Writing Secrets You Must Know

Writing better is critical for students. But it's even more important for business communicators.

Let's face it?if you write succinctly, you can (a) win promotions, (b) lead people with your creative ideas, and (c) create instructions for your employees to follow.

Therefore, here are five secrets about business communications you must know:

1. You must write simply ? We all want simple instructions that are easy to understand. Choose words that everybody knows, and offer analogies that are clear and precise.

2. Use action verbs ? Passive verbs like is, are, was, and were simply exist. Active verbs jump, run, explain, and covey information.

3. Learn from the best ? Read Mark Twain's brilliant short stories. Study Ben Franklin's short quotes and aphorisms. Lean about headlines and copywriting from researcher John Caples.

4. Compressed messages ? In the fast-paced 21st century, readers demand information in short, easy-to-absorb form.

It's been said that the average adult attention span today is a mere eight seconds. Can you deliver the theme of your message in that short time?

5. A word about headlines ? Researchers say most of us look at headlines four times more often than we read anything else. Therefore, that headline ? or the heading on your paper ? should capture the reader's interest immediately.

Bottom line: Learning to write clearly might be the most important skill you'll ever acquire.

Rix Quinn's book "Words That Stick" offers simple ideas for both students and business writers. It's available from your local bookstore, or from http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1580085768/qid/

A Simple Guide to Analyzing All Those Web Traffic Ideas - Part 2

Just to recap - Part 1 of this article outlined some of the so-called "secrets" of website traffic being offered on-line and what you might expect for your money. If you missed Part 1 you will still be able to view it by clicking on the links appearing in the resource box at the end of this, Part 2.

Here are a few little hints that might let you know, in advance, that the "special report" or "secret information" you are being offered to "build" your website and "flood it with traffic" might not be so special or secret after all:

- Ask yourself this: If the information is so special or secret why is it being sold to anyone and everyone who has $19.95 or $29.95 or $39.95 or whatever price is being asked? With the speed that information moves on the www, pretty soon it will be no secret at all - even if it truly was in the first place!

- A fancy name: The fancier the name the greater the probability that what you are being offered is just a cobbling together of widely known, FREE or old information. The thing to watch out for is the tying together of a well-known name or technique with an obscure one. (I could name examples, but that would really make certain people most unhappy.)

- Repetition of negative terms such as "no BS": I assume everybody understands what "BS" is. If, in fact, it were not BS, why would anybody go to such great lengths to say it is not? My advice is to stay away from anything using this type of description. If it walks like a duck and it looks like a duck and it quacks, well... chances are it really is a duck! Trust your instinct. Other things to be wary of are poor spelling and grammar. That should basically suggest to you that the quality of information will be just as poor.

- Have a time limit attached: Usually the time limit is, wait for it... midnight on exactly the same day that you are viewing the information. Funny that! Now why do you think that might be? You guessed it - to push you into purchasing now rather than later. This is impulse buying. Strike while the iron is hot (note: in this case, you are the iron!). Try this: If you are so impressed by the offer come back the next day and see if the offer is exactly the same. Midnight again, huh? Hmm...

- Have a bevy of "bonus" incentives attached: Now why would this be? It's to make the offer look BIGGER than it really is. Often the bonuses are nothing more than flimsy bits of information. Sometimes they are just sales pitches from other marketers. If the offer you are looking at does not stand by itself without bonus number one through to five, six or seven (I have seen up to 12), why purchase it? This is almost an admission by the copyright owner (or the cobble-together owner) that their product cannot stand alone for the price that they are asking. It's a trick!

- Any outrageous claims: These are designed to appeal to basic human greed. Greed can often blind you from reality. Anything that makes promises like "guaranteed to make you $10,000 in the first three months!" or "your hit counter will almost explode with the extra traffic!" are appealing to your greed and not your common-sense.In reality there is no magic formula to building a website and directing traffic through it. Like any business venture it takes time and effort. After you have expended that time and effort then yes, the time you spent and the effort you put in may well decrease or even become exponential. But don't hold your breath in the meantime.

Even testimonials and recommendations from other "independent" people and internet marketers should be viewed with a certain amount of caution. Many testimony and recommendation givers are "affiliates" (remember the "friend" from Part 1?) which means they earn commissions from the sale of the product. Why wouldn't they endorse something they stood to make money from?

The best testimonial or recommendation check you can do is to seek out the person giving it and ask them if they have any association with the person who is using the testimony or recommendation. Ask if they are an affiliate or if they have a vested interest in the product. You can do this quite innocently and nicely. If they are genuinely impressed by the product and what it did for them, they will probably be pleased to answer your enquiry.

Just a little word of caution here - if you are asking somebody for help don't put them through a trial. A simple email will suffice. Keep it short and to the point. Don't be too concerned if there is no reply. People get dozens, even hundreds of emails every day now. I know I do.

It would seem that there are just as many self proclaimed "experts" out there on the internet telling others "how to do it" as there are those actually "trying to do it." Sure, there are some credible people offering good advice (most often at quite a price too) but there are so many others offering absolute rubbish. How can you differentiate? The simple answer is that often you can't - until you actually get what is being offered. Then you realize. Oh-oh! Too late! It's junk!

If you don't get what you believed you were paying for you have every right to ask for a refund. However, this is not a method of receiving good information for FREE. Falsely asking for a refund on something that really did help you will bring your own integrity into question. Being fair is what it is all about - fair information for a fair price - an even two way exchange.

In summing up, website "newbies" are soft targets for the latest brand of snake-oil cyber salespeople. They are certainly out there. Think of it this way: you are searching for the Kings and Queens and Aces in the deck. Along the way you will find fives and threes and twos and sevens. You will even come across the Jokers. It's up to you to try and sort them out.

My advice is this: examine the information being offered then wait a day or two and come back to it. If it still looks as good to you the second time round and doesn't reek of some of the descriptions above, consider buying it. (I would even give the same advice for people visiting my own site.) Like me, you will soon "wise up." Along the way you will probably have to give your credit card a nice little "top up" to pay for your mistakes.

Purchasing e-books, special reports, secret documents and the like to learn how to increase traffic to your website is very subjective. The only way to measure the value of what you receive is to assess it against the "blurb" (see Part 1 ) used to promote it and the price you paid for it. As I mentioned above, both parties must be fair.

Just be wary.

If you know a website owner struggling to develop their site, this information could help them save a lot of money, not to mention that awful, sinking feeling that you have been duped. The money saved can then go towards some positive steps to develop their site. Heaven knows there is enough junk out there that will do the reverse. Some of it is sitting in my in-tray.

Part 1 and Part 2 of this article are covered by copyright. However, both parts may be freely used providing there are no changes whatsoever to the content and the following resource box remains intact.

PS: If you think this information might help a friend from falling prey to these dubious practices you can send them a copy of this article (or any related parts) or direct them to the website URL given. Let's get the word out and put a stop to this.

About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary's email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his "Zenspirational Thoughts" plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book "The Power of Choice."

Sunday Dinner

No one appreciates mothers enough. In this life, that's a given. The only one who comes closest to a real appreciation is a woman who has become a mother herself, and even she probably doesn't fully appreciate the woman a generation above her.

Where did I come to this conclusion? Sitting in a church pew as the priest extolled the virtues of "Keeping Holy the Sabbath." In the sermon he specifically forbade the parishioners from mowing the lawn, fixing up the house, or doing paperwork on Sundays. He said (and I quote), "Sundays should be a day of rest in which the whole family gathers around the table for Sunday dinner."

Now, during my pre-motherhood days, this sounded like a great idea. You go to church, come home, watch some football on television, then go in and gather around the table for a full Sunday dinner, bow your heads, and have yourself "a day of rest." Notice I said "during my pre-motherhood days."

Throughout my motherhood days, however (which for those of you who don't know that means roughly from the day you give birth until the child buries you), a more accurate picture of "Sunday dinner" is thus:

You've managed to get the kids bathed, dressed, and in the car with only a shoe missing and one coat on upside down. You get to church and sincerely ask the Almighty to just get you through the parking lot and to a pew before your knees or shoulder gives out from the strain of dragging in the full diaper bag, two sippy cups, an extra blanket and the 20-pound toddler who's squirming to get out of your arms. You make it through the service with the toddler C-THUNKING on the pew ahead of you enough times to be stared at twice by your fellow parishioners only to make it back home in time for your husband to turn on the game and your kids to started yelling about who did what to whom.

In the midst of minor chaos, you whip something out of the refrigerator, wondering how long it's been in there and if anybody will notice it's been microwaved once it gets to the table. With the toddler clinging to your knees, you manage to put together a somewhat respectable meal-even if it does include chicken nuggets and French fries.

Wishing you had earplugs to drown out the crying of the toddler and the yelling of the others, you get the plates on the table and call everyone to the table for "Sunday dinner." As you referee the current dispute about if one child said they didn't like peas or not the last time, you do manage to get in a few bites before someone thinks of something you forgot? A serving spoon, salt, a fork, water?

A blink and the meal is over. If you're lucky, you will get a "Thanks, Honey" from your husband just before he goes back to the chair for an afternoon nap. Then, I invite you, as you look around at the table strewn with dishes and pans, glasses and silverware, close your eyes, take a deep breath, and say a genuine prayer of thanksgiving for your mother.

I think that may be why God put the "Honoring Your Father and Mother" Commandment just after the "Keep Holy the Sabbath Day" one-because He already knew about Sunday dinner.

Tired? Stressed out? Ready to give up? Don't. There's more to life than striving to outdo the Jones! If you're ready for a break (or just really need a friend who can share a little sanity with you), visit http://www.stacistallings.com Staci has stories, articles, quotes, a monthly newsletter, and even a free book waiting just for you! Come on over and see for yourself. You'll feel better for the experience!

Sales Skills for the Non Sales Professional

Have you ever wondered how in the heck you're going to do it? You are a lawyer who wants to make partner, an accountant, an engineer or other professional and part of your business plan is that you have to attract business customers? You've always detested selling, and you can't see yourself doing it! As a matter of fact, sales people are a HUGE turn off to you!!!

Yet, you HAVE to bring in customers!!!

What ARE you going to do?

Many of my current or former clients fit the above description. Many of them finally contacted me, a coach, when they were in trouble because they had NO CLUE where to start. They decided that they did need help, and they realized that only a professional could rescue the mess that they've made.

And guess what? They survived! And not only did they survive, but they thrived! As soon as they realized that they didn't need to change their personality, become a raving fan, or over the top, they relaxed and settled into learning what they had to do.

I'll take you through a typical client and what they learn to do.

Kirk was a guy who found me in one of my Charisma classes! He was basically a smart fellow who was trying to make partner in his law firm. He had been told upon his hiring that he'd be responsible for attracting business to his company. He bluffed his way through the interview by mentioning how many people that he knew and how many big cases he had worked on successfully. He didn't mention that the business wasn't his, or that he was TERRIFIED of calling all of the people that he knew and asking for business!

When Kirk and I finally got together I asked him to start by naming all of his strengths. We went over all of the benefits that any of his clients or future clients would get by working with him. I had him post these in his office so he'd never doubt how talented he really is in work.

Next, we outlined what sorts of clients he should secure and then wrote a list of any current or former friends or colleagues that he knew. We developed an information sheet on each of them which would be later transferred to a contact management system such as ACT or Goldmine. On each of the sheets, Kirk had to go and write about the person. He wrote down anything he knew about them professionally or personally. These ranged from where they went to school to their spouses names, to their hobbies.

Next, we put them in order from A Accounts ( HUGE!!!) down to D accounts (Barely worth calling) and everyone in between. When all was said and done, Kirk had a list of about 25 people on the A list and those were the ones that we focused on.

Those names went into the computer. We then called and got all of their current information such as emails, secretaries names, firms, etc. We then wrote a letter that was sent to each of them announcing his new position and then said that Kirk would soon be giving a follow up call to say a quick hello. The letter was written in a casual manner, and not too formal. It definitely did NOT look like a form letter from a law firm!

Over time, Kirk redeveloped these people into friends. He did it by meeting them to play basketball, going to networking events with them, or inviting them to political speeches. He was able to get tickets for a few of them to different events and basically became a resource to the whole legal profession for most of them. Kirk became a FRIEND to these individuals, their firms and as a result, guess what happened?

Kirk started bringing in business of course! Not only that, but his bosses wanted to know what he was doing and how it all started. Needless to say, a few of his co workers were in the position to hire a coach and we duplicated Kirk's experience.

Developing into a sales professional is a scary thought for someone who is afraid of sales. But turning into a resource for your friends and colleagues is not only fun, but a great way to learn and grow your business. And if you get stuck, call me! I'll help you through!

Mary Gardner, The Charisma Coach! is an Executive Communications Consultant and Trainer. She works with, coaches and trains individuals, sales teams, executives, and celebrities. She owned and operated one of the first coaching institutions on the east coast, CCI, in NYC, Philly and NJ. Mary has appeared on ABC's 20/20 and has self published a book on public speaking. Mary is married to Sway and is mommy to Jeremy 5, and lives in Orlando, FL.

For information contact: mary@marygardner.com or Web: www.marygardner.com

Adsense Tricks to Explode Your Profits

Lots of people say to make your ads blend in. However, some people are having a lot of success by making their links stand out. The most effective style seems to be having your links blue, while your other links are a less-noticeable color. A good example can be seen at www.lockergnome.com

- Place images directly above your ads. This simple technique has been known to increase CTR by 400%. To keep the images fresh some people randomize related images on their site using PHP code. You can see an example of these images at

http://www.how-to-make-money-online.info/

- Google has cited the 336x280 large rectangle as the most effective ad size.

- Place ads where your visitors will likely be focused.

Check out this heat map by Google -

http://www.google.com/support/adsense/bin/static.py?page=tips.html

- Weave your articles into your content. This is shown at lockergnome.com

- Place link units in the top left-hand corner. This part of the website has shown to be clicked on more than any other part of the page. You can see an example at lockergnome.com. (Look at the links at the top, towards the left in blue.)

- Take advantage of the "alternate URL" feature to avoid Public Service Ads that seep money away from your website.

- One of the best things you can do is add additional pages to your site. A web site with thousands of pages and tons of content often does very well in the search engines. You can get free content from article directories. You could also use public domain content, which is a favorite tactic of John Reese. Or, you could use content in the creative commons. This is getting easier than ever now that Yahoo and others have created a search engine specifically for content in the creative commons.

Succeeding with adsense is largely determined by the amount of traffic to your site. However, there are many adsense tricks that you can employ to get the most possible out of your site. Often times, this means doubling, tripling, or even quadrupling your earnings. The key is to find out what works for your web site. Testing and tracking is the key to increased revenue!

Alli Ross is the marketing chick at http://www.stickyarticle.com, where you can submit your articles for free exposure.

Because Every Child Is A Born Genuis

Graphology for Child development.:- Graphology is the science of understanding the human mind through person's handwriting. When a person writes, the signal in the form of letters get decoded / printed on the paper by the fingers. Graphology aims at understanding & interpreting these signals through the writing. Using this we can know a persons mind so the thoughts, character and behavior.

Every child's mind is programmed in the childhood by the influence of the male and female images in the child's life usually the parents. By the help of graphology Parents can understand their children in a better perspective & will come to know there strengths, weaknesses, likes, dislikes, Skills way of thinking, health & influence of their parents on him and can mould them to enhance their hidden skills for becoming better loving responsible individuals of tomorrow.

Career Selection for child :-

Graphology (handwriting analysis) can help you & your child in selecting the right career (E.g. Engineering ? Electronic, telecom, Civil, Mechanical, Robotics, Medical, Art, Drama, Music, Etc) as per the interest, abilities, skills, creativity & expertise of a child.

It is also helpful to sharpen his creativity & intellect.

Requires no tests :- Handwriting analysis (Graphology) doesn't require any IQ tests / personality tests / assessment tests. Only thing requires is the pen & paper.

It helps in understanding & removing the mental blocks & removal of key aspects of failure ? Procrastination, Indecision, lack of Persistence, self-deceit, ego dominance, etc. to achieve greater personal & professional success.

My graphology (handwriting analysis) research basically focuses on thought process of a child coz a single thought can make throughout changes in personality and character.

What you think ?, What your Child think (+ve or ?ve) ? Which is the eminent trait that you don't know but it is affecting your child? There is too much can be written on this topic, to know everything ? experience it. (Pls visit - http://www.brendynamics.com/gr ) Moral is graphology can make bright improvements in his personality (Personal, Social, Physical, Sexual, Intellectual, Spiritual, Etc.)

Because every child is born Genius, There is no PROBLEM CHILD ; Its our inability to recognize their inner instinct. Always remember - A Loving emotionally responsive parent will invoke positive, cooperative, loving responses form the child.

Name : NIlesh B Gore Profession : Graphologist(Hndwriting Analyst) & SW. Eng. Email : ng411002@rediffmail.com Web : http://www.brendynamics.com/gr Country : India, Bhusaval, Ms Copyrights : ? Nilesh B Gore. Author has written for HRD TIMES, newspapers (Sakal) and his articles had been published in number of websites.

Lunesta Revealed: 7 Things You Must Know Before You Buy Lunesta Prescriptions

Lunesta is a newly released sleeping pill. Marketed as a revolutionary sleep aid, Lunesta is the only medication approved by the FDA for long term treatment of insomnia symptoms. Although Lunesta is a quality medicine that has already helped many people cure their insomnia and get a better night's sleep, here are seven things you should know before you buy Lunesta prescriptions.

Lunesta Side Effects

All medications have side effects. Lunesta has side effects that you may experience during treatment. The side effects of Lunesta include:

1. Drowsiness

2. Dizziness

3. Lightheadedness

4. Difficulty with coordination

Obviously, we can be happy that Lunesta doesn't have a long list of scary side effects like many other prescription medicines. However, you should still use caution during the first couple days of taking Lunesta. You need to see how persistent the side effects are, if you experience them at all. If you feel they are interfering with daily life, talk to your doctor about lowering your dose. As with all medications that may cause the side effects above, do not drink alcohol while using Lunesta. Alcohol will make them intense and hard to deal with.

Lunesta And Memory Problems

Lunesta may be the only sleeping pill that is FDA approved for long-term use, but it still has some of the same effects as other sleep aids. I'm talking about memory problems; also known as amnesia. When you're treating insomnia with Lunesta, you may have trouble remembering things if you go to bed too late at night, and have to get up for work early in the morning. Lunesta is designed to give you a great night's sleep without any interruptions, so waking up too early will leave you feeling "out of it." If you're getting plenty of sleep while using Lunesta, but are experiencing memory loss, talk to your doctor about lowering your dosage. Lunesta is available in 1mg, 2mg and 3mg dosages.

Lunesta Tolerance

Tolerance is an issue that nearly everyone deals with at some time while taking a prescription medication. Your body can develop tolerance to a medication over long-term use, making it less effective in treating your symptoms. However, Lunesta showed groundbreaking results in a six-month clinical trial: Not one person developed tolerance to their Lunesta treatment, and they continued symptom-free for the entire six months! Hopefully, you will not need treatment for such a long time, but some of us are unlucky enough to have chronic sleep problems that are ongoing.

Lunesta Dependence

Some people taking sleep medicines such as Lunesta, Ambien and Sonata develop dependence over a long period of time. This means that with long-term use of sleep aids, our bodies may get used to having the medicine. When we stop taking it suddenly, we may experience unpleasant effects, called withdrawal symptoms. Lunesta is not a highly addictive substance, but as with anything you get used to, it is usually hard to suddenly give it up. Your doctor will help you gradually lower your dosage until you can stop taking Lunesta without experiencing withdrawal.

Lunesta Withdrawal

Now that you know about the possibility of dependence on Lunesta, let's go over the withdrawal symptoms you might experience if you stop treatment suddenly. The most common symptoms are just unpleasant feelings. No other withdrawal symptoms were experienced by people involved in the clinical trials. However, we know that other similar sleeping aids such as Ambien and Sonata can very rarely cause some more serious symptoms of withdrawal. These may include stomach and muscle cramps, vomiting, sweating, jitteriness, and in only a few reported cases, seizures. The best way to relieve these worries is to talk it all over with your doctor to make sure Lunesta is right for you.

Lunesta And Personality Changes

Let me first say that these changes in behavior and thinking were not observed during Lunesta treatment in clinical trials. However, since Lunesta is similar to other sleep medicines that have been known to cause these symptoms, you should know that they are a possibility.

Sleeping medicines have been known to cause the following behavioral changes:

1. Some people become more outgoing and sometimes aggressive.

2. You may become confused at times.

3. Strange behavior may occur.

4. Others may notice that you're in an agitated state.

5. You may notice a worsening of depression.

6. Hallucinations are fun for some people, but not when you never wanted them in the first place. Make sure to talk to your doctor about lowering your Lunesta dose if you have hallucinations.

7. Finally, you may have suicidal thoughts while taking Lunesta or another sleeping pill. Talk to your doctor about this if you experience such thoughts.

Lunesta During Pregnancy And Breastfeeding

If you're pregnant, it may be alright for you to take Lunesta prescriptions until around the last few weeks before birth. Why? During those last few weeks, your unborn baby may take in some of the Lunesta that is present in your body after you take your dose. The effects of this are unknown, so it's best to just play it safe. Talk to your doctor before starting Lunesta if you are pregnant or plan to become pregnant. Lunesta is excreted in small amounts through breastmilk, so please do not take Lunesta while you are still breastfeeding your baby.

Copyright 2004,2005 Ian Mason, lead researcher at Shoppe.MD.

Can Lunesta help you sleep? Learn more and compare top-rated monitored pharmacies to buy Lunesta prescriptions online.