With natural gas prices skyrocketing in many parts of the nation due to regional supply issues, we are seeing some rates triple. This is causing huge issues for many families throughout the colder climates and regions of price spikes. Yet there are ways to hedge against these heating costs. For instance better insulation and materials to keep the heat in. Many homes allow much of the heat they generate to escape and thus it takes more energy to heat the home and keep it heated, as that hot air escapes.

You can pay someone who is an energy consultant with an infrared device to come out and survey your home and tell you where your heat is escaping and where to seal some of the drafts. Each year millions of Americans do this and many can reduce their heating bill by up to 50%.

It would be nice if we could use Infrared Satellites on clear cold nights to study the heat losses of neighborhoods and homes. By taking this data and the resolutions down to a meter or so, we will be able to allow homeowners to see where their homes are leaking and estimate how much they could save on their heating if they shore up those leaks. My proposal is to have a secured site where the homeowner can access their data thru a secured site, along with there last four heating bills. The home owner can use this data and an XML spread sheet enabled back end on the government website, which can make charts and graphs of their estimated potential savings.

Additionally I propose that we have a calculation for a tax break for those who choose to fix their problems and that will also be calculated on the website. We need to solve these supply and demand issues, which are now a problem. We have gone too long without setting up proper infrastructure for our growing needs and have over regulated the process to fulfill those needs using free enterprise and free-markets and now we must solve both problems simultaneously to bring back the skew into proper perspective and release this strangle hold and unnecessary burden on middle and low income families who are going to end up freezing to death trying to budget their families limited cash flows. Think on concepts like this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Favors are traditionally given to wedding guests as a sign of
appreciation for their coming to the wedding. Many times they
have driven or flown from other parts of the country to see the
couple, so sending them home with a little something is a good
idea.

Do it yourself

When you’re on a budget, or just have a crafty side, then you
may want to create your own wedding favors. Even if you’re not
domestically inspired, these are really very easy.

You will first need an idea. For this example, we will be
describing how to make little sachets. The great part about
these instructions is that you can adapt them to include any
sort of filling (chocolates, candles, etc.) into the bag.

You can find great prices on craft items at your local craft
store, but online is always a good resource too. Many times, you
can buy in bulk when you’re online, so that saves you money in
the end. Determine how many small bags that you need and what
color you would like them to be. Something to realize: if you’re
getting bags of a finer material, the picture on the Internet
will look darker than it is in real life.

Also online or at your local health food store, you can go and
buy herbs and flowers by the ounce. Realize too that one ounce
is A LOT when the item is dried. This is why it’s best to go to
a store in person for your ingredients–lavender, dried roses,
and other flowers are best. This way you can see and smell off
of the things that you have chosen. Find something fragrant.

If you have smaller bags, you won’t need as much, but the larger
the bag, the more filling you need.

Easy as can be

All you really have to do is mix up your ingredients and put
some into each bag. Many bags will even have drawstring closures
so that you can tie them up to look very pretty.

If you’re inspired, you can include a small card about the
significance of the herbs that you included–perhaps there’s an
old wives’ tale about weddings that is related.

And like it was said before, you can always change the
ingredients to be something that suits you. Enlist the help of
the bridal party if you have a lot to make!

Amy Spade is an expert on planning weddings, and she has written
an amazing totally free minicourse on how to make sure that you
have the day of your dreams, and avoid wedding day disaster!

Get the free course “Your Special Day from Start to Finish” now
at at http://www.weddingdata.com

When a prospect lands on your website will he or she understand what you are presenting? Do your ordering/sign up instructions make sense? Can prospects easily find the information they are searching for? If you don’t know the answers to these questions you may be driving away potential customers.

As a writer I put a lot of effort into making ideas clear. Therefore, I sometimes find it annoying when I can’t figure out what a webmaster is trying to say. I admit I sometimes don’t grasp a concept because I’m in a hurry. However, I’ve run across poor formatting, grammar and spelling as well as poor continuity that make web content difficult to understand. This is a big turn off for visitors.

If you are not good at writing consider hiring someone to do it for you. Or, perhaps a friend or relative can tackle this job for you. By doing so, you are assured your web content is proficient and easy to understand. You can then use the time savings (the time you would have spent writing) to focus on other facets of your business.

If you plan to handle writing responsibilities yourself keep a grammar book handy for reference. Ask someone to proof your work.

Not sure of the spelling of a word? Look it up or ask someone for the correct spelling. Even if you believe you know the spelling of a word, it’s still a good idea to look it up. Maybe the person who wrote “of coarse” rather than “of course” was in a big hurry or maybe they didn’t know the difference.

Regarding explanations, it’s sometimes appropriate to SHOW instead of TELL. For instance, if someone signing up for a program must choose a password that is a combination of letters and numbers, include an example of how the password should look.

Employing the use of charts is another good technique. Many MLM companies use charts to explain their compensation plan.

List the benefits of your offer using bullet points:

• A list is easier to read than one long paragraph.

• The visitor is more likely to keep reading.

• And that’s your goal, isn’t it?

I recently visited a website that promised a free ad in an e-zine. I was directed to a link that promised more information. When I landed on the website I could not find what I was looking for. I studied the navigation bar. Which button would give me access to the information I was looking for? I decided to guess. I clicked on three buttons before I finally found the right one.

The purpose of the “free ad” was to draw me to the website. Once there the website owner wanted me to look at other offers and possibly buy. Perhaps the owner felt if the free ad information was too accessible, I would not take time to look at other offers. However, the reverse could have also been true. If I found the free information easily accessible I might have been more inclined to purchase something because I viewed the site as “customer friendly.”

If you make it too hard for potential customers to get to the information they are looking for, some will turn away and find another source.

Not sure if your website is customer friendly? Ask customers/visitors to evaluate your website. Keep the survey short and simple. You could ask, “How would you rate the flow of our website? The choices: extremely easy, easy, extremely difficult, somewhat difficult. Ask your customers to add their personal comments. To keep your survey response rate high give participants a free gift (e-book, ad in your e-zine, etc.).

When potential customers land on your website it’s because they are drawn to your offer. Once they click through, make sure they remain interested by providing well-written content, easy-to-read formatting and by ensuring the information they are searching for is easy to find.

(c) Karin Peavy

About The Author

Karin Peavy has been marketing online for three years. She is webmistress of http://www.incomewaterway.com where visitors will find affiliate programs, marketing information, articles and resources. She also publishes free marketing tips twice weekly.

karinpeavy@incomewaterway.com

You’re told to take vitamins, drink plenty of water, get a good night’s sleep and exercise, but has anyone ever told you that the design of your home and office can impact your health? You wouldn’t be alone in raising an eyebrow and questioning how this could be so, but thousands of years ago, the ancient seers of India spent entire lifetimes observing how man-made structures impact humans beings. Their findings were compiled into a body of knowledge called Vastu Shastra.

In Sanskrit, Vastu means science and Shastra means architecture. It is from this environmental science that some of the worlds’ most enduring structures were created.

According to Vastu, all five elements in nature (earth, water, fire, air and space) are in perfect balance. When we build, this delicate balance is disrupted, which can cause a wide range of physical problems from poor sleep to major illnesses.

You might have experienced this if you’ve ever remodeled or moved into a new home and suddenly your health got worse for no apparent reason. If you work with the natural laws inherent in the universe rather than against them, you can align these five elements to your advantage. This is what Vastu Shastra is all about, and the affects on your health and well-being can be dramatic.

We have worked with clients all over the world using this powerful architectural science. We hear wonderful stories of how Vastu has changed people’s lives. Health is one of the top challenges people come to us about. We find that there is always some reason for the problems they are having that becomes apparent when we do an environmental analysis, either of their residence or their place of work.

Here’s just one example of how directly our environment can influence our lives: A Boeing executive who lives in the Madison Park neighborhood was living with the consequences of diabetes, which had compromised his health to the point he was on dialysis. He was growing weaker from multiple, unsuccessful operations before we performed a Vastu analysis on his home.

Our consultation showed major imbalances in his living environment, which contributed to his health problems. After making the changes needed to rectify this situation, both he and his wife reported that his health had improved, he was stronger and that they both felt an enhanced sense of well-being.

As a part of this earth, we live in a sea of electromagnetic and stellar influences. Every shift produced in the atmosphere has the potential to affect our actions and emotions. Every particle of energy in the universe is linked to the next particle. Nothing happens in a vacuum. We are all striving for balance and this cannot take place when there is environmental stress.

Stress comes when there is clutter, poor layout or design, lack of light, improper air circulation or when the environment is not aligned with true North.

When the environment is out of balance, you can experience a lack of energy, back problems, mental instability, stomach problems, learning disabilities, emotional imbalances and financial difficulties.

Unfortunately, most modern architecture is based on function alone and is not designed in harmony with the forces of nature, which influence our health, happiness and overall well-being. When our environments are designed to conquer nature, there is no question we will feel stressed. The beauty of Vastu is that it specifically balances living and working environments without costly structural changes and does it in ways that can improve the quality of our lives.

About The Author

Michael and Robin Mastro’s synergistic approach successfully assists people in living in peace and harmony with themselves and others, and in creating balanced lives filled with unlimited possibilities. Visit us at www.VastuCreations.com

The housing boom has attracted a flood of newcomers to the real estate profession. Those that have been downsized, retirees and even people who just want a better life style see real estate careers as exciting, less stressful and offering high rewards.

But they soon discover that the real estate profession is saturated and very competitive. It is difficult to break into the market and gain a clientele. Sadly, following the standard real estate formula for new agents usually leads to several years of long hours with low compensation. Most give up and drop out, and their brokers and “established” agents gladly follow up on any leads they may have generated.

According to a recent study by the National Association of REALTORS®, rookie agents are working more but earning less. Agents who have been in real estate for two years or less earned an average of just $12,850 in 2004, and most (54 percent) reported working more than 40 hours weekly. This figure dropped from a median income of $27,973 earned in 2002. Conclusion: there are a lot more people in real estate now all competing for the same business. Trying to gain traction strictly through referrals, sitting in open houses, sending out postcards or handing out flyers is a long haul for novice REALTORS.

In today’s residential real estate market, the name of the game is getting listings and buyers from all sources. Just “farming” a territory in the traditional fashion is not a practical strategy for real estate rookies. First, there are no virgin territories. Second, rookies must always overcome entrenched competition. To accelerate their success, new real estate agents need to work smarter than established colleagues by leveraging Internet marketing tactics to promote themselves, tap a broader market and to increase productivity.

Unless a newbie enters the real estate profession with a captive clientele, he or she is better off taking control of their own business strategy. And the one way that a new agent can distinguish themselves today is by coloring outside the lines. Internet marketing is a proven means of helping new agents to stand out from the crowd. Here are some strong recommendations for a new kid on the block:

1. Get you own Website, not a page or subdomain of someone else’s site. Build your site to promote yourself, your talents, your listings and your services.

2. Use your Website as the focal point of all your marketing efforts. Everything you do, marketing wise, should be calculated to drive traffic to your Website.

3. Make your Website as enticing as possible. Refresh the content often with community news and relevant RSS feeds to ensure that visitors return often. Try a blog - they are easy to implement and generate interesting content. Offer meaningful articles that appeal to potential buyers and sellers (industry outlook for mortgage rates, major “must do’s when selling your home, a summary of local sales, home value trends, etc.).

4. Build visibility among the major search engines, so that your site pops up on the first page when someone performs a search for agents in your locality:

a. Establish a meaningful domain name that reflects your location and market emphasis.
b. Optimize your site for search engines by choosing specific keywords based on your geographical location. Establish proper keyword density in your site content, meta tags, alt tags and internal links.
c. Set up a link-exchange program with complementary sites, such as non-competing REALTORS or real-estate-related services. Building external links adds to your search engine ranking and leads qualified traffic to your site.
d. Be sure to get listed in the major business and real estate directories.
e. Use sponsored search engine listings along with affordable “local search” listings and pay-per-click advertising to boost online visibility and acquire qualified traffic.
f. Get a listing with one or more of the popular online “Yellow Pages,” like Verizon Superpages.
g. Tap into local free advertising, like Craig’s List.
h. Learn how to use landing pages to capture metrics and tweak your promotional activities for optimal performance.

5. Use viral marketing tactics, such as placing a “forward to a friend” script on your site and in your newsletter, to gain clients with whom you have had no previous contact.

6. Implement marketing tactics to capture sales lead information from Website visitors:

a. Start a free monthly newsletter and offer a meaningful incentive to subscribe. Use this as a mechanism to nurture potential clients through “drip, drip, drip” marketing.
b. Write or acquire a relevant whitepaper or ebook. Use this as a giveaway to entice new newsletter subscriptions.
c. Offer a free “home valuation” service based on local comparables.
d. Place “special offers” in your newsletter that only subscribers can enjoy. This will promote viral marketing among friends and relatives.
e. Hold an online drawing for a desirable prize to acquire email addresses, and then solicit newsletter subscriptions from the entries.
f. If you can afford it, tie into your MLS database so that registered visitors can survey local listings.

7. Enhance your productivity by using an autoresponder for newsletter delivery and automated follow-up to inquiries.

In short, make your Website the destination for all marketing activities. Even off-line advertising should be designed to drive traffic to your Website. Once there, focus on selling yourself and your services to prospective clients. Differentiate yourself from competitors by presenting yourself as more attuned to today’s marketing methods, tapping more modern and advanced tactics to find the best home for buyers or achieve the quickest sell at the best price for homeowners.

Compared to the “old school” of real estate marketing, Websites are 24×7 virtual storefronts promoting products, services and talents around the clock to a worldwide audience. Internet marketing makes your promotional dollars go further and helps you to stand out from the crowd. It also dramatically expands your audience, bringing in clients from around the country and even the world.

Rookie agents need to chart their own course to be successful. Don’t be afraid to embrace new methods of marketing your services. Above all, don’t follow the herd. Be different - take control of your real estate career and leapfrog your competitors through aggressive internet marketing!

About the Author

Al Kernek is a real estate broker and author of Creating E-Mail Newsletters - A Practical Guide for the Real Estate Community and Put Your Business Online - How to Create and Promote a Successful Low-Cost Website. To learn more about increasing real estate sales using affordable, “do it yourself” Internet marketing techniques, visit http://www.renewsletter.com