Cards Cut

Buy dog toys like you are buying toys for your kids - always put safety first. Dog toys need not necessarily be expensive, nor should they be cute. Dogs do not care how expensive or how cute a toy is. What they need is something safe, interesting and durable. Dogs basically carry around their toys to areas they feel comfortable playing in. They bite and chew these toys, and very squeaky toys tend to scare them off. If you are to purchase a dog toy, just make sure that it is practical, safe and entertaining for your pet.

The size of the dog toy matters a lot. And because dogs chew and bite, it is necessary to make sure that the toy is not too big to hinder your pet from carrying it from one place to another (nor is it too small to get stuck in its mouth or throat).

Durable toys are the best. Dog toys that easily get torn apart pose great risk of injuring the gums, getting stuck on teeth, and give opportunity to cases of accidental swallowing and choking.

The variety of dog toys lining market shelves include both hard and soft rubber balls, dental health toys, rope, fetch toys, talking toys, rubber rings and the puffy and furry ones. They come in assorted sizes and shapes that your pet dogs will love. Whatever dog toys you prefer to buy should not in any way present a health hazard to your pet. If you truly love your dogs, put their safety as your top priority.

Aspiring copywriter, be warned.

Don’t expect to “retire this year and still make more money than most doctors.” Paul Hollingshead and The American Writers & Artists Institute say you can. According to their website, all that you need to do is take Michael Masterson’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting, which teaches you to write “simple letters.”

Are they realistic? I say no.

I have been a copywriter for over 15 years and I made a six-figure income last year (2005). But I did not do it by working only “a few hours a day.” I did not do it by writing “one, maybe two letters a month.” If I worked that little I would starve. The bank would foreclose on my house.

Can you really “retire from the job you’re in now and earn more money than most doctors, lawyers, or other well-schooled professionals,” as The American Writers & Artists Institute claims you can?

I doubt it.

Direct mail copywriting is a skill. It’s not easy. There are no “simple secrets.” You cannot learn the craft in a few months by email. I did not learn the trade by correspondence course and I know of not a single copywriter writing and earning at my level who did. They learned the hard way that writing sales letters is hard.

The best in the industry earn good money but they also work very, very hard. Consider the proof.

BOB BLY

Author: The Copywriter’s Handbook

Copywriter for 25 years.

Earns $500,000 a year.

Works 12 hours a day, five days a week.

STEVE SLAUNWHITE

Author: Start and Run a Copywriting Business

Copywriter for 16 years.

Earns six-figure income annually.

Works 40 hours a week.

IVAN LEVISON

Copywriter for 27 years.

Earns six-figure income annually.

Works 40 hours a week.

CLAIM #1

The American Writers & Artists Institute claims that “over the course of a year, you can easily earn anywhere from $30,000 to $240,000 in writing fees alone.”

REALITY

I say earning a living as a copywriter is not easy. Why should anyone ever think it is? In what other career can you possibly make $240,000 a year “easily,” unless you are robbing banks, dealing cocaine or running a prostitution ring?

CLAIM #2

The American Writers & Artists Institute claims that you can be just like the people that “have all the free time in the world to travel . . . to spend with their kids . . . to lower their golf scores . . . to really enjoy life.”

REALITY

As a full-time, professional copywriter, you will not have all the free time you want. Your clients’ deadlines will determine how much free time you have. No one is going to pay you to play with your kids or improve your golf score.

CLAIM #3

The American Writers & Artists Institute claims “You Don’t Need To Be A ‘Writer’ To Be Successful.”

REALITY

The only people who make a lot of money as direct response copywriters are the ones who are excellent writers. You cannot reach their status “just by learning the few powerful secrets that make them successful.”

CLAIM #4

Here’s the promise that Paul Hollingshead, co-founder of The American Writers & Artists Institute, makes: “I’ll also show you how the very first letter you write can earn you $10,000 in cash — and launch you on your brand-new writing career faster than you ever thought possible!”

HERE’S YOUR REALITY CHECK

How many people actually start out as a “brand-new” direct response copywriter with no experience, no clients, no portfolio, zero visibility in the industry and no reputation and manage to persuade their first ever client to pay them $10,000 for their first letter? Not many. When you start, you are a novice. The clients who pay that kind of money for one letter won’t even talk with a novice. And the clients who will talk with a novice won’t pay that kind of money.

If you take Michael Masterson’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting course through AWAI, I wish you every success. I am sure that the course is excellent and that the people who run it are ethical. But the one big check you can plan on receiving when you graduate and start out on your own is a reality check.

That’s because the folks who promote lucrative business opportunities like Michael Masterson’s Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting usually talk about gross income and never mention net income. They show you examples of individuals who earn $100,000 or $300,000 a year writing “simple letters.” I am sure these people exist. But they are not the norm.

Starting a business costs money. Operating a successful business costs money. Every well-paid, self-employed copywriter has expenses. Here’s the reality.

AVERAGE ANNUAL EXPENSES OF SHARPE COPY, INC.

Accounting/legal fees: $2,000

Advertising: 2,912

Banking fees: 762

Membership fees: 1,000

Office supplies: 5,244

Reference materials: 500

Subcontractors: 20,000

Telephone, cell: 600

Telephone, office: 1,460

Travel: 800

Website: 4,160

TOTAL: $39,438

I earn six figures a year as a direct mail copywriter but I spend almost $40,000 a year to generate that kind of income. That’s my reality. Knowing this, should you believe that you can take a correspondence course, retire to a quaint village in Vermont, and then earn more than a doctor makes working only a few hours a day writing simple letters? If you manage to pull it off, let me know.

© 2006 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the Author” message).

Isn’t self discovery fascinating? We get to uncover so much about ourselves. So often we have conversations that are counterproductive and we walk away thinking that it is the other person who needs to change.

I have been sensing a huge shift in myself on this very topiccounterproductive vs. productive or low vibration vs. high vibration conversations. Over the last several months, I’ve been experiencing dissatisfaction with the dialogue I’ve been having with friends, family, clientspeople in general. Something has been stirring in me and I have needed to change things, but I wasn’t sure in what way. I could sense things haven’t been right and have been an observer to gain understanding.

I know now what it is. I’ve actively engaged in letting others discuss their problems to the point that I’ve allowed myself to be drained. I’ve allowed conversations to be strewn out sometimes for an hour at a time….and for several months about the same problem.
I’m now changing my conversations so that they reveal loving myself more.

Just today, a friend called and started off the conversation with things are great and then it naturally progressed to “Let’s now discuss why I really called. I have a problem.”
When she went to the problem about a particular male friend, which incidentally has been the same problem for almost a year now, I told her that this person was simply exhibiting behavior indicating a need for love. I then went on to describe that we all look for love through various means when really we need to learn to love ourselves more. Then we don’t go looking for it elsewhere.

My conversation was an AHA moment for me. I hadn’t been speaking my truth and loving myself because I had allowed these conversations. This particular conversation with this one friend has been played over and over for an entire year, and this is only one of her problem areas. Can you relate to this?

I had been looking for love through these conversations, but they were revealing something totally the opposite for me. I wasn’t getting loveI was getting exhausted and that’s not what love looks like. I am a natural counselor but I also know I need to empower people more. Empowering vs. enabling. Empowering builds energy; enabling sucks energy. Enabling has been a pattern for me and I’m grateful for the people who show up for me to demonstrate this pattern.

I’m now seeing the “problem”it is within me.

Think about your own conversations. What do you need to change to reveal loving yourself more?

When we have a weight problem, we need to look at many aspects. For today, focus on your conversations. If you feel drained after you have a conversation, you need to look at how you’re going to change it. If you feel uplifted after you have a conversation, keep surrounding yourself with this energy. Quickly identify it and then change it or keep it.

Are you enabling or empowering? You’ll know by how you feelit’s a simple assessment.

Incidentally, if you do need to change, people aren’t going to like the change in you as my friend indicated today. However, I felt euphoric as I understood the problem and then sought to change me. Euphoria will be yours as well, and it feels great!

Use the EFT set up and repeat after me:

I love me! I love me! I love me! I love me! I love me! I love me! I love me! I love me!

Keep affirming the positive. You are wonderful!

Love and hugs,

Helping people fall in love…with themselves Tami Close Weight Loss Consultant 2916 N.W. Bucklin Hill Rd. #291 Silverdale, WA 98383 360-792-2209 http://www.tamiclose.com Tami Close helps people fall in love…with themselves. She is a weight loss consultant and uses an integrative method, including cleansing and nutritional products from Isagenix, in her weight balancing program. She is certified in healing modalities (Rapid Eye Technology and Emotional Freedom Techniques) to assist people in releasing their negative emotions to help them change their behavior. Tami is a recipient of a grant from the Sumasil Grant Foundation in her work with RET and EFT. She is a master trainer and has a B.S. in Training and Development. She is a #1 best selling co-author with Mark Victor Hansen, Wayne Dyer and Deepak Chopra, Wake Up…Live the Life You Love Finding Personal Freedom. She has also written an e-book, Close Kept Secrets to Weight Loss, along with other e-books. http://www.tamiclose.com

Obedience training is one of the best things you can do for your dog and yourself. In fact, a well trained dog is by far a happier dog! Why? Because a trained dog requires much fewer restrictions, so the more reliable the dog, the more freedom he/she is given.

Dogs are social animals and without proper training, they will behave just like animals.(A dog is a pack animal. It prefers to be with companions) They can soil your house, chew your belongings, bark at everything that moves, dig up your back garden, attack other dogs and even attack you or your children! Training serves to strengthen the bond between a dog and his owner. It builds communication and mutual respect, and effectively demonstrates to your dog that you’re the leader of the pack without resorting to smacking or hitting. Dogs have their own personalities and mindset. They can be stubborn, dominant, submissive, or fearful, characteristics that can make them difficult to own and train.

Obedience training is also an easy way to establish the social hierarchy. Training can be accomplished at home, in an obedience class, or with a private trainer. When your dog obeys a simple command he/she is showing compliance and respect for you. A well-behaved, obedient trained dog is a pleasure to own because he can go virtually anywhere without being a risk or nuisance to others or themselves ( an untrained dog loose near traffic is an accident waiting to happen). At the end of the day dog obedience training really benefits everybody. Remember dog ownership is a big responsibility and there is nothing fast and simple about it, consistency is important in dog training, in fact patience, persistence and consistency are the most important concepts in any kind of teaching. Obedience training should be fun and rewarding for both you and your dog.

When searching for a trainer or instructor to help with training your dog there are different types of training available, remember an obedience instructor works with people not dogs, then the people work with their pets. Whereas a dog trainer teaches your dog to obey, then teaches you how to get the dog to listen to you.
.

Author is a long term dog trainer and rescuer, see more of her articles on dog obedience training here, remember a well trained dog is a happy dog and happy dogs make happy owners!

Getting a survey before you close on any real estate is very important.

Some people actually buy real estate without having a survey done. It is not a requirement from the financial institute,
so does that mean you don’t need one?

By getting a survey you will not only get a blueprint of your property you will get your property lines marked out for you.
Most importantly, you will find out if there are any infringements on your property like a neighbors fence, a neighbors tree, a neighbors driveway, etc.

A survey can tell you many things.

It will disclose any easements you might have on your property.
Easements can be a fire lane or an access road for the local Power Company. These easements cannot be blocked, built on in anyway to prevent the lanes from being accessed. You could have a city or county easement on your road front property anywhere from two to ten feet into your yard you might not know of. This gives the city or county use of this property for power lines, phone line and even city water drainage. Although you might have to mow this lawn the city has the rights to its use.

A survey will show you if your property has a right of way
for the property behind your property. A right of way is incorporated onto your property and must be available to the property owner behind you to get to and from their property.

If the survey conveys a property infringement you can delay the
purchase until the infringement is moved or back out of the deal
if necessary. Easements will not be removed.

A survey can and will give you peace of mind and knowledge about
your property preventing any unexpected surprises later.
Knowledge saves you money and anxiety.

You decide if you should buy real estate without one!

Shirley Turetsky is the owner/webmaster for http://www.TodaysAds.net
Central Florida’s for sale by owner listings. Find her Do It Yourself FSBO Tips for buyers and sellers to guide you towards successful real estate transactions! More articles about real estate can be found at http://www.todaysads.net

Choosing a shower enclosure sure seems easy enough, but make the wrong choice and your bathroom will be marked for life. This is why you should take your time when deciding which shower enclosure to install. You need to do some research, and enlist the help of a professional. To get you started, here are some basic guidelines.

Types of shower enclosures

The type of shower enclosure you choose should depend greatly on how spacious your bathroom is. Shower enclosures with bi-fold doors save space. These types are usually adjustable. The door opens and closes in a way that doesn’t intrude into the room. This shower enclosure is very ideal for tight spaces.

If you have a bigger bathroom space, then choose a ‘quadrant’ shower enclosure. Such a design can be placed in any spacious shower corner. These types typically feature curved pivot doors and attractive aluminum frames. Quadrant shower enclosures are very stylish and chic. They can add instant elegance to big bathrooms.

Modular shower enclosures

As a general rule, you should always purchase shower enclosures that come as modular systems, so that you can easily adjust them to fit a compact bathroom in a small city apartment or a sprawling bathroom in a large country house. Modular shower enclosures are actually quite common these days. Just visit any home depot shop to talk to an authorized representative. They usually accommodate requests for custom made shower enclosures (for a higher price, of course). They will typically visit your home to do the measurements and will install the enclosure free of charge once it is done.

Shower enclosure materials

Also be sure to choose only the best materials for your shower enclosure. The most common ones are toughened safety glass and fiberglass. Frames come in different materials and designs, too. Mid-range shower enclosures have aluminum frames, while luxury shower enclosures have chrome, silver or gold frames.

Later versions of Microsoft Windows include an Accessibility Wizard and Magnifier for those with partial vision, and Microsoft Narrator, a simple screen reader. The open source GNOME desktop environment long included Gnopernicus and now includes Orca. Recent versions of Microsoft Windows come with the rather basic Narrator. Comming season volunteer Anthony Loeff is reporting software applications for people who are blind The primary audience for such applications is those who have difficulty reading because of learning disabilities or language barriers. The Macintosh OS also comes with a built-in screen reader, called VoiceOver. Access technology such as screen readers and Screen magnifiers enable the blind to use mainstream computer applications. Most legally blind people 76 percent do not use computers. While Apple Mac OS X includes VoiceOver, a more feature-rich screen reader.

Screen reader choice is contentious: differing priorities and strong preferences are common. This interpretation is then represented to the user with text-to-speech, sound icons, or a braille output. Screen readers are a form of assistive technology potentially useful to people who are blind, visually impaired, or learning disabled, often in combination with other AT such as screen magnifiers. Experimental approaches in sensory substitution are beginning to provide access to arbitrary live views from a camera.

The latter developed in part by Knopper who has a visual impairment. However functionality remains limited compared to equivalent desktop applications, the major benefit is to increase the accessibility of said websites. The movement towards greater web accessibility is opening a far wider number of websites to adaptive technology, making the web a more inviting place for visually impaired surfers. Further, using a screen reader is, according to some users, considerably more difficult than using a GUI and many applications have specific problems resulting from the nature of the application.

Increasingly, screen readers are being bundled with operating system distributions. Linux distributions for the blind include Oralux and Adriane Knoppix. A screen reader is a software application that attempts to identify and interpret what is being displayed on the screen. Screen readers can be assumed to be able to access all display content that is not intrinsically inaccessible.

Only a small fraction of this population, when compared to the sighted community, have Internet access.

The rest have some vision, from light perception alone to relatively good acuity. Near 11 percent of those deemed legally blind, by any measure, have no vision. There are also open source screen readers, such as the Linux Screen Reader for GNOME and NonVisual Desktop Access for Windows.

The console-based Oralux Linux distribution ships with three screen-reading environments: Emacspeak, Yasr and Speakup. A persons choice of screen reader is dictated by many factors, including platform and the role of organizations like charities, schools, and employers.

Web browsers, word processors, icons and windows and email programs are just some of the applications used successfully by screen reader users.

Creating and building effective Search Engine marketing campaigns is like trying to nail jello to the wall! The challenge can be daunting to many, requiring very specialized knowledge of process that must be blended with unique and disparate technology. Here is some insight gained from years of experience providing these services to clients.

• SE marketing is very effective in driving qualified traffic to a web site. Over 85% of global surfers utilize Search Engines to find goods and services.

• What can you expect for Search Engine ranking via back-end conversions or desired responses? There is no “silver bullet” answer to this question; we’ve seen results vary from a low of 1.4% to a high of 22%. You’ll make a dangerous assumption if you measure results purely by focusing solely on SE marketing. Your back-end response mechanisms (sales rep interaction, e-commerce fulfillment, newsletter signup, web site, etc.) will greatly affect the ROI. Assess and critique from a holistic perspective.

• It’s a zero sum game if you use any of the low cost “we submit to thousands” of search engines service companies. These submissions do very little to drive viable rankings. If you aren’t achieving rankings in the top 20-30 (page 1-3) listings then you’re wasting marketing resources.

• Don’t make the mistake of focusing solely on Search Engine marketing to drive market awareness (online branding) and revenue. Develop mutually reinforcing processes that are synergistic by utilizing Directory submissions, Usenet/Newsgroup seeding, Newsletter sponsorships, Opt-in e-mail, PR and other offline marketing processes.

• Stringent keyword analysis for HTML text is one of the underlying foundations of a successful Search Engine Ranking campaign. It’s analogous to the importance of ad copy for a conventional print campaign. Most good SE firms use a commercial database service like WordTracker which enable them to analyze the relative popularity of keywords and then build a submissions and optimization process around the selected keywords.

• The actual Title for your Index and Interior pages will also have a significant impact on whether or not a campaign works. It needs to be the right length, typically 10-20 words, have no hyperbole and pique a searcher’s curiosity.

• Contrary to endless marketing hype, there are no quick solutions in this form of interactive marketing. It will take at least 1-2 months before you see any immediate results. And for significant results; i.e., page 1-3 listings via top tier engines add another 2-3 months on top of this on average.

• Web site content development impacts good SE rankings - the more the better. Develop content which is relevant to keywords. We use linguistic analysis software for our clients and then build a standalone “stealth web site” which has content expressly designed for SE spiders (bots). This level of sophistication and proprietary process is expensive and time-consuming but very effective.

• Remember the Armand Hammer quote about Russia? “An enigma wrapped inside a box buried deep in the ocean.” This is apropos to the Search Engine world, as the top tier SE’s all change their submission rules and algorithms on a regular basis. So hire a SE firm that understands the market - or be prepared to invest a great deal of time to achieve tangible results.

About The Author

Lee Traupel has 20 plus years of business development and marketing experience - he is the founder of Intelective Communications, Inc., http://www.intelective.com, a results-driven marketing services company providing proprietary services to clients encompassing startups to public companies. Lee@intelective.com

Lee@intelective.com

Reader Question
I have a question to ask you about my 1994 Mazda B-3000. The engine intermittenly does not start. When you turn the key you never know what you’re going to get. The starter turns but sometimes the engine does not start. If I’m lucky enough to be parked on a hill (it’s a standard) in first gear or reverse, once you get it rolling and pop the clutch it starts without much trouble. It seems to have plenty of power from the battery, (lights, etc. all work). Someone told me it’s a flywheel problem but my mechanic said he didn’t think so, and is unable to diagnose the problem. He said he took the starter out and checked it and found nothing wrong. What do you think? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Very Frusterated, Joe D.

Good question Joe,

If you can start the engine via push starting….it has to be a problem with one or more of the following:

1. Battery does not have enough juice to fully engage and spin starter motor fast enough

2. Starter motor is weak, and does not engage and turn engine

3. Flywheel has a bad spot on it, when you turn the key , you hear the starter motor turning…and usually hear a grinding noise because the starter is trying to grab a piece of the flywheel that is missing

4. There is a starter relay that is bad or some other electrical problem that is not allowing electricity from the battery to flow to the starter

5. Bad connection at the battery and battery cables. You can check this yourself…make sure the cables are clean and tight! You should not be able to move or wiggle the battery cables on the battery with your hands. Make sure you do not have a ring on your finger or a watch on your wrist when working around a battery…I have a few scars on my fingers to prove that batteries can HURT!

I would have the battery “LOAD” tested, and a starter “DRAW” test done by your mechanic with the items on the vehicle….don’t take them off the vehicle to test them.

A quick “Shade Tree Mechanic” test to diagnose a bad starter: when the engine is in “no start” mode. Turn on the headlights (make sure they are good and bright…or you have a bad battery), then turn the ignition key trying to start the engine. If the headlights DIM, but stay lit, then you probably have a bad starter motor, if you turn the ignition key and the headlights go OUT, you probably have a bad battery or loose or dirty battery cables.

ALWAYS check the battery cables first, 9 out of 10 times it is a loose or dirty battery cable…that has been over looked, that causes a no start or intermittent starting problem liek the one you are having.

Austin Davis your car repair advocate. Helping online visitors with car problems and improving communication between the auto mechanic and the customer. Let me help you with your auto repair issues. http://www.myhonestmechanic.com