December 30, 2011
Business Matters
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Sometimes it is not what you say but how you move your body while you are saying it that can convey a whole host of hidden and perhaps contradictory messages. If you are wondering what your body language might be saying about you, here are some hints on how to hold yourself during business negotiations to make the best impression possible and not give away anything you would rather keep concealed.
What Is Body Language?
Humans are expressive people. Have you ever made a face at something before you could stop yourself? When we aren’t conscious of our actions, we can reveal far more than we know, and you never get a second chance to make a first impression.
Human beings may not be able to read minds, but they can certainly read body language once they take the trouble to learn how. Knowing how to read a client’s body language can make all the difference between walking away from the negotiating table with a great contract, or empty-handed. Being aware of your own body language and stopping the tell-tale giveaways before they reveal too much can help you become a deal maker, not a deal breaker.
So, how can you read the signs as interest, annoyance, lack of truthfulness, or nervousness? Let’s look at a few of the basics.
Some Body Language Tips
You may have noticed the body language that we are about to reveal without knowing what it meant. You might also have done it yourself from time to time. Making note of these and learning how to counteract your client’s inner thoughts and emotions could help save the day and bring in that sale.
* Wide eyes
Have you ever noticed how kids look at you, with wide eyes, when you do something that interests them? If your client also has wide or widens their eyes when you talk about your products or services, then you are engaging them. Even if they act aloof and non-committal so as not to show too much eagerness, they are interested in hearing more and want to do business with you.
* Lack of eye contact
Some people are naturally shy, but generally speaking, when dealing with a client who avoids looking in your eyes, you will need to think about whether or not they have something to hide.
It might not be anything to worry about, just past history making them more cautious, or they really are shy. Whatever the reason they are not engaging with you fully, consider giving them further reassurances that can help win them over and let go of their misgivings. And if they really are up to no good, then you will soon find out because they will not go through with the deal.
Maybe they were burned by another business who promised exactly what you are promising. Go the extra mile and give them a guarantee of your service to put them at ease.
* Feet pointed away from you
When you sit down with a client, shake hands and then watch how they sit. They may begin with their body pointed to you in anticipation of something interesting you might say. If the client repositions and turns away from you, they are trying to get away. You have lost their interest in this case and they are no longer engaging with you. You can try to perk up their interest by returning to the start of the conversation, but be prepared for a no.
* Flushed ears
Have you ever felt your face getting hot in certain situations? It is usually due to embarrassment. If you’ve ever touched on a nerve or made someone feel uncomfortable, take a look at their ears. If they are red like beets, they could be anxious or trying to deceive you about something, or something you said has made them ill at ease. Take a few steps back in the conversation to when it was at its most cordial and see if you can rescue this situation.
* Sit to the right
One way to diffuse a tense situation with a right-handed person is to sit on their right. In this position the left side of the brain is stimulated, which controls relaxation and calmness. This also conveys the idea of being a ‘right-hand man,’ that is, someone who is on your side. You are positioning yourself as wanting what is good for them, not just yourself.
*Tapping or clicking a pen
This can be nervousness or just boredom. Whatever the reason, it is distracting and annoying. To diffuse the situation, go back to the point in the conversation before they started doing this and re-engage their attention.
These are just a few of the tell-tale signs that something is going on under the surface when you are negotiating with others. And while may not have full control of how you sit or what your ears look like, but by being aware of your body language, you can create a more business-like and consistent impression.
Further Reading
Questions You Need to Ask on Your Next Job Interview (Business Basics)
December 27, 2011
Beauty, Health Matters
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by Annabelle Stevens and Carolyn Stone
Everyone wants to look great all year round, but each season can bring new challenges to the health and radiance of your skin. In this report, the authors give you top tips on how to keep your skin healthy no matter what the weather, through winter, spring, summer and fall.
Winter and summer usually pose the most problems for keeping skin healthy, from the cold, dry air and chilly temperatures on the one hand, to the heat, humidity and harmful rays of the sun on the other.
Even the relatively milder spring and autumn can leave your skin looking less than its best if you don’t deal with allergies and other skin problems these seasons can bring.
You will learn:
* The structure of your skin and what each section does for your body
* The main reasons for changes in the appearance of your skin
* Everyday habits that age your skin prematurely
* The best ways to start improving the appearance of your skin
* The best natural ingredients to use at home to care for your skin no matter what the season.
Start reading this report now and discover:
* The best ways to keep your skin safe during the long cold winter
* Top tips to keep your skin safe in summer
* The difference between sunscreen and sunblock and which you might want to choose
* The best home remedies for sunburn
* The best home remedies for poison ivy (and did you know you can get it any time of year?)
The skin is the largest organ of your body. If you want to stay looking great and keep your skin healthy no matter what the season, this report will help you protect your skin from the elements and help you ward off signs of premature aging. Download this report today, and get started with a natural skin care routine that will help you stay looking great no matter what the season.
Word Count=16,570
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: THE ANATOMY OF THE SKIN
CHAPTER 2: REASONS FOR CHANGES IN THE SKIN
CHAPTER 3: CHANGING YOUR HABITS FOR BETTER SKIN
CHAPTER 4: TAKING CARE OF YOUR SKIN ALL YEAR ROUND
CHAPTER 5: SUMMER SKIN HEALTH AND SAFETY
CHAPTER 6: NATURAL PRODUCTS FOR YOUR SKIN ALL YEAR ROUND
CONCLUSION
FURTHER READING
APPENDIX 1: CHOOSING SUNBLOCK OR SUNSCREEN
YOUR HEALTHY SKIN CHECKLIST
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Annabelle Stevens and Carolyn Stone are two of the main writers and editors for the popular health website Healthful-Goddess.com, and the authors of over two dozen health and self-help guides.
Buy Now: Top Tips for Healthy Skin All Year Round: How to Keep Your Skin Healthy No Matter What the Season (Health Matters) by Annabelle Stevens and Carolyn Stone
December 26, 2011
Business Matters, Marketing Matters
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We all know that time is money, but for an online business, your website is your storefront, particularly if you are an information publisher. In these days of spelling and grammar checkers on your computer, you should be able to produce error-free copy easily. Why then do we see so many mistakes on the Internet and in emails?
In part, it is strategic. Some business owners are actually going after misspelled keywords by putting them up themselves. In subject headers in emails, they can often do it to get attention or try to trick the spam filters.
But generally speaking, you will want to avoid resorting to such tricks unless it is clear that that is what you are up to. Otherwise, people will just think that your work is sloppy or that you don’t know any better.
Your website and all of your promotional material are selling tools which help you create a first, and sometimes a last, impression. Therefore, try to proofread your material whenever possible, and run a spellcheck. Don’t always rely on Word to underline your errors or grammatical issues. Hit the spellcheck button and run it fully, from the top of the page to the bottom.
Then read it over again to be sure that it has not missed any grammatical errors. It can highlight what you have phrased poorly but it can’t always detect words that you have left out.
Have you ever visited a website that you wished you had clicked past? What kinds of things got on your nerves? The same features that annoyed you will also annoy your visitors if you have them on your website.
Here is a list of a few things that can cost sales by making it difficult for people to make sense of your website:
* Misspelled words in your articles
* Lots of blank white space
* Hard to read fonts
* Too many colors on a page
* Poor contrast between the color of a font and the background of the page
* A black background for your pages with white, red or other text colors
* Links that don’t work
* A poorly constructed site that is hard to navigate
* Cluttered pages with too many ‘calls to action’ as opposed to a linear order flow
* No graphics that support the information or text on the page
* Poor quality graphics or ones which are not relevant to the topic
* Lack of continuity and sense from page to page
This may seem like a lot of things to worry about for your site and each page, but the truth is that your site visitors will notice these things in a matter of seconds as they click into your website. They will have an idea of what they are looking for or need from the information that they saw in the search engine, such as the title and description of the site, or from a link to your site. If what they see when they arrive at your site is ‘off’ in some way, they will click out and look for another site that appears to meet their needs more closely.
Too many rapid clicks out of your site will result in a high bounce rate. If these visitors are coming from an important search engine like Google™, this can affect your overall quality score and how high up you can get on their search engine results pages for the keywords related to your niche or industry.
Building a great website is part art, part science, and all content. Concentrate on spelling things correctly in order to score highly for the keywords on the page. This will include your page title, page description, keywords, tags, and the name of the page itself. It will also include any media, and descriptions of the media, which are on you page. For example, you should name all of your images, audio and video files with at least one meaningful and correctly spelled keyword. The search engines spider these elements as well as websites and webpages.
If you include images on your pages, you should not only name them with keywords, you should also use ALT tags and description tags for each image. These help people who are visually impaired to ‘see’ what is on the page. The description tag is not essential, but it is a good way to give people more information about an image and add to the keyword density on your page at the same time.
Keyword density is just one of the factors taken into consideration when Google™ and the other search engines scan your page and decide how relevant it is to a word or phrase that a user has just typed into a search engine. Therefore, spelling your keywords correctly will be an important part of getting a high relevance score.
* Proofread all of your content and webpages
Don’t trust the spellcheck alone. For all of your most important pages, such as the About Us and Contact Us pages (the ‘housekeeping’ pages), go through content that you have uploaded line by line. These will be the most viewed pages on your site after your home page, so make them count.
*Check it over again in your Content Management System
If you have a spelling and grammar checker in your CMS, check it again. Also look for things like double-spaces or extra punctuation.
* Preview each page in a number of different browsers
Check your page carefully in your previewer, but remember that all browsers behave differently. Once you have uploaded the content onto your website, check its appearance online using the standard browsers, Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome, to be sure that you have not left any tags open and that the page is appearing the way you would like it to.
Check for problems with alignment (center, left, right) or the number of columns on the page.
*Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) when Possible
In terms of appearance, use CSS whenever possible to eliminate the need for a lot of tags. The cleaner the code, the faster the load time and the less chance of any errors on your page.
* Pay attention to Headlines and Subheadings
The eye of the reader will naturally be attracted to certain parts of the page. Put anything you think is the most important information at the top or near it.
Your website is the base of operations for your business if you are working online to attract customers. Your site can make or break your business in a matter of seconds. People who use the Internet have many choices of sites to visit. Sloppy layouts and grammatical errors can repel instead of attract customers.
Try to put your best foot forward and use your spellchecker in your word-processing program and in your blog interface/content management system interface if you have these tools. People should be struck by your professionalism at your site, not with the numbers of errors they can see. Also keep the needs of the reader in mind to help create a site that will be a magnet to visitors thanks to your professionalism and high-quality content.
Further Reading
Information Marketing Success: How to Make the Most of Your Online Content for Increased Traffic and Profits (Marketing Matters)
Creating Your Personal Image Online: How to Enhance Your Career Prospects By Building an Impressive Personal Profile Online (Business Matters)
Information Marketing Success: How to Make the Most of Your Online Content for Increased Traffic and Profits (Marketing Matters)
December 22, 2011
More for Less Guides
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With the variety of cruises currently on the market, there are a wide range of competitively-priced cruises to choose from. All inclusive packages are the best deals available in travel, because as the name suggests, everything is included in one single price. The only thing you would need to pay for would be food and drinks at your various destinations and the cost of travel to and from your home to the port where the cruise begins.
In the cruise package, you will be received food, travel and accommodation all rolled into one. You will get a cruise cabin, meals, entertainment, and transportation to various ports of call. You r choice of entertainment will depend on your interests and the ages of your children, if you have any, but cruise lines try to cater for a variety of tastes and needs.
You can have onboard babysitting, kids’ activities, sports, movies and more. Dining can be sit down or buffet style and you can eat in the restaurant or request room service. Each ship offers varying degrees of luxury at a wide range of prices. They also offer different configurations of staterooms and beds in each, from the fold-down Pullman bed to sofa beds and rollaway cots.
When you begin planning your vacation, keep in mind what you are looking for so that you choose the right package. You can choose from adult only, family cruises, honeymoon cruises, golf cruises, spring break cruises and more.
The main things you will want to keep in mind are departure and arrival location, and how much it will cost to get to the cruise ship and back again. You will also need to decide on how many people are going and what their favorite destination might be.
Do your research to find the best price for what is on offer. Also keep your eyes open for any great travel bargains, especially last-minute deals.
Early Booking Discounts
This discount is available on many cruise packages, starting about 6 months prior to departure. They may not be as cheap as a last minute deal, but you can be assured of getting the dates and stateroom you want, rather than taking whatever is available as they try to fill the ship. Dig deep for the best package deals going to your choice/s of destination. Chances are you will find a competitively-priced package and then all you need to do is choose your ship.
Last-Minute Discounts
Although this is a risky way to plan your vacation, especially if you have children, it can also save you a lot of money. If you live in a city with regular cruises going in and out of it, this can be a great way to just hop on board and have a great time.
While it is true that you might only end up with an inside cabin, we also have to say that in our experience, you will probably only be spending time there to change clothes and sleep.
Low Season Discounts
Picking the ‘low season’ for cruise vacations is the best way to get a bargain price. Just be aware of the dangers of hurricane season in the Caribbean, for instance, and consider taking out travel insurance in the event of illness, severe weather and so on.
Look Out for Value-Add Cruise Deals
When you are comparing cruise ships, don’t just look at the price. See what you get for it. On one ship you might get an inside cabin with a Pullman bed for the same price as an outside cabin with a sofa bed on another ship. The newer ships also tend to have more amenities, so if certain features like a heated pool are important to you, look for them.
Some cruises will also give you extras such on –board credits, room upgrades, complimentary flowers and wine in your room and so on.
A cruise can save you a lot of money on your summer vacation if you are traveling somewhere hot, and any vacation if you comparison shop carefully for the best deals on the locations you want to visit most.
Further Reading
Bargain Travel Tips For Your Summer Vacation (Get More For Less Guides)
December 20, 2011
Beauty, Health Matters
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by Annabelle Stevens and Carolyn Stone
Winter can be a wonderful time of year, especially when the holidays come, but for many people it can mean several months of misery if they live in a part of the world that experiences severe cold weather in winter.
It can be the least favorite time of year for many people who dislike the short days and long nights, and the cold and snow that often come with them. In particular, if you are older or have an underlying health condition, winter can mean you becoming a virtual shut-in as you wait for the warm weather to return.
Winter may be a darker and colder time of year if you live in a seasonal climate, but it is possible to enjoy the winter and take care of yourself throughout the colder months once you know how.
In this report, you will discover how to stay looking and feeling great throughout the winter, no matter what your special health and beauty challenges. Having a plan in place can help you maintain winter wellness without a lot of time or expense. The winter months don’t have to be diet disasters or exercise enders.
Discover the many success strategies for winter wellness for your body, mind and spirit. In this report you will learn:
* How to cultivate a positive attitude and mindset when it comes to facing winter
* How to keep you hair, skin and nails looking great even in the cold weather
* How to avoid frostbite and windburn during outdoor activities
* Five top winter workouts to make the most of the season
* The best ways to avoid colds and flu.
You will also learn:
* How to deal with winter allergies
* The best home remedies to soothe a sore throat
* What to do if you think you suffer from seasonal affective disorder
* How to avoid overeating at the holidays
* How to deal with dry skin in winter.
If winter makes you wish you could just hibernate until it’s all over and spring is here, download this report today and start making the most of the unique winter months no matter what the weather and the cold and flu season send your way.
Word Count=15,600
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
CHAPTER 1: MAINTAINING A POSITIVE ATTITUDE DURING THE WINTER MONTHS
CHAPTER 2: WINTER WELLNESS
CHAPTER 3: IMPROVING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM
CHAPTER 4: EXERCISING IN THE WINTER
CHAPTER 5: THE IMPORTANCE OF SPENDING TIME OUTDOORS IN WINTER
CHAPTER 6: AVOIDING WEIGHT GAIN DURING THE HOLIDAYS
CHAPTER 7: DEALING WITH DRY WINTER SKIN AND OTHER APPEARANCE ISSUES
CONCLUSION
FURTHER READING
APPENDIX 1: THE BEST HOME REMEDIES TO SOOTHE A SORE THROAT
APPENDIX 2: HOW TO AVOID OVEREATING THIS HOLIDAY SEASON
APPENDIX 3: HEALTHY HOLIDAY APPETIZERS
YOUR WINTER WELLNESS CHECKLIST
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Annabelle Stevens and Carolyn Stone are two of the main writers and editors for the popular health website Healthful-Goddess.com, and the authors of over two dozen health and self-help guides.
Buy Now: Winter Wellness: Top Health Tips to Stay Looking and Feeling Great All Winter (Health Matters)
December 19, 2011
Cooking, Happy Holidays
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by Evelyn Trimborn
In this handy guide you will get 25 Christmas candy recipes perfect for your whole family to enjoy and ideal to give as gifts as well. From succulent homemade fudge to decadently delightful truffles, this is the perfect recipe book for any candy lover.
About the Author
Evelyn Trimborn
Evelyn is a romance author, freelance journalist, and prodigious foodie who contributes to a wide variety of top health and nutrition websites. All her recipes are tried and tested.
Buy Now: Great Christmas Candy Recipes (Holiday Entertaining)
December 18, 2011
Cooking, Happy Holidays
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by Evelyn Trimborn
This book gives you lots of different ideas for vegetarian treats. It includes complete menus for Thanksgiving and autumn festivals, Christmas, a romantic dinner for two, buffets and party food for all the family. It even includes some festive cocktails to make your party go with a splash.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Evelyn Trimborn is a journalist, novelist, and food enthusiast. She is the author of over three dozen finance, marketing, health and self-help guides.
Buy Now: Festive Vegetarian Cookery (Holiday Entertaining)
December 17, 2011
Money Matters, Small Business Startup
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The economy has been tough on a lot of businesses, and the credit crunch has meant lean times for many business owners who are struggling to keep their businesses open until better times come again.
If you are in a cash crunch and need some working capital as soon as possible, a merchant cash advance may be one option worth considering. As with any form of loan, there will be pros and cons, but it could provide you with a short-term solution to your cash crisis.
Merchant cash advances are loans designed for businesses that have cash flow but no collateral, that is, no security they can provide upon the loan. Types of businesses that might uses merchant cash advances include retail shops whose goods can’t be liquidated at auction, service businesses with no actual inventory, or any business that has regular income coming in, but nothing tangible and no lines of credit, such as an online business selling digital goods.
The merchant cash advance company will loan the business a certain sum of cash to use as working capital. In exchange, the business signs an agreement that allows the merchant cash advance company to take a percentage of their credit card sales automatically every day until the loan is repaid, plus a fee for processing the loan. The amount taken will usually be between 5% and 10% every day, but can be as high as 20% depending on the amount of the loan and the level of risk involved.
The cost of merchant cash advances is far greater than that of any regular small business loan. Translating it into an annual percentage rate (APR), many merchant cash advance interest rates will be in the region of 30% APR to as high as 50% APR.
In addition, you need to look out for any additional costs, such as the legal costs of having the contract reviewed by a lawyer, closing fees and so on.
We all know that there is no such thing as easy money, and a merchant cash advance is no exception. However, every business is different. If you are considering applying for a merchant cash advance, think carefully about the situation of your business, the volume of transactions and value of sales you do every day, what you intend to use the lump sum of money for, and how much the cash advance company plans to charge you in terms of APR and fees.
If you plan to use the cash advance to invest in projects or assets that will allow you to earn more money in the near future, a merchant cash advance may be a good investment. However, keep in mind that you will be liable for the debt regardless of whether your improvements pay off.
Consider all of your other options before considering a merchant cash advance. Talk to several banks, go to the Small Business Administration website to see if there are any grants or loans available to you at a lower interest rate, or consider raising more capital through ‘bootstrapping’, or angel investors. Also consider bringing additional streams of income into your business quickly, for example, through affiliate marketing.
Having said that, one of the main advantages of merchant cash advances is their availability. These companies specialize in loans to businesses that most banks just will not touch because they have no security and are therefore considered too high-risk. Since the credit situation in the U.S. is quite tight right now, and likely will continue to be so for quite some time unless you have an almost spotless financial record, merchant cash advances may be the only option for businesses without the type of collateral most banks are looking for.
If you decide that the only solution to your cash crunch is a merchant cash advance, talk to at least three companies to see what kind of loan terms they are willing to offer. Read all the fine print, calculate the rates and watch out for any hidden fees.
Merchant cash advances can prove to be very expensive loans for businesses. However, if you have no other way to fund your business and expand rapidly, then take the best deal you can find and do whatever you can to ensure an even greater cash flow in your business to pay off the loan as quickly as possible.
Further Reading
YOUR RECESSION SURVIVAL GUIDE: How to Save Money and Even Boost Your Income in This Recession (Money Matters)
How to Create Wealth to Grow Your Business (Business Basics)
Investment and Financing Strategies: Angel Investors (Money Matters)
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