Does your website offer visitors a quick and easy way to recommend it to a friend? If not, you’re missing out on a potential gold mine of free traffic.

The benefits:

1. Automated website promotion. You set up the program and your visitors do the work of promoting your website for you.

2. You receive higher quality visitors. Your visitors will refer people *really interested* in your products or services. These people will be more likely to subscribe to your newsletter, request your free reports, and ultimately BUY YOUR PRODUCTS!

3. Nobody will every be insulted or upset by this promotion technique (as long as you make it clear that the message comes from their friend). People can only participate if they visit your website, and email will only be sent by people the recipient knows.

Just asking your visitors to recommend your website isn’t enough. You need to make it easy. Offer a form on your website your visitors can fill out to recommend it to a friend. Either put the form on every page of your website, put it in a pop-up window, or link to it on every page.

There are many ways to do it:

1. Javascript. See the Javascript resources on my Webmaster

   Resources page at http://www.busymarketing.com/links.shtml for a website with instructions on how to use the script.

2. CGI. I really like Birdcast at http://www.bignosebird.com - it’s what I use on my website. You can find more options on my Webmaster Resources page.

3. A service. Many remotely-hosted scripts are available.

   The most popular is Recommend-It at http://www.recommendit.com (which offers a contest as an incentive and allows you to add recommendation links to the email you send out). There is also a free program called Let ‘Em Know at http://www.letemknow.com which allows you to run your own contest for participants and probably offers more statistics. Either can be set up in 5 minutes or less.

Javascript and CGI scripts have the benefit of being completely under your control. You can customize them to work on your website and decide if and how visitors are notified about the origin of your script.

Services are easier to set up, but have to make a living somehow and may use advertising or big, tacky buttons with their name and/or logo in order to do so.

Don’t delay! Set up a Tell-A-Friend system on your website to watch the number and quality of your visitors improve without raising a finger.

About The Author

Would you like to see more articles like this? Dawn Gray writes Busy Marketing Tips! Subscribe today by emailing subscribe@busymarketing.com and get a free Search Engine Tips screensaver.

What is “it” that Google has been looking for now? I’m sure by
now you have read too many articles about the wicked Jagger
Aftermath. Many things seemed to have changed and yet what has
really changed? We still add relevant content and links, don’t
forget the links.

The idea of a good link, is what I think has changed the most.
Nothing you read can be taken for the hardcore truth unless it
is a leak from Google themselves and even then… (who knows?)
So, what I have to say I will not say is the truth but in our
work with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) along with what some
other SEO companies are writing, this is what seems to be the
case:

Inbound links carry more weight then outbound links. It doesn’t
hurt to have a few outbound links however for relevancy, but
that is all they will get you. Reciprocal links are about as
worthless as outbound links, good for relevancy nothing else.
(you may and will need a little relevancy) What Google is
looking for now, is almost impossible for the normal webmaster
to obtain. The golden egg that Google is looking for is the
inbound link you get from a big, well trusted website that has
very few outbound links. So how do you get a backlink from a
well trusted site that doesn’t give out links to everyone?
Ummmm…… you can’t!!!

When and if the sites were to give you or you and someone else a
link from there site it degrades the value of the backlink and
their link becomes no better then any other sites backlink.

The only way to combat this is to try not to have too many
outbound links yourself just a couple to establish your market
relevancy and add as many “inbound only links” that you can.
These inbound links must have your chosen keyword (hyperlinked
to your site) in the middle of your description text. This is
what is called anchor text. Any other way can degrade the value
of the link somewhat.

Sure, this is a good way for Google to fight against people that
own or use link farms. It is also potent at stopping people from
using reciprocal links as a means to get high rankings. But, if
you are determined to get ranked on Google, it is safe to say it
can still be done. After studying how the Jagger Aftermath has
struck the population a murderous blow back in November, we have
implemented some new SEO techniques that has really brought up
Google rankings. Further proof that Google can still be a
relevant search engine. However, they still show too many non
relevant results for my liking. Most of the common people are
still going to Google to do their searches. Right now you can
take all of Yahoo’s and MSN’s user searches and still not get
the number of searches Google gets.

What is stated in this article is not to be taken word for word
this is just from my experiences and it only applies to Google
so far as I have seen. If you are looking to get MSN and/or
Yahoo the above does not apply. REPEAT THE ABOVE INFO IS BETTER
USED TOWARD GOOGLE ONLY!!

Article marketing is still one of the best ways to to promote your web site or business. A good article can generate many hundreds or even thousands of links to your web site and these links are one way inbound links that currently are ranked by the search engines as one of the important factors the search engines use in their …shock horror…algorithms. The geeks spend hours and days planning strategies and software to optimise web sites so they are search engine friendly.

Well we aren’t all computer geeks. So for us mere mortals we have to use the tools that we can manage.

And we all can write an article. If you don’t know where to start and don’t think you can put the right words on paper, go find an article that reflects your ideas and re-write the article in your own language. This way you cover all the important points but you will create an article that is unique to you. And this counts out there on the net……unique content.

Start with a short article and copy and paste it into your word processor. Split it up into paragraphs and under each paragraph write your own version in your own style…worts and all.

Do this for each paragraph and at the end delete all the paragraphs that you are copying and …Hey presto… you have created your own unique article.

And guess what…..you will find other people are interested to read your interpretation of the information. It might be more casual, or at least the language is less formal but this will appeal to many people. You will be surprised.

Many of the articles floating around the web today are generated by software designed specifically for articles and they all appear to be done to a formula (CANNED) and in my opinion are rather boring and stilted.

Don’t be afraid to express yourself as though you are telling a mate a story or your version of some software or topic or whatever.

Do start with a topic that you are familiar with because you will then be able to add small personal details on the topic. Also try to include an article that relates to the keywords on your website….but more on that in my next article.Much more interesting than canned articles.

It is the small personal details that will make your article standout in the crowd.

That’s all for now…. Good luck with your first article and don’t forget to publish your article… How to do this? Just go to Google and type the following into the search bar “where to publish articles” and you will find hundreds of article publishing sites and lots of helpful hints.

Create… Enjoy… And reap the benefits!

Beth Black is webmaster for Keyword Articles a resource that lists groups of keyword targeted articles. http://www.keyword-articles.info

You can give your car to charity and deduct the gross proceeds
from the sale if the proceeds are for more than $500. If the
claimed value of the donated motor vehicle, boat or plane
exceeds $500 and the item is sold by the charitable
organization, the taxpayer’s claimed value is limited to the
gross proceeds from the sale.

The charitable organization must notify the donor within 30 days
of the sale of the amount of the gross proceeds. However, if the
charity adds improvements to the vehicle, the charity must
notify the donor within 30 days of the contribution. If the
charity betters the vehicle then the donor may deduct the
vehicle’s market value.

Actually, it is much better if the Taxpayer can deduct the
vehicle’s market value, because there normally is quite a gap
between perceived market value and actual proceeds, and this
difference can literally be thousands of dollars.

One car donation center states that it has processed over
500,000 car donations since 1992, which adds up to about 30,000
cars a year.

Did you know that you can also donate boats and RV’s? So if aunt
Dora dies, and leaves her jalopy in the driveway then maybe this
is an attractive way to get rid of the car especially since it
does not start anyway.

But wait! It is not that easy. Where is the Title to the car?
Not in the glove compartment? You may have a problem. You may
also have a problem if the title is joint, say Aunt Dora and
Uncle Nick. If Aunt Dora died and UncleNick is still alive there
will be all kinds of problems.

How about vehicle emission controls, was the car equipped with
them, were they disabled?

When you make a charity car donation: You get free vehicle
pick-up whether your car to donate is running or not. In some
cases the company will actually put a new battery in the car to
get it running again. You avoid confusing Department of Motor
Vehicles paperwork or Smog hassles.

How it works: Call a reliable Vehicle Donation company. They’ll
take your information over the telephone, they’ll handle all the
DMV documents, they’ll pick up your vehicle , arrange an auction
sale and distribute the proceeds to the charity.

If your donated vehicle/vessel sells for under $500 the receipt
you receive at the time the vehicle is picked up is all you need
for filing your taxes.

The actual net proceeds of a donated car seem to range around
the $400 figure In all cases, a charity car donation is sold to
the highest bidder by a well-established charity vehicle
auction. You must have a certificate of title.

Some companies will also guarantee that if your donated car gets
a ticket after your donation date, they’ll take care of the
ticket for you and they zealously will fight it so you don’t
have to worry about it.

The reason cars are sold by public auction is that people simply
will pay more at an auction for your car than they will pay at a
dealer.

Also, if the car is running at the time of the auction people
will pay more so it is advisable to get it to running condition
when reselling it.

Aromatherapy is Nature’s Medicine in its purest and most essential form. Aromatic Oils are the very soul of a plant. Even a drop or two can produce significant results for your body, mind and spirit.

The increasing respect that aromatherapy commands from the general public, hospitals, and medical centers around the world speaks for itself, as more and more people benefit from this gentle and subtle, yet highly effective therapy.

Whether you use aromatherapy as a stand alone or as a complementary first aid treatment there are several aromatic oils I’d like to recommend you have in your aromatic first aid kit.

My recommendations include important details for you to consider when purchasing an oil, such as its Latin Name, Country of Origin, Method of Extraction and Part of the Plant Used. I also list the best oils to consider when creating a synergistic blend.

BLUE TANSY (Tanacetum anuum ~ Moroccan Blue Chamomile) Wild crafted, steam distilled flowers from Morocco.

Blue Tansy’s delightful scent is warmly herbaceous with a complex sweetness that to me is reminiscent of apples with a hint of spice. Most people invariably love the friendly and inviting scent of this oil!

Keywords: ALLERGY & PAIN RELIEVER Blue Tansy has a high azulene content which gives it a deep, vivid blue color. It can stain so take care! Azulene gives Blue Tansy its characteristic and powerful vascular and bronchio-dialating properties making it a very effective natural anti-histamine and anti-inflammatory.

Blue Tansy’s natural anti- inflammatory action makes it an exceptionally good relaxant. It soothes nervous tension and calms stress and may be used alone or in a blend for relieving muscular soreness, aches and pains, sprains and strains, arthritis, rheumatism and sciatica.

Due to its bronchio-dilating properties Blue Tansy may be beneficial for allergy and asthma sufferers, blending it with Lemongrass will enhance this effect. Its analgesic properties may also help reduce any swelling or itching associated with allergies.

I’ve had great success using Blue Tansy with clients who have suffered for years from chronic allergic reactions to environmental allergens.

Blue Tansy is also known to relieve burns and inflamed or sun damaged skin. My friend Sylla, owner of Atlantic Institute of Aromatherapy, used Blue Tansy for relieving the effects of her radiation treatment for cancer.

Aside from a synergistic blend with Lemongrass to enhance its bronchio-dialating properties for asthma sufferers Blue Tansy is yummy alone!

Please join me for part II in this series of articles to learn about the next essential oil I recommend you have in your aromatic first aid kit, German Chamomile (Matricaria recutita).

Properly administered essential oils are a natural, safe and effective way to enhance your health and well-being and can produce satisfying results where other methods have failed. Aromatherapy is a gentle and noninvasive complementary and alternative health care system used for balancing and synchronizing your body, mind, spirit and emotions to enhance your health. Please consult with your physician regarding your health concerns.

KG has utilized essential oils in her energy medicine practice for more than 30 years. During that time she has facilitated healing for thousands of people suffering from personal trauma, illness and injury. Through her unique AromaTest system KG formulates essential oil blends that heal.

Please note: There are many cheap, synthetic copies of aromatic oils, but these are not recommended for therapeutic use. For best results purchase the highest quality oils you can possibly find. Use organic, or ethically wild crafted oils whenever possible.

KG Stiles is a certified aromatherapist practicing in Ashland, OR USA PurePlant Essentials is her line of pure organic and ethically wild crafted essential oils. KG formulates aromatic oils for: colds and flu, insomnia, stress, anxiety, depression, menopause, anti-aging, skin care and more. KG’s DVD & book about her AromaTest system, “Your Aromatic Signature ~ How to Formulate Blends that Heal,” are scheduled for release in 2006. Click to see PurePlant Essentials Menu & Essential Oils Kits: Order Pure Organic & Wild Crafted Essential Oils Kit Click to see and order Complete Essential Oils Kit. KG invites you to Subscribe to Health Mastery Ezine to WIN FREE Aromatherapy Products. To learn more visit: Subscribe To Win Contact: KG Stiles at Springhill Wellness Center, 2520 Springhill Drive Ashland, OR USA (541) 941-7315

I can’t believe how poorly Caruso and others were copied by experts! Often, the technician or intellectual copies the old recordings at the wrong speed making the vocal horrible, out of tune and, for the fine ear, unrecognizable. Here’s some observations on the old recordings. I’ll also cover how to improve the sound of the copy.

Make sure that the old disc is clean. Gently wipe away dust with a camel’s hair brush.

If you have an old mechanical device such as a Victrola, set the microphone about 18″ from the front sound hole. Try a few recordings to see where exactly to place the mic for the least machine noise.

I believe Edison disc were recorded at 80 rpms. Don’t let that throw you. The trick is to record the Edison disc on a cassette deck that has a variable pitch control. After getting an acceptable recording-On playback, bump the pitch contol up a few notches.

Here’s part of the trick. All songs are recorded in a particular “key”. That is, the note should correspond to some note on a piano or other musical instrument. If you are not a musician, try to get a friend that know a little bit about music. If you have a keyboard, that would help too.

Now, when you play back the cassette, attempt to find the “key” on the piano or keyboard. If this doesn’t make much sense. Stop! Get that music friend to help you. What you should do is try to find the “key” of the song. If the music sounds flat, turn the pitch control forward. If the music sounds sharp, turn the pitch control backwards.

Remember, country songs from the twenties won’t be in F#, they probably will be in F major. There shouldn’t be any in G#, etc. Use your ear to approximate the original “key” hence the original speed.

You only want to bumb up the rpm speed replicated on the cassette tape by two rmps. Sooo..take it easy, you might go beyond the original key. Don’t move the pitch control too far. This take a little time to get the feel of it.

Victor records as with other phonograph records were recorded on mechanical machines. I heard that they recorded at 76 rpms. I don’t know this one for sure. Try to bump up the pitch control to get the right “key.”

If you can download copyright free music-like public domain stuff. You can later convert to analog on a cassette disc with a pitch control and do the work of getting the right speed. Some of these recordings on the web are done quite well except for the proper speed. In other words, they have done most of the work for you.

Good Luck. I think you’ll have a blast preserving the past!

Your affiliate site visitors are really getting pretty sophisticated in searching the web, and in addition many receive ezines, newsletters, RSS feeds, research subscriptions and other sources of information. They have a multitude of options for shopping and services both on the internet and off. They can easily find many of the merchants you have as affiliate vendors without going through your site.

So why should these visitors continue visiting your site? Because you have spent your time creating an environment for the niche market they belong to. You provide them with value added products and services , and your site is the place they go to see what is new on your particular subject, what is fashionable, what the latest statistics are - whatever they want to find in one place. And you’re continually doing the following:

Continually upgrading the site - the look, the navigation, and features
Polling your visitors to understand how they use your site and what they want that you don’t have
Evaluating your merchant statistics, to understand which sellers and products are successful, and fine tuning as site visitors change and new options become available
Adding relevant copy, articles, studies and other information they want
Providing great customer service, promptly answering their questions and proactively upgrading service
Creating forums for them to express their opinions and share information
Asking experts to share information on your site
Giving site visitors the ability to review products and services and write articles about relevant topics
Promoting your site both offline and online venues
Speaking at seminars and conferences

Site visitors return because you’ve earned their trust and allegiance. And you have to keep earning it over and over.

Karen Kari’s articles and more information on the affiliate business can be found at:

http://www.affiliatebandit.com

http://www.advertisingcellar.com

http://www.billionfreeads.com

Dealing with any kind of loss with a child or children is a task that most adults dread. Best friends can move away, a car can kill a favorite pet, a schoolmate can be killed in an auto accident, and Grandma may die suddenly are all situations that parents can face. In any case, a parent should handle the loss with dignity and quality so the child learns how to deal by comparison.

These are especially difficult times for a parent if they were close to the deceased individual too. Handling their own grief and explaining the process to a child can be a catharsis which enables the parent to stay grounded in their own pain. Often, teaching and sharing at a hard time helps improve understanding and communication between parent and child, a time of bonding that can be very rewarding.

It always helps if the parent or parents are firm in their own belief system and have formed a personal life philosophy from which they can extract explanations that will be easily understood by the child. A philosophy of life consists of knowing: you can excel, that there will be up times and down, that it takes strength of character and courage to follow life’s path. Well-grounded parents will also understand that expressing their own emotions in a healthy manner helps the child to do so too.

The questions that a young mind may ask will challenge the strength and resolve of your own philosophy about our life here on earth and in the hereafter. It helps to think about the questions they might ask in advance so you are prepared to answer them. You are the child’s only source of knowledge in this arena, so take time to do this job well.

Many young children have seen a new baby enter the home, or maybe a classmate moved to another city, so they already have ideas about the processes of life. Death and loss are not to be feared, but to be understood as just part of life.

It helps if you have a philosophy, religion or church that can provide a basis for your belief system. But, no matter what your beliefs consist of, you want to build confidence in your child’s mind that life is a good thing, filled with wonderful experiences, people and places, and even though all things must come to an end, your faith in yourself, your religion and God will carry you through.

Parents, grandparents, or guardians will want to think these concepts through in advance if at all possible, so they are ready to give the best available guidance to the children in their lives. Purchase books on the subject for you and your child, and discuss them before a death occurs. Knowledge is power when confronting life; give that gift to your child and yourself.

Keith E. Renninson is a motivational speaker and co-author of the popular parenting tool and illustrated storybook “Zooch the Pooch, My Best Friend”. Through the 1990’s with much self-examination, academic study, bicycle racing, and mountain climbing, he discovered a renewed zest of life, which included a love of metaphysics, philosophy, humor, and writing and speaking. As Keith says, “Some days you’re the pigeon and some days you’re the statue…it’s all in what you make of it.” You can read more about “Zooch the Pooch” or contact Keith to speak at: http://www.zoochthepooch.com
Keith and his co-author Michael Conrad Kelley speak to teens and adults on “The Seven Simple Steps to a More Fulfilling Life.” This course focuses on how to build a successful Life Philosophy that works for each individual.

I’ve been known to set off for a short hike, and find something interesting and meander all day.

You can enjoy the same freedom, if you plan ahead. This light-weight, ready-to-go checklist includes everything necessary to enjoy a short hike or a longer trek.

I carry the following items in the pockets of my cargo pants, but a fanny pack will work just as well.

* Compass

* Topographic map

* Notebook or paper and pencil (pens freeze)

* Plastic bags

1. heavy plastic garbage/leaf size
2. “Zip lock” gallon size and pint size - solar still, carry water

* Bandana - head covering, water collecting

* Mirror/Sewing kit - mine is a set

* Folding scissors - mine’s on my key chain

* Dental floss - 100 feet at least

* Disposable lighter

* Firestarter - tiny tampon, cotton balls, lint

* Knife - I’m fond of my Swiss Army knife

* Magnifying glass

* First aid kit

1. antiseptic wipes
2. water purification tablets
3. pain killer
4. Epsom salts - 4-oz to 32-oz water
5. bee sting kit
6. sunblock - at least 30 SPF
7. bandaids
8. antibiotic ointment [in an emergency, smear this on firestarter materials]

* Small flashlight - I’m fond of my mini Maglite

* High energy bar - Larabar works best for me

* Thin gloves

1. Plastic MD office w/o powder - to carry water
2. Wool and nylon for hand warmers

* Bright color flagging tape - to mark the route

Check the contents weekly and replace whatever you use as soon as you get home.

JJ Murphy is an avid hiker covering 3-10 miles daily on her favorite trails in Harriman, NY. She shares wild recipes, nature education materials, and wilderness survival knowledge at http://www.writerbynature.com - Creative Content for Your Nature Endeavors.

Use these simple and effective tips to boost your prospecting performance.

1. Always use a conversational tone…don’t come from a script. People hate to hear scripted sales pitches. Ditch the script and come from your heart. Even if you find yourself saying the same things over and over to different people, say it as if you are talking with them, not at them. Once you get a groove going, this gets easier. Your confidence and ability to assist others grows with each consecutive call.

2. Don’t chase anybody. Chasing just defeats you and angers them. You’ve got no chance to help someone if all they want to do is get you off the line. Repeatedly trying to contact those who are not returning your call only wastes your time. Use the rule of thumb “Second call, or not at all!”.

3. Make the objective of your conversation to find out what they are specifically looking for. Is your product or service something that they really need? Something that will benefit them in some way? Can you help the person? Ask them. Don’t just launch in on a list of why your product or service is better than others out there. You’re not trying to sell them, your helping them sell themselves.

4. Never assume that you know what the person wants or needs. Get to the truth of their objections by asking pertinent questions. If they “can’t afford it” then ask “If you knew that ___could absolutely help you change your life for the better, what would it take for you to be able to afford it?” Make them think about why they are parroting out a response.

5. Give them questions that they really need to think about, rather than questions with cut and dried answers. Questions like “What do you mean when you say…” or “Can you elaborate on that a little?” assist the person in expanding their own reasons why they feel a certain way about something. Sometimes this is enough for them to see that they really don’t know WHY they think this way, and that it is no longer serving them to do so.

6. Don’t defend yourself or your product. You have absolutely no need to justify what you are selling or doing. If someone challenges you, don’t buy into it. If someone asks “Is your company any better than so and so?” Move forward with questions like “If it were better, is that something you’d be interested in knowing more about?” Resolve again to find out specifically what they want and if you cannot offer that to them, let them go.

7. Assume that you don’t need the sale. Your only concern is to find out if you and your prospect are a good fit. What you want to achieve is to discover whether or not you can help them. If you don’t need the sale, then you won’t be pressured to rush through a script or badger a prospect into buying.

8. Always end the conversation on a positive note, even if there is no sale. If you let someone go, do it with dignity and wish that person success. Mean it. It’s possible that after mulling it over, they decide that your product or service is right for them. If your conversation was a friendly, helpful one, chances are good that they will remember that and come back to YOU for the sale.

9. Always come from a place of peace. Take 10 minutes to meditate and get quiet before you prospect. Get your mindset in the right place. You have something of significance. You want to assist people. You want open communication. Expect that these things will occur.

10. Be the leader that others are looking for. Your attitude, more than anything else, is what will affect the outcome of your efforts.

Copyright 2006 Angie Hewerdine

Angie Hewerdine is a successful home business owner in the fields of Wealth Creation and Personal Development. She has a passion for helping people attain personal and financial freedom using a simple 3 step system. For more information call 1-800-491-4758 or visit http://www.TheTimeForChange.com