it takes is to run your listing through a spellchecker before you list.
3. Silly terms and conditions. Do you really need payment within 24 hours? Must the buyers feedback be higher than 10? Try and avoid silly terms in your listings and you will get more bids.
4. Starting price to high. Try to start your auction with a 1 cent starting price. This gets the bidding going and starts the whole process. Remember, you only need 2 people interested in your auction to make a killing.
5. No pictures. A picture says a thousand words. Make sure you include at least one picture of the item you are selling. Also, never get your pictures from the internet as people want to see a real picture of what you are selling.
6. Poor feedback score. If you have a lot of negative feedback you will get fewer bids. Treat your customers with respect and don't lie in your listings and you will have a glowing feedback score.
7. Poor listing appearance. EBay has many tools to help your listings look attractive. Adding a simple listing design can make a huge difference. Also, if you are familiar with html it helps to design your listing with your favourite html editor.
8. Bad start time. Remember, the time you list your auction is the time it will end. You will usually find you will have more success with auctions ending between 7pm and 11pm so don't list your item before you start your 6am shift.
9. High shipping or no shipping displayed. If it only costs $2.00 to pack and ship an item don't charge $5.00. Most buyers will avoid auctions with excessive shipping charges. Also, if you don't state your shipping costs you will receive fewer bids.
10. Not replying to questions quickly. If you get a question from a potential bidder try to answer within 24 hours. Also be polite with all answers. Be sure to display these questions in your listing for others to see. It also helps to keep an eye on your auction as the item comes to an end just in case you get any last minute queries.
John Thornhill trades on eBay under the username planetsms and earns over $1000 per week on eBay on autopilot. To see how he does it visit his eBay store at stores.ebay.com/PlanetSMS
How to Buy on eBay. Simple tips to save a few Dollars
Get IT on eBay!!!
You have probably seen this ad everywhere.This is eBays latest and it actually rings pretty true. I have yet to not find a product or something very similar to what I was looking for on eBay. Here I will give short tutorial on how eBay works for Buyers.
I have been a powerseller on eBay for 5 years now. What that means is I do a certain amount of business dollar wise and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. I say this not to brag, There are many who make more and do more on eBay then me. I am always learning but figure this might help some people get started.
Ok, Lets start with some simple tips and tricks for buying. Some of this may seem like common sense but remember that commone sense is relative here. As big as eBay is not everyone has been there and some are still hesitant. For every hundred good stories there is one bad and that is all it takes to keep people away.
With that said,the first thing you will need is an eBay account,get one here www.ebay.com
It's Free to join and the only way you will be able to bid and buy.
One of the most popular things to do seems to be search for mis spelled auctions. People will try to sell you these tools on ebay but you can find free one just by doing a google search. Here is an example of one site http://www.bargainchecker.com
Another way to find something at a good price is look at all items relating to what you are after. A great example would be I was looking at a Lord of the Rings Fossil watch that sold for $100.00. I stumbled across an auction simply titled Lord of the Rings memorabilia. I checked it out and found the watch packaged with the extended version of the first movie. I won the item at $55.00 and since I already had the dvd set sold that for $35.00.The $100.00 watch cost me $20.00. Got to love that.
Another great way to get a low bid price is find an auction ending at an odd hour. Sunday afternoon in the summertime,not the best time to sell something.Most people are busy with the family. If you are a night owl see what is selling just before you go to bed but do remember eBay is worldwide. someone is just getting home from work somewhere in the world so its not always a gimme.
A word of caution about bidding. It can be like gambling. You lose so you get competitive.You then bid more then you wanted to.This can get dangerous and happens all the time. Especially on something you really want and had a hard time finding. Set your max and keep to it. You will surely get another chance at a similar item later down the road. Just be patient.
Also be sure to include the cost of shipping in your max. remember an item that costs $49.99 still needs to be shipped.If it is big item shipping is expensive. If you are not sure of the shipping ask the seller a question through the auction. Be sure to give the seller time to answer but never bid if you are unsure.
Most sellers keep shipping fair but watch for the $1.99 item that ships for $20.00 . although eBay does state that a seller cannot charge overly high shipping if it is listed at that price you have no right to really complain. Again , move on to another seller or item
The last thing I will touch on is feedback. Feedback is how buyers and sellers rate each other and how you can tell if a seller is honest or not. Always chck the feedback but remember you can't make everyone happy. eBay now has a percentage next to the number. I generally will not buy from anyone less then 99%. My personal is 99.5 % . When leaving feedback if the transaction went well be sure to leave a positive. If there was a problem , and I can not stress this enough, Try to contact the seller FIRST. Many new people jump the gun and leave a bad feedback before giving the seller a chance to rectify the situation. Most sellers will work with you as they value there feedback. If a problem can't be resolved then you should by all means leave a negative.
Thats all forright now. I may add more.
so go to www.ebay.com and start saving today!!!
You have probably seen this ad everywhere.This is eBays latest and it actually rings pretty true. I have yet to not find a product or something very similar to what I was looking for on eBay. Here I will give short tutorial on how eBay works for Buyers.
I have been a powerseller on eBay for 5 years now. What that means is I do a certain amount of business dollar wise and maintain a high level of customer satisfaction. I say this not to brag, There are many who make more and do more on eBay then me. I am always learning but figure this might help some people get started.
Ok, Lets start with some simple tips and tricks for buying. Some of this may seem like common sense but remember that commone sense is relative here. As big as eBay is not everyone has been there and some are still hesitant. For every hundred good stories there is one bad and that is all it takes to keep people away.
With that said,the first thing you will need is an eBay account,get one here www.ebay.com
It's Free to join and the only way you will be able to bid and buy.
One of the most popular things to do seems to be search for mis spelled auctions. People will try to sell you these tools on ebay but you can find free one just by doing a google search. Here is an example of one site http://www.bargainchecker.com
Another way to find something at a good price is look at all items relating to what you are after. A great example would be I was looking at a Lord of the Rings Fossil watch that sold for $100.00. I stumbled across an auction simply titled Lord of the Rings memorabilia. I checked it out and found the watch packaged with the extended version of the first movie. I won the item at $55.00 and since I already had the dvd set sold that for $35.00.The $100.00 watch cost me $20.00. Got to love that.
Another great way to get a low bid price is find an auction ending at an odd hour. Sunday afternoon in the summertime,not the best time to sell something.Most people are busy with the family. If you are a night owl see what is selling just before you go to bed but do remember eBay is worldwide. someone is just getting home from work somewhere in the world so its not always a gimme.
A word of caution about bidding. It can be like gambling. You lose so you get competitive.You then bid more then you wanted to.This can get dangerous and happens all the time. Especially on something you really want and had a hard time finding. Set your max and keep to it. You will surely get another chance at a similar item later down the road. Just be patient.
Also be sure to include the cost of shipping in your max. remember an item that costs $49.99 still needs to be shipped.If it is big item shipping is expensive. If you are not sure of the shipping ask the seller a question through the auction. Be sure to give the seller time to answer but never bid if you are unsure.
Most sellers keep shipping fair but watch for the $1.99 item that ships for $20.00 . although eBay does state that a seller cannot charge overly high shipping if it is listed at that price you have no right to really complain. Again , move on to another seller or item
The last thing I will touch on is feedback. Feedback is how buyers and sellers rate each other and how you can tell if a seller is honest or not. Always chck the feedback but remember you can't make everyone happy. eBay now has a percentage next to the number. I generally will not buy from anyone less then 99%. My personal is 99.5 % . When leaving feedback if the transaction went well be sure to leave a positive. If there was a problem , and I can not stress this enough, Try to contact the seller FIRST. Many new people jump the gun and leave a bad feedback before giving the seller a chance to rectify the situation. Most sellers will work with you as they value there feedback. If a problem can't be resolved then you should by all means leave a negative.
Thats all forright now. I may add more.
so go to www.ebay.com and start saving today!!!
Friday, March 16, 2007
Ebay Buying Guide - 7 Tips for Bidding Success
For the past four years I've been buying and selling on ebay on a daily basis. This guide shares my tips for buying on Ebay successfully. Just about anything you want to find, can be found on Ebay. I've come to believe that if you can't find it on Ebay, it either hasn't been invented yet, or it's so rare that if you do find "it", you'd better hang on to that precious item!
Ebay Membership
First of all, are you a member of the Ebay community yet? If not, visit the web site listed at the end of this article to get that taken care of right away! It's free and very easy to sign up. Just fill in some basic information like your name, address and phone number, pick out a username and password and you're good to go. Don't worry about giving Ebay your phone number. Ebay does call me on occasion, but just to let me know about special promotions and never to try to sell me anything. Use an email address that you check regularly, as you will receive emails from ebay about your purchases there as well as in your Ebay messages.
7 Tips for Bidding Success
Now that you are a registered member of the Ebay community, here are 7 easy tips that I find helpful for a successful buying experience on Ebay:
1. Read the listing thoroughly...every word!
2. Make a note of when the listing ends (especially if it is an auction listing). If you are very interested in the item but are not ready to purchase or bid on it at the moment, click on the "watch this item" link and then you can keep an eye on it from the "My Ebay" page in your account.
3. Do you have any questions about the condition, size, or any other information about the item? Look at the upper right area of the listing page under where it says "Meet the seller" and click on the link that says "Ask seller a question". It's always a good idea to email a seller that you haven't bought from before to ask them a question. This helps to give you an idea of their customer service. Give the seller a day or so to respond, many people sell on ebay part-time, and have jobs they have to go to every day.
4. IMPORTANT: Find out what the shipping method and cost is before you bid or buy! If it isn't stated in the listing, ask the seller, as explained in Tip #3.
5. Look at the sellers feedback rating, again in the area below "Meet the seller". Personally, I won't deal with a seller that has less than a 98% feedback and much prefer to buy from sellers with 100% feedback. If a seller has less than 100% feedback, I will always read their feedback comments to find out why they received negative comments. Often, they are from customers that just didn't understand the ebay process and so left a negative before working things out with the seller. I also like to read the positive comments. If there are a lot of comments that note "fast shipping" and/or "great service or item", then I would feel more comfortable buying from that seller.
6. Check and see what types of payment a seller accepts and how long you have to pay. This will come in handy when you find an item that you'd like to buy. Sometimes the seller only accepts forms of payment that you do not want to use. For example: you want to pay via PayPal, but the seller only accepts money orders, or vice versa. Make sure you pay the seller within their time specified on the listing.
7. Buy It Now or Place Your Bid! If you are purchasing a "Buy It Now" item, click on the Buy It Now button follow the instructions to pay. If you are mailing payment, use check-out to let the seller know. You may also use check-out to request an invoice from the seller. Bidding on an auction? To avoid a bidding war and getting caught up in the heat of the moment (and paying too much), place a bid for the highest amount you would be happy with paying and then let it go. Ebay will only bid for you as much as is needed to out-bid the next highest bidder, up to the amount you entered. Make sure you consider the shipping cost when calculating your bidding amount.
Ebay can be a very rewarding experience! Using these tips will help you in purchasing that hard to find and one of a kind item that can be found on Ebay!.
Adrienne Petersen has been buying and selling on Ebay since 2003 and currently owns several Ebay Stores. Anyone over the age of 18 may register on Ebay by visiting one of the author's stores such as Steve's Skateboards.
Ebay Membership
First of all, are you a member of the Ebay community yet? If not, visit the web site listed at the end of this article to get that taken care of right away! It's free and very easy to sign up. Just fill in some basic information like your name, address and phone number, pick out a username and password and you're good to go. Don't worry about giving Ebay your phone number. Ebay does call me on occasion, but just to let me know about special promotions and never to try to sell me anything. Use an email address that you check regularly, as you will receive emails from ebay about your purchases there as well as in your Ebay messages.
7 Tips for Bidding Success
Now that you are a registered member of the Ebay community, here are 7 easy tips that I find helpful for a successful buying experience on Ebay:
1. Read the listing thoroughly...every word!
2. Make a note of when the listing ends (especially if it is an auction listing). If you are very interested in the item but are not ready to purchase or bid on it at the moment, click on the "watch this item" link and then you can keep an eye on it from the "My Ebay" page in your account.
3. Do you have any questions about the condition, size, or any other information about the item? Look at the upper right area of the listing page under where it says "Meet the seller" and click on the link that says "Ask seller a question". It's always a good idea to email a seller that you haven't bought from before to ask them a question. This helps to give you an idea of their customer service. Give the seller a day or so to respond, many people sell on ebay part-time, and have jobs they have to go to every day.
4. IMPORTANT: Find out what the shipping method and cost is before you bid or buy! If it isn't stated in the listing, ask the seller, as explained in Tip #3.
5. Look at the sellers feedback rating, again in the area below "Meet the seller". Personally, I won't deal with a seller that has less than a 98% feedback and much prefer to buy from sellers with 100% feedback. If a seller has less than 100% feedback, I will always read their feedback comments to find out why they received negative comments. Often, they are from customers that just didn't understand the ebay process and so left a negative before working things out with the seller. I also like to read the positive comments. If there are a lot of comments that note "fast shipping" and/or "great service or item", then I would feel more comfortable buying from that seller.
6. Check and see what types of payment a seller accepts and how long you have to pay. This will come in handy when you find an item that you'd like to buy. Sometimes the seller only accepts forms of payment that you do not want to use. For example: you want to pay via PayPal, but the seller only accepts money orders, or vice versa. Make sure you pay the seller within their time specified on the listing.
7. Buy It Now or Place Your Bid! If you are purchasing a "Buy It Now" item, click on the Buy It Now button follow the instructions to pay. If you are mailing payment, use check-out to let the seller know. You may also use check-out to request an invoice from the seller. Bidding on an auction? To avoid a bidding war and getting caught up in the heat of the moment (and paying too much), place a bid for the highest amount you would be happy with paying and then let it go. Ebay will only bid for you as much as is needed to out-bid the next highest bidder, up to the amount you entered. Make sure you consider the shipping cost when calculating your bidding amount.
Ebay can be a very rewarding experience! Using these tips will help you in purchasing that hard to find and one of a kind item that can be found on Ebay!.
Adrienne Petersen has been buying and selling on Ebay since 2003 and currently owns several Ebay Stores. Anyone over the age of 18 may register on Ebay by visiting one of the author's stores such as Steve's Skateboards.
14 Ways To Reduce Your Ebay & Paypal Fees
One of the top complaints against eBay is the level of fees. It is therefore surprising that many large eBay sellers make unnecessary and easily avoidable payments to eBay. This article lists 14 easy-to-implement ways to reduce eBay fees and improve the profitability of your eBay business. Strategies for all eBay Sellers
These fee-saving strategies can be implemented by all eBay sellers, no matter what items they sell or their listing strategy.
1. PayPal Merchant Discount
If you are a volume seller on eBay, then you are probably eligible for a merchant discount on PayPal fees. The merchant fee structure is as follows:
UK PayPal Fees
£0.00 to £1,500.00 - 3.4% + £0.20
£1,500.01 to £6,000.00 - 2.9% + £0.20
£6,000.01 to £15,000.00 - 2.4% + £0.20
£15,000.01 to £55,000.00 - 1.9% + £0.20
above £55,000.00 - 1.4% + £0.20
US PayPal fees
$0.00 to $3,000 - 2.9% + $0.30
$3,000.01 to $10,000 - 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000.01 USD-$100,000 - 2.2% + $0.30
above $100,000 - 1.9% + $0.30
To receive discounted fees you must log onto your PayPal account and apply. This can be done from PayPal’s fees page.
Potential saving - up to 2% (1% on PayPal.com) on all PayPal transactions.
2. Relisting Credits
Insertion Fees are generally non-refundable. However, eBay will automatically credit the Insertion Fee for an unsuccessful auction if:
You relist the item by clicking the "relist your item" button on the item page for the ended listing (or any other relist feature on the website) and the relisted item is sold the first time you relist it.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per relisted item.
3. Reclaiming Non Paying Bidder Fees
If a buyer does not pay for their item, you can claim back the eBay fees via eBay’s unpaid item process. An unpaid item can be reported up to 45 days after an item closes.
See http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/unpaid-item-process.html for more details.
Potential saving: Listing and final value fees on unpaid items.
4. Host Your Own Photos
If you need to use more than one photo to describe your item, eBay will charge per additional picture. However, it is simple to host your own photos, and avoid this extra cost.
If you have an eBay shop, eBay provides 1MB of free picture storage. In addition, there are many free photo hosting services such as http://www.theimagehosting.com or http://www.pictiger.com/
Potential saving: £0.12 ($0.15 on eBay.com) per additional picture.
5. Tweak your Starting Prices
Be careful when you choose your starting price, as a very small difference in price can lead to a large increase in insertion fee, especially if you are selling multiple items. For example, an item with a starting price of £29.99 incurs an insertion fee of £0.75, whereas a starting price of £30 would cost £1.50.
On eBay.com a staring price of $49.99 incurs a fee of $1.20 where as a starting price of $50.00 would cost $2.40.
Potential saving: Up to £0.75 ($1.20 on eBay.com) per listing.
6. Pay for Your eBay Fees Using a Cash Back Credit Card
Several credit cards give cash back on money spent. By using an American express credit card to pay your eBay fees, you can receive a small rebate for your eBay fees. Bear in mind that this only works if you pay your credit card bill in full each month.
Potential saving: Up to 1.5% cash back on eBay fees.
7. Teach Yourself HTML
Many sellers use eBay’s listing designer service to improve the look of their listing. If you are listing multiple items, this cost will soon add up. By learning some simple HTML or employing a designer, you can develop your own template and save on the extra listing fee.
Potential saving: £0.07 ($0.10 on eBay.com) per listing.
8. Open an Ecommerce Store
Potentially the best strategy of all is to expand your business beyond eBay. By setting up your own ecommerce store you can upsell to customers you have acquired through eBay, and pay no fees at all. Channel Management software such as eSellerPro, Marketworks and ChannelAdvisor enable eBay sellers to run an ecommerce store off the same inventory as their eBay sales.
Potential saving: You pay no eBay fees on items sold off eBay! Savings Fees on Listings
The following fee-saving tactics involve changes to your eBay listing strategy and should therefore be considered in the light of your business objectives. For each of these tactics, run a limited trial and compare the conversion rates (% of listings that sell), average sales price (sales total/number of items that sold), take rate (% of sales that eBay takes as fees) and margin against your current listing strategy.
9. eBay Shop Listings
Despite the recent rise in shop listing fees, eBay shop fees are still on the whole cheaper than core listings. The best use of shop listings is for upselling commodity items and for unusual items that require a longer listing period.
10. Sell More Expensive Items
eBay has a sliding scale of fees, taking a higher percentage of the sale price (take rate) of less expensive items. By selling more expensive items you can reduce your take rate. For example, the take rate of a £5 item is 9.25%, whilst for £200 item it is 4.55%.
11. Reassess Your Use of Listing Upgrades
Listing upgrades are expensive, and should not be used unless they are improving sell-through rates and average selling prices. eBay research products like eSellerStreet (http://www.esellerstreet.com), Hammertap (http://www.hammertap.com ) and Terapeak (http://www.terapeak.com/ ) will allow you to investigate the effectiveness of listing upgrades for products in your categories. You should also conduct your own trials.
12. Second Chance Offers
eBay’s Second Chance Offer feature allows more than one item to be sold from a single listing, saving on the listing fee for each additional sale. When using second chance offers, you should be aware that you are making a trade-off between price and sales volume, as second chance offers are inevitably lower than the item’s final price.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per sale.
13. Lower Your Starting Prices
eBay’s insertion fees are linked to the starting price of an auction, by lowering your starting price you will encourage bidding and lower your listing fees.
Potential saving: up to £1.85 ($4.60 on eBay.com) per listing.
14. Dutch Auctions
Dutch auctions, like the Second Chance Offer, allow you to sell multiple items off a single listing, saving on multiple listing fees.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per item.
Trevor Ginn is Head of Consulting at Auctioning4u eBay Drop Off Shop (http://www.auctioning4u.co.uk) the UK's leading eBay service provider. Just Bring us your Stuff and we'll sell it on eBay, No sale No fee.
These fee-saving strategies can be implemented by all eBay sellers, no matter what items they sell or their listing strategy.
1. PayPal Merchant Discount
If you are a volume seller on eBay, then you are probably eligible for a merchant discount on PayPal fees. The merchant fee structure is as follows:
UK PayPal Fees
£0.00 to £1,500.00 - 3.4% + £0.20
£1,500.01 to £6,000.00 - 2.9% + £0.20
£6,000.01 to £15,000.00 - 2.4% + £0.20
£15,000.01 to £55,000.00 - 1.9% + £0.20
above £55,000.00 - 1.4% + £0.20
US PayPal fees
$0.00 to $3,000 - 2.9% + $0.30
$3,000.01 to $10,000 - 2.5% + $0.30
$10,000.01 USD-$100,000 - 2.2% + $0.30
above $100,000 - 1.9% + $0.30
To receive discounted fees you must log onto your PayPal account and apply. This can be done from PayPal’s fees page.
Potential saving - up to 2% (1% on PayPal.com) on all PayPal transactions.
2. Relisting Credits
Insertion Fees are generally non-refundable. However, eBay will automatically credit the Insertion Fee for an unsuccessful auction if:
You relist the item by clicking the "relist your item" button on the item page for the ended listing (or any other relist feature on the website) and the relisted item is sold the first time you relist it.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per relisted item.
3. Reclaiming Non Paying Bidder Fees
If a buyer does not pay for their item, you can claim back the eBay fees via eBay’s unpaid item process. An unpaid item can be reported up to 45 days after an item closes.
See http://pages.ebay.com/help/tp/unpaid-item-process.html for more details.
Potential saving: Listing and final value fees on unpaid items.
4. Host Your Own Photos
If you need to use more than one photo to describe your item, eBay will charge per additional picture. However, it is simple to host your own photos, and avoid this extra cost.
If you have an eBay shop, eBay provides 1MB of free picture storage. In addition, there are many free photo hosting services such as http://www.theimagehosting.com or http://www.pictiger.com/
Potential saving: £0.12 ($0.15 on eBay.com) per additional picture.
5. Tweak your Starting Prices
Be careful when you choose your starting price, as a very small difference in price can lead to a large increase in insertion fee, especially if you are selling multiple items. For example, an item with a starting price of £29.99 incurs an insertion fee of £0.75, whereas a starting price of £30 would cost £1.50.
On eBay.com a staring price of $49.99 incurs a fee of $1.20 where as a starting price of $50.00 would cost $2.40.
Potential saving: Up to £0.75 ($1.20 on eBay.com) per listing.
6. Pay for Your eBay Fees Using a Cash Back Credit Card
Several credit cards give cash back on money spent. By using an American express credit card to pay your eBay fees, you can receive a small rebate for your eBay fees. Bear in mind that this only works if you pay your credit card bill in full each month.
Potential saving: Up to 1.5% cash back on eBay fees.
7. Teach Yourself HTML
Many sellers use eBay’s listing designer service to improve the look of their listing. If you are listing multiple items, this cost will soon add up. By learning some simple HTML or employing a designer, you can develop your own template and save on the extra listing fee.
Potential saving: £0.07 ($0.10 on eBay.com) per listing.
8. Open an Ecommerce Store
Potentially the best strategy of all is to expand your business beyond eBay. By setting up your own ecommerce store you can upsell to customers you have acquired through eBay, and pay no fees at all. Channel Management software such as eSellerPro, Marketworks and ChannelAdvisor enable eBay sellers to run an ecommerce store off the same inventory as their eBay sales.
Potential saving: You pay no eBay fees on items sold off eBay! Savings Fees on Listings
The following fee-saving tactics involve changes to your eBay listing strategy and should therefore be considered in the light of your business objectives. For each of these tactics, run a limited trial and compare the conversion rates (% of listings that sell), average sales price (sales total/number of items that sold), take rate (% of sales that eBay takes as fees) and margin against your current listing strategy.
9. eBay Shop Listings
Despite the recent rise in shop listing fees, eBay shop fees are still on the whole cheaper than core listings. The best use of shop listings is for upselling commodity items and for unusual items that require a longer listing period.
10. Sell More Expensive Items
eBay has a sliding scale of fees, taking a higher percentage of the sale price (take rate) of less expensive items. By selling more expensive items you can reduce your take rate. For example, the take rate of a £5 item is 9.25%, whilst for £200 item it is 4.55%.
11. Reassess Your Use of Listing Upgrades
Listing upgrades are expensive, and should not be used unless they are improving sell-through rates and average selling prices. eBay research products like eSellerStreet (http://www.esellerstreet.com), Hammertap (http://www.hammertap.com ) and Terapeak (http://www.terapeak.com/ ) will allow you to investigate the effectiveness of listing upgrades for products in your categories. You should also conduct your own trials.
12. Second Chance Offers
eBay’s Second Chance Offer feature allows more than one item to be sold from a single listing, saving on the listing fee for each additional sale. When using second chance offers, you should be aware that you are making a trade-off between price and sales volume, as second chance offers are inevitably lower than the item’s final price.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per sale.
13. Lower Your Starting Prices
eBay’s insertion fees are linked to the starting price of an auction, by lowering your starting price you will encourage bidding and lower your listing fees.
Potential saving: up to £1.85 ($4.60 on eBay.com) per listing.
14. Dutch Auctions
Dutch auctions, like the Second Chance Offer, allow you to sell multiple items off a single listing, saving on multiple listing fees.
Potential saving: Up to £2 ($4.80 on eBay.com) per item.
Trevor Ginn is Head of Consulting at Auctioning4u eBay Drop Off Shop (http://www.auctioning4u.co.uk) the UK's leading eBay service provider. Just Bring us your Stuff and we'll sell it on eBay, No sale No fee.
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