I’ve been running internet chat rooms since 1998. Nothing fancy. The software was freely available. I just had to make some important modifications: adding bad word filters and automated ’kicking’ (ejection from the rooms).
You think free speech is a good thing, until you read what anonymous, malevolent young men say to fifteen-year-old girls. It isn’t Shakespeare, let me tell you that.
That’s another key point: anonymity. A pillar of the free speech argument. Let freedom fighters and the repressed masses have their say! Except it’s more likely a twenty-five-year-old sociopath pretending to be sixteen and making young girls cry with his sickening profanity.
Free from all social restrictions, and safe from physical retribution, we see the contents of the subconscious pour forth unrestrained. And a hellish stream of psychic sewage it is.
This can be combated by bad word filters and having human moderators. The most important shield of all, I think, is education. "Don’t take candy from strangers", "You don’t need drugs until you’re ill", and now: "Don’t bandy words with trolls" (people who deliberately upset other internet users with provocative language).
Most chat rooms now have an ’ignore’ function. It’s a bit like the hooligan in the street: he’s *looking* for a reaction; if you ignore him, it’s infuriating. To him. You glide on by, figuratively speaking, while he rants on unheard.
Parents should take an interest in what their children are doing online. See if you can find out what service they’ve joined, and join up yourself; get a taste of it. Teenagers define themselves as adults-to-be by choosing a different path to their parents: if you are conservative, they’ll try liberalism, and vice-versa.
Therefore, you shouldn’t try to join in with their activities as an equal; just keep informed.
They may gripe, but secretly they’re glad you care. A parent who lets their child do whatever they want gives them no standard to measure themselves against.
Another problem with basic chat rooms is that you can develop an intense relationship with someone you can’t see and haven’t met in the flesh; there’s a fantasy element. Your thoughts pour forth freely, you believe you’ve met a soul mate. You may even meet them, and the illusion continues …
… until you eventually realise he or she is just a human being after all, and breaks wind like everyone else.
There is hope, however. With the advent of cheap digital video cameras, internet telephony and broadband, people will be less able to hide: "What do you mean, you’re shy? You weren’t shy a minute ago!". Old-fashioned, sensible prejudices will assert themselves: "Soooo, ’Zorro’ from Cambridge is really fat, spotty Darren from Dartford … next!".
Here are some simple tips that will help you make an informed decision about what kind to get, and who to get it from.
First ask yourself: do you really need it?
Can you manage without it?
Is it for something frivolous, like a holiday?
Could you get the money by other means: part-time job, from a relative, the sale an asset?
Don’t put a monkey on your back if you can avoid it.
A loan varies according to:
The amount borrowed;
The interest rate;
The type of rate (fixed or variable);
The term (repayment time in months or years);
Deposit (downpayment);
Associated fees (broker, origination, prepayment etc.);
Insurance required by the lender.
You are buying money for more than it cost the lender. Simple.
It’s a mistake to only care about the interest rate; there are also arrangement fees and prepayment penalties to consider. Many ’no fee’ credit lines have a pre-payment penalty. This is how brokers and lenders make their money. Work out the total cost of your loan before committing.
To ensure you get the best terms, keep your credit-line as small as possible. Loan officers tend to count the total line of credit available as a liability.
Pay off small debts before the due date. Cancel credit cards you are not using. Consider their interest rates and fees, when deciding which cards to keep.
If your spending is out of control, don’t put your home at risk by getting a home equity credit line to pay off your credit-card debts.
Shop for rates when the market is calm. Rates change from day to day, so compare lenders. The quotes you get should all be from the same time period.
Submit a neat application form; it shows you’re business-like and efficient. It will be read and assessed by a human being; appearances count.
Only pay up-front fees to well-known institutions, or ones highly recommended by trusted sources.
Don’t sign documents without reading them. As soon as possible, before you close the deal, review the documents you’ll be signing, and make sure you understand them, so you won’t have to sign them in a hurry.
Keep a copy of every cheque you write for your loan. If you call your lender about your loan, make sure you get the full name of the person with whom you speak. Make a note of it. You may be dealing with a large bureaucracy, and will need to refer to this conversation later.
If you find yourself in a dispute with a lender, don’t send correspondence to the same address you send your payment. You need to deal with the decision-makers, not the account clerks.
It’s a curious fact of human nature that people will haggle over the price of an umbrella, but buy a house on a whim.
We understand small amounts of money; we know what they can buy. 400,000 quid is harder to grasp; you can’t fit it in your pocket. The desire to acquire, combined with the stress of the purchase, can make people do funny things. With this in mind, here are a few tips to review when getting a mortgage.
Watch out for the ’Deal Of A Lifetime’, the deal that seems too good to be true. The company may be saving money by cutting back on their level of service.
When getting a fixed rate: get a written statement which details the interest rate, how long the rate is fixed for, and the conditions attached.
When interest rates fall: try and leave your repayments as they are. You will therefore be paying more than the minimum each month. You’ll repay your loan much earlier. When rates rise again you may not have to change your payment.
Consider a fifteen or twenty year term. Try to pay off your mortgage quickly. Use a mortgage calculator with an amortization function, and see what’s possible.
Keep your mortgage as small as possible. Aim for *comfortable* affordability.
You will find mortgage lenders who will stretch your qualification ratios. They aren’t doing you a favour. The qualification ratio is the ratio of your total mortgage payment to your total income.
The traditional ratios are: The mortgage payment as 28% of your income; the total of your mortgage payment plus your monthly debt payments as 36% of your income.
Try not to ’churn’ your mortgage. Each time you refinance you’ll probably incur completion costs and non-refundable fees.
Beware of prepayment penalties. Many ’no fee’ credit lines have a pre-payment penalty. This can be very expensive if you are planning to refinance or sell your house in a few years time.
You don’t need to sign a mortgage agreement which contains any significant prepayment penalty, if you have good credit. One of the smartest things you can do with a mortgage is to prepay it.
Don’t look for a home without being pre-approved. You will have much more negotiating power with the vendor, and may be able to save thousands of pounds.
Get a full, professional survey. Human beings can be perverse; happy to spend 150 grand on a house after a half-hour viewing, but be-grudge spending 500 quid finding out whether it’s worth buying in the first place!
Find out the true value of your home. Get more than one independent appraisal. Compare it with the prices of similar-sized houses for sale in the same area.
Start gathering documents. Provide your mortgage company with documents in good time; don’t let your rate lock expire!
Verbal (oral) agreements are worthless. When buying or selling property, always get it in writing.
When you do get your mortgage, check your payments are correct - do the mathematics. There’s a one in ten chance you could be paying more than you should.
Review your mortgage regularly - this, and possibly remortgaging, will ensure you pay as little as possible in interest.
Finally, consider the following advice from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development:
Be sure to read and understand everything before you sign;
Refuse to sign any blank documents;
Do not buy property for someone else;
Do not overstate your income;
Do not overstate how long you have been employed;
Do not overstate your assets;
Accurately report your debts;
Do not change your income tax returns for any reason;
Tell the whole truth about gifts;
Do not list fake co-borrowers on your loan application;
Be truthful about your credit problems, past and present;
Be honest about your intention to occupy the house;
Do not provide false supporting documents.
A mortgage is the biggest financial committment most of us will ever make; worth spending a little time on, to get it right!
Blogging has become a symbol of the new era of user created content, news, and entertainment. However, what you may not realize is that it can also be a source of employment, often times accidentally. There has been a growing trend in recent years of employers taking to the Internet and searching through blogs to find potential new recruits or to research existing applicants.
There are a variety of reasons why a blog is the ideal place to learn more about a job candidate. To start, it allows hiring managers to learn details about a candidate that they could never get from an interview or resume for starters. Second, it’s a chance to witness the creative and technical talent a potential employee may have outside of the workplace. For those looking to make the jump from the blogosphere to the working world, there are certain steps you can take to make employers take notice.
Recruiting Information Blogs
Blogging is a two-way street of both writing and reading posts. One of the most interesting additions to the job hunting scene in recent years is the growth of knowledge and advice available from industry insiders for job hunters. As a blogger, you can interact directly with human resource or hiring managers via their own blogs, where they offer in depth advice about how to stand out in the hiring process. By commenting on these blogs and carrying on discussions with men and women who know the industry, you can get a head start.
Describe Work History and Education
As the owner of a blog, you have the right and often the obligation to shift the focus of posts and discussions to yourself. By placing relevant information about your work history and education directly on your blog, you offer a standing resume for potential employers to view alongside your writing. If a potential recruiter is reading your blog and believes you would be a good employee, the inclusion of job related information is a bonus.
Don’t Constantly Apply for a Job
If you write about getting a job consistently, you likely will not be approached with any job offers, nor will your blog generate the kind of attention you want. Employers who find your blog want to see that you are self-sufficient and independently creative. If you consistently talk about your lack of employment, it only appears as though there is a reason you do not yet have a job. This does not mean you should never mention you are currently looking for a job. Add a small blurb in your About Me page that mentions you are currently looking for employment in a specific field. Just don’t over-advertise the fact.
Write Quality Content within Your Field
If you are actively seeking a career in a specific field, make sure you write about that field in some manner or another on a regular basis. You need to show that you can offer unique opinions with an identifiable line of thought on a specific topic to generate interest from a potential employer. This means you need to present new ideas or at least new opinions of existing ideas. Reprinting news articles or reiterating what another blogger has already said will not generate interest in the same manner as an original post.
Write Prolifically
When you write consistently and your name is attached to numerous blog posts and comments, you can be sure that a potential employer will find that content when they search for your name. Almost all potential employers use Google or related search engines to research a candidate before an interview or hire. If you write targeted, intelligent blog posts, you can make sure that you control the information available on the Internet attached to your name.
Writing Carefully
Along the same lines, if your blog postings are rude, controversial, or demeaning to a particular person or group, potential employers are going to see them and it will not look good for you. Remember that the world is your audience and that when you attach your name to something online, anyone can read it. Be prepared to write in a manner that protects your good name and shows potential employees that you have a solid, likable character to match your work skills.
Make Friends in the Industry
When a company hires an individual through their blog, they have one of two choices. They can request the candidate to stop their blogging to keep other companies from attempting to hire the blogger themselves or they can have them continue blogging to increase company exposure and to recruit other bloggers for future positions. The second scenario can fall right into your hands if you are prepared. Make friends with bloggers who are in the same industry as you. Networking, even through blogging can lead to future job opportunities.
Whether it is your intention to take advantage of the recruiters actively seeking talent through blogs or to use your blog as a extra notch on your resume, your blogging can be a very powerful tool in the often times cutthroat race for an open job position. By showing your natural talent, beyond the fluff that fills a resume, and offering a free glimpse into your personal life, you give recruiters something that few other recruits can. And it gives you a head start toward getting a job.
As a man, there are some female fashions that annoy me. We all think of ourselves as unique, yet subconsciously we follow the herd. I propose that Western women have been tricked into adopting certain fashions that make them look unattractive. Read on and see if you agree.
1. Tattoos.
Tattoos used to be the colouring of soldiers, sailors, mafiosi and punk rockers. About fifteen years ago, they became fashionable. The lower-middle classes started taking them up. Unfortunately, unlike last years’ shoes, tattoos can’t be taken to the thrift shop and disposed of.
To a certain class of person, tattoos are ’cool’. To another, they are a graffito on the temple of the soul. They mark a woman definitively as lower class, alienated, depressed, and perhaps a bit daft. They’re also a handy way to identify one absolutely to the authorities. Which shows how stupid some crooks are.
The same goes for piercings. My family are farmers. I associate nose rings with bulls, and piercings with cattle tags. They are a haven of dirt, infection, and their openings look unsightly.
With tattoos and piercings, before you’ve opened your mouth, you’ve already typed yourself to people you meet.
2. Highlights and streaks.
Are you blonde, or brunette? Make up your mind! These might have been novel ten years ago. Now they just look common. Not all gentlemen prefer blondes. A healthy head of untinted brunette hair is a pleasant novelty these days.
It is true that blondes have more fun. I used to be one in me ’alternative’ days. Most people on the planet are dark. A non-blonde with blonde hair looks ’interesting’.
Now this fashion is done to death, however. If they’re doing it in Romford, it’s buried!
3. Big hoop earrings.
Unmistakably part of the wardrobe of the gypsy. Which is fine if you are one. Strangely popular. Perhaps they’re to make the wearer’s head look smaller. Add them to the features above, and an unattractive type emerges.
4. Binge drinking.
Binge drinking, squawking and falling over in the street is hilarious if you are the one doing it. If you are the spectator, it’s less so.
5. Visible G-string.
This is erotic, no doubt about it. Unless you haven’t the figure to pull it off. Likely to provoke a reaction of ’Mother of G*d!’ when adorning the pasty, blemished buttocks of the ’full-figured’ young lady. Bad diet, no exercise, five-pints-a-night, then ’peek-a-boo!’. Agggh!
I used to wonder why so many saucily-dressed young ladies walked the streets hatchet-faced. Now I now. Half are trying to ward off unwanted vulgar advances from men, the other half are annoyed they’re not getting any!
There’s nothing sexy about contrived, blatant eroticism. What’s erotic is what seems to be an accident. ’A glimpse of stocking is something quite shocking’ etc.
Likely to irritate female co-workers also. Assuming your company allows such clothing. It doesn’t? I wonder why?
6. Swearing.
Your gentleman friends might find this amusing, to your face. What they think in private is another matter. Habitual swearing is another sign of a depressed, angry person. It’s unattractive. The more you do it, the more it corrodes your subconscious.
7. Breast Augmentation.
Also known as a ’boob job’. These look fine, from a distance. Compared to a natural pair, they look odd. They are to real breasts what a transvestite is to a ’red hot mama’; no competition. Up close, they’re just not as good as the real thing. A perfectly functional piece of equipment has been turned into a cartoon joke, with possible long-term medical consequences.
Some men like small breasts. Beauty is a matter of proportion. Some women are neurotic about their appearance; nothing will please them.
A good example is …
8. Disappearing Eyebrows.
They get plucked away to nothingness, then get drawn or tattooed back in. And this is better? One can end up looking freakish, even clown-like. Loss of hair suggests illness. Plucking out one’s hair is often a sign of mental illness. Girls, desist! Don’t try to gild the lily!
IMPORTANT NOTE: There are people who’ll encourage you in the above. They’ll say you look lovely. Misery loves company, and some people delight in the fall of others.
Be your own woman. Stand back from yourself, your life and your surroundings, and decide your own destiny.
If you want to sell on the internet, you need to accept credit cards. To accept credit cards, you need a merchant account, or access to one. There’re two ways of getting this: Get your own merchant account, or ’pimp’ off someone else’s.
The latter is the option most new merchants choose. You use a third-party to process your payments, and they take percentage. Here are a few popular ones:
PayPal.com ( http://www.paypal.com )
I don’t recommend them as your main processor. See http://www.paypalsucks.com. PayPal is popular because it was ’firstest with the mostest’ on auction sites. For this reason, eBay bought them out. PayPalSucks.com alleges that if you have a bad order they freeze your account, and can even dip into your bank account to make up any shortfalls. Mitigating circumstances are not taken into account. I’ve read enough complaints about PayPal on webmaster forums to heed them.
The usual rejoinder is; "But I’ve never had any problems with PayPal". To which is usually retorted "Just wait ’till you get a chargeback!"
A chargeback occurs when someone asks their credit-card company for a refund. They say they didn’t get the goods, or they never made the order, or the goods were not as advertised. This is passed on to the processor, who in turn debits the merchant. Or drops him entirely. You don’t want too many of these.
I’ve used them for years for small amounts, with no problem, but on the basis of others’ complaints in webmaster forums, I wouldn’t use them for large ones. Don’t leave large amounts ’on deposit’ in any internet-based company; they’re not banks, and even banks go bust occasionally.
The best use for PayPal is to entice customers who already use it. Find another provider to be your main one. One like …
2Checkout.com ( http://www.2checkout.com )
This is a factoring service like PayPal. Unlike them, they have a pretty good reputation with webmasters. Like PayPal, they don’t provide you with a merchant account; they process your orders through their own.
This is why such sites have to be very stringent; they are answerable to their own merchant account provider. Too many bogus orders, and they go out of business.
This is why third-party factoring services like 2Checkout are very useful to a newbie merchant: fraud prevention. They can screen out suspicious orders.
Most merchants would like to think they can sell worldwide. The fact is most of the world is poor; MOST countries can’t afford your goods. So some citizens try to get them fraudulently.
A smart merchant would bar most of the world from accessing his cart, and only accept orders from the USA, Canada, western Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and his home country. Harsh, but you’ll sleep better at night.
WorldPay ( http://www.worldpay.com )
A well-regarded service. I found adding it to the Oscommerce cart ( http://www.oscommerce.com ) a bit of a chore, but it worked. More expensive to join than 2Checkout. You don’t hear many gripes about WorldPay, which is rare in webmaster circles.
ClickBank.com ( http://www.clickbank.com )
Handy if you’re selling a few items of inexpensive software to start off your business. They’ll let you up the price once they’re sure of you. I managed to get them to go up to $150 (whoo!). I was very jealous of their system. It’s well designed and extremely ’viral’; they’re basically a huge affiliate program. Join ClickBank, and others will try and sell your product for you.
They allow you to block whole continents from trying to buy your product, and that is good. The odds are that a $25 order for an ebook, from a third-world country, is fraudulent.
If an order looks dodgy, it probably is. Contact the customer by ’phone or email. If you don’t get a satisfactory reply, refund the card.
When you’re making $1000+ a month, get your own merchant account. Look for ’merchant services’ at your local bank. Having one’s own merchant account means paying less in processing fees.
IMPORTANT: You should specify up-front that you are looking for an internet merchant account. Internet transactions are viewed as higher risk than those by bricks-and-mortar businesses. The technical term is ’card not present’.
Some things you may need, if applying for a merchant account of your own:
Business bank account;
Photocopy of a voided cheque for said account;
Copy of the articles of incorporation of your company;
Photocopy of your return policy information;
Trade references;
Photocopy of your driver’s license or passport.
In short, you need to prove that both you and your company are what you say they are. Your account provider is taking a chance on you. You might send them a ton of bogus orders. A bank is a business too, not a community service. Help them to make the right decision! The more you can establish that you are bona-fide, the lower the cost of your account.
Things to avoid, if you can:
a) Expensive credit-card processing software rental or hire-purchase.
b) Monthly fees.
c) High discounts ( the % of your sales they keep ).
d) Fat fees up front ( anything over $500 is a joke ).
e) Salesmen calling you up with a spiel.
f) Getting lumbered with hiring their shopping cart as well.
Things to look out for at sites offering merchant accounts:
If you need to maintain a U.S. presence - full U.S. incorporation, U.S. server, U.S. offices, U.S. bank account - or not.
Also if they want a deposit, and the size of their application fee. And the usual monthly minimums, discounts etc.
Avoid getting into any software purchase or equipment rental. You can sort all that out later, for less money. There are plenty of good payment gateways, like Authorize.net ( http://www.authorize.net ) just itching for your business.
PS: Don’t accept a merchant account from an Eastern European bank. I did, some years ago. The bank went bust. One guy wailed on Usenet that he’d lost $10,000 dollars. Luckily for me, business was bad that year!
Here are a few tips on buying any property. It’s a major purchase, yet some people spend more time on choosing where they go on holiday, than on buying a new home.
1 - Be an intelligent home buyer. Anyone looking to buy a home should do so carefully. Take your time to find the right one. Do not treat home buying like you are shopping at the mall. A serious buyer looks at their present needs in addition to their future prospects. This will help you purchase the right place.
2 - Consider hiring a buyer’s agent. A buyer’s agent is one who’s there to look out for your needs. They’ll know the best tips, tricks, and solutions to any problem you may have.
3 - Inquire about the owner’s title insurance. If the owner is set to renew the home’s title insurance, save money by buying a reissue. A complete new title insurance policy can range in price. You lose nothing by reissuing insurance. This is one to save money when buying.
4 - Have your money in the right spot. If you are an investor, you need to be prepared when you are ready to buy. Closings can happen in a number of days if you’re ready. If you aren’t, it can take much longer. If you are a cash buyer, you may need to move funds around to afford the purchase. No matter what, the money you need at closing should be available a few days ahead of time. This will ensure there is a smooth transaction.
5 - Get involved in the buying process. Hiring a real estate professional will help you but you should not allow them to do everything. This is the biggest mistakes a buyer can make. You need to know what is going on. You should be aware of the smallest details. These details will keep you informed and help you to know what you are getting into with your purchase.
6 - Bad weather can be an advantage. Most people will avoid going to open houses in bad weather. This is a mistake you won’t want to make. Bad weather is a good time to check out a new home. This is going to let you see how the home handles the weather. If you want to check for leaks and poor roof quality, a rainstorm is the time to do so.
7 - Rate the homes you view. If you plan to see more than a few homes, rate them to keep track of the ones you like the best. This will keep everything in simple order for you. Rate the homes on what you need, want, and their ability to resell at a later date. This removes your worry of remembering if house 3 or 4 was your favorite.
8 - Don’t buy at the asking price. Do not assume you have to pay whatever the seller is asking. As a buyer, you have the right to make an offer. If the offer is not too low and you have financing lined up, the seller may be receptive. Check with your real estate professional to see if your offer is too low. They should have a firm grasp of the current market value. They can tell you what the home is really worth.
9 - Sell your home before buying another. Sellers are more willing to deal with people that are ready to move. If you are looking to buy on the contingency that your old home sells, be prepared to lose the home you want. Unless you can afford an extra house payment, avoid contingency buying and concentrate on selling. Then you can buy when you’re ready.
10 - Don’t let someone else choose your home. You are the one that will live in your new house. Don’t be bullied into choosing something. The average new home is picked out within a week. If you don’t find something you’re satisfied with, wait until you do. Take as long as you need. This is your financial investment and not anyone else’s.
Tahitian Islands, otherwise French Polynesia, is an aggregation of 35 islands and 83 atolls. Each of the islands and atolls in French Polynesia is truly incredible and is considered a paradise on earth.
Cruising along the Tahiti and its islands is really an unforgettable experience, with its perfect turquoise and crystal-like blue waters, enchanting tropical scenery, superb white sandy beaches, year-round salubrious climate, cooling breezes, and above all, the outstandingly welcoming French Polynesian natives.
In other words, no other options would be better than embarking on an ocean voyage to explore the romantic as well as unspoilt islets of the South Pacific. After a cruising along the Tahitian islands as well as some of the majestic destinations, it is obvious that you feel as if some of your dreams have been fulfilled.
Some of the much preferred destinations for shore excursions in the Tahitian islands are Tahiti, also referred to as the ’Queen of the Pacific;’ Bora Bora, a much favored destination among the honeymooners and newly weds; Moorea, a spectacular vacation spot noted for its deep bays and majestic beaches; Raiatea, endowed with lush scenery; Taha’a, with its green valleys and paradise-like sandy beaches; and Huahine, an isolated island bestowed with lush tropical vegetation and velvety green slopes.
Tahitian cruising is quite unique, and allows you to choose from a variety of ships and itineraries. Among which, perhaps the most popular cruise lines are Regent with its M/S Paul Gauguin and Princess along with Tahitian Princess. Regent Paul Gaugin, with facilities to accommodate 320 guests, offers a week long cruise, starting from the bustling capital city, Papeete in Tahiti.
Attached with almost all high-end facilities, Regent Paul Gaugin provides its guests options to enjoy an array of activities, with its Fare Tahiti Gallery, displaying Polynesian art and artifacts, vibrant folkloric shows, and small boats as well as ships in order to navigate through narrow channels and shallow lagoons, where larger vessels cannot traverse.
On the other hand, the 594 feet long Tahitian Princess carries 670 passengers, and usually offers 10-day long cruise. Voyagers can choose from any of the three unique itineraries. Usually, the trip starts from Papeete, Tahiti, and includes calls at such destinations as Moorea, Bora Bora, and Raiatea. On board facilities cover more than 200 cabins with private balcony, four restaurants, poolside barbeque grill, beauty saloon, and duty free shops.
Both of these cruise lines are excellent for first-time cruisers. They provide a deep insight into the local Tahitian culture as well as authentic music and dance shows of the region. Additionally, these cruise ships traverse through almost all must-see Tahitian islands including Bora Bora, Raiatea, Taha’a, and Moorea, and offer superb facilities to enjoy a range of activities from waterskiing and fishing to snorkeling and kayaking.
Excellent options are also available in the form of boutique ships such as Bora Bora Cruises, operating two cruise yachts, each of them with capacity to carry 70 passengers. Another great option for Tahitian cruising is Archipels Cruises, departing from Bora Bora. Archipels Cruises offers yachts and comfy catamarans to explore the majestic beauty of the islands.
For adventurers, cruise lines such as Aranui 3, with capacity to hold 200 passengers, provide 16-day adventure trip, starting from Papeete and covering some incredible destinations in the Tuamotu and the Marquesas archipelagos. This cruise line allows you to discover the world’s uncharted regions in an in-depth manner. Further, cruising with the Aranui 3 enables you to experience the unspoilt scenery of remote islands and atolls.
In addition, many of the major cruise lines offers superb value packages for weddings, honeymoons, and to celebrate wedding anniversaries. However, it is recommended to make bookings in advance at least three months before.
Cruising through the Tahitian islands is not only a great way to explore the serenity of these islands but also a great alternative over staying in some high-end accommodations in the region. For instance, staying in the renowned water bungalows spread across the lagoons of Bora Bora as well as Moorea, it costs about $900 per night.
A lot number of tour operators and agents are now to provide you everything in order to make your Tahitian vacation unforgettable. Some of them even take care everything from arranging for a memorable time in both land and water to options to enjoy a variety of activities including sightseeing. Since many of them have their own websites, it enables you to make bookings easily online and that too within the comforts of your home.
With video, audio and blog marketing becoming so popular some net marketers are beginning to question if ezines are still worth their time and can you earn money with ezines.
Why bother drafting an article to send directly to your subscribers when you could just as easily throw together a video to place on video syndication sites, thus driving customers to your site that way.
Below are some reasons why you should continue to produce ezines and if you haven’t already started you’ll be inspired to do so and begin to earn money with ezines.
Reason 1: Email is the internet
A large percentage of first time web browsers come onto the internet first and foremost to connect with friends and families. Thus far, there is no other online communication method that is simpler, faster and more effective than email.
Established net marketers know this. They know that most online users can not understand html or RSS feeds but virtually everyone can grasp and use email. Knowing this, net marketers choose ezines as one of their channels to deliver their messages swiftly and worry free.
Ezines work because they are a convenient way for web browsers to get the information they want. The ezine arrives directly in the subscriber’s inbox without hassle.
A publisher can send his ezine to thousands of people without worrying about postage or paper bulk. Every other known method of delivering your information still requires the user to take action. This may involve logging onto the website to view a video or hear an audio or typing in a URL to participate in a forum discussion.
Ezines are convenient for readers and publishers alike. Once the email is sent the user can choose when they want to read it while the publisher has the potential to reach thousands of users he would not otherwise be able to connect with which increases his profit margin without doing anymore work than he already is.
Nearly every internet marketer will agree that while they may get bored and sell their domain name they will never part with their subscriber list.
For many marketers having a website is not nearly as important as having a group of people that are responsive to their ezines and thanks to emails, marketers can deliver their message more effectively with no effort on the reader’s part.
What’s more the reader knows that the information he or she is getting is something they requested.
Reason 2: Ezines are designed for a specific group
People opt-in to receive more information on topics related to your site. The information is catered to them. Someone who is interested in green tea will opt for a newsletter if it provides valuable information pertaining to that subject. If they did not want more information they would not bother to subscribe.
Ezines give people the power of choice. They subscribe because they want the information, in order for a web browser to get the information you publish they have to make the decision to subscribe. And if they decide they no longer want it they can opt-out or put you on their black list.
But to avoid this scenario web marketers make the effort to ensure that the information they provide is on topic and helpful. Or at least they should. The number of people flocking to the web may increase on a daily basis but they are also more wary than they were five years ago thus ezines must be valuable to reader if they are to be effective.
Reason 3: Ezines are helpful
A truly valuable ezine helps everyone involved (both the reader and publisher). These types of ezine work on building trust by providing the reader with the information they seek first before they even begin to "sell." A well produced ezine sells itself by taking customer service to the next step.
Ezines can be in the form of providing information on a niche topic or they may even offer further information on a product that was already bought from the site. The key is to keep readers happy by give them what they want.
They in turn will provide you with traffic, sales or more subscribers. And in case you’re wondering if subscribers are really giving back to the publisher here’s a quick case to prove my point.
A solo ad went one time to an ezine with about 18,000 subscribers. The ad generated 1218 unique clicks, 957 sales, 69 gross profits per sale: $29.97, Total gross profit: $2067.93
Inspired yet?
The bottom line is people find ezines to be helpful and they repay the publisher by purchasing products or signing up for services offered in the ezine to earn money with ezines. If you’re not producing an ezine you’re missing out on a high income potential and you can guarantee that you’re giving your sales to your competition.
Possibly the greatest aspect of online marketing is that audience that exists online. Millions of people, world wide, use the internet to look for products, services and information.
While there are a multitude of marketing methods to reach the staggering numbers of online shoppers, one of the best ways is ezine advertising. You not only get to reach those large numbers, but you are able to target your niche market.
But like most forms of marketing, ezine advertising requires a financial investment. In order to maximize your return on investment and make money with ezines, read and apply the following advice.
1. Do not use the company ad
Most affiliate programs provide their affiliates with prewritten classified and ezine ads. And while you may view this as a bonus, the truth is unless you’re among the first people using the marketing creatives the ad is no longer hugely effective.
Chances are the ad and graphics have been seen before and users look right past it thinking, "I’ve seen this, I am still not interested." It is best to be creative and write your own ad.
2. Use a catchy headline.
This seems obvious since your goal is get the readers attention. However, in addition to your word choice you may also want to consider applying attention grabbing characters and other formatting styles.
Here is what I mean:
Ex1. Make $500 a week! Easy to do! No selling! Risk free! Limited offer.
Ex2. *** Make $500 a week! Easy to do! No selling! Risk free! Limited offer.
Ex3. *** Make $500 a week! Easy to do! No selling! Risk FREE! Limited offer.
Which of the above gets your attention fastest? I’m going to assume it’s the third one. Why? Because it uses characters such as dollar signs, asterisks, or questions marks to get draw eye in. It also displays an all caps word as well as bold font.
Having one or the other will increase the number of people who glance at your ad but I find that using all the elements sparingly greatly increases my return on investment.
3. Avoid selling the product in your ad
Though the purpose of advertising is to create sales or awareness, the purpose of your ad is to sell the click not the product.
Your website or follow up email should follow through with your advertising purpose. They only job your ad has is to get people interested enough to visit your site.
4. Ask for "premium real estate"
Premium real estate or tops spots are places where your ad will stand apart from the many others advertising in the ezine.
In order to make money with ezines when advertising in a big ezine, be prepared to have a fair bit of company. Your ad can get lost or scrolled over as people get tired of reading. To get your ad to stand out ask for the top spot.
There’s no guarantee the publisher will it to you but ask nicely and know that you may have pay a little extra.
Can’t get the top spot? Ask for another premium real estate spot such as the middle of the article. Anyway you can stand out is worth looking into.
5. Be easy to do business with
You should have an understanding of the publisher’s rules about formatting and line length before you send the ad.
Also check your ad for working links and correct spelling. This is not the publisher’s job, it’s yours and it is worth doing if you want to maximize your return on investment.
6. Use an auto responder for your response device
Most classified ads send the reader to a website and this works if you have a one shot sales letter and no follow up system yet or if you have a time sensitive offer.
But here’s another way to maximize your return on investment.
Instead of using a URL, use autoresponder address in your ad. You can mention something about sending them a private link or this is an exclusive offer.
Create follow up messages to send to them every week until you make a sale.
Use the above tips to run effective ads in large ezines, so you can reach the countless people out there seeking your product. Making money with ezines is very possible if your using these tips and techniques effectively.
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