Sunday, December 5, 2010

7 Ways to Make Money Using Only Your Opt-in List

An opt-in list can be quite crucial to any website or internet based company. Even for a small venture such as a niche website, an opt-in list can make a world of difference plus add some extra income to your pocket. It is quite rare that you would see an e-commerce website, whether big or small, that does not have an opt-in list.

An opt-in list allows for a company to market their products and website through e-mail. With an opt-in list, a website and a subscriber consents to sending and receiving, respectively, a newsletter from your company. Through this, you can keep your subscribers in the loop of what is currently available on your website as well as what is soon coming out.

Because of the mutual consent between the two parties, any e-mail sent to the subscriber is not considered spam. There are a great number of successfully read promotional materials such as catalogs, newsletters, and such that are sent because the subscribers themselves have signed up for them, meaning, they do want to be sent those items.

Therefore, building a list is crucial, yet only a small percentage of website visitors actually subscribe to an opt-in list. Many people find promotional e-mails annoying, but if you provide a good newsletter or promotional material, you will see your list build and grow. You can also achieve this by having quality content on your website. If people like what they see and read on your website, then they surely would want more. Newsletters would be a way to attract them back to your site, so offer a little teaser or appetizer on your website if you will.

In addition to marketing your products and services, an opt-in list can also be used to earn extra profit. Not all lists can be used though. It would be good to first build a successful list with a huge number of subscribers. The more subscribers you have, the more money you can make. Here are seven ways to make money using nothing more than your opt-in list.

1. Place advertisements.

There are many corporations who will be willing to pay to put their banners and ads on a list with many subscribers. Selling or renting out lists is not a good idea, so rather than doing that, many companies would just rather place ads with lists that have a huge subscriber base. Your newsletter could be placed with many ads and each one spells money.

2. Affiliate with other companies that are similar or somehow related to the subject of your website.

In this instance, other companies provide links and brief descriptions of their products and services. With each click made on the link that directs or leads a subscriber from your list to their site, the company will pay you. This P4P or pay for performance.

3. Make deals with other companies by asking for a small percentage of sales done through your list.

With each sale that comes from your list and has gone there because of your newsletter, the partnering company will pay you a small percentage of your sales. The more purchasers, the more you earn.

4. You may also get products from other websites on a consignment basis to sell to your list through your newsletter.

Place descriptions, articles, and photos of the product in your newsletter. For those who do buy from you, you can order the product from the other site and sell it to your buyer.

5. Sell e-books or a compilation of your articles to your opt-in list.

Manuals and how-to articles are in great demand. Many people will be willing to shell out money to gain knowledge about a certain topic and subject. With your existing list trusting your expertise in that area, an e-book could be offered and sold or used as an incentive.

6. Create a network out of your list.

Get people to invite more people to view your website and subscribe to your list. The larger your list, the more people who will be able to click on your links and affiliate links as well as make your advertisement income higher.

7. Subscribers are willing to pay for information from whom and that they can trust and rely upon.

Use your list to get more and more people to subscribe to you as well as browse your website. Lastly, you can use your list to earn money by making them your partners. Your list will be the bloodline of your growth and increase.

See how with these 7 ways of just using your opt-in list that you can make money? With so many products out there as well as so many product creators that you do not know who to trust, subscribers getting to know you by being part of an opt-in list can reduce a lot of skepticism. Plus, for you the website owner, getting sales is more guaranteed this way than relying on a traffic exchange site where your website’s visitors are only trying to earn credits, or relying on pay to click sites where these visitors are only viewing your website so they can earn a few cents.

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Saturday, November 27, 2010

Drive Traffic with a Tell-A-Friend Script

More and more webmasters have the recurring dilemma about increasing the traffic flow on their websites. Many methods have been developed in the past few years to solve this predicament, and while most of those methods would work there are those that would not make even a small impact.

Viral marketing is one of the methods that have spawned many success stories as far as driving website traffic. This method uses the tendency of someone to share something informative, entertaining, or amazing.

Many companies bank on this behavior to spread the work about their products and increase the popularity of their company and their website. Viral marketing uses many mediums to entice this behavior. It might be in the form of an interesting story, an addicting flash game, an amusing video, and whatever else may catch a person’s interest.

This ingenious form of marketing is typically low cost and is a wonderful tool for any company to utilize. The benefits greatly overshadow the cost or efforts to initialize this marketing scheme. Therefore, any website would greatly benefit from viral marketing.

Tell-A-Friend Script

One of the easiest methods of viral marketing is using a tell-a-friend script. This is a simple script you can attach to the HTML of JavaScript on your website. Generally, tell-a-friend scripts are installed on pages where a medium is placed so a person can easily send the medium to his or her friends or family members.

The basic concept of a tell-a-friend script is where a person may input his name, e-mail address, and the recipient’s e-mail address and send the medium to the intended recipient much like an e-mail with an attachment. As the recipient receives the e-mail he or she wouldn’t think of the e-mail as spam because he or she would see the sender’s name as someone he or she knows and trust.

Tell-a-friend scripts greatly eliminate the chances of being blocked because they use the information input by the sender. This allows for widespread marketing using the viral marketing method. It can be quite sneaky, but it is very effective.

With the e-mail sent and opened the sent medium will either be read, viewed, or played. Also, along with the e-mail would be a brief description of the company or site that sponsors the medium that was sent. This allows for introduction of the site, the company name, or its products. Along with it is another tell-a-friend script.

The process then begins again. As more people use the tell-a-friend script, more and more people will know of the existence of the sponsoring company or site. People who read the ads inside the e-mail who liked what they saw would go and click on the link and visit the site. This drives traffic onto the site resulting in a great number of potential customers.

Tell-A-Friend Script Availability

A tell-a-friend script is very simple and does not require a complicated method of programming. In fact, you can copy paste a piece of code and simply put it on an intended page. Finding one is even simpler. All you have to do is go to a search engine and type in the search box “tell-a-friend script”, then press enter or click go.

The search results will show you many links that will direct you to a site where you can obtain a tell-a-friend script. It’s just a simple matter of searching for the script and copying it to your intended web page.

With a tell-a-friend script viral marketing strategy you can drive traffic onto your site which could potentially spell profits. This is a simple script that offers great benefits for low cost along with great creativity and foresight.

It is imperative that you have patience in using a tell-a-friend script. If your chosen medium doesn’t get the mileage that is expected of it, it may take some time before it gets spread or shared. On the other hand, many people will see your ads, and there is great probability that they will visit your site increasing your traffic flow.


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Wednesday, November 24, 2010

10/14/2010 PRESS RELEASE

IRVINE, Calif. - Oct. 14, 2010 - RealtyTrac (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report for the third quarter of 2010, which shows that foreclosure filings - default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions - were reported on 930,437 properties in the third quarter, a nearly 4 percent increase from the previous quarter but a 1 percent decrease from the third quarter of 2009. One in every 139 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 347,420 U.S. properties in September, an increase of nearly 3 percent from the previous month and an increase of 1 percent from September 2009. A record total of 102,134 bank repossessions were reported in September, the first time bank repossessions have surpassed the 100,000 mark in a single month.

"Lenders foreclosed on a record number of properties in September and in the third quarter, taking a bite out of the backlog of distressed properties where the foreclosure process was delayed by foreclosure prevention efforts over the past 20 months," said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. "We expect to see a dip in those bank repossessions - and possibly earlier stages of the foreclosure process - in the fourth quarter as several major lenders have halted foreclosure sales in some states while they review irregularities in foreclosure-processing documentation that has been called into question in recent weeks."

Impact of lender foreclosure halts:

Foreclosure activity in the 24 judicial foreclosure states most affected by the foreclosure documentation issue accounted for 40 percent of all foreclosure activity in the third quarter and 36 percent of bank repossessions, or REOs.
"If the lenders can resolve the documentation issue quickly, then we would expect the temporary lull in foreclosure activity to be followed by a parallel spike in activity as many of the delayed foreclosures move forward in the foreclosure process," Saccacio said. "However, if the documentation issue cannot be quickly resolved and expands to more lenders we could see a chilling effect on the overall housing market as sales of pre-foreclosure and foreclosed properties, which account for nearly one-third of all sales, dry up and the shadow inventory of distressed properties grows - causing more uncertainty about home prices."

Preliminary RealtyTrac foreclosure sales numbers for September show that overall foreclosure sales - including pre-foreclosure sales and REO sales - accounted for 31 percent of all sales during the month. REO sales alone accounted for 18 percent of all sales. Foreclosure sales in the 24 states most affected by the foreclosure documentation issue accounted for 32 percent of all foreclosure sales nationwide, based on the preliminary September data.


Foreclosure Activity by Type:

During the quarter a total of 269,647 properties received default notices (Notices of Default or Lis Pendens), a decrease of 1 percent from the previous quarter and a decrease of 21 percent from the third quarter of 2009, when default notices peaked at more than 342,000.

Foreclosure auctions were scheduled for the first time on a total of 372,445 properties during the quarter, the highest quarterly total for scheduled auctions in the history of the report. Scheduled auctions increased 5 percent from the previous quarter and were up 4 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Bank repossessions (REOs) also hit a record high for the report in the third quarter, with a total of 288,345 properties repossessed by the lender during the quarter - an increase of 7 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of 22 percent from the third quarter of 2009.
Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates in third quarter:

As it has for the past 15 quarters, Nevada continued to document the nation's highest state foreclosure rate in the third quarter of 2010 despite a year-over-year decline in foreclosure activity. One in every 29 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, almost five times the national average. Nevada foreclosure activity increased nearly 1 percent from the previous quarter but was down nearly 20 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Arizona posted the nation's second highest state foreclosure rate for the fifth consecutive quarter, with one in every 55 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, and Florida posted the nations third highest state foreclosure rate for the fourth consecutive quarter, with one in every 56 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

With one in every 70 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the third quarter, California documented the nation's fourth highest foreclosure rate, followed by Idaho, with one in every 86 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter. A total of 7,424 Idaho housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, an increase of nearly 20 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of nearly 14 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in the third quarter were Utah, Georgia, Michigan, Illinois and Hawaii.

Five states account for more than 50 percent of nation's third quarter total:

California alone accounted for 21 percent of the nation's total foreclosure activity in the third quarter, with 191,016 properties receiving a foreclosure notice - the nation's largest foreclosure activity total. California foreclosure activity decreased nearly 1 percent from the previous quarter and was down nearly 24 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Florida foreclosure activity increased 12 percent from the previous quarter and was flat from a year ago, giving the state the second largest foreclosure activity total, with 157,026 properties receiving a foreclosure filing.

With 49,103 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the third quarter, Arizona posted the nation's third largest state foreclosure activity total. Arizona foreclosure activity increased nearly 8 percent from the previous quarter but was down 2 percent from the third quarter of 2009.

Illinois posted the nation's fourth largest foreclosure activity total, with 47,802 properties receiving foreclosure filings, and Michigan posted the nation's fifth largest foreclosure activity total, with 46,100 properties receiving foreclosure filings. Foreclosure activity in both Illinois and Michigan increased on a quarterly and annual basis in the third quarter.
Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation's 10 highest were Georgia (41,231), Nevada (38,429), Ohio (36,677), Texas (34,187) and Washington (17,670)
Report methodology:

The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month and quarter - broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during a month or quarter may have been recorded in previous months or quarters. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac's report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default - Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction - Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the quarterly report, if more than one foreclosure document is received for a property during the quarter, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. Both the quarterly and monthly reports check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report does not count the property in the current month or quarter.



RealtyTrac - Foreclosure Data, Q3-September 2010


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Sunday, November 14, 2010

Experience Family Camping in France

Experiencing France for the first time is something every family should try. Touring the main cities and seeing the known landmarks can be quite a memorable experience, but what’s more exciting awaits outside the busy streets of the urban landscape. A family camping experience in France is a great opportunity to enjoy the great outdoors while at the same time getting a chance to see France in a whole new light.

The country’s rural landscape, scenic vineyards, valleys, beaches, and mountain landscapes can give your family the perfect holiday memory that will last a lifetime.

However, bringing your whole family to France for a holiday camping trip can be quite tricky. This is especially true when you are on a budget. This means you may have to look for various means to shave the expenses. You will need to plan the trip in advance to get discount airline tickets. Planning ahead will also help you find a good campsite and will give you some time to book or reserve camp accommodations if necessary.

Some campsites in France do require advance bookings, especially the more popular ones that have a limit to the number of campers allowed at the site. Nonetheless, there are smaller and more personal campsites scattered in France so I do believe that you will not fail in getting a campsite for your family.

Probably the best way to go about selecting a campsite is to decide where in France you would like to visit. Brittany, for example, has several great campsites that offer discount prices for family campers and tourists alike. It is a good idea to decide ahead of time so that the experience becomes worthwhile and memorable.

After you decide where to go, it would be a good idea to determine the best time to go. May to September is usually the open season for campsites in France with July and August being the most ideal time due to the wonderful weather during these two months. You will find more entertainment and attractions open in these two months, so if you want a more quiet vacation for your family, you might want to book earlier in the season or even in September.

When you set out for France be sure to bring your camping gear with you although some campsites do have camping facilities including tents or similar camping accommodations. It would be best to ask the campsite for details regarding the facilities and services being offered so you will know the specific camping gear and equipment you should bring. If you opt for a campsite that offers the bare necessities, then it is recommended that you bring all of your camping gear with you. Camping equipment can be quite expensive to purchase in France, especially during the peak season.

A family camping experience in France is something you can tell to your grandchildren. It is definitely a great and unique experience. It is also a good vacation trip that is certain, with proper planning, that your whole family will enjoy.

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Saturday, November 6, 2010

The Wrong Reasons for Getting into a Relationship

Do you feel that all of your relationships have perpetually gone down hill, even though it is not your fault? Then you should stop and think whether you are getting into a relationship for the wrong reasons. Getting into a relationship for the wrong reasons may well bring about a lot of heartache and potential future disaster.

A common mistake is getting into a relationship because you are lonely. Many women hang on to their boyfriends out of a sheer fear of loneliness, even if their boyfriends don’t treat them well, are abusive, immature, and disrespectful. A lot of women think that a bad boyfriend is better than no boyfriend at all. A lot of men think the same way.

However, this is a route leading to potential future disaster and is best avoided. If you can see yourself approaching someone just to have someone to enjoy the weekend with, then reproach yourself because this is a big mistake. Instead, get together with your single friends and spend time. Have a girls or guys night out.

A lot of people get into a relationship out of peer pressure. As more and more of your friends find boyfriends and girlfriends, and they get deeper into their relationships, some even getting engaged, you may often feel sad or depressed as to why you are not able to experience the pleasure they do. You may often feel that there is something wrong with you if you are still single.

There are even a few women (and men) who have an intense need to be like their friends so they often get into a relationship with the first person they see. However, there is nothing wrong with being single. There are many people who are single and happy, so find a hobby or something to engage yourself with.

Another common reason for people to rush into a relationship is they feel that they are missing something, and often they think that it is a male or female presence. However, as they soon find out, a boyfriend or girlfriend rarely solves the problem. The empty space that they used to feel usually still remains, maybe not physically, but mentally and emotionally.

The presence of these empty feelings may damage the relationship further down the line. When they enter a relationship, the man or woman will sooner or later detect these insecurities, and he or she will not likely want to take the relationship further. This leads both partners in that relationship to be hurt.

As you can see, getting into relationships for the wrong reasons may damage your relationships later on, causing many problems and a lot of heartache. When you do get into a relationship, do so not because you need to but because you want to. Getting into a relationship should never be done under any sort of duress.

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Tuesday, November 2, 2010

Countries With The Best Climate #7 -- Argentina

Here is #7 for Countries where the weather is perfect year round according to Jackie Flynn. Seventh place belongs to Argentina.

Argentina’s climate ranges from subtropical in the north to humid and steamy in the center to cold and temperate in the south. The Andes region has erratic rainfall, flash floods in summer, searing heat, snow at higher elevations, and the Zonda—a hot, dry wind.


The lowlands receive sufficient rainfall to support swampy forests and upland savanna, but rainfall decreases from east to west. Shallow summer flooding is common in the east. Also, the dry winter season is pronounced, and the summer heat can be brutal. The flat Pampas areas are also vulnerable to flooding. Patagonia is mild yearround in the east and glacial in the south.

“The Short San Juan Summer” is an unusual meteorological phenomena that occurs in June in the middle of Argentina’s winter. The inhabitants of Buenos Aires gave it this name because it reaches the area by June 24, the date when San Juan el Bautista was born. This weather rarity can last between three and seven days with temperatures sometimes as high as 75°F (24°C). Therefore, it is not unusual to see people lying in the sun at city’s squares in the middle of the Argentine winter.

While it is summer in North America, it is winter in South America.

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Friday, October 29, 2010

Be as Happy as You Want to Be

A lot of people must have heard the song 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' by Bobby McFerrin at one time or another. The song has a catchy way of conveying its message to everyone about being happy. Bobby McFerrin’s simple message surely motivated a lot of people by telling them not to worry.

Living a happy, resilient, and optimistic life is wonderful, and it is also good for your health. Being happy actually protects you from all the stress in your life. That’s good because stress is linked to top causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, and stroke.

One of the best things ever said is – “The only thing in life that will always remain the same is change”. In our lives we have the power to make the necessary changes if we want to. Even if we find ourselves in an unbearable situation, we can always find solace in the knowledge that it too would change.

Social networks or relationships are essential to happiness. People are different, so accept people for whom or what they are and avoid clashes and constant arguments. Also, let go of all kinds of resentments. If arguments seem unavoidable, still try and make an effort to understand the situation, and you might just get along with well with it.

Happiness is actually found in everyone, so increasing it is a way to make life more wonderful and healthier.

Being happy is relatively easy. Just decide to be a happy person. Abraham Lincoln observed that most people most of the time can choose how happy or stressed, how relaxed or troubled, or how bright or dull their outlook will be. The choice is simple really, so choose to be happy.

There are several ways which you can do this.

Being grateful is a great attitude. We have so much to be thankful for. Thank the taxi driver for bringing you home safely. Thank the cook for a wonderful dinner. Even thank the guy who cleans your windows. Also, thank the mailman for bringing you your mail, thank the policeman for making your place safe, and thank God for being alive.

News is stressful. Get less of it. Some people just can't start their day without their daily dose of news. Try and think about it, 99% of the news we hear or read is bad news. Starting the day with bad news does not seem to be a sensible thing to do.

A religious connection is also recommended. Being part of a religious group with its singing, sacraments, chanting, prayers, and meditations foster inner peace.

Manage your time. Time is invaluable and is too important to waste. Time management can be viewed as a list of rules that involves scheduling, setting goals, planning, creating lists of things to do, and prioritizing. These are the core basics of time management that should be understood to develop an efficient personal time management skill. These basic skills can be fine tuned further to include the finer points of each skill that can give you that extra reserve to make the results you desire.

Laugh and laugh heartily everyday. Heard a good joke? Tell your friends or family about it. As they also say – “Laughter is the best medicine”.

Express your feelings, affections, friendship, and passion to people around you. They will most likely reciprocate your actions. Try not to keep built-up anger or frustrations as this is bad for your health. Instead, find ways of expressing them in a way that will not cause more injury or hurt to anyone.

Working hard brings tremendous personal satisfaction. It gives a feeling of being competent in finishing our tasks. Accomplishments are necessary for all of us. They give us a sense of value. Work on things that you feel are worthy of your time.

Learning is a joyful exercise. Try and learn something new everyday. Learning also helps us expand and broaden our horizons and could also give us more opportunities in the future.

Run, jog, walk, and do other things that your body was made for! Feel alive!

Avoid exposure to negative elements like loud noises, toxins, and hazardous places.

These are the few simple things you can do everyday to be happy.

Finally, always remember the quote from Abraham Lincoln. "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."

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