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The articles you submit to article directories should be informative and well written. Poorly written articles not only will not be printed, they also run the risk of not being listed in a directory. Though many article directories are run by automated means, some are monitored by real live people who read through the articles and decide whether to accept or reject them—and this number is growing. As article marketing gains popularity on the Internet, more article directories are responding to a flood of submissions by monitoring for quality and content.

There are many good reasons to ensure your articles are well written. Competition is one of them. Hundreds of other articles related to your subject are competing for readers’ attention. The best way to draw interest in your articles is to give them great, must-read titles and equally great informative text. Good articles get read; poor articles get ignored.

Another compelling case for writing quality articles is the expert status you’re striving to obtain. If your articles are poorly spelled, contain bad grammar, or convey useless or erroneous information, you’re not going to look like an expert.

Not everyone is a writer. Not everyone has the time or the interest in learning the necessary skills to put together a compelling article. Fortunately, if this describes you, you don’t have to. Commissioning articles through a professional writing service is one of the best investments an Internet marketer can make. When it comes to content, there is no substitute for well written, quality articles.

You may be tempted to cut corners here. Perhaps you’re thinking about using a handful of high quality articles to draw traffic to your website, and then posting anything—or nothing—on the site itself. Resist the temptation! Generating traffic is only half the battle for Internet sales. The rest is up to your website. You can receive thousands of hits to your website and still not see an increase in sales if there is nothing to retain a visitor’s interest once they arrive on your site.

Article marketing is not an exact science. You should give yourself every possible advantage when it comes to selling on the Internet. This means generating high quality articles, whether you write them yourself or pay someone else to do it, and making sure your message spreads through outlets like article directories.

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Tip # 100 It’s your turn…

Calling all writers! National newspapers usually allot a section to readers who want to try their hand at writing about a personal experience or about a how-to project that they can share with readers.

You’ve always aspired to write, but you keep voicing out the same, tired excuse: “I’m not feeling inspired,” or “I have writer’s block.”

Actually, accomplished writers all echo the same thing: don’t wait for a flash of lightning to shake you out of the doldrums, or that writer’s block will go away and you’ll be churning out pages in no time. The only time you’ll write is when you stop procrastinating and start typing words on your keyboard. They don’t have to be eloquent at first, just type whatever comes to mind.

For writers, the opposite of procrastinating is warming up. If you want to be a writer, you should take this very seriously. One brilliant writer suggested that to warm up, she uses this trick and it works 99.9% of the time.

Type a passage from a favorite author’s book. Pretend you’re the one writing it. Next, try to paraphrase it. You don’t realize it but you’ve already started to write by putting your own words. If you devote 30 minutes each day doing this exercise, you’ll be on your merry way to being a wordsmith!

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When it comes to your efforts for generating traffic to your website, you can never do too much to get it. There is more than one way to skin a cat, and there is more than one way to get website traffic. This section is going to show you what they are. So why wait; let’s get right to it because this section is a perhaps the most important one.

It likely makes more sense to begin at the top. For starters, you can start to generate traffic with Sub-domains. Sub-domains are websites that are located within a directory of your main site and have their own domain name. This method is a chosen method of webmasters because it is simple to do. Because sub-domains use the same resources as the main website, they are normally much cheaper than getting another hosting account, however it does require more bandwidth use. Their low cost and flexibility make sub-domains a great way to direct traffic to your site without overstretching your budget.

When you use Sub-domains as Portal Sites, you should know that one of the best uses of sub-domains is portal websites. Portal websites are sites that link to your main website and have a similar theme, for example, if your website is about selling cars, your portal website would be about car parts. Basically, they provide another portal, or doorway, for visitors and search engines to get to your main website. So if someone input a query about car parts, the search engines would send them to your website that is about cars. Do you see what I mean?

Since creating content for a website takes time, often webmasters simply modify the existing text of the main site and reuse it on the portal site. It is important that the content is not exactly the same and that the portals do not just redirect the visitor’s to the main site. Otherwise, search engines may not index them.

Portal websites can be submitted to the search engines just like your main site. What this means is that the more portals you have, the more visitors you will get. If your website is doing alright in the search engines, then imagine having five more websites out there for the spiders to find. Five more listings mean that Web surfers have five times as many ways to find your network of websites. You still with me? Portal websites are just like sub-domains but they do not have their own URLs, so it is actually cheaper than subdomains.

Search engines and links go hand in hand. More and more search engine spiders or robots are taking into consideration the number and ranking of sites that are linked to you. By linking your sub-domains to your main site and to each other, the ranking of all of your sites is going to be greatly improved.

Banner Exchange Programs are an extremely popular way to get traffic to your website. Banner exchange programs allow members to share advertising space on each other’s websites. Banner exchanges also help you to bring in new clients and customers that you may not have already had. It is like I said in the first few sections; they are a great way to generate traffic to your website, but you may not want to clutter your main site with ads due to loading issues so you have to be careful. Remember the earlier sections that explained the graphical issues that can slow down loading times of your website and force visitors to shut your site down. Portal websites provide a good place to test different programs and direct the resulting traffic to your main site.

You must also try to find Alternative Markets if you want to get your website out there. Search engine spiders will pick up on content variations among your websites. Subtle differences could place a site in a category that you had not thought of and open up an entirely new base of visitors and/or customers. This is again along the lines of finding and writing keyword rich articles etc. that will draw in and attract people to your wares that may not have been looking. For example, when your site is about car parts and you place reviews about cars and articles about cars on your website, it varies your site information enough to draw in potential car buying customers as well. If you are affiliated to a car merchant, this could really boost both of your business. It falls into the category of becoming affiliated with “like” sites.

Product and Service Specialization is going to be a great asset to your website’s traffic. Your main website may have dozens of different products and services. This is great for your business, but when your website is only general, it can hurt your ranking in the search engines. That is why you must focus on one specialization with your website. Specializing allows you to set yourself up as an authority on the product is service that you are selling. Using sub-domains to create sites that specialize in one product or service increases your keyword density and improves your ranking. Plus, many consumers would prefer to work with a specialized business than a one-stop shop because when you are selling everything, it tells them that you are an authority on nothing! Believe me, this is not going to help you in the long run.

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85. For someone who works out at the gym fill a tote bag : towel~water bottle~workout tapes or magazines~power bars~sports drinks~sports socks~gym membership.

86. For adults only. Fill a basket with: scented candles~massage oil~lingerie~wine~wine glasses.

87. For the jigsaw puzzle lover. Fill a basket with: jigsaw puzzle~puzzle mat~coffee mug~magnifying glass~gourmet coffee.

88. For the naturalist. Fill a knapsack with: binoculars~bird watching guide or wildlife or wildflower guide~ log book and pen~maps~trail mix.

89. A small twist on the usual coffee gift basket. Fill a basket with: gourmet coffees~coffee mugs~novels~chocolates~decorative bookmark (why not make one yourself)

90. For someone who ison their feet all day, use a rubber tub as a "basket". Fill the tub with: epsom salts or bubble bath~towel~pumice stone~foot lotion or foot powder~comfortable slippers~nail clippers.

91. Create a kid's craft kit. Fill a rubber/plastic storage box with: coloured paper~crayons~stickers~pipe cleaners~buttons~pom-poms~ white glue~kid scissors~wooden shapes~wobbly eyes~kid sized craft apron~sparkles.

92. For little students fill a children's lunchbox with: pencil toppers~decorated pencils~colored pencils~rulers~plastic stencils which let them draw stars, circles, etc.~stapler~ children's scissors~water bottle in a shoulder or waist holder.

93. For someone who likes needlepoint fill a basket with: patterns~canvas~assorted thread~needles~thimble~frames for finished work.

94. For the movie buff, fill a basket with: pre-recorded movies~movie soundtracks on CD or cassette~batteries for the remote control~head cleaner for the VCR~movie tickets or gift certificates~popcorn.

95. For someone who like to walk or jog, fill a tote bag with: pedometer~sweat band~tapes and batteries for the Walkman~shoe laces~sport socks~personal alarm~t-shirt~water bottle in a shoulder or waist holder.

96. For the electronics hobbyist. Fill a plastic box with: resistors~capacitors~wire pliers~soldering iron and solder~ light bulbs~LED lights~printed circuit boards~project books~wire cutters~electrical tape.

97. For the chocolate lover. Fill a basket with: chocolate cookies (home baked is best)~chocolate bonbons~chocolate sauces~chocolate syrup~chocolate dipped coffee spoons (see the instructions in our project sections)~Hot chocolate mix~chocolate covered coffee beans~chocolate flavored coffee beans~chocolate recipes.

98. For the young at heart. Fill a basket or a small toy box with: silly putty~assorted magnets~magnifying glass~yo-yo~paper airplane kit~kite~kaleidoscope~puzzles.

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In our first three lessons of this series, we have endeavored to bring into realization within your mind (1) the consciousness of the "I"; its independence from the body; its immortality; its invincibility and invulnerability; (2) the superiority of the "I" over the mind, as well as over the body; the fact that the mind is not the "I," but is merely an instrument for the expression of the "I"; the fact that the "I" is master of the mind, as well as of the body; that the "I" is behind all thought; that the "I" can set aside for consideration the sensations, emotions, passions, desires, and the rest of the mental phenomena, and still realize that it, the "I," is apart from these mental manifestations, and remains unchanged, real and fully existent; that the "I" can set aside any and all of its mental tools and instruments, as "not I" things, and still consciously realize that after so setting them aside there remains something--itself--the "I" which cannot be set aside or taken from; that the "I" is the master of the mind, and not its slave; (3) that the "I" is a much greater thing than the little personal "I" we have been considering it to be; that the "I" is a part of that great One Reality which pervades all the Universe; that it is connected with all other forms of life by countless ties, mental and spiritual filaments and relations; that the "I" is a Centre of Consciousness in that great One Reality or Spirit, which is behind and back of all Life and Existence, the Centre of which Reality or Existence, is the Absolute or God; that the sense of Reality that is inherent in the "I," is really the reflection of the sense of Reality inherent in the Whole--the Great "I" of the Universe.

The underlying principle of these three lessons is the Reality of the "I," in itself, over and above all Matter, Force, or Mind--positive to all of them, just as they are positive or negative to each other--and negative only to the Centre of the One--the Absolute itself. And this is the position for the Candidate or Initiate to take: "I am positive to Mind, Energy, and Matter, and control them all--I am negative only to the Absolute, which is the Centre of Being, of which Being I Am. And, as I assert my mastery over Mind, Energy, and Matter, and exercise my Will over them, so do I acknowledge my subordination to the Absolute, and gladly open my soul to the inflow of the Divine Will, and partake of its Power, Strength, and Wisdom."

In the present lesson, and those immediately following it, we shall endeavor to assist the Candidate or Initiate in acquiring a mastery of the subordinate manifestations, Matter, Energy, and Mind. In order to acquire and assert this mastery, one must acquaint himself with the nature of the thing to be controlled.

In our "Advanced Course" we have endeavored to explain to you the nature of the Three Great Manifestations, known as Chitta, or Mind-Substance; Prana, or Energy; and Akasa, or the Principle of Matter. We also explained to you that the "I" of man is superior to these three, being what is known as Atman or Spirit. Matter, Energy, and Mind, as we have explained, are manifestations of the Absolute, and are relative things. The Yogi philosophy teaches that Matter is the grossest form of manifested substance, being below Energy and Mind, and consequently negative to, and subordinate to both. One stage higher than Matter, is Energy or Force, which is positive to, and has authority over, Matter (Matter being a still grosser form of substance), but which is negative to and subordinate to Mind, which is a still higher form of substance. Next in order comes the highest of the three--Mind--the finest form of substance, and which dominates both Energy and Matter, being positive to both. Mind, however is negative and subordinate to the "I," which is Spirit, and obeys the orders of the latter when firmly and intelligently given. The "I" itself is subordinate only to the Absolute--the Centre of Being--the "I" being positive and dominant over the threefold manifestation of Mind, Energy, and Matter.

The "I," which for the sake of the illustration must be regarded as a separate thing (although it is really only a Centre of Consciousness in the great body of Spirit), finds itself surrounded by the triple-ocean of Mind, Energy and Matter, which ocean extends into Infinity. The body is but a physical form through which flows an unending stream of matter, for, as you know the particles and atoms of the body are constantly changing; being renewed; replaced; thrown off, and supplanted. One's body of a few years ago, or rather the particles composing that body, have passed off and now form new combinations in the world of matter. And one's body of to-day is passing away and being replaced by new particles. And one's body of next year is now occupying some other portion of space, and its particles are now parts of countless other combinations, from which space and combinations they will later come to combine and form the body of next year. There is nothing permanent about the body--even the particles of the bones are being constantly replaced by others. And so it is with the Vital Energy, Force, or Strength of the body (including that of the brain). It is constantly being used up, and expended, a fresh supply taking its place. And even the Mind of the person is changeable, and the Mind-substance or Chitta, is being used up and replenished, the new supply coming from the great Ocean of Mind, into which the discarded portion slips, just as is the case with the matter and energy.

While the majority of our students, who are more or less familiar with the current material scientific conceptions, will readily accept the above idea of the ocean of Matter, and Energy, and the fact that there is a continual using up and replenishing of one's store of both, they may have more or less trouble in accepting the idea that Mind is a substance or principle amenable to the same general laws as are the other two manifestations, or attributes of substance. One is so apt to think of his Mind as "himself"--the "I." Notwithstanding the fact that in our Second Lesson of this series we showed you that the "I" is superior to the mental states, and that it can set them aside and regard and consider them as "not-I" things, yet the force of the habit of thought is very strong, and it may take some of you considerable time before you "get into the way" of realizing that your Mind is "something that you use," instead of being You--yourself. And yet, you must persevere in attaining this realization, for in the degree that you realize your dominance over your mind, so will be your control of it, and its amenability to that control. And, as is the degree of that dominance and control, so will be the character, grade and extent of the work that your Mind will do for you. So you see: Realization brings Control--and Control brings results. This statement lies at the base of the science of Raja Yoga. And many of its first exercises are designed to acquaint the student with that realization, and to develop the realization and control by habit and practice.

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LIMITED POWER OF ATTORNEY This fonn needs to be signed by Assignor and notarized by a Notary Public. It gives the Assignee the authorization to sign on behalf of Assignor in matters concerning the vehicle. (To be attached to registration)

SUGGESTED ASSIGNMENT AGREEMENT The provisions recommended in this agreement are meant to protect both parties. If indiv idual concerns are not covered, they can be added while others can be deleted. This agreement is only meant to be a guideline for constructing your own finalized contract.

CREDIT INFORMATION SHEET The Assignor will need some information on the Assignee just for his protection. If the Assignee does not make payments, the Assignor will be able to give this infonnation over to a repossession firm on die Assignee just for his protection.

INSURANCE Insurance regulations differ widely from state to state. The simplest and most widely accepted structure for this arrangement is as follows:

List the owner as primary insured and assignee as additional insured. The loss payee will always be the lien holder. The policy address can be diat of the assignor or assignee.

Insurance can remain on the existing owners policy by just adding the assignee as an additional insured. The owner may prefer to set up a new policy so that die assignees driving record will not affect die rates that he pays for his other vehicles.

Recommended liability limits of 100.000/300.000/50,000: 100.00 maximum limit of liability per person, per accident; 300.000 maximum limit of liability for all persons per accident; 50.000 maximum liability limit for property damage, per accident. These higher liability limits normally will account for a minor increase in rates.

If the assignor has a poor driving record, that would make your insurance premiums prohibitive; however, you do have some options. Some insurance companies will allow you to list the Assignee as Primary Insured and the Assignor as NonDriving additional insured. They will treat the policy just like a normal lease. In the place of the leasing company, they will insert the name of the Assignor. The Loss Pay ee remains the bank or lien holder. Let the insurance company know that you have the Power of Attorney for this vehicle.

If this is the direction that is most economical for you. then you may want to find a creative, knowledgeable agent (this is not always easy). Many agents may reject your policy without fully understanding the relationship or legality of it. We recommend talking directly to the underwriters if the agent does not seem knowledgeable. If you do set up your policy in this manner, then you may want to contact the Department of Motor Vehicles in order to see if a lease tag can be issued in your name without changing the title.

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Chapter 10: The Eyes Have it—So Where are They?

When you’re running a website, whoever is surfing it is staring at the screen…but where? One of the biggest questions for website designers is, “Where are the user’s eyes looking?” Where do your eyes go when you read articles on the Web? What do you notice and what do you miss?

Well, we’ve got some answers for you, because this topic has been studied. Turns out that the upper left quarter of the screen gets the most attention, according to the Eyetrack III research of The Poynter Institute, the Estlow Center for Journalism & New Media, and Eyetools. But that’s not all. There’s more to it than that.

People’s eyes have some very common behaviour patterns. It probably has to do with our hunter-gatherer ancestry.

First, we do reconnaissance, or “recon” as the military calls it. Users’ eyes flick over the entire screen at whatever draws their attention. And what draws it most? Well, the first hot spots are headlines, photo captions, subheadings, links, menu items and the logo on the page— doesn’t matter if it’s a good logo or a bad one, people look at logos.

Then the upper left corner of the screen gets special attention, probably because that's where people expect to find the very best stuff. And the right-hand and lower part of the page almost always gets less attention.

This is info that site developers must know: when you put your most important, vital content outside that critical upper left corner, that important content might as well be invisible when people are making the big decision: whether to stay on your site and read more or go somewhere else.

Yes, people scan a page quickly. But scanning has a purpose: it quickly identifies to a user what they really want to read. The good news is that if you can hook them right off the bat, when they start actually reading a news story on the Web, they read a larger proportion than if they were reading that very same story in the newspaper.

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Other toys have parts that can be recycled easily, just when recycling parts, make sure that you don’t recycle parts that can be swallowed by small children. Yes, eyes on stuffed animals are usually secure, but once unsnapped they become very un-secure and should be thrown back into the trash.

Never save the stuffing as stuffing cannot be washed and would not be sanitary. And always be sure to wash any fabrics that you recycle, and sterilize any plastic parts that you recycle as well.

Other items you may want to keep a good eye out for would be beaded necklaces, especially those with glass beads, as glass beads are highly wanted by other crafters for their projects.

Leather, suede and silk are also materials you should keep an eye out for, because scraps of these materials usually sell for very good prices.

You can also assemble quick kits using your scrap cloth pieces. For example, you can make scented pillow kits by placing a small bag of potpourri, 2 pieces of heart shaped cloth, and a small piece of lace into a regular zip-lock bag, and resell these kits for $5.00 to $10.00 quite easily.

Old crocheted bedspreads can also be converted into kits, especially if they are badly damaged.

Vintage crocheted bedspreads were usually pieced together using individual crocheted motifs. If you happen to find a bedspread made in this fashion, then you’ve found yourself a very nice treasure indeed.

If the bedspread is in good condition with no rips, stains or loose threads then you would want to resell it as a complete spread.

But if you find that motifs are coming off because of torn threads, or find a stain that can’t be removed in one part of the spread, then you can quickly disassemble the motifs by cutting carefully at the seams.