An Article

People love to hear stories. They'll identify with what you have to say much more easily if you tell them an anecdote that relates to your subject matter.

The danger in using this method is that you can lose your way. Interminable, zig-zagging stories are just as boring in print as they are in real life! Keep your story under control, and it will speak to your reader.

THE RECIPE

1. Choose your subject

2. Tell your story

3. Identify the problem

4. Offer a solution

5. Draw a conclusion or call to action

6. Give your article a catchy title

7. Decide on the length. (Most ezines like articles of around 500 - 800 words.)

THE FINISHED ARTICLE

Title: From Chaos To Contentment: The Pocket Organizer

Like most people, I'm fighting a constant battle to stay organized. I have a range of clients both online and offline and projects due at different times. I'm surrounded by to-do lists, stacks of print-outs, address books, phone lists and folders. Finding something quickly is more of a challenge every day.

I was beginning to despair of ever clearing the decks - or even seeing a glimpse of the deck! Then I stumbled across a solution. Browsing around an electronics store looking for a label-maker, I walked past a display of Palm products. The Palm Zire 71 caught my eye immediately (okay, I'm a sucker for a nice-looking piece of electronic gadgetry). There it was, in an attractive blue casing with a bright, colorful screen... begging me to play!

So I played.

After ten minutes I was hooked. Yeah, I know... all of you Palm devotees are yawning and muttering: "Where has she been the last few years?" - but hey, I had one of the early Palm Pilots. The screen was hard to read and the graffiti option didn't work too well. I went back to notebooks and a rolodex.

This one was totally different. It won me in no time at all. I wandered out of the store to "think about it" - and was back within fifteen minutes handing over my credit card.

How ever did I manage without it? Now I have - all in one pocket-size organizer - a date book that stretches *decades* forward and back from today's date, an address book with customizable lists, an expense record, a calculator, a memo pad, a note pad, a to-do list, a world clock... and this little beauty even has a built-in camera. (With an expansion card it could also be an MP3 player.) I've tossed six different items out of my handbag and replaced them with just the Palm. Bliss. (Oh, and did I mention I can sit it in the accompanying cradle and back up everything to my computer?)

Don't worry, this is not an advertisement for Palm products! I'm sure there are other organizers that do all this and more. (You can now get phones that do it all, come to think of it.) The point is, since I don't work in the corporate environment, I just hadn't realized what timesavers these all-in-one products can be. Now, wherever I go I have an incredible amount of information at my fingertips. I don't sort through various folders and files in search of contact information. Heck, I don't even have to carry family snaps around in my wallet - they're all stored in the Palm!

The lesson? There are several. One: personal organizers are not just for so-called "business professionals". They can streamline anyone's life. Two: If you're losing time (and patience) because you're not organized, take the time to sit down and see what can be done. Look for a method that is easy to use and combines a number of functions. Three: browsing through electronic gadgetry is not only fun - it pays off!

=== Analysis Of The Completed Article ===

The Subject: Personal organization

The Story: How a pocket-sized organizer changed my life

The Problem: Too many diverse and unwieldy systems to store information

The Solution: A pocket-sized electronic organizer

Call to Action: Analyze your needs - choose an easy, effective method to get organized

A Catchy Title: "From Chaos to Contentment: The Pocket Organizer". The alliteration of "Chaos" and "Contentment" sounds good; the first part of the title summarizes the rewards, and the inclusion of "The Pocket Organizer" signals the subject matter.

Word Length: The finished article is 511 words: a good length for most ezines (yours or someone else's). You need to be strict with yourself here. If your article is too long, CUT IT!

Copyright 2004 Margaret McAlister

About The Author

Marg McAlister's tips on writing are to the point and popular. To write great web copy, sales letters and articles, don't miss her ezine: the Web Writing Tipsheet! You'll find this and other top advice at www.writing-for-success-online.com

WIIFM - Making the Whats In It for Me? Question Work for You

In the constantly changing world of Call Centers, asking agents to adapt to ever increasing demands, responsibilities and performance can be a challenge to even the most involved of managers. Being able to create buy in is always challenging, but if you can answer the WIIFM question you will be ahead of the game.

While some people may think that the WIIFM question is selfish and self serving, I want to challenge that notion. Very few of us are willing to be completely altruistic in our daily endeavors. We hold down jobs and invest in careers for diverse reasons but the bottom line is that the work we do provides us the means to live the way we choose. When we can no longer see the WIIFM because we are bogged down in the challenges of our daily tasks, we no longer feel compelled to perform those tasks.

So, let me ask you a few questions. Why do you work? Is the work you do important to you or is it just the means to a different end? Do your goals include continuing to do the job you are currently in or do you intend to make a career change? How does the job you're performing now fit into your goals? In other words "What's in it for you?"

Now that you have thought about your WIIFM answers how can you provide the WIIFM for the people that work for you? I know that in a busy Call Center getting to know every employee's hopes and aspirations can be difficult at best. However, giving them the tools to ask and answer their own WIIFM questions can lead to a happier and more productive agent. When discussing new policies, coaching for better performance, or talking about the direction of the organization?keep in mind "what is in it for me (them)." They may not know the answer or they may not be able to see it during the discussions. Giving them the opportunity to ask the question or giving them examples of the WIIFM can make accepting change, or receiving coaching easier.

Actually, WIIFM is just another way to motivate your people that may or may not consist of monetary goals. Not everyone in your employment is motivated by more money, or it may not be their primary motivator. For example, I am completely motivated by praise. I can go a long way on an "atta girl". If you get specific about why and where you think I am doing a good job, I will double my efforts to be valued, appreciated and praised. I will even ask for praise when I need it. However, when I work in a situation where I don't feel valued or appreciated, all the money in the bank won't keep me satisfied. Do you know what motivates your employees to perform? Can your employees answer that question for you?

When your employees see the WIIFM they can make informed decisions about their contributions. It provides focus and can create target goals to strive for. Answering the WIIFM question can alleviate fears and frustration, help employees navigate change and even provide a reason to excel. If you could help every employee ask and answer the "what's in it for me?" question would it make your job easier? Would it give you the tools you needed to provide better motivational messages, contests, and benefits? Could helping your employees understand "what's in it for me" improve productivity, retention, or employee satisfaction? WIIFM can work for you; all you have to do is ask the right questions.

If you are interest in leadership theory and practices then you need to visit: http://www.righttolead.com. Carole Sue Jones is a contributing writer and thinker for our organization. In addition, as a leader you may be interested in http://www.myleadershipsuccess.com.

How To Make Good Use of Spreadsheets

Most computer users use spreadsheets software such as Microsoft Excel in their daily home and office. However very few are aware of the potential of spreadsheets in helping them in financial accounting and statistical analysis.

There are many uses of spreadsheets beyond the simple arithmetical and data analysis we are used to. Spreadsheets can assist us in many tasks with accuracy and speed.

Before we look at some of the uses we can put Spreadsheet software to let's look at a few of its features, which make it unique and useful.

The most important features of any spreadsheet are the calculation of figures using arithmetic signs or functions. While not completely unique to spreadsheets, this feature is particularly more visible and word processing software.

For example in Microsoft Excel, there is a formula bar for typing or displaying typed formulas. The formula can be inserted in this bar or in a specific cell preceded by an = (equal) sign.

You need not insert actual figures, as that would be cumbersome. You simply specify a function such as SUM, AVERAGE, e.t.c and enclose into brackets the beginning column and row numbers and the ending column and row numbers.

The use of functions helps to easily perform calculations. Not only would the computation be accurate but it helps to simplify an otherwise complicated calculations process.

As we have seen, Spreadsheets have many useful features, which make calculation of figures simpler. Now let's look at some of the uses you can put spreadsheets to:

Whether at the office or at home, drawing and maintaining budgets is important. Not only will you be focused and be able to pursue your financial objects clearly with a budget, but you can compare your actual versus planned performance. You can easily prepare a detailed budget with spreadsheets. The calculations can easily be done by entering appropriate formulas and getting the totals and differences.

So you can prepare a cash flow analysis for Monitoring and predicting likely income and expenditure to keep in track with financial affairs of your office or home.

Similarly you may easily predict changes in values such as effects of a price change on costs, discounts and profit. A fixed table can be prepared to show these changes but more significantly the figures could be changed from time to time to reflect new situations with same formulas in place.

Perhaps the most frequent use of spreadsheets is in financial and cost accounting. Many businesses use spreadsheets to calculate balance sheets, profit and loss accounts and cash books.

You can perform bank reconciliation, calculate jobs costs, taxes, schedule payments, forecast profits and control stocks. In all these tasks the spreadsheet proves a very important tool in simplifying the computation process and production of the results.

In data collection and analysis, spreadsheets can be used to record, present and analyses the results of polls, surveys and research. With new gadgets such as handheld, laptops and computerized. Mobile phones, you can do all that while on the road and getting the results instantly.

For teachers and students, in addition to the foregoing, spreadsheets can be used in class work and research activities.

In mathematics and the sciences, spreadsheets could be used to convert temperature figures whether in Celsius or far hermetic, metric to imperial measurements, pounds to kilos, exchange rates among a host of other measurements.

You can also calculate trigonometric and logarithmic functions, standard deviations and critical path analysis.

In addition, the computations may be presented in table on graphic form. There are buttons you can click to make your data appear in table format or in the form of graphs and charts. These enhance the presentability and understanding of the data.

I could give you a hundred or so uses of spreadsheets. However, the few I have mentioned are the more important. Suffice it to say that spreadsheets software is some of the most important application software used at the office and home.

About The Author

Abdallah Khamis Abdallah is a freelance copywriter and ghost writer. To find out how you can enhance your business's sales and profits through credibility and viral marketing solutions visit his website at: http://www.qualitywritingsolutions.com/

quantumpro@lycos.com

The Stilling Of the Storm: In My View

Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; Luke 8:22-25.

In my view, the significance of this miracle of nature as presented by Matthews lies in the theological teachings (which as acts of the "King of the Jews"), it contains. Like the healing miracles, they can probably be best understood against the background of the Old Testament.

In the Old Testament, the restless sea is treated as the symbol of the troubled and sinful world. The power of God is supremely demonstrated through Jesus by His authority and rule over the wind and the waves. The author is attempting to say to his Jewish readers that they should put their faith in the Son of God, as the One who fulfills God's promises to them; that Jesus is the Messiah and hope of Israel. Israel therefore should become disciples and stay faithful in the knowledge that He will deliver, rule and guide His people.

The scene in the boat as it begins to sail is one of Mark's portrayals of Jesus' humanity and those qualities that caused men to recognize Him as Savior of the world. The storm on the lake gives the picture of the trials and dangers of Jesus' own life during this era. Mark illustrates the Servant's weariness and need for rest.

There may also be some implicit message in the story for the church universal. Tertullian is often quoted as saying:

"That little ship presented a figure of the Church, in that she is disquieted by the sea, that is, in the world, by the waves, that is, by persecutions and temptations, the Lord patiently sleeping, as it were, until, roused at last by the prayers of the saints, He checks the world and restores tranquility to His own."

The Lukan periscope manifests Jesus in His majestic power, as a miracle worker commanding obedience of the natural elements. The emphasis is not so much on Jesus' spoken words as it is the power of His word. Jesus is depicted in action, being used to bring deliverance and protection to His own disciples. The Christology of the "stilling of the storm" is obvious: Jesus delivers.

The disciples were in the same boat with Jesus. In all the difficulties and dangers of the Christian life, during the whole journey upon the waves, often agitated by the storms of life, we are always in the same boat with Jesus, if we are obedient to His will. It may seem to us that He is sleeping; nevertheless, if our Redeemer allows the tempest to rise and our faith gives way to our fears, we shall not perish since we are with Him in the storm. Christ Jesus' security is our own. Come what may, we shall not perish as long as we don't jump ship.

Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. http://www.clergyservices4u.org. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, will be available soon.

News Media Misguided or Just Plain Liars?

Last week, the media coverage called the airplane crash in Canada a miracle because all of the passengers survived. However, what they are calling a miracle is really teamwork. The media believes that they know what constitutes a miracle. According to the dictionary, the meaning of a miracle is: Marvel; Supernatural Event. The supernatural event was the lightening that struck the plane, right?

However, the media wants to report the miracle as "nobody died." What can I say to make the media understand that they are loosing creditability in America? The media talking heads are bringing their own attitudes to the story which they report and not the information we as Americans need to understand the event they are reporting. The media then puts a spin on the story to make it more interesting than it needs to be in order to keep our attention. Then the media talking heads are trying to become more powerful people by getting in bed with politics. So! When I listen to the people who report the news, all I hear coming out of their mouths is, "Please, listen to my personal opinion so that I can keep my job!" What do you hear? You know the Lord Jesus Christ said, "Be not deceived."

This is the same media who did not give America the complete truth surrounding the events of 9/11. I suggest that you take a look at the following website: www.911inplainsight.com and tell me what you think. After you read all the information, share it with your elected representative who voted for the Homeland Security Act and the Patriot Act. Both of these newly ratified laws, takes away many of our Constitutional Rights.

I believe the OATH that each representative, Judges, Governors, and President takes is to protect the constitution of the United States from foreign and domestic enemies. Right? "Many will try to deceive you, but go not after them (Luke 17:23.) I will be waiting to hear from all the true Americans. I got a little winded about this topic.

Diane Williams, also known as Mrs. Fox is a unique character based from Nevada York's novels, Caught Up and Mahogany's Revelations. [ http://nevadayork.com ] She is an old soul at heart, who loves to tell it like it is! She firmly believes the real war on Earth is a spiritual war: Good vs. Evil. Diane's goal is to make sure that every person is aware that ones spirituality needs must out-weigh one's physical and mental desires. She currently resides in Idaho where she strives to "keep it real." http://nevadayork.com

Optimize Your Diet For Maximum Growth

The best weight training and cardio workouts will do very little if your diet is off. Make sure you have your diet optimized to build quality lean muscle, have the energy to power you through those tough workouts and drop that excess body fat. Try to get at least 25-30 grams of protein at each meal and consume small meals every 3 hours throughout the day for maximum results!

Try to focus on lean protein sources (chicken breast, turkey breast, egg whites) whole wheat starchy carbs (whole wheat pasta, brown rice, whole wheat bread) and lean fibrous carbs (broccoli, mushrooms, squash, zucchini). A quick daily menu could consist of:

8am:
1 chicken breast (8 ounce), 1 cup of steamed brown rice, 1 small salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing

11am:
turkey sandwich with whole wheat bread (8 ounces of lean turkey breast, lettuce, tomato, mustard) (NO cheese or mayo).

2pm:
8 ounces of top round steak, 1 cup of broccoli, 1 cup of non-fat cottage cheese

5pm:
egg white omelet (8 egg whites, mushrooms), 2 pieces of whole wheat toast (NO butter)

8pm:
8 ounces of fish (salmon, catfish, trout, halibut, etc.), 2 cups steamed zucchini, 1 small salad with balsamic vinaigrette dressing

Eat several, small and nutritious meals throughout the day. You will gain several benefits from eating several small meals throughout the day. Your body's metabolism will be revved up throughout the day. You will also have something in your stomach every few hours and be grazing all day long. This is important because you will not feel deprived like someone who eats 1 meal in the morning and then waits until dinner time to eat again, which usually tends to create a mini-binge since the person is extremely hungry. Try to eat a small and nutritious meal every 3 hours and you will reap the rewards!

You can take a FREE diet analysis of your current nutritional plan here:

http://www.shapefit.com/diet-analysis.html

Kris Bierek is a fitness specialist for the health and fitness site http://www.ShapeFit.com where you can find FREE fitness tools like fitness newsletters, dieting tips, weight loss help, exercise questions and a free fitness analysis to help you get into the best shape of your life!

Hot Wedding Trend: Platinum Wedding Rings

In our hungry-for-anything new pop culture world, celebrities are often the ones that can start a hot fashion trend seemingly overnight. With their heavy media exposure, they are often photographed wearing the latest styles in fashion and jewelry.

Platinum engagement and wedding rings are the latest celebrity trend that has taken the jewelry industry by storm. Several high-profile newlyweds have taken a shine to the cool elegance of platinum.

"Platinum is like our relationship in that it is strong, precious and timeless," says Nick Lachey about the custom made platinum wedding rings he and his wife Jessica Simpson tied the knot with.

It seems that view of the lustrous metal is shared by other celebrity couples as well such as: Russell Crowe and Danielle Spencer, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale, Adam Sandler and Jackie Titone, as well as, popular actresses Reese Witherspoon and Kate Hudson.

Celebrities are especially fond of pairing fancy colored diamonds with their platinum rings. Also, the three diamond platinum engagement ring has quickly become all the rage among new brides.

So, if you're looking to buy diamond jewelry online, whether it's for a special occasion like a wedding, or a gift for a special person, consider platinum jewelry as one of your best and brightest options.

About The Author

Copyright 2004

Donna Monday
One special moment. One special ring.
http://www.1-love-rings.com

The Sundial - Garden Ornament or Exotic Timepiece?

Most of us regard a sundial as an attractive ornament for a park or garden. Their effectiveness as time keepers is highly variable

That's unfortunate, because it is not at all difficult to ensure that your garden sundial will be an accurate timepiece, provided, of course that the sun is shining.

But that will be covered in another article. For now, let's see what a sundial is, and what it is capable of.

Sundial History

We forget in this modern age that accurate, affordable watches and clocks have been around for much less than 200 years.

Before then, sundials were one of the few ways to tell the time with reasonable accuracy.

Shadow clocks dated at 1500BC are known from Egypt, but the first dials appear to have been Babylonian. The Greeks adapted the idea, the Romans developed it further, and by about 100BC had perfected the horizontal sundial (and placed it in their gardens).

Even in ancient days some people had schedules to keep, and both agriculture and religion required knowledge of the seasons and the movement of the sun to determine planting and the timing of ceremonies.

The sundial was an important means of providing that information, and considerable advances in mathematics, geometry and astronomy were made while it was perfected. The knowledge gained forms part of the foundations of modern science.

Types of Sundial

There are four reasonably common types of sundial.

They all have two things in common. Each consists of a raised structure, called the gnomon (silent "g") which casts a shadow onto a plate called the dial. The dial is divided into hourly or shorter time divisions and may also show other information.The part of the gnomon whose shadow indicates the time on the dial is called the style.

The most abundant form is the horizontal sundial, happily sitting on its pedestal or column and adding beauty and interest to the home garden.

Related is the equatorial sundial, with its dial oriented at the same angle as the latitude. It works slightly differently, and is easier to use when properly calibrated.

Thirdly, there is the vertical sundial, ideally located on a wall facing due south in the northern hemisphere, and north in the southern hemisphere. The principle is much the same, but the sundial only occupies a semicircular area. Vertical sundials displayed the time to the public, and were used to correct unreliable public clocks.

And the most elegant of all, the portable sundial. George Washington had one - at that time pocket watches were most unreliable. Modern examples can be a work of art. They combine a compass with an adjustable dial. The dial is tilted to correspond to local latitude, and the compass defines north. Pretty neat!

Sundial Accuracy

A properly designed and installed sundial can be a very accurate means of telling the time, down to intervals of less than a minute.

I won't go into the mathematics, but on a sundial 16 inches (40cm) in diameter, the shadow of the gnomon will move about 1/30th of an inch, or just under 1mm, in a minute. This may be small, it's enough for our eyes to see.

Two Major Problems

Apart from the frequent absence of sunlight (Problem 1), all sundials show time by calibrating outwards from the position of the sun at noon. If you live east or west of me, your noon is different to mine.

Although the earth moves around the sun, we see it the other way. The sun appears to move from east to west across the sky, and local noon is when it's vertically overhead. But if you live 100 miles west of me, my noon is still your late morning, and your noon is my early afternoon. This would be inconvenient if we used our sundials to arrange a lunch date, but a real problem if I had a plane to catch in another city.

Solar Time and Official Time

People managed to live with this problem until communications and transport became faster. Imagine calculating train timetables when Boston, New York and Buffalo all worked on different local times.

The answer was the development of local time zones. US Railways did this in 1883, but in 1914 the world's governments agreed to divide the globe into 24 zones, each 15 degrees of longitude in width, and each one hour different in time to its neighbours. Boundaries were altered slightly to account for state and national borders.

There are four time zones in the contiguous 48 states of the USA: Eastern, centred on 75 degrees W longitude; Central, on 90 degrees; Mountain, on 105 degrees; and Pacific, on 120 degrees. Noon was identified astronomically for each of these meridians (now it's done by atomic clocks), and accepted everywhere else in the zone.

Noon on sundials in places very close to these longitudes will correspond to official noon. For every degree east or west of the central meridian, for 7.5 degrees either side, you will need to add or subtract four minutes respectively to correct your sundial.

A few other adjustments are necessary to compensate for irregularities in the earth's path around the sun - not too difficult to make but the theory is beyond this article.

They add to the inconvenience, and that's why sundials have been superceded by more convenient and reliable forms of time keeping. But problems with time zones and orbital paths can be corrected, and there's no reason why you can't find the correct time from your sundial.

No reason, that is, provided it has been properly installed in your garden. And that's the subject of another article.

Copyright 2005, Graham McClung.

A retired geologist, Graham McClung has had a lifelong interest in the outdoors. And where there's outdoors there's weather. He is the editor of http://Home-Weather-Stations-Guide.com, where you can find reviews and advice to help you choose and use your own home weather station. You can contact him by email at information@home-weather-stations-guide.com

Bathroom Wall Cabinets ? Create Extra Space with a Touch of Style!

Is your bathroom looking cluttered? How about fitting new bathroom wall cabinets to store all your toiletries and appliances? These days we all tend to have a myriad of lotions and potions to keep us looking our best, but the result of having so many bottles in our bathrooms is that our bathroom vanity surfaces can become untidy and crowded. Adding more bathroom storage cabinets can give you welcome space to store all your accessories, leaving your surfaces tidy and clutter free!

The traditional bathroom medicine cabinet fitted above the sink is no long used just for storing medicines. Nowadays as well as having a plethora of toiletries, people have an assortment of electrical appliances, from hair driers to shavers. It's handy to be able to store all these items in wall mounted bathroom cabinets, where they are easily accessible but not in the way when you're not using them. Think about what items you need extra storage space for, then see how much space you have on your walls for additional cabinets.

It's possible to have a bathroom wall cabinet custom made to meet your requirements. So, for example, you can add shelving or partitions depending on your needs. There are many different bathroom cabinet designs, from antique effect to country style to modern. It helps if you have an idea of the sort of look you're after. Consider also what sort of doors you want. Do you want mirrors or glass for instance? And give some thought to the finish of the hardware to make sure it fits in with your existing bathroom fixtures.

Bathroom medicine cabinets can be easily fitted to the wall, providing a functional storage solution as well as adding a touch of style to the room. They could be just what you're looking for if your bathroom's in need of a makeover!

Caroline Smith is a successful freelance writer who has written many articles for http://www.showers-bathrooms.com, your one stop source for finding the best deals on bathroom cabinets, bathroom fixtures, bathroom vanities and more. Shop online and save!

Be An Entrepreneurial Artist: Paint A Picture, then Commit It to Canvas

James had an original concept and he needed an investor. He had a compelling business idea that was a sure winner with the right financial backing. James painted a great picture of the vision he had for his business, but there was just one problem: James wanted to be a businessman, when he needed to be an artist.

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words; effectively, an artist uses his/her skills and talents to create and tell a story on canvas and a business owner should be no different.

Every business owner I've ever consulted has been pretty good at painting a verbal picture -------colorful and imaginative. Enthusiastically they share visions, goals and objectives. Unfortunately, far too many are painting pretty pictures, but failing to commit them to canvas. This is why James decided to call. He recognized that his idea would only get him so far. He knew that he had to get something on paper in order to convince an investor to back his vision.

A picture (your vision) is nothing more than an ideal, the first step for bringing forth life. All artists, like entrepreneurs start out the same ------- with an idea and a blank canvas. Differentiation begins with those that are willing to commit. As a business owner, you may have an ordinary idea or you may have a masterpiece, but if you don't commit it to canvas, the world (and more importantly, you) may never know.

Years ago when I worked in social services as a case manager we were told, If you don't document it, it didn't happen. In other words, what we did and said wasn't important. If we didn't document it in the client record it was as if it hadn't happened at all.

Imagine what it might be like had, da Vinci perhaps, decided to paint verbal pictures? Do you think you could have imagined the intricacies of his paintings without actually seeing them? Do you think you would have pictured the Mona Lisa the way da Vinci had? I doubt it.

This is why entrepreneurs must become not only savvy business men and women, but also brilliant artists that paint pictures and then commit them to canvas.

The details, depth, and key to successfully starting and running your business begins with the picture you paint. It evolves and grows as you put it on canvass. When you commit your ideas to canvas, you give yourself, potential investors, and ultimately customers a visual of your work.

Here are 4 Tips for Becoming an Entrepreneurial Artist.

1. Be Observant ? Artists often paint or draw from observing things ?nature, people, landscapes, etc. Observing people, potential clients, other businesses, entrepreneurs, and industry professionals is a great way to begin conceptualizing your vision, setting goals, and understanding your market.

2. Take Notes ? Make notes of the things you see, things that work, make you smile, ideas you have, and positive quotes. Carry a journal everywhere you go.

3. Be Creative ? Explore new ideas, products, and services. Do something different. Entrepreneurs are synonymous with creativity.

4. Commit to canvas ? After completing steps 1 through 3, commit your ideas to paper in the form of a business plan, proposal, sales strategy, marketing plan, new brochure, card or flyer.

Sheronde Glover is a business consultant and trainer specializing in small business marketing and development. She is the author of Sipping Tea and Doing Business: A Holistic Journey to Business Success. For more great tips for business and marketing, you can contact Sheronde at 770-210-0726 or visit online at http://www.sippingteaonline.com

Three Tips For Magnetizing Your Copy

The difference between good copy and great copy is the number of actions it generates. The more actions the copy drives, the greater the copy is.

My friend John Reese, a master at simplifying what we often tend to unnecessarily complicate, says it best. He says the only metric you should ever really count on is this: "Yes" or "No."

That's it.

Now, what makes great copy nudge people into action requires a variety of different things -- things I often find missing with most of the copy I critique.

So let me share with you three powerful elements that can help you turn your not-so-good copy into good copy, and your good copy into outstanding copy.

1. Give Reasons Why.

Great copy proposes a series of benefits that the prospect will enjoy once they respond. But this is the area most people struggle with. What makes a good benefit? Heck, what makes a benefit in the first place?

A feature is what the product has. An advantage is what that features does. But a benefit is what that advantage means to the reader specifically. It's the specific motive to which that feature caters. In other words, a benefit is the reason why the feature exists and why it's important to the reader.

Look at it this way: a benefit is what a person intimately gains from a specific feature -- not what YOU think the customer will gain from it.

Granted, trying to figure this out can be a little challenging.

So here's a tip: whenever you describe a feature (or what you may think may be a benefit), say this: "What this means to you is this," followed by a more personal benefit your reader gets from the feature.

Keep asking until there are no further reasons to give. Here's an example (and keep in mind that I'm repeating myself, here, for the sake of illustration only):

"This stereo has a 14-band equalizer. What this means to you is, you can adjust the frequencies of the sound to your liking. What this means to you is, you can add depth and dimension to your music. What this means to you is, you can make your music sound as rich and lively as if you were at the concert listening to your favorite band. What this means to you is..."

Tell readers why they must read, why the product is important and why they must buy (and buy now). The more reasons you give, and the more specific and personal those reasons are, the more compelling your copy will be.

2. Tell a Good Story.

Good copy makes a good case. But great copy tells a good story. Keep this in mind: a great copywriter is also a great salesperson. However, all great copywriters AND all great salespeople also have one thing in common...

... They are also great storytellers.

I just returned from Ken McCarthy's System Seminar in San Francisco. And one of the surprise speakers was Gary Halbert. Now Gary, on a topic that at the time seemed totally unrelated to copy, sales or Internet marketing, began to talk about this newfangled anti-wrinkle cream he came across.

He went on to talk about how the product came about, how it was made and even how the product worked. While all these things seemed irrelevant, he did make a great point: he told a great story that captivated the audience.

He translated features into benefits, such as the fact that the cream contained special hydroxies formed during the crystallization process. The analogy was that these hydroxies were like millions of microscopic prisms that reflect light.

He went on to describe that it was those "prisms" that helped to make your wrinkles invisible. It was a terrific story -- and while some people missed it, Gary indirectly provided the greatest lesson of the entire seminar.

Because in his story, Gary provided several powerful lessons.

A key component of telling great stories is to relate them to the reader. Often, this can accomplished with the help of analogies, examples, metaphors and case studies. Why? Because the mind thinks in relative terms.

Here's an example (of both stories and analogies). When people object to long copy, I often argue that long copy is like a good Stephen King novel. If you were a diehard Stephen Kind fanatic, and if his latest book was, say, over 600 pages, would you stop reading it because it was too long? No.

In fact, most Stephen King lovers I know often read his books in one sitting. They tell me they simply can't seem to put the book down.

Dan Kennedy calls this "message-to-market match." Like a Stephen King fanatic, when your copy is targeted and your audience is interested in your offer, they will read it. All of it. No matter how long it may seem to you.

3. Think For The Reader.

Sales are largely based on faith. Faith in the company, faith in the product and faith in the delivery of the promised benefits. And sales trainers often tell you that, like a good fiction story, you must temporarily suspend all disbelief.

And belief requires the suspension of critical thinking.

It is important to understand that people first buy on emotion and then justify their decisions with logic. Even the most analytical types buy on emotion, whether they express (or are aware) of their emotions or not.

Conversely, critical thinking causes the suspension of feelings. If your reader starts to think too much, then fundamental fears, doubts and concerns take over, eventually leading to the greatest killer of sales: procrastination.

Why? Because if we focus on logic first, we tend to think about other needs, concerns and preoccupations at that time. And more important, we may think about other, more important things we can do with our money.

YOU must do the thinking for your prospect. Don't stop short of describing the benefits, offering reasons why and telling stories simply because you're afraid of insulting your audience's intelligence. You're not.

Clients often say, "My clients are not idiots," "the benefits are obvious," "they can think for themselves" or "they can figure it out on their own."

Technically, that's true. But leaving the copy to the reader's own devices will also open up a can of worms, since they will also think of all the other things that may be irrelevant, untrue or unnecessary, which will negate the sale.

And unlike a face-to-face sales presentation, you're not there to answer any questions or objections. So your copy must do that for them. In fact, my friend and copywriter David Garfinkel says it best:

"You must do the thinking for your reader and tell them why your offer is so valuable. Of course, they may 'get it' in the abstract. But going from the abstract to the reader's specific situation requires thinking on their part. A prospect considering your offer wouldn't dare do that thinking. You have to do it for them."

So here's a tip: use the "so-what" acid test. If at any point in your copy your reader asks "so what," then that part needs to be more personal. It needs to be more specific to the reader. And it needs to give more reasons why.

Otherwise, delete it because it's irrelevant.

If you don't, your copy will not speak to your reader. It will make your long copy seem long. And above all, it simply will not drive your reader to act.

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.

Botox, The No-Surgeon Solution to Wrinkles

Despite the fact that Botox is a toxin it's been safely and widely used by ophthamologists for more than ten years. Botox has been used for for wrinkle treatment since the early 1990's and no serious side effects have been documented.

Botox works by relaxing the muscles that create the wrinkles and that way lessening the appearance of frown lines, crow's feet or laugh lines. Botox is injected in the muscle and after the botox injection you'll no longer be able to frown, eliminating the lines created by frowning. Botox eliminates the wrinkles that appear because of facial muscle overuse, it's a protein toxin produced by clostridium botulinum bacteria.

Botox has been regarded by many as "the ultimate fountain of youth", botox injections are more popular than breast enchancement and are probably the next blockbuster. More than 1.6 million patients received botox injection in 2001 with almost 50% increase over 2000. According the ASAPS, botox injections are the fastest-growing cosmetic procedure.

In order to work, a small amount of Botox is injected in the muscles that create the wrinkles. The botox toxin works by inactivating those muscles and that way causing the wrinkles to disappear or diminish a lot.

The botox treatment lasts three to six months and it's quite quick to take. After the effect dissapears you can return for a follow-up injection. It's been reported that after a number of injections the effect lasts longer and it might last several months.

There is one common complication is a slight and temporary drooping of the eyelid. Because botox is used in very small amounts and it doesn't spread in the body you won't have to wait for any healing, you'll be able to return to full activity immediatly.

Although botox can be used by a lot of people, almost anyone, the breastfeeding or patients who are pregnant or have a neurologic disease should not use botox.

For more information on botox treatment or botox doctors please visit : http://www.botox-cosmetic-doctors.com

Baby Strollers - Consider Your Budget

by: Martin Smith
Since you got the news, you have begun gather the things your new bundle
of joy will be needing. Decisions for your first baby may seem
overwhelming at first. The type of stroller you will use for your baby is
one of the biggest decisions you will need to make. When you are choosing
from among the many different types of baby strollers, one of the first
things to consider is your budget.

Stroller costs can range from $10 to $400 and higher. The very light
weight umbrella strollers are general on the lower end. The advantage of
these strollers is that they can be folded up nicely, and can store almost
anywhere. The higher prices of strollers may indicate more features and
better quality.

The features that come with strollers are many and you should know which
ones are important to you. A convertible travel system may be your
preference over a regular stroller and a car seat. Travel systems have a
stay in the car base, a stroller frame to attach the infant carrier/ car
safety seat to.

For your newborn baby these are especially great. Play trays with places
for a bottle or juice cup come on strollers. Canopies with a vinyl window
to let you keep an eye on the baby, come with many strollers. Strollers
are equipped with breaks that are attached to both rear wheels and applied
with your foot and also a wrist brake strap that is used with the foot
brake.

It provides a bit of extra safety preventing the stroller from rolling
away while you are stopped while you use have the strap on. A parent tray
that is placed over the handle bar are coming with many strollers as well
as a large storage basket under the seat(s).

There is space for a cup of coffee or soda, your cell phone, your keys and
space to hold a snack. Now on many strollers the handle bars are
reversible and can be moved from front to rear or vice versa and they are
height adjustable. To save your back use the height adjustable feature and
you can see your baby while he rides if necessary by using the reversible
handle bar.

The seat consideration is next. If the seat reclines does it recline
enough so that your newborn can lie almost flat. Is the seat comfortable
and well padded for your baby? Is the padding for the seat removable for
washing? Many upper end strollers have blankets with snaps that attach
under the seat.

These blankets on your baby's stroller like a bunting on wheels.
Detachable rain hoods are used to protect your baby from wind and harsh
sunlight. There is another twist to your decision about a baby stroller.
An almost brand-new stroller is available for free from your friend.

She agrees to have the stroller cleaned and ready for you. Is it a safe
choice to put your baby in a used stroller? There are things you will need
to look at before you place your baby in it and it can be a good choice
for your baby and you. No cracks, should be in the frame, and there should
be no dents or gaps.

Bolts and screws all must be in place. Anything less could seriously hurt
your baby and cause an accident. On the frame are there any sharp spots?
Are any screws sticking out that could cut your baby or are loose? The
handle bar and frame, are they properly joined? Are there leaks in the air
pressure of the wheels or are they solid?

Regarding the wheels, are they worn? Do you need to possibly replace the
wheels? Are the wheels turning as they should be? Do the axels seem
straight? Do the brakes operate appropriately and hold when they are
applied? Does the seat hold its position in the upright position or the
reclining position?

A serious injury could happen to your baby if the seat does not hold its
place well. Does the lining fit the frame properly and is it clean?
Strollers come with a wide variety of options, types, and styles. Two or
more children can use multi-seated strollers. Tandem, side by side, and
stadium seating (tandem seating with a raised rear seat) which allows the
second child to see more than the back of a head are available.

Jogging strollers have one large wheel out in front and two rear wheels.
Also available for jogging strollers is multiple seating. Enjoy your
outings with your baby or children whether the stroller is used or new.

About the author:
About the Author

Martin Smith is a successful freelance writer providing advice for
consumers on purchasing a variety of
Baby strollers
and more! His numerous articles provide a wonderfully researched resource
of interesting and relevant information.