Carmine

Marketing is the key to success with any business, online or traditional. You can have a website or business location. You can have a great product. However, if no one has heard about your business or your product, you have NOTHING!

Marketing is everything you do to promote yourself and your business. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your website is just one of EIGHT BILLION listed on Google. Without an aggressive marketing effort, your store better have a location next to Walmart and hope for their overflow. How do you stand out from the crowd?

There are seven (lets call them) commandments for your marketing efforts. Keep these in mind and you are well on your way to creating an effective marketing machine. Remember, there is only one way to score the effectiveness of your marketing efforts SALES!

Commandment #1. Use a Rifle NOT a Shotgun

Rifles leave a neat, clean hole where you point them. Shotguns scatter shot in the general direction you point them. Most failed marketing efforts are born in a scattered marketing message aimed at the world.

Lets say you were trying to sell a snowboard. To effectively sell a snowboard to a fifteen year old requires an entirely different conversation than selling the same item to his mother. Therefore, commandment #1 directs us to segment our possible customers into different groups who share common concerns. If your product could be sold to a fifteen year old or a 40 year old, youd better decide who you are going to focus your marketing efforts upon for the greatest success.

Commandment #2. KNOW Thy Customer Like Thyself

Following commandment #1, we selected a targeted group of people for our marketing message. Now, we MUST understand that targeted market as well as we know ourselves. We must crawl within their mindset. We must understand what they think about our product, what they want from our product, and the alternatives they have to our product.

Customers buy for their reasons, not yours. If you want to sell them your product, you MUST sell to their concerns, not your own. Every piece of marketing copy must FOCUS upon them. If you dont speak their language, you dont get their money.

Commandment #3. Be PASSIONATE About Your Company & Your Product

Attitude is infectious. If we are around upset people, we begin to take on that attitude ourselves. If we are with positive people, the same phenomenon occurs. Most people like to associate with enthusiastic people. And, most of us like passionate people. If you arent passionate about your company and your product, why should anyone else be? Commandment #3 means to show passion for your product by speaking and writing about it with enthusiasm. Talk about what your product can help people accomplish in their lives. If you cant work up enthusiasm for your own product or business, find another business or product.

Commandment #4. Accept the fact that NO wont kill you

In the process of running a business and selling a product, you will hear no more frequently than you hear yes (if youre doing it right). What? By doing it right, we mean you are TRYING things. Some work. Some dont.

Whenever you think of a new marketing approach, remember, the worst that can happen is they say no. So, try it! This is not a matter of life or death. This is a great experiment!

It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change. - Charles Darwin

Commandment #5. Wear a CLOWN SUIT! Its hard to ignore!

The cheapest and easiest marketing in the world is free advertising. How do you get free advertising? Wear a clown suit! Do something OUTRAGEOUS! Become news worthy. How?

When Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream first tried to expand to a nation-wide operation, it had trouble finding distributors. They determined the problem was that Pillsbury put out the word to all distributors not to work with Ben & Jerrys. Pillsburys edict effectively blocked Ben & Jerrys from the services of the national distributors. What to do? Put on a clown suit!

Ben & Jerrys set up a one-man picket line outside Pillsbury headquarters. The picket sign read Whos the Doughboy afraid of? The result? National-wide FREE publicity on television and newspapers. Publicity they couldnt afford to buy.

In order to differentiate yourself from the crowd of competitors, you MUST be DIFFERENT! Design your own clown suit and wear it proudly!

Commandment #6. NEVER Give Up!

Albert Einstein said, Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.

In marketing, everything you do moves you forward. If one campaign fails, you are that much closer to the one destined to succeed. Watch others. Learn from others. Learn from your own mistakes. BUT KEEP GOING!

Commandment #7. Always Be Closing

Always be closing is often referred to as the ABCs of sales. However, it also applies to marketing. The objective of marketing is to increase sales. Not to inform, educate, or entertain. I repeat: The objective of marketing is to increase sales.

Therefore, this last commandment directs us to write all marketing copy with the sale in mind. Only information that moves a potential customer toward a sale is allowed in our marketing copy. How do we know what should stay and what should go in our marketing materials? Read through it asking yourself one question So what?

Another way of stating so what? is asking why should the customer care? Youve been in business since 1972. So what? Your product folds flat. So what? Youre a family owned business. So what? The alternative?

We have been in business since 1972 so youll always know where to find us. Since we are a family-owned business, youre always talking to an owner who can answer your questions and solve your problems. Our product folds flat to save you valuable office space when not in use. See the difference? Now youre talking about the customers issues, not yours.

There you have my seven commandments of marketing based upon 33 years of business experience. Commandment is defined as A formal pronouncement or rule. Keep in mind and put into practice these seven commandments of marketing. When you do, your marketing efforts will result in the only true value of marketing increased sales!

Michele Schermerhorn has over 30 years experience in the business world and over 12 years running her own successful online businesses. She is President of Online Business Institute Inc. (http://www.obinstitute.com) and regularly conducts free online seminars. Online Business Institute Inc. exists to Create Successful Online Business Owners One Person At A Time.

There are customized bikes...and then there are custom-built bikes.

What's the difference between the two?

Cusstomized Bikes
Well, anyone who goes to a bike store and has the clerks there help him, or her, fit the bike properly, will usually "customize" their bike by choosing the kind of saddle they like (narrow or wide, gel-filled, etc.), different stem lengths for handlebar height, v-pull or disc brakes, etc.

You can continue to customize your bike with accessories such as bells, compasses, and lights - and you can even give it a paint job if you're good at that sort of thing. (Indeed, I've got a Schwinn Sierra that's about four years old, and I've been thinking of giving it a new coat of blue paint with yellow highlights. Unfortunately, I know I don't have the skill to make it look even halfway decent.)

Road bikes are, obviously, built specifically to ride on roads, and aren't suited for cross-country travel. The tires are very narrow to provide as little resistance as possible to the road, and the handlebars are of the drop-down type which force the rider to lean forward at an acute angle. However, there are various additions to the handlebars one can get so that when resting is more important than speed, it's possible to sit up straight and still control the bike properly.

Lowriders are another type of road bike, though not one used for racing, but rather for cruising around showing off their paint jobs.

Custom Built
What does custom-built mean? A custom-built bike is one that is built for you from the ground up - and hand-crafted more often than not. Your every measurement is taken and the frame is built to those measurements. Cranksets will fit your legs, top tubes will be just the right length, and it'll be built out of the space-age material you prefer.

And in addition to that of course you can choose the types of shifters and breaks you'd like as well.

Custom-built bikes are the most expensive bikes you can get, but they will fit you like a glove and if you are a serious bike rider that is the type of bike you'll want.

Serious road bikers have many different activities in which they can indulge, from"ultra long distance riding" (Randonneuring) to triathlons - where one of the three segments of the race is biking. These type of athletes have to have custom-built bikes.

Alastair Hamilton is a consultant who writes on many consumer topics like cycling for http://www.bikecyclingreviews.com . Find more publications about road bike reviews at his website.

Even though you're bombarded with advertisements touting this or that product to improve your health, you do have other options. If you are concerned about your health and do not want to rely on prescription or over-the-counter drugs, there are other ways to encourage better health. Changing your diet and taking nutritional supplements can help you avoid serious health problems and help you feel better as you age.

Lowering cholesterol has become a major concern for many people as they enter middle age and beyond. If left unchecked, high cholesterol can become a serious health hazard. It increases the potential for heart disease, heart attack and stroke. If it is not treated, the arteries continue to build up plaque and become dangerously clogged.

Lower Cholesterol

There are many different drugs to treat high cholesterol but they also have negative side effects with continued use. There are nutritional supplements that are prepared with all natural ingredients that offer comparable benefits, often without harmful side effects. These health products usually work to lower cholesterol in your body that is not healthy. The LDL is harmful and can block arteries and cause serious health problems. Having a higher HDL can help remove the harmful cholesterol and prevent heart attacks.

Diet is also important for men's health and women's health. A diet high in leafy green vegetables and fruit can help raise your HDL, but white meat and dairy products tend to raise the harmful LDL. A healthy diet is essential for weight loss and overall health. Eating high fiber foods will help many areas of your body function more efficiently. Cut back on fatty foods, and you will see improvement in your digestion and weight.

An important factor in both lowering cholesterol and weight loss is exercise. Regular exercise promotes cardiovascular health as well. Exercise works naturally to burn excess fats and sugars. This helps your liver make HDL, the good cholesterol. It also strengthens your lymph system, improves circulation and helps fight diabetes.

There are many natural health products to help lower cholesterol, lose weight and help with aging. There are herbal and nutritional combinations to aid in weight loss by burning fat, speeding up metabolism, and suppressing appetite. These products would be much healthier to use than over the counter or even prescription weight loss pills.

Weight Loss and Anti-Aging

There are many supplements that help with aging, and include benefits such as strengthening the heart, improving blood flow, strengthening the eyes and organs, and providing antioxidants to fight cancer. Using these natural supplements will help you feel and look younger without loading your body down with chemicals.

If you want to take charge of your health, you can avoid serious health problems before they start. Unicity Health Products offers many nutritional supplements to help you regain or maintain good health. It is worth your time to learn what health products would be beneficial for you.

Chris Robertson is an author of Majon International, one of the worlds MOST popular internet marketing companies on the web. Learn more about health products.

How much is a human life worth? If there was a way you can potentially save a life perhaps even your own -- with an investment of just $1,000, would you make the deal? Of course you would! Thanks to enhanced technology and rapidly dropping prices, now everyone can have access to the amazing lifesaving devices known as an automated external defibrillator, or AED.

An AED is a lightweight, portable device that can jumpstart a victims heart by using an electrical pulse called a biphasic shock. Guiding the rescuer with a combination of simple and clear voice, text and graphical instructions, AEDs do nearly all of the work, enabling practically anyone save a life!

According to the AED resource Web site Start A Heart, the devices are increasingly found today in a variety of surroundings, including schools, public buildings and airports all over the country. Many medical professionals consider AEDs to be more effective and easier to use than CPR, especially since even an untrained layman can successfully restart a heart with just the push of a button. This is excellent news for anyone who experiences heart problems in the vicinity of an AED. Although emergency crews are generally quick to respond to heart attack victims, the time that elapses is often too great for individuals who are suffering from heart failure. If you worry about the risk of you, a loved one or coworker suffering from a heart attack, you should consider purchasing an AED for your home or office to provide piece of mind.

Schools are quickly jumping on the AED bandwagon as well, choosing to invest in defibrillators to ensure the safety and protection of their students, teachers, faculty, and parents. These devices can be quite handy when faced with a teenager in cardiac arrest due to an unknown heart problem that is aggravated during a sporting event or activity. Many teens have fortunately been given a fantastic second chance at life by an AED.

Though many AEDs are never used, youll want be sure you have a high quality and well maintained model in case the day every comes when you need to save someones life. Quality defibrillators, such as the Phillips HeartStart and Defibtech Lifeline cost around $1,250, while higher end models from Welch Allyn and Medtronic are just a bit over $2,000. You can often find a used or refurbished AED for under $1,000. While most units will simply sit around for years gathering dust, make sure that you follow the manufacturers recommended maintenance so that your AED will properly function should the call to duty ever come. The life your defibrillator someday saves could even be your own!

Larry Mitchell is a San Francisco based author.

Opportunities are all over us, just open your eyes and you will see. Listen to what people are saying to you. If you are watching a movie or listen to music there could be hidden messages for you. Why? Because I know I have experienced that several of times. Have you found the times where you thought what a coincidence that this thing just happened now?

You were thinking of a friend that you have not seen or heard for a long time and they call you the same day or the day after? What is it? Synchronicity on a higher level.

Try to use that event and be aware. If it happened once it can happen over and over again. Thats also called to be in a flow. Like the author Mihaly Csikszentmihaly wrote about. Sportsmen talks about a good timing. Business describes it as to be in a right place at the right time. Some people, ignorant ones call it luck. The fun part is like with training that the more you train the more luck you will have. It is that with life.

If you want something desperately just think about it. Act to it, move forward to it. Read about it. Associate with people that have that skill you like to have. Pretend that you are in a theatre. You are the author, director and you have all the roles in your play. If you do not like one character you can always change that to another more pleasant one. Do you want to play the hero or are you the victim? Do you want to play the policeman or the burglar? Why dont you try them all? Then you can choose which one you like most.

What is the point by doing this? I think we live or lives like a role play every day. If we can do a draft on the days we can have a look and see if there is any kind of synchronicity in it. I also believe that if we are more aware what is happening in our lives we can be more in charge of things that we believe we can not do anything about. Make more awareness in your life. When you are doing business how can we you this skill? Most of all selecting good from less good co workers. We want to attract people we like and that we can be working easily with. Learn to listen what they say, between the lines.

How are they moving? In staccato or smoothly? Are they stress or calm? All this things tells you what you have to deal with as co workers. Yes it is good to have a mixture of characters. Try not to make the group too different. Look for people that are walking the talk as the indian would quote it. Listen if they brag about how many people they know compare to how many they would contact.

That is a huge difference. Keep in mind it is a numbers game. The person who contacts most people will eventually win.

Out of quantities comes quality. So the more people you contact and the more you listen between the lines the larger net work you will have. The happier you will become the happier the group will be. So go out and get them. With a happy face, enthusiasm and a good business.

MarieLouise is working as a personal trainer and a life coach. She is also very skilled as a networker with several years experience from different MLM companies. http://marielouisefalk.blogspot.com

The major change with the catamarans mentioned above is the interiors. The interior wood used on all the models has been changed to light oak alpi and synthetic wenge floor in order to create a modern ambiance.

Two new versions of the Lagoon 380 will be available for 2008: The Lagoon 380 Club and Lagoon 380 Premium. The Lagoon 380 Club version is a simplified of the 380-S2. This model will be offered with a short options list. The idea and result of this is to provide future customers an attractive base price less than $280,000. The Premium model is now the exclusive version of the Lagoon 380.

The Lagoon 380 will also have new lazy bag option available, new davits blocks, new upholstery: New color chart, and new hull decals: similar to the ones on the Lagoon 420.

The Lagoon 440 will have black painting on salon plexiglass window: similar to Lagoon 420. A new mast step: similar to the L500 with the 2 top steps at the same level will be implemented in the L420. Just like the L380 the L440 will have a new lazy bag option, new davits blocks, and new upholstery: 2008 color chart, and new hull decals. Fiddles will be place at the top of the cockpit seat back and behind the wet-bar to prevent water from sliding in the cockpit. Fixed glass escape hatches with hammer and stainless fridge and freezer in option will also be available for the L440.

Keeping up with their tradition of staying on top of the competition Lagoon has made various changes to their 2008 model line-up. The Lagoon 380, Lagoon 420, Lagoon 440, and Lagoon 500 all have new features and options.

The Lagoon 500 will also have many of the same new features and options as the other models.

For additional information, please visit http://www.catamarans.com

Putting up mortgage notes for sale is not without its own set of problems. There are some concerns that sellers should note in order to realize a tension-free settlement. Today, the mortgage industry in the US is highly structured and has specialized professionals who do the thinking for you.

There are several websites that enable you to get the best deal from the notes available for sale. Listings are posted by the sellers, and the Internet-based company acts as a mediator trying to validate the listing and the price attached with the notes.

In situations where you are holding the mortgage and receiving payments from the sale of commercial and residential real estate, and you are want to cash in on those payments, there are service agents who provide help. Furthermore, the service agents can also help you if you are holding a note from the sale of a business or vacant land.

There are several options before you. With the help of specialized service agents or brokers, you can sell the mortgage note and let someone else worry about late payments. These mortgage notes are called seller financed notes or seller carry back notes, and are purchased by investors who will pay you the value of the note (which would be slightly lower than their current market value) and then take over your tensions of waiting for the payments every month.

There are several other options as well. If you require some cash now, but still want to retain the security of receiving a monthly income, you can choose to sell part of the note. Mortgage brokers have ready-made solutions for all your problems. Experts feel that in an era of stiff competition and confusion over notes, it is a good idea to seek the services of these mortgage brokers. However, while selecting the mortgage broker, experts advise that you will need to be cautious. It also helps to do some research on the agent and his or her previous record.

Sell Mortgage Notes provides detailed information on Sell Mortgage Notes, Buy Mortgage Notes, Mortgage Note Brokers, Mortgage Notes for Sale and more. Sell Mortgage Notes is affiliated with Atlanta Interest Only Mortgages.