Deciding Where to Place Your Google Ads on Your Web Pages so That They Will Be Most Profitable.
This is one of the best parts of the whole Google Adsense experience. No one else gets to make this decision except you. It’s your page. You get to decide how many ( up to 3 ads per page), what colors and shapes you will use and on what part of the page the ad will be placed. Should you place your ads at the top or bottom? In the middle of the text? To the left or right? There are only billions and billions of websites online to serve as a pretty decent example! So why not take a look around the web?

One piece of advice I can personally give you on strategic adsense placement is to place your ads as close to eye level as possible for maximum exposure without scrolling. In other words, the easiest less confusing your ads are, the more likely they will get noticed which equals more and more clickthroughs.

While I am not the foremost expert on google adsense I am experienced in the field. I am experienced in the field of pay per click advertising and I have seen every trick in the book. All of my ebooks and literature over the years have been read by lots of people seeking success in adsense. From crooks and con men to the legitimate every day Joe. The bottome line is….If you have a simple page and you place adsense on that page hoping to at least make enough adsense clickthrough revenue to pay for your uptime you are in it for all of the wrong reasons and you are ultimately wasting your time.

The guru’s who made money on utilizing google adsense advertising for content, researched and researched and dabbled in every single avenue of legitimate website marketing to illegitimate website marketing. Then when they made their millions or when they went broke they wrote ebooks about it and made more money from that. Did they reveal their secrets in the ebooks? Yes. But thats all old hat now! Why? Because google changes its operations nearly weekly now and aren’t afraid to deny you money that your reports say they owe you. Is it legal? Yes! Why? Because they reserve the right to change their TOS or “Terms Of Service” at any time with or without notice. This doesn’t mean that they are crooks. This simply means that in order for them to provide excellence in online search while remaining number one, they must make huge decisions at a moments notice.

One old trick of the trade in adsense adplacement is to place ads really close to a link or image hoping a mis click could take place by a visitor. Google soon caught on and soon! And went on to re write their policy and made that against the rules. Another trick peple would and still try which is still against the rules is to beg you to click their ads. Google has announced openly over and over again that they do not allow this practice. So while you may be on the right road to success with adsense be sure to follow their simple rules which are laid out in their guidelines.

Cramming pages? If you cram your pages with confusing links, images and other content your site visitors will not be pleased! They probably got to your page by accident anyways. The reason I can honestly come to that conclusion is because you aren’t organized! Well….If your page is crammed with confusion I can honestly come to that assesment. I can also assess that your over all adsense earnings are either very low or almost non existant. Lets work on that!How to maximize ad exposure with the least amount of ads, while making revenues, while staying on topic, while providing fresh content!

You will surely want to read this section. Lets start at the top. Find a niche topic that you love researching. Then compare it to competitors who also offer the same information. Now on your desktop open a blank notepad and write a few HOTT paragraphs with the HOTTEST relevant keywords most used while searching an engine for your topic or information. Make sure these few paragraphs are content rich! In other words. Make sure they are on point and offer you what you’d want to read if you were searching for your site on the web as a potential visitor.

Now pick a relevant domain name that is simple and easy to say! The reason why is because word of mouth still works online and still works offline as well! People write and talk about websites every day! So keep this in mind when choosing a relevant domain name.

Now find a reliable web host and pay for hosting. Just buy the minimal hosting that provides you with advertisement free website hosting. You don’t want your webhosts ads all over your page! Now get a free web template online that you like and edit it to your liking. Now upload this template while keeping a copy on your desktop of the page content. Everytime you change your page content and you are pleased with it save the page source to the copy on your desktop in case of data loss or server crashing.

Now research your topic from the inside out and create separate pages describing your topic. From articles to on topic news to on topic products etc.

Now subscribe to a general world news feed in rss format and insert it into a table on each of your pages. No need for big huge complicated overwhelming feeds! Just keep it simple. This provides you updated content on general world news daily! This is essential for those times when you just don’t feel like updating your topics.

Now sign up for a google adsense account and place a banner ad at eye level that displays text and image ads. Now if you want and have plenty of room get a side bar adsense ad and put it down lower on the left and right.

When you have the site the way you want it. And it loads in decent time. And you feel really good about it. Create a simple sitemap for google’s crawler by placing a simple notepad document entitled sitemap.txt into the root folder of every webpage within your site. In each sitemap it should only list the pages full URL one URL per line. For example if I had a site named exaample.com and I had 3 sub pages in the same directory on my server I would list each of the three full URL’s one per line in one sitemap.txt file and I would upload it to the same folder each pages index file is located. Practice this until you get it right. There is an XML sitemap procedure that can be referred to but it is much more complicated and takes more time although it does work better. Now visit your google account and submit your main site URL within your account and also submit the full URL path to each sitemap you have created. When this is all finished submit your website to every free search engine online and be patient. Start blogging like a mad man and every few days visit your google account and take a look at your reports! Research your reports and know them well! When you change a strategy from within your website these reports will soon reflect this. Be patient though! Googles crawl service may not get to crawl your pages for a few days or a week! So give it a couple of weeks before making major changes. But always update your content. I wish you luck and success in google adsense and I hope that this article helped you figure out how some of the lesser talked about topics pertaining to google adsense are handled. Thanks for reading! David Batterson MyTurboTraffic.com

The Web Masters Marketplace Please stop by and see us! Visit our products page for a list of awesome master resale rights products. And also visit our article directory and contribute! Submit Your Articles

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Original Source: Deciding Where to Place Your Google Ads on Your Web Pages so That They Will Be Most Profitable

However, as is the case with all the business endeavors, it pays to ask the right questions and search the right criteria, ensuring that you choose the most affordable and effective search engine optimization company to correspond with your needs.

When looking at SEO companies, begin by considering their professional approaches to elevating search engine positions. Stay away from companies that utilize cloaked, doorway, or bridge pages to raise those positions. These techniques violate the professional policies espoused by most search engine policies, and in the worst case scenario, your website will be penalized severely, if not removed entirely from a search engine’s index.

A cloaked page is one that is invisible to your websites regular visitors. The cloaked page is coded to detect a search engine spider and direct it to this special page, which is designed to artificially boost your search engine position. Doorway or bridge pages use the same concept, but often reside on a separate different server.

Google, one of the largest and most vital search engines on the Internet, will remove your website from their index if they detect the presence of cloaked pages. Its advisable not to employ any company that uses this technique.

Its also important to get a guarantee of exclusivity, ensuring that the company you hire will not work with your competitors while they are working for you. Obviously, this would seriously compromise the effectiveness of your search engine optimization campaign. After all, some companies will use the success they bring to your website to sell their services to your competitors. So get a legally binding guarantee in writing to prevent this from happening.

One of the most important factors to consider is the company’s track record of overall results and success. And don’t just take their word for it, as company officials will undoubtedly be slanting their results in order to sell their services to you. To go beyond their simple statement of success, ask them a few pertinent questions and verify their answers.

Ask them with which specific search engines they have achieved the best results; the most vital engines are the most popular engines, and these are the ones with which you want to achieve optimum results. Since the popularity of search engines can shift with the ever-changing landscape of the overall Internet, check out the Nielsen Netratings page at Search Engine Watch. You can access this at http://www.searchenginewatch.com/article.php/2156451.

Next, find out what keywords and phrases that they claim are netting great results. It’s easy to get high rankings with unpopular words; for instance, the keyword “cat leashes” will get an elevated popularity ranking because no one else would think of using it. What you are looking for are good results using popular keywords. Check out the software Wordtracker, available at www.wordtracker.com. You can order a free trial, or a subscription ranging from one day to one year. This software rates the popularity of keywords and phrases based on actual search engine use.

Next, check out an entire site that the company claims to have worked for successfully and monitor their results. You want to see a wide range of positions over a number of different search engines, using different keywords or phrases for the entire site. Request a report for any client the company claims to have served well. This report should show good positions on a number of the most popular search engines for a variety of different, popular keywords and phrases.

When you are checking out search engine optimization companies, ensure they have actually done the work they are claiming to have done. Some companies will show you other company’s results in order to get you to sign on with them.

If you are in doubt, call the company they are showing your results for, and ask for the name of their search engine optimization company.

It’s important to keep in mind that a successful search engine optimization campaign will result in maximum exposure across a wide range of popular search engines using a variety of keywords and phrases. This is the formula for a successful campaign, and you should keep it always in the forefront of your marketing strategy.

Ask the search engine optimization company you are considering for a report that displays rankings across a number of popular search engines for a period of at least six months. Remember, search engine marketing is a process that is continual, and you need a company that not only understands this, but keeps constant watch over your search engine positions. That company must also be able to adjust its strategy in the event that search engine rankings drop.

Since search engine marketing is an ongoing process, your positions must be monitored constantly. If you want your search engine optimization company to do this for you, request a sample of a monthly report. It is essential that this report show rankings for the most popular search engines. Don’t be impressed by a report that only shows great results for a limited number of small search engines. These are fairly easy results to acquire. Also confirm that the popular search engine results they show you are indeed the popular search engines currently.

Be sure the sample report the company shows you is in an easily understood format. For example, it could be in the form of a chart that covers a period of at least six months and presents data such as the top 50 positions broken down on a monthly basis or the top five pages each month. Then, ascertain that the company you are considering actually monitors these positions or pages every month, and that the sample report they show you includes findings and recommendations for the specific site. This ensures that the company will actively monitor and make adjustments to their strategy on a continual basis, rather than simply gather statistics regarding your positions. You need a company that is actively participating in your search engine marketing campaign, not just an information gatherer.

Obviously, your finances have to figure into your choice of company, but bear in mind that a search engine optimization company is crucial to the success of your marketing campaign. It is not just a casual accessory. If you cannot afford a company that will do a thorough and reliable job for your website, you might consider waiting until you do have the finances in place.

If you have to find a company and can’t wait for your finances to catch up with this need, you may be able to find an affordable company that will supply quality, reliable work, such as a company thats just starting out. Just remember that you incur a risk when using a company without a proven track record - and that risk is your money! Don’t take that leap unless the company can supply you with a least a few references.

References are the most reliable indicator of a good company. Don’t use a company that won’t show your references because of any reason, confidentiality included.

Remember - even doctors will provide references! The firm you choose should provide you with a minimum of two references, one that is from a past work experience, and one that is current.

When you contact these references, be prepared to ask precise, specific questions so that no time is wasted. Ask them what their experience was like with the company, such as their availability to answer questions and deal with problems and their ability to meet deadlines. Ask the reference to rate the overall performance of the company.

Find out if the company requested that the person giving the reference make significant changes to their web pages that affected the visitors coming to their site. You are looking for a search engine optimization company that can balance the needs of both search engines and site visitors without compromising either.

The most essential question to ask is whether the work of the search engine optimization company resulted in higher profits for the reference. Without profits, it doesn’t matter whether your positions are at the top of the list or not.

Garey Simmons writes about SEO Consultants from personal experience. Having spent countless hours working with an SEO Consultant and how to market his many business online, Garey has lots of tips to share. For a Free Report ‘Business Owners Fear SEO’ go to http://SEOCoach.Net

Article Source: U Publish Articles

Original Source: Selecting a Search Engine Optimization Consultant or Company

“Trump: Think Big and Kick Ass” is written with Bill Zanker who is the founder of The Learning Annex. The Learning Annex Wealth Expos is the company which presents these throughout the country, and with all of those great speakers in the many different fields. This book is a quick read even though it is 357 pages in length. Learning the information being imparted in the text, the format of the book is congruent. There is the initial chapter divided up with Donald Trump’s point of view on the subject and supported by Bill Zanker’s take on the same subject and from his point of view. To top this off, there is a chapter summary of a paragraph or two and then a bulleted list of the “Key Points” of the chapter you just read. This format for the book makes reading it even more fun as you come to look forward to the different parts of each chapter.

Both Donald Trump and Bill Zanker delve into many of the subjects we are all interested in on a daily basis in our search and journey to success in any given field. They evaluate areas including going from small to big thinking, do you have what it takes, passion for what you do, basic instincts, luck, fear, and then putting it all together in the last chapter. While enjoying this read I found I had many “ah ha” moments.

I will admit right up front that I didn’t even bother reading the chapters on “Revenge” and “I love you, sign this. Why, because I don’t care about those subjects. I already know what Donald Trump thinks about revenge and revenge delves too much on the negatives in life. I also don’t care about prenups as I’ve been married to my “first wife” for 34 years now. Why should I bring that into my life? As one brings to themselves what they think about the most, I like to work on positive thoughts and information. Just my personal insight and opinion but positive begets positive.

I would highly recommend this book for your library for anyone on a journey of personal development. Of course, I like whatever Donald Trump has to say as he is one of the most unique and outgoing personalities in the business world in this country. Couple his thoughts and beliefs with those of Bill Zanker and you get one quality book full of great ideas and experiences. How can you go wrong listening to what these to people have to share? I really enjoyed the interaction of Donald Trump and his impact on Bill Zanker’s life from their first meeting. Very enlightening!

Another unique and awesome part of this book’s format is at the end, they include frequently asked questions of Donald Trump at the Learning Annex Wealth Expos and his answers. In addition they have testimonials from participants of the Wealth Expos and to top it off, there is a great “Recommended Must Reads.” I also liked the partial list of Wealth Expo speakers and the different categories. I was amazed at the number of speakers I recognized. I, for one, would love to invest in such an Expo and increase my awareness and focus on life through these speaker’s experiences.

I highly recommend this book and also suggest you pass it on to those on the same journey of personal self development. Investing the time and money into this book, you can’t lose.

Craig Mattice is totally disabled and works his home based business in network marketing with SendOutCards and direct sales with Liberty League International from his home in Richmond, VA. His works have quality content, humor, personality, insight, and are all personally written. To learn more about the author visit his personal website at aboutcraigmattice.com

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Original Source: Donald Trump and Bill Zanker\’s \”Think Big and Kick Ass\” An Enlightened Review

Rarity of the Stones

Most people believe diamonds are the rarest thing on the planet and that’s what makes them so valuable. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are enough diamonds in the world to fill a coffee cup for every man and woman on this planet. The actual reason they are so expensive is because strict controls are placed on the quantity of gemstones produced for sale worldwide. This marketing strategy is very similar to the world wide marketing of oil: they limit the supply to keep the prices high.

De Beers was founded in South Africa in 1888 and today is the largest producer and seller of diamonds. Almost from the beginning the De Beers company has had a strangle hold on the diamond industry and a huge advertising budget. Diamonds are not as rare as the advertiser would have you to believe. De Beers keeps a huge stockpile of diamonds and tightly controls supply.

Cut

The quality of a diamond is determined by four factors known as the “Four Cs.” They are carat weight, clarity, color, and cut. The “cut” is the trickiest of the four. The differences between a “great cut,” a “good cut,” and a “bad” cut cannot be detected by the untrained eye so the buyer should be aware, because the quality of the cut will make a huge difference in its beauty and value. Cut determines 80 percent of a diamond’s value.

Carat

A one carat diamond weighs exactly 200 milligrams. The carat weight is usually subdivided into “points.” There are 100 points in a carat. Be careful not to confuse the weight of the stone with its size or the carats of a different stone. Because different minerals have different densities, a one carat diamond will have a different volume than a one carat ruby.

Clarity

Clarity is a measure of the number and extent of flaws in the gemstone. Completely flawless diamonds are rare. Only a few hundred flawless stones are produced every year, once again keeping the supply low to keep the price high.

Clarity is determined by the number of blemishes on the surfaces of the diamond and the number of inclusions such as air bubbles, cracks, and foreign material inside of the diamond. When both terms are being referenced the term defects is usually referenced. Nature rarely produces anything that is with out defects and this hold true for diamonds. Most diamonds will have some type of defect or flaw.

Color

The “color” of a diamond refers to its degree of “yellowness.” The perfect stone is colorless and thus the most expensive. The coloration of diamonds can be caused by several factors. Impurities trapped in the diamond during its formation, the crystal lattice structure of the diamond, and the exposure to radiation can all lead to the wide verity of colors available in diamonds.

So to answer the question: Are diamonds valuable? Today the answer would be yes and they have been valuable for thousands of years but the big diamond companies control the availably of the gemstones. Let the investor beware.

David Cowley has created numerous articles on Diamonds. He has also created a Web Site dedicated to Diamonds. Visit Diamonds

Article Source: U Publish Articles

Original Source: Are Diamonds Valuable?

Creditworthiness

It’s important to ensure that your franchisee is creditworthy for two reasons. Firstly, it shows their willingness to fulfil their obligations historically, and could be a sign of how trustworthy they are. Secondly, you can use this information to check how likely it is that they are to be able to afford on-going payments they make towards to your business. You can also find out how much assets they have, and the degree of leverage they will be using to purchase the franchise. The more leverage, the more likely things could go wrong. However, just because things aren’t looking great historically, and they’re low on assets, doesn’t mean they can’t contribute. It’s about getting the mix right between prudence and flexibility.

Track-record

Although you are looking for a business partner, and not an employee, many of the rules are the same. If someone has a history of high job turnover, poor attendance, and long periods of unemployment then they are probably not the optimum candidate for a franchise opportunity. When you’re franchising your business, and you’re looking to get the best people in place, these are factors you should definitely consider. Another factor is their relevant experience for the job they will do. If you’re franchising a plumbing business, for example, then if the person has experience and qualifications in this area then that could work well. Management experience is something that’s not always necessary, but it can be important too.

Depending on the type of franchise you’re selling, it will usually be worthwhile doing a criminal background check, and other similar checks.

Passion & Drive

It’s important that your franchisees are both passionate and driven. This will mean that they will drive higher revenues, you’ll get higher management fees, and they’ll be happier at their job. It also probably means they will contribute more towards your brand.

Most businesses know they want people like this, but finding them can be another matter altogether. Ensuring that you are disciplined in who you are willing to work with is the first step, and the second is encouraging franchisees yourself. The franchising manager should maintain a good dialogue with franchisees, and provide them with the support they need to remain highly determined to be successful. Ultimately, you and the franchisee both play an equally important role in their success.

CityLocal business directory offer franchise opportunities for franchisees looking to get started in the lucrative internet advertising business. http://www.citylocal.co.uk & http://www.citylocal.ie

CityLocal business directory offer franchise opportunities for franchisees looking to get started in the lucrative internet advertising business. www.citylocal.co.uk & www.citylocal.ie

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Original Source: Franchising Your Business & What To Look For In Franchisees

It’s quite possible that the ability to expand your workforce has been a leading problem in your ability to grow your company. This can be especially true of businesses that are based on a trade. In America many trades are considered dying arts. Trades such as upholstery, woodworking & refinishing, furniture crafting, metalworking, and others can actually be considered an endangered species. And it’s not because there is a lack of business. The opposite is actually true. In most places there is even more of a demand now than in the past as people seek to purchase a one of a kind item.

The problem is that many trades are usually taught to successive generations. And that is what has not been happening in recent years. It used to be that a father or mother would pass on their skills in a trade to their children but in America this is happening less and less. The businesses that used to also be handed down from one generation to the next are instead vanishing.

There is a solution to your hiring problems and workforce needs. Be willing to hire people from other cultures. Trade focused businesses are not unique in America. The same kinds of family businesses that are dissappearing in America still exist in other countries today. Just as we have passed down skills from one generation to the next so do other places and cultures. And many of these people are immigrating to America today.

That is where businesses based on trade skills will find their workforces of tomorrow. And you might be surprised by the kind of response you’ll get if you can tap into this workforce. Everyone no matter what they do for a living wants to have a good place to work. A place where they are respected and can provide them with a good living wage and benefits. Tap into that workforce and show what you have to offer. You might findyour business has more qualified candidates then it has job openings. And having more qualified people available than you have positions can only be of benefit to you.

If you are flexible and willing to be open to change your business can benefit greatly. Most people lack the ability to see beyond the things they are used to. They won’t embrace change because they are stuck in their ways. But if your old methods aren’t working you need to open up your options. Otherwise the other guy might beat you to the punch. And you’ll just be on the outside looking in.

Cash Miller is an experienced entrepreneur and speaker who has spent over a decade as a small business owner. His years in small business have provided experience in a variety of topics. If you are looking for more small business information you can go to http://www.smallbusinessdelivered.com

Article Source: U Publish Articles

Original Source: The Value Of Diversity

The truth is…with over 200 components in Google’s algorithm there is definitely more than one way to get your site ranked.

If you’ve read any of my previous articles you may have come across my Gold Star analogy. Let me quickly break it down for you…

Think of the engines like teachers handing out gold stars. Google currently has about 200 factors in their algorithms that determine how your site will rank. Imagine your teacher with a clipboard and checklist with 200 items on it and she assigns you gold stars for each of the things you do well.

The catch is that some of the items on the list are more important and you may get multiple gold stars for that one item, whereas other items are worth only one gold star.

No one (but Google) knows for sure how the algorithm works, so we study and we test and we monitor the industry to come up with a technique that works well for getting sites ranked based on earning gold stars in various different areas.

The number of gold stars you achieve will determine how well your site will rank.

Let’s say you have a ton of great content that uses your keywords really well, and you also have some other on-page optimization in place (like naming images with keywords, clean code that is free of ‘bloat’ etc.) but you don’t have many links. You could still rank well, we see it all the time. Then let’s say another site has very little content but they have an obscene amount of legitimate links, they could also rank well (and often do). And now we have the whole content versus links debate and both sides have proven their case. So what do you do?

I encourage you to continue to look at the facts and then come up with an answer that makes sense to you.

Ultimately Google’s goal is to deliver the most relevant results to the searchers using Google. So if you break it down in the simplest terms what you need to do is prove to Google that your site is relevant to the phrases you want to be ranked for.

Simple, right? The truth is the concept is simple and once you understand that, you can go about the work of achieving your goal.

Now that you understand at the simplest level what needs to be done, you can start looking at the sites that already rank well for your keywords and try to figure out how many gold stars they have (what are they doing right). This process is called reverse engineering.

Next you start on your journey to beat them out. If they have a nice amount of content, you need to get your own “nice amount” of content - and then exceed it. If they have some good links you need to start getting some good links - and then continue on to get great links etc.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying it’s all quick and easy and going to happen over night. But what I am saying is rather than get caught up in the all talk about this strategy and that strategy, if you simply focus on creating a great site that has a lot of relevant content that people will want to link to… then you are on the right path. You can spend your time building and improving your site, or you can spend your time chasing the latest technique that people are debating about.

And I can’t resist chiming in on the content versus links debate…

My response is: why choose only one? If we know both are important to the engines why not focus on both and build your site in both areas? That makes a whole lot more sense to me!

This has been an overly simplified way of looking at things, but I think it is important to take a step back and remind yourself what Google’s objective is and then focus your attention and spend your time on the simple things and not chasing the latest technique to “game” Google.

Jennifer Horowitz, Director of Marketing for EcomBuffet.com, has written a book on SEO and has been published in many SEO & Marketing publications. Over the past 10 years Jennifer’s expertise in marketing & Search Engine Optimization has helped clients increase revenue and grow their business. Check out Jennifer’s free ebook Optimization Step by Step on www.ecombuffet.com

Article Source: U Publish Articles

Original Source: What Google Wants

Salary Negotiations Tip #1: Know your value and be able to clearly articulate the returns that an employer can expect from hiring you. Never forget that as an employee you are investment. When a company hires you, they are making a financial investment through the compensation and benefits that they provide you (as well as many other expenses involved in hiring), and they are doing so with the expectation that their returns on that investment (ROI) will be greater than the cost. It is up to you to know what your worth is, to make sure the potential employer is clear on what that is, and to make sure that they pay you the best possible price for your contributions.

Action Step: Document 6-12 of your most impressive career achievements. Jot notes about the challenges and problems that you were facing, the actions you took to meet those challenges, and the results of those actions. Now quantify those results. Dollar figures or percentages of increase or decrease that represent dollar figures are often the most powerful way to present results. But, even if you don’t have dollar figures, there are often other quantifiable measures that you can use to express the value of your contributions and achievements in the workplace. Now, review all your success stories and practice until you have committed the details of each to memory and are comfortable discussing all aspects of them. These are the stories that you will use during your interviews with companies, to establish and illustrate your financial worth and your proven ability to deliver a strong ROI to your employers.

Salary Negotiations Tip #2: Wait until the right time to talk about salary with a potential employer. Wait until a job offer has already been made. When a potential employer brings up salary prior to a job offer, it is almost always for the purpose of screening you. Before the job offer, if you answer a salary-related question with an actual dollar amount and you give a figure lower than their range, believe it or not, you are likely to be screened out. Why? Because the employer may think that your low amount indicates that you are not capable of handling the responsibilities of the position. And sadly, even if you do make the cut and eventually win a job offer, your salary offer will be held down by the low-ball figure you mentioned too early in the process. If you mention a figure that is too high, you will also be screened out. At this early stage you have almost certainly not had the opportunity to establish your worth and value to the employer. So wait…postpone discussion of salary until you have a job offer.

Action Step: Think of ways that you might respond to questions about salary and practice saying them out loud until you are comfortable doing so. You’ll want to find your own natural words for this, but here is one suggestion for postponing when you are asked that inevitable question: “Salary? If I’m the right person for the job I’m confident that we can come to an agreement. Before we discuss salary, let’s make certain that I am the right person.” Or, “I’m sure you pay a fair salary, and I clearly understand that I need to make you more money than I cost, so I’m sure that when the time comes, we can come to a fair salary agreement.” You could soften either of these statements with a preface statement, such as “I’m very interested in this position and I’m a little concerned that a discussion of salary at this point could screen me out or box me in…”

Salary Negotiations Tip #3: When you are offered the job, and it is time to talk salary, let them talk first. If you have been offered the job and have now been asked about salary, just respond with a simple: “What range did you have in mind?” If you have accomplished what you set out to do and have clearly established your value and worth during the interview stages, you should have a fairly easy time getting the employer to state either a salary figure or range. Now, put a look of thoughtful consideration on your face, and restate the figure or the highest figure of the range with a question in your tone. In other words, say something like “Hmmm…$50,000…” - and then, just be quiet and look thoughtful.

Action Step: Prepare yourself mentally to be comfortable with silence. Know in advance that the silence is necessary and a key part of your negotiations. If you must, keep tally quietly in your head for a count of 30. The most likely outcome of your silence is that you will make the employer slightly nervous that they will lose you as an employee and all of the benefits that hiring you will bring them. Don’t be surprised if, in response to your silence and thoughtful stance, the employer proactively raises the offer before you even have a chance to say anything.

Salary Negotiations Tip #4: Be prepared with market research. With the Internet, you have numerous resources available to determine the salary ranges and all the related salary statistics for people who do the type of work you do in your geographic area. Use the resources available to you and be armed with the facts when you enter salary negotiations. The salaries that others are making are just one piece of the puzzle, but these statistics are an important piece of the puzzle. Having printed research from reliable sources that you can reference to support your desired salary during negotiations, and to help you realistically evaluate job offers that have been made to you, will be invaluable at this stage of the negotiation game.

Action Step: Go to the Internet now and Google “salary research.” Spend an hour or so researching, compiling, and printing salary research relevant to your situation. Be willing to pay for a comprehensive salary report. It will be money well spent and it will give you the ability to respond confidently to a job offer and associated salary offer with a researched response. If the offer made is just what you were hoping for or higher, go ahead and seal the deal. But, if it is a little low, you now have the researched knowledge to respond with a sincere “From my research, I estimate that positions like this for a person with my qualifications pay between X and Y. What can you do in that range?”

Salary Negotiations Tip #5: Remember that monetary compensation in the form of a salary is only part of the deal. What other benefits and perks might be important to you? Once you have come to an agreement with the employer on an actual salary figure, it is time to continue your negotiations to win an offer complete with the benefits that are most important to you.

Action Step: Take some time right now to think about the benefits that would be important to you. Take out a sheet of paper and list them so that you are prepared to discuss and negotiate them when the time comes. Examples may include sales commissions, performance bonuses, insurance, vacation time, a flexible work schedule, professional memberships, expenses for relocation, investment programs, use of a company car, special training or education benefits, and company discounts.

Nationally certified resume writer and career coach, Michelle Dumas is the director of Distinctive Career Services LLC. Through Distinctive Documents http://www.distinctiveweb.com and her Executive VIP Services http://www.100kcareermarketing.com Michelle has empowered thousands of professionals all across the U.S. and worldwide. Michelle is also the author of Secrets of a Successful Job Search http://www.job-search-secrets.com

Article Source: U Publish Articles

Original Source: How-To Negotiate Your Salary & Get Paid What You Are Worth

However, all testimonials are not created equal, and if you don’t know how to properly handle yours you won’t be able to get the most out of this powerful marketing tool.

There are many companies more than willing to put down fake testimonials to sell a product, and these are the people that make things harder for you. People might be a little skeptical when they just see some random, smiling person plastered over a brochure with the tagline Satisfied Customer beneath their name.

How do you overcome this scrutiny?

Get as many details as you can about the people you’re going to use for your testimonials. Ask them if they’re ok with you putting down the city they live in and what job they work. That way when you show their picture you can tell people who the person is, where they come from, and what they do for a living.

Immediately it makes your testimonials more real to people. This isn’t a random, nameless person, but someone they can identify with. They know about the person’s background, and if you have testimonials from people in your target audience, it’ll improve your chances of gaining more interest from other people in that same audience, because they can relate to the person on your brochures or posters.

When it comes to the testimonial itself, ask the people exactly what it is that they liked about your store or doing business with you. How good does it sound if a person simply says, “I really enjoyed shopping at this store.”

Why did they enjoy shopping there? Was the service good, were the prices good, did they find exactly what they were looking for? Give people details.

The best thing you can do is link the testimonial to the overall theme of your commercial printing, no matter what kind it is. If you plan on emphasizing low prices, get a testimonial mentioning how great the prices are, just as if you make a big deal out of your service, find a satisfied customer willing to let others know what a good time they had with your company.

Not only does this boost your message, but adds yet another layer of realty to the testimonials. Of course, don’t get too carried away with the length of the testimonials. Ask people to list briefly the things they enjoyed most, and try to keep what you print down to a few sentences.

There’s no reason not to use testimonials to improve your advertising and your company image. Every company is going to have their happy customers. Find yours and let them spread the word.

Kaye Z. Marks is an avid writer and follower of the developments in commercial printing industry and its benefits for small to medium-scale businesses.

Article Source: U Publish Articles

Original Source: How to Make Testimonials Shine

It’s not that different in a job search. The first question to ask yourself should be: “What are you seeking in a job?”

Taking some time to think about what is important to you will help you be more selective in where you apply, interview, and hopefully end up working. This will also be a great source of energy, enthusiasm and passion for you when you are asked, “Why do you want this job?”

Using interview questions as your guide, try flushing out what is important to you and what is not. In the end hopefully you will have your own “Wish List” of job requirements.

Interview Question - “When have you been most motivated?”

This is more than an interview question; it is a question that you should be asking yourself before the interview.

When have you been most satisfied in your work? When did you feel like you were making a difference or making a contribution? Basically, what would you like more of in your next job?

This simple exercise will help you answer this question will also help you look inside yourself to think about what you want “more of,” and what you want “less of” in your next job. People usually perform at a higher level if they are satisfied with the work that they do - and as a result are more motivated to give 100% - plus.

Exercise to Find the Answer

Begin by making a list of the tasks at your last job - the tasks that you were particularly proud of, or were energized by. In other words, “when your job turned you on.” Think about the last time you were so involved in a project or task that you woke up thinking about how you could improve the situation. Write those experiences down and try to determine what the factors were that were satisfying for you.

Let’s say you were a “Project Leader.” The tasks list would read something like - “Led a team - Coordinated and monitored project progress - Assured the flow and completion of work on schedule - Monitored expenditures and budget.”

What were the stimulating tasks of this job? Was it the leadership aspect? Or, was it the challenge of coordinating the details, and people? Was it completing the project on time or below budget? Were there customers involved (internal or external) - if so, is that what you found most challenging?

What didn’t you like, and hope that you will do less of in your next job?

After you have written this list for your current job, try doing the same thinking about previous jobs. If you recently graduated from college, use the classes that were most stimulating and interesting for you, or the projects you worked on with teams.

By making lists of motivating experiences from your last two or three jobs, you will hopefully begin to see patterns of projects and tasks that stand out. Analyze what you did before. Do you want more of this type of responsibility in your next job? The answer to this question will give you the answer to the motivation question as well as possibilities for fulfillment in future jobs that have similar responsibilities.

Take this list of motivating experiences and script an answer to the question, “What motivates you?”

This is the start of building your “wish list.” It may take time, but little by little you will begin to see the picture. Like the job posting written by employers some of your requirements may be more flexible and some may be fixed.

This will be your task to determine which factors are of the highest importance to YOU.

There is no such thing as the “perfect” answer to this question. Your answer will be individual and based on your own satisfaction and dissatisfaction. No one can do this for you. Only you have the answer.

“What is it that you want in your next job?”

Knowing what you want will make you feel more confident about finding the right job.

Carole Martin, America’s #1 Interview Coach has specialized in the subject of “Interviewing” for the past 15 years from both sides of the desk. She has produced a free practice interview that shows you where you are going wrong in your interview. See if your skills pass the test at The Job Interview Coaching Center . Need personal coaching help? The Interview Coach

Article Source: U Publish Articles

Original Source: Your Job Search Wish List