A Guide to using T-Shirts for marketing

Promotional T-shirts have been a part of business promotion and marketing of brands for a long time.  Promotional T Shirts can be given to clients, to prospective customers, and also to your employees to give them the added feeling of belonging to a brand. You do not need be a world famous brand to benefit from promotional T-shirts.  Even new busineses have used T Shirts to create awareness of their product, brand or business.

giving Promotional T Shirts to your employees is a great way for brand endorsement. You can design T Shirts with your company brand and marketing message for your employees and if you are hosting a conference, exibition or promotional event, make it mandatory for your employees to wear promotional T Shirts.  It is a very inexpensive method to make your staff stand out from the crowd and you present an orderly unity among your employees, the same way in which a uniform serves.

Some businessesthink  that it is too expensive to buy a t-shirt online but they are often incorrect. Purchasing t shirts online is a fast and easy process and the choice of online shops is very much better than you expect it to be with some allowing you to undertake the entire design process and payment online.

Corporate branding on T-Shirts can significantly improve the brand awareness of a business in a very short period of time and aside from the obvious marketing advantages branded T-Shirts and other clothing can enhance the perception of customers to your business. 

Considering the relatively low cost of purchase and printing T shirts against the length of time a good quality T Shirt can last makes branded T shirts one of the most cost effective methods of marketing for many businesses.

It is widely believed that DTG tshirt printing is more environmentally than screen printing. DTG uses water-based inks to print directly onto clothing, this means that there are no excess inks used in the actual printing and the only waste that occurs is from the occasional print head cleaning – it’s worth noting that head cleaning does not involve any external materials only ink.

Then as long as waste ink is disposed of correctly, printing tshirts using the DTG method should have virtually no environmenal impact. Screen printing however has excess inks from parts of the stencil not printed to the tshirt and when screens are cleaned these excess inks are usually washed down the drain.

Facial Liposuction Surgery

Facial Liposuction Surgery

Diet and exercise can help many areas of the body to remove fat. But nothing of the two seems to affect those fatty deposits on the face. It is here that on can understand the importance of facial liposuction surgery. The facial liposuction in most cases is able to make a dramatic change in the way a person looks by removing the excess fat from under the cheeks, chin and neck.

Facial Liposuction Surgery

Many youngsters have the undersurface of the chin becoming fuller, plumper, and rounded with time and with weight gain. The cheeks similarly can become more round or protruding. The neck becomes thicker. Removing fat with the help of facial liposuction surgery always helps in such cases by providing a new improved look to both young boys and girls.
Facial and neck liposuction is an effective liposuction procedure for removing localized fatty deposits in the undersurface of the neck area and the neck region. It is also effective in region in front of the ears.


In younger patients, a facial liposuction procedure is generally sufficient to obtain the desired results. But in older patients facial liposuction surgery needs to be combined with a facelift, brow-lift, eyelid or nose surgery for optimal results. Sometimes the liposuction procedure can also be performed along with chin or cheek implants.

Liposuction Procedure


Liposuction surgery in fact is a plastic surgery procedure which reshapes the body part by getting rid of unwanted fat by suction from specific fat pockets. Besides the facial liposuction the areas of your body from where the fat can be removed include the abdomen, hips, buttocks, thighs, knees, upper arms. 


In the original liposuction procedure the fat deposits are removed with a tube or cannula attached to a vacuum device or through a long syringe. But in a modified lipoplasy procedure tumescent technique is used. In this technique the targeted fat tissue is injected with saline solution and a large amount of anesthetic liquid, before liposuction surgery is performed. The injected liquid causes the compartments of fat to become swollen and firm or "tumesced." The expanded fat compartments allow the liposuction cannula to travel smoothly beneath the skin as the fat is removed.


Good Candidate for Liposcution

Good candidate for the lipoplasty is a person who is normal-weight and has firm, elastic skin with pockets of excess fat in certain areas of his or her body. Liposuction can also be considered a good option by a facial plastic surgeon to enhance facial balance, by reducing fatty deposits in the chin, cheeks, or neck.

An initial consultation with a plastic surgeon always helps to find out the best liposuction procedure for you. Facial liposuction is usually done as an outpatient surgery and patients go home soon after the liposuction procedure is over. Some minor bruising and swelling in and around the liposuction areas is seen. But a normal appearance is achieved within five to seven days. No one will mind a mild discomfort or pain for the results that the liposuction surgery offers.

Hair Removal: The Good News

If you're 1 of the millions of people who have hair growing where you don't want it, today's good news is, you have a wide range of effective hair removal options available to you.

Reasons For Hair Removal

People's reasons for wanting hair removed run the gamut from medical necessity to "just because I feel like it." Many women include hair removal as part of their normal cosmetic routine. They shave their legs and underarms, pluck their eyebrows, and have pubic hair trimmed or removed to accommodate today's fashions.

Most men shave their facial hair, and men sometimes shave their body hair for cosmetic purposes, as well. To enhance their performance, their appearance, or both, many athletes -- particularly swimmers and body builders -- will undergo hair removal procedures.

Some people with hair growth disorders like hypertrichosis or hirsutism use hair removal procedures for medical reasons.

Temporary Or Permanent Removal

Hair removal procedures can be separated into 2 categories: temporary and permanent.

Temporary techniques work only for short periods of time, and are subject to the body's normal hair growth cycle. They include shaving, plucking, waxing, and a wide selection of creams. Most people use temporary hair removal procedures at home, but they can also be obtained in a spa or salon.

Permanent Hair Removal Techniques

The "Permanent" procedures outlined below seek to remove unwanted hair in such a way that it returns never or, at worst, over a long time period. These hair removal methods are normally performed by licensed hair removal specialists.

Electrolysis

With electrolysis each hair follicle is treated individually. A licensed specialist injects a needle into the hair follicle and induces an electric charge that destroys the follicle's ability to produce hair. This process can take months, depending upon the size of the area being treated. This is a somewhat painful process, and side effects can include scarring and infection. Costs for electrolysis can run as high as $3,000 for the pubic area or legs.

Laser

The laser hair removal process uses a small laser beam to destroy the hair follicles. This is a relatively painless method that works best on people with light-colored skin and dark hair. It is not recommended for anyone who is deeply tanned. It costs about $1,000 for removal of facial hair, and anywhere from $2,000 to $3,000 for removal of hair from the legs and pubic area. Laser hair removal is an FDA-approved process, to be performed only by a licensed and trained professional.

Photo Epilation/Pulsed Laser

This FDA-approved procedure uses a pulsed light beam to destroy the hair follicles. Photo Epilation/Pulsed Laser is especially effective for removing hair from sensitive areas, such as the underarms and the bikini area. Unlike laser hair removal, this method has no restrictions regarding hair color, skin color, or tanning. Depending on the area of the body to be treated, costs can run from $500 to $2,000 and up.

Removal of unwanted hair, for any reason whatsoever, is easier and more available today than ever before.

7 Tips For Beautiful Skin

For most women, part of the morning and evening routines involve a skincare regimen of applying creams, moisturizers, tonics, lotions, and the like. Why do women put themselves through this? They do it primarily to combat the signs of aging, and to maintain youthful looks and beautiful skin! It is a safe bet, however, that most women haven't put much thought into what is in the products that they are using.

Some women probably do not realize that what they are putting on their skin may actually be undermining what they are trying to prevent to begin with. In fact the average woman puts twelve products on her skin daily, most of which contain harmful chemical preservatives.

 Dr. Myron Wentz, founder and chairperson of USANA Health Sciences, has this to say about beauty in the company magazine's June/July 2005 issue: "Some say that beauty is only skin deep. Nonsense! I believe that true beauty is a reflection of true health, and true health begins deep inside each and every cell in the body. But true health and true beauty have an outer component, which is why we require protection from environmental insults such as solar radiation, pollutants in our environment and the drying effects of air. . .

 The fact is you simply cannot contain a healthy body if your skin isn't healthy. And your skin can't be healthy if your are subjecting it to toxic substances that are ultimately absorbed into your body."

So, what can women do? How can they combat environmental pollutants, the affect of solar radiation, and the drying effects of air? How can they be sure they are using the very best products on their skin so they can be healthy inside and out? Here are 7 tips to assist in this process:

1. Be very aware of what is in skincare products. Use products that are all natural as much as possible.

2. Look for products that contain Dermal Surface Renewal Technology. DSR smoothes away existing signs of aging such as laugh lines, crows feet, and dullness.

3. Use products that have regenisomes. Regenisomes penetrate the skin to speed cell renewal after sun exposure. They also use the light of photosomes to undo sun damage, and have ultrasomes to renew skin while sleeping.

4. Find products with Proteo-C and Proflavonol-T. These two vitamins protect the skin from premature aging caused by the sun, pollution, and other environmental factors. They also provide advanced nutrition to the skin to keep it appearing smooth and firm.

5. If possible, use products that are paraben free. Parabens are synthetic chemical preservatives that are widely used in personal care products such as shampoos, conditioners, hair styling products, make-up, facial masks, skin lotions and creams, and deodorants. They also are typically ingredients in baby lotions, shampoos, and other personal care products for infants and children.

In addition, parabens are in many foods and pharmaceutical products. Researchers are beginning to find parabens in benign and malignant human breast tumors. While some studies have challenged their toxicity in many products and question their long term affect on humans, using products that are paraben free can eliminate the risk of exposure to this harmful chemical.

6. Drink plenty of water! Water hydrates skin and hair as well as flushes toxins out of the body.

7. Limit stress or learn to manage it effectively. Stress is harmful both emotionally and physically. Find that stress reliever activity that works best and use it on a daily basis!

Follow the above 7 tips to true beauty and health.

Under The Arm Breast Augmentation

Under the arm breast augmentation helps increase the size and shape of the breast.  Women undergo this under the arm breast augmentation for several reasons.

The breast augmentation surgery helps make the breast in correct shape with the body ad gives self esteem to them.  It even reduces the volume of the breast after pregnancy.  The breast augmentation enlarges or reshapes the breast, which has lost its original shape due to breast feeding and aging.  Under the arm breast augmentation involves the placement of saline behind the breast tissue or under the chest wall.

 It is similar to the method of breast implantation.  But the reasons differ.  The women with shapeless breast can readily opt for this method.  Before the under the arm breast augmentation, initial consultation must be done with reputed plastic surgeon, certified by the American Society of Plastic Surgeons.  They will examine the women’s health fully and apply the suitable surgical techniques, according to their health condition.

Women opting for under the arm breast augmentation must explain about the drugs or other medicines she is taking.  Most importantly smoking women must tell her surgeon about her smoking habit. Since smoking could delay the process of healing and may result in other complications.  Surgeon will choose other alternative.  The under arm breast augmentation can give a more positive self image.

The under the arm breast augmentation is done under general anesthesia.  A small incision is made under the breast or under the arm and a saline implant is gently inserted under the breast tissue with the help of elastic bra, the breast position is corrected.  Initially it will create some discomfort, but it can be controlled with oral medicine.  The sutures are removed in 7-12 days.

Normally implants used for under the arm breast augmentation are smooth shelled.  It gives a perfect womanly look.  Implants can be placed to the patients’ wish.  It can be placed under the arm endoscope method around the incision of about 3 to 4 centimeter.  The under the arm breast augmentation can provide a full, perfect shape to the breast.  It is 100 per cent safe.  It enhances the feminine curves and increases the self confidence. 

The cost is affordable and price worthy for the surgery which is going to provide self dignity. Side effects are rare.  It can be either swelling or bruising.  But, it will decrease within few days.  Under the arm breast augmentation is not painful.  The patient can perform her routine activity within 3-4 days.

A Woman's Guide to Waxing Unwanted Hair

It's tough to be beautiful. There's the curling, the scrubbing, the coloring, the endless work, toil and sweat. It can also be painful. What woman hasn't suffered from a too-hot curling iron or too-sharp razor? But at the top of the list we find waxing. An essential task, to be sure, but also dicey. You want to make sure it's done right, quickly and will be effective with a minimum of pain.

Waxing is a relatively simply process, really. Think "wax on, wax off", and you'll likely get the idea. Hot wax is applied to the area that needs hair removal, then quickly pulled off and unwanted hairs go with the wax. It can be fairly painful, but the pain is quick and the wax process, fortunately, doesn't need to be repeated very often.

Herewith are various types of waxes, from a lesser "ouch" factor to a mighty "ouch"!


*Eyebrow (ouch factor of 2) - Eyebrow waxing is a type of waxing you can do yourself at home, though it's never a bad idea to consult a professional. If you are going to wax your eyebrows yourself, you should always wax from below the eyebrow, not above.

Take very little hair off at a time, and be careful of the hot wax being so close to your face. Because the skin above the eye is so sensitive, it's really recommended you consult a professional for this task.

*Full Face (ouch factor 2) - This involves removing the facial hair you might have around the mouth, cheeks, jaw and chin. You can do this yourself, perhaps even make the wax yourself, but again, experts recommend using a professional since the facial skin is so delicate.

*Legs (ouch factor 3-4) - This is probably the method of waxing most women are familiar with. In the summer, many women choose leg waxing as the preferred method for hair removal since it is generally considered superior to shaving and saves time in those busy summer months - a good leg wax can last as long as 8 weeks.

*Bikini (ouch factor 8-10+) - The big daddy of waxing, the various types of bikini waxes are not for the faint of heart. They are for women who want clean, cool nether regions for summer, and aren't too modest, since they should only be done by a trained and experienced professional. There are a few different types:

*Bikini - The basic bikini wax involves removing the pubic hair around the bikini panty line. This is delicate territory, so it's recommended you take an ibuprofen an hour or so before getting it done. But since there are more involved bikini waxes, we'll give this one an 8 on the pain scale.

*Full bikini - This is also known as a Brazilian bikini wax and it's the latest, hottest thing in waxes. Seven Brazilian sisters brought this wax to the United States and in a short period of time, this type of wax has overtaken any other bikini wax. 

In short, it's a full bikini wax, where only the pubic hair just around the labia is left. Otherwise, you're bald as an eagle, which might serve you if you wear a thong in the summer or just want to change your life, which is allegedly what  Brazilian wax did for Gwyneth Paltrow. This is a full 10 on the pain scale, but many women claim it's the bomb.

Alternative Medicines - Why The Silence?

If there are alternative medicines and natural treatments that really work, why don't we hear more about them? I don't think there are many true conspiracies around, but this is one of those areas that makes me wonder. The movement between government posts and positions in the pharmaceutical corporations is well documented. This easy movement between the boardrooms and the FDA and other agencies certainly leaves room for abuse and "back door agreements."

More often than not, though, there is just a conspiracy-of-common-interest that prevents safe alternative medicines from coming to market, or from becoming widely known. For example, drug companies don't want the competition of safe alternatives to their drugs. Meanwhile, it is politically safer for the FDA to not allow a product, because if they approve something and it causes any problems, they get the blame. This is a convenient coinciding of interests.

Also, natural products, like silymarin (Milk Thistle Extract), which is used all over Europe to treat poisonings and to protect the liver, are legal here, but not well known. This is because, as a natural product, there is no way to patent it. Without being able to exclude others from selling it, no company can afford to spend the millions it would take to get it approved as a medicine here.

A natural product also can't be marketed heavily. Imagine if a large company spent millions to promote a medicinal herb. As soon as they got the public's attention, all the smaller companies could undercut them on the price, since they spent nothing on marketing, and a plant product is usually the same no matter what the name on the label. No company wants to spend big money on a product they don't have an exclusive right too.

When a plant isn't approved as a natural treatment, there are no pharmaceutical reps out there educating doctors about it (Didn't you know that's how doctors keep educated?). In addition, even if a doctor has read about a useful plant, he is more likely to face a malpractice suit for an allergic reaction to an alternative medicine than from killing someone with a "standard and accepted" treatment. Which do you think he'll recommend?

Companies face the same issues of liability. In addition, the companies are limited in what they can say about these natural products. This is why you can look all over the box that some plant medicines come in, and never once see a mention of what it is for. It is tough to learn about these natural treatments, isn't it?

In other words, if you want to know about alternative medicines and medical treatment, you have to look outside the mainstream for your information. You have to read the magazines that cover these alternatives, and sometimes, when it is safe, you have to even experiment a little on yourself.

As for my own approach, I like to see that there is actually some real research that demonstrates a benefit. Anecdotal evidence doesn't mean much. People get better all the time, and credit whatever they happened to be using at the time. On the other hand, if it is inexpensive and safe, like eating blueberries to improve vision, I'll try almost anything once.

Do natural treatments work? Sometimes. I have twice removed skin growths from my face that may have even been pre-cancerous. They were there for many years, yet it took just weeks to make them disappear using a simple and cheap natural product. I have also witnessed the fastest healing of a cut (on my foot) that I've ever seen, after applying a common plant to it. Some alternative medicines really do work.

5 Natural and Non-Natural Acne Treatments

At one point all of us have been trying to find ways on how to be completely acne-free. Here are some natural and not so natural acne treatments that are proven to be effective.  

1. Witch Hazel Astringent This astringent comes from the plant with the same name. It is widely spread from Nova Scotia in Canada down to Texas and Florida. Simply steam the twigs of this plant and voila! The extract you get from it serves as your astringent.

Remember to cool it though. What’s good about this is that it occurs naturally and even the process it has undergone is all natural. You can be assured it is less harsh compared with commercially-produced astringents.  

2. Commercially Produced Astringents There is no doubt that astringents we can buy over-the-counter are also effective. There are lots of variants to choose from with additional ingredients that promote better skin.

The only downside is it can be a little harsh because of the chemicals added to produce this formula. Use them with extra care as they can dry the skin.  

3. All-Natural Treatments Kitchen and acne are two enemies we may not be aware of. Scout your kitchen for stuff like oranges and lemons, fresh garlic and raw potatoes. - Oranges and lemons just need to be squeezed on cotton balls.

Apply the extract on affected areas and wash it after about 20 minutes. - Fresh garlic is used much easier. Just remove its peeling and rub it on your face. - As for raw potatoes, peel them and rub its flat surface on your face. The natural extracts from these fruits and vegetables can help minimize the redness at the same time can clean the skin.  

4. Oral Antibiotics For severe cases, antibiotics are prescribed. These medications are orally taken to reduce the amount of bacteria inside and around skin follicles. They also decrease the exasperating chemicals that the white blood cells produce.

Lastly, antibiotics diminish the concentration of the free fatty acids found in sebum, also creating an anti-inflammatory action. Consult your dermatologist for the right antibiotic and dosage. Tetracycline is still the most commonly prescribed antibiotic for acne treatment. Most of this antibiotic should be taken on an empty stomach. Also, this shouldn’t be used by pregnant women and children under 9.

Usually, the starting dose is initially 500 milligrams twice daily and is continuously taken until prescribed, or until a considerable dropping off of lesions is visible. Erythromycin comes close second and can be prescribed to pregnant women.


However, it can cause nausea and even upset stomach. Compared to tetracycline, which can only kill bacteria, Erythromycin has both anti-inflammatory and bacteria-killing properties. Also, this antibiotic needs to be taken in a food-filled tummy. You may discuss other possible antibiotics with your doctors regarding the effects and side-effects of each.


 5. Topical Treatments Externally applied creams are also proven effective for acne treatment. However, it results to drying and flaking but it is said to be the most effective treatment for severe acne. Benzoyl peroxide is one very common and effective topical acne treatment.

Health Benefits of Ginseng

Ginseng is a common health drink in China, Korea, and Japan and consumed its distinct flavor and medicinal properties. The word “ginseng” came from the Chinese term “jen-shen,” which means, “in the image of man.” Ginseng refers to a group of herbs from the plant family Araliacae.

There are the three main types of ginseng: Oriental ginseng (Chinese or Korean), American ginseng (Panax quinquefolius), and Siberian ginseng (Eleutheroccus senticosis). Traditional Chinese medicine says that each type of ginseng has unique healing properties.


 It contains complex mixtures of carbohydrate compounds, nitrogenous compounds, nitrogenous compounds and other essential vitamins and minerals. Compounds called ginsenosides were identified by many studies as its main active components.  Ginsengs have “cooling” effect, which make it useful for the treatment of fever, respiratory tract disorders, and the improvement of blood circulation.

 Studies show that ginsenosides, the active ingredient of ginseng, is responsible for the many health benefits of ginseng. For this reason, ginseng is used by people the world over as an alternative medicine.

All over Asia, thousands of people drink the beverage because they believe that ginseng helps:

·    reduce fatigue and increases stamina;
·    increase the formation of red blood cells and helps eliminate anemia;
·    improve mental conditions and helps prevent neuroses;
·    increase the secretion of body fluids and helps prevent diabetes;
·    normalize pulmonary functions, preventing coughing, tuberculosis, and asthma;
·    strengthen the gastrointestinal system and can help facilitate liver regeneration;
·    detoxify poisons;
·    enhance blood alcohol clearance;
·    reduce the effect of alcohol intoxication;
·    eliminate hangovers; and
·    treat influenza and other infections.

Ginseng is also used to enhance physical and mental performance. It is often called an “adaptogen” because it bolsters the body's ability to combat physical and mental stress. Several studies show that ginseng is able to reduce the levels of fatigue in men and women. Many clinical studies show that people who take ginseng or ginseng supplements were able to overcome higher levels of emotional and physical difficulties. In addition, regular intake of ginseng may reduce one's chancer of acquiring different types of cancer especially the types that affect the lungs, liver, and ovaries. Reports say that individuals who use ginseng regularly feel better and are more alert. It may also improve one's memory and other mental faculties. For maximum results, some regular consumers of this herbal beverage include another traditional healing ingredient called gingko biloba.

Impotence is another ailment that can supposedly be treated through regular consumption of ginseng.          Ginseng is believed to be effective in helping increase sperm production.  It is also taken as a supplement to improve sexual performance. Recent medical studies show that ginseng does enhance libido and sexual performance.  Ginseng promotes the release of nitric oxide and improves the blood flow in the penis and, in the process, enhances sexual pleasure and performance.

For centuries, ginseng was used not only as a beverage but also as a tonic to improve sexual performance.  Still, more research is needed to fully validate the efficacy of Nature's wonder root as a medicinal product.

Health Benefits of Bitter Melon

Many vegetables are known for their numerous health benefits. Diets composed of more vegetables can reduce the risk of chronic disease and other health ailments. Vegetables can supply the body of necessary nutrients like vitamins, minerals, and fiber that are vital for development and maintenance of the body and internal organs.  In addition, many vegetables contain disease-fighting phytochemicals that can help reduce the risk of different kinds cancers, heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

One such health-promoting vegetable is called bitter melon or bitter gourd (Momordica Charantia).  Aside from being a food source, bitter gourd is also used as a source of alternative medicine. This vegetable grows in tropical areas like East Africa, Asia, South Africa, and the Caribean. It is rich in iron, calcium, potassium, beta carotene, and phosphorus. Improving the body's insulin levels is one of the primary health benefits of bitter melon. Many researches shows that this vegetable increases the production of beta cells in the pancreas which leads to improvement in the insulin production of the body. Aside from insulin production, bitter melon is also used to treat sores, eczema, leprosy, skin infections, and even leukemia.

Bitter melon is said to be a remedy for infections associated with retroviruses, including the ones that cause Human Immunodeficiency Disease (HIV). It is said that this vegetable can also destroy strains of herpes virus. Bitter melon has been used as a folk remedy to treat infections and other diseases.  In addition to these properties, leaf extracts of bitter melon have indicated antibacterial activities against e.coli, a specie of bacteria that can live in the lower intestines of mammals and human beings. This bacteria is responsible for urinary tract infection and gastrointestinal ailments. It is also used as potent antihelmintic (drugs that destroy parasitic worms) substance that eliminate worms from the intestinal tract. For external use, bitter melon has been acknowledged to heal skin eruptions, chapped skin, burns, hemorrhoids, and psoriasis.

Because of the health benefits of bitter melon, it is now widely used as a dietary supplement. Over the years, health researchers have verified the efficacy of the bitter melon as an alternative medicinal product.   Bitter melon capsules are now available in the market as alternative treatment for diabetes, viruses, colds, and other ailments. However, these products should also be used with certain precautions because it may also cause side effects and may interact with certain over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, and other herbal medicines.


Pregnant women are not encouraged to use this product because it may cause uterine contractions. Bitter melon should not be used by hypoglycemic (low blood sugar) individuals because it may worsen or cause lower blood sugar levels. In addition, diabetics who use prescription hypoglycemic drugs or insulin should avoid bitter melon or bitter melon supplements, unless prescribed by a physician. People with cirrhosis of the liver and medical history of hepatitis or HIV should also refrain from using this herb.
While many health experts are already praising bitter melon for its health benefits, the said supplement should not be regarded as a stand-alone medicine and should be taken only with the approval of doctors and other health experts.

how To Get Great Body Shape-stay Fit

Most people know that having health and fitness is important. Many try to stay fit and healthy to get a great body shape. The question is do people know the benefits of being fit and healthy or how to get that great body shape they yearned so much for?

Unfortunately not, otherwise there will not be such high dropout rates in gyms all over the world and people getting fatter and fatter.


• Benefits of good health and fitness :-

1) Day to day chores are so much easier – Because you are fit, you will not tire that easily and chores such as gardening, carrying stuff , bending over or climbing up to pick up things will be so much easier.

2) Enjoy life better – Since daily chores are no longer chores, you are able to do more things and faster. Savor your productivity and efficiency.

3) Save money and live longer – Save money on your medical expenses from diseases that strike unhealthy and obese people. Your risk of high blood pressure, heart attacks, stroke and some form of cancers, all of which are deadly is reduced significantly when you stay fit and are in great health.

4) Your posture and confidence improve – Because you are stronger, your strong muscles hold up your skeletal structure will. This improves your body posture and your confidence will soar.

5) Look great in your clothes – You will carry your clothes well because you are no longer flabby or skinny with your clothes either too tight or too lose.

6) Attractive hunk – Gone will be the days when your body shape was the butt of jokes. Instead, people will ogle and admire your new attractive body. A body that many people will die for.

There are many more benefits for having great health and fitness. Too many to mention in just one article. So we shall go on to discuss how to be in great body shape, fit and healthy.

• How to be in great body shape-stay fit and healthy

Just three things.

1) Healthy eating habits and healthy lifestyle – You are what you eat. So if you eat unhealthy food, you will be unhealthy. Thus avoid saturated and trans fat. Eat less sugary stuff and sodium. Avoid alcohol and quit smoking. Drink plenty of water and remember what your mum used to say, “Take your vitamins.”

2) Do cardio exercises – It toughens up your heart and lungs. Cardio exercises are great for your respiratory and cardiovascular system. Best of all, it burns tons of calories.

3) Lift weights – Build muscles for a toned and defined body. With muscles come strength and with more strength you will be able to do many more things than just having a sexy muscular body.

So you can see, it is not that difficult to be fit and healthy. Having a great body shape along the way is indeed a bonus. So have you written out a plan for your health and fitness goals?

Health And Fitness

Most aging adults don’t get enough physical activity. Exercise, though, can improve health impairments and prevent some diseases. It can also improve mood and emotional well being. The keys, though, to a sensible senior workout are to take it slowly and keep it up. Older people need to find a realistic mild to moderate enjoyable program.

Let me give you 8 important reasons why You should work out.

1. Sleeping Aid for Seniors

Because exercise effects the body is so many positive ways, it is clearly the most natural option for helping address sleep related issues. Regular exercise will first of all help tire the body physically, ensuring a natural form of fatigue that the body will address with a
need to get appropriate rest.

2. Strength Training = Strong Bones

A critical aspect of aging is the general weakening of both muscle tissue and our bones themselves. One of the surest ways to reduce the stress on our weakening bones is to increase our muscles mass through strength training. Strength training has repeatedly been shown to be a safe and effective method of reversing muscle loss in the elderly

3. Strong Heart

People who exercise vigorously and often will reduce the risk of heart disease the greatest, but studies also show that any exercise can be beneficial. Studies have found that moderate exercise is also beneficial for those people with existing heart disease.

4. Arthritis Help

Arthritis is defined as the inflammation of a joint, but it can certainly seem more painful than that. It can cause searing pain that leaves the body feeling weak for days. As people age, arthritis tends to develop from the extended every day uses of the body.

Exercise, though, can assist with arthritis by strengthening the muscles near the joint which helps reduce joint stress. While exercise is necessary for everyone, it is essential for those with arthritis

5. 58% lower risk for Type 2 diabetes

A study reported a 58% lower risk for Type 2 diabetes in adults who exercise for as little as 2.5 hours a week, even if the exercise was of a moderate level.

People with diabetes are at high risk for heart disease, so the protective effects of aerobic exercise on the heart are very important for people with Type 2 diabetes. Initial indications are that strength training to increase muscle mass and reduce patient fat is also helpful for people with diabetes.

6. Increased Overall Fitness

Being physically active appears to stimulate immune cells that target many viruses and infections. Though exercise appears to stimulate such cells, that stimulation appears to last only a few hours. However, regular exercise appears to lower the overall risk of being susceptible to the flu, colds, and other viruses.

7. Increased Stamina and Slowing the Aging clock

Physical fitness allows the body to perform to its full capacity. Fitness helps us appear, feel, and act to our full potential. Exercise is essentially the capability to complete everyday responsibilities energetically and actively, with energy remaining at the end of the day for appreciation of other activities.

8. No Brain Drain

How many times do you hear yourself or other seniors say, "Sorry, I'm just having another senior moment?” Many seniors are making exercise more of a habit so their sharp and educated minds don’t suffer. Studies across the country are showing that seniors who exercise their bodies have the least trouble exercising their minds

Advertising Balloons

There was a time when balloons were nothing more than kid’s toys but now they are used for so many different things. One of the most popular uses of balloons is for advertising. Advertising balloons are popular for so many reasons but the most important one is that people notice them. There is something about a balloon that is fascinating to adults and children alike. We all find out eyes drawn to these colorful floating things and we always want to see what they say on them.

Advertising balloons are pretty and they are effective. They also come in many different sizes. Some advertising balloons are gigantic and are as big as a small plane while others are tiny. Some balloons float while others hand from different things, things like walls or poles or flags, anything really.

These days the most popular kinds of advertising balloons are those shaped like different characters. You will see some shaped like giant gorillas or certain cartoon chartacters like Bart Simpson or Mickey Mouse. These are popular and they catch the eye as you drive down the road, some can even be seen from miles and miles away, they are colorful and fantastic.

The vast majority of advertising balloons are filled with helium gas so as to float in air with one end tied to the support that does not allow it to wander away. One good quality about advertising balloons is that they do not burst as they are not made from flimsy material. They have thick skins that keep them from getting poked and exploded by birds.

Though advertising balloons are dying out when compared to other neat things like laser beams that are used these days, they are certainly not going to leave the market anytime soon. Next time when you see a advertising balloon floating in mid air just think what it took to come with to come with simple yet such a brilliant method of advertising.

How AdPushup helped Publishers double their AdSense revenues!

Publishers hate low RPM
Ask a thousand publishers, what are their top priorities? You’ll only hear quality content and high RPMs (Revenue per thousand impression). Had display advertising not been invented, sites we love like Search Engine Land, Smashing Magazine, Search Engine Journal and even Wired might not have even existed. But over the last fifteen years, display advertising has witnessed a saddening trend – The constant decline of display advertising CTR. The average Click-through Rate has recently hit .10% and even worse, in countries like Finland, it is 0.05%.

Publishers work hard and in most of the cases, their only source of income is the advertising revenues.

Our Offer
Last month, we offered free ad revenue optimization services to AdSense publishers on Google’s Official – Learn with Google for Publishers Community. The primary aim was to use AdPushup, which is currently in private beta mode, to optimize these websites and help them earn more revenue from their existing traffic. We had originally planned to enroll only 5 websites, but seeing the large number of applications, we ended up enrolling about twice that number.

So, we have Market Validation
The astonishing response to a simple post in the community lounge clearly underlined the fact that there exists a ripe market for our product – a lot of publishers who want to optimise their ad revenues. Seeing the exchange of emails, it was clearly visible that everyone was interested in knowing more about what we planned on doing for their website and how it could help them improve their ad revenues. Surprisingly, a large majority, had never used A/B Testing (many had not even heard of it) or any similar optimization model in the past, which is why, we have now decided to make Customer Education one of the primary objectives for this blog (more on this at end of this post).

The Optimization
So we started off with our Optimization process. Our product is still in development, so stability (specifically experiment delivery) was a concern. We did not want to make any changes that could lead to errors and ultimately, hurt the revenue of the accounts. This meant that we had to quickly hack up a small parallel program, which would do the revenue measuring, dynamic placement of ads in the test locations, and exploration/exploitation of ad variations.

For this we followed a two stage approach. First, for every account, we identified the key positions and ad variations which would potentially lead to CTR & RPM rise (for some accounts the variations went as high as 50!). After creating these positions and ad variations, we installed the program on the website, and let the program run and collect data for some period. The length of this period depended on how much traffic the site was getting. Once we received enough data (statistically significant) about the ad variations & location performance, we analyzed the data, and fed it to our continuous optimization algorithm. The framework and algorithm isn’t perfect, but still it led to immediate hikes in CTR and RPMs.

A golden rule in optimization says don’t trust your gut, and we completely second that! Sometimes, the variations & positions we thought would perform best, failed miserably. On the other hand, the ones we thought would be bummers had excelled! It was great that we had a lot of variations to test, as you can never simply have a hunch about what works well for your site.

Voila! The Results
Now, to the Interesting part, we feel pleased to announce that every single account which we have worked with has reported a significant rise in overall income and RPM (Revenue per 1000 impressions). What do we mean by significant? At least 30%, yea – and thats on the lower side, while most of the accounts have easily doubled their ad revenues!

We’re pulling up a couple of accounts to show you how publishers have been benefited using AdPushup:
Account 1
For about a week our script collected data on this website, after which you can clearly see how the CTR skyrocketed. The CTR rose by 107% as compared to the average CTR of the account for the last 3 months. The RPM for this account rose by 48%.

Account 2
The account witnessed a 96% rise in RPM as compared to the average RPM of last 3 months. Similarly, the CTR rose by 98%, in comparison to the average CTR of last 3 months.

Additional Notes
In both the cases, the number of ad units per page (before and during optimization) were kept constant. Similarly, no short term techniques (such as placing all the units above the fold) were used during the tests, so we’re confident that improvements are sustainable. The charts which you see above have been edited to remove important account stats to meet the AdSense program guidelines about now disclosing key account statistics.

Case studies
In order to educate more people on the subject of optimization and A/B testing, starting this month, we would start publishing case studies on this blog. We will feature websites which have optimized their ad revenues and show you how they did it! I’m sure a lot of other publishers would benefit from this. You can subscribe to our RSS feed or join our Beta list to get notified, when we publish the case studies.

SOURCES:

Advertising In The Media

The media is a powerful thing -- the average person spends an enormous amount of their life consuming it in one form or another, and will spend a significant percentage of that time looking at, listening to or watching advertisements.

If you want to use the power of the media, though, you need to know what you're doing.




Advertising in Newspapers and Magazines.

There are two kinds of advertising you can get in newspapers and magazines: classified and display. Classifieds are the small ads towards the back of the publication, while display ads can be almost any size, from a small corner of a page to a massive double-page spread.

If there's a publication you're interested in advertising in, either go to its website (the rate card section) or call its advertising department to find out the rates it charges. Now pick your jaw up off the floor. Yes, advertising in the print media really is that expensive, and for most home businesses it probably just won't be that economical.

There is, however, an exception: niche and trade magazines. If you've ever looked around in a newsagent, you will have seen just how many magazines there are out there, filling every conceivable gap in the market. You need to find the magazine that people who are interested in your services might read. For example, if you're a wedding photographer, look for a magazine called 'Your Wedding', 'Bride', or something similar. Advertising in these magazines will be far cheaper than placing an ad in a general-audience publication, and far more likely to actually get some responses.

Advertising on the Radio.

Wherever you are, the chances are that there's a local radio station. Once your home business grows to a decent size, you might consider buying some time on it.

Really, though, the only kind of home business that can benefit enough from radio ads to justify the cost is one that does anything to do with cars. Since radio is almost entirely limited to use as in-car entertainment now, you know that almost everyone your ad reaches will be a car-owner, and so might be interested in what you're offering. If you offer something that people need cheaply or even for free, you can get a big response.

Unfortunately, that response could be a little too big -- thanks to the time-sensitivity of radio, you'll get mobbed the next day, and then everyone will forget you again. Radio advertising offers the listener no opportunity to keep your ad and refer to it later, or to find it again in the future. You will find that any ads involving a phone number are spectacularly useless.

Advertising on the Television.

Unless your business is getting pretty big, this would be quite a bad idea. You'd have trouble producing and airing an ad even on local cable channels for less than $10,000. Of course, if there's a market for your product and you've got the budget for this, you could take a gamble and make a mint. The home businesses that tend to do best out of TV ads are ones that have a 'unique and useful invention' product with easy-to-demonstrate benefits -- think infomercial. Research shows that you can sell almost anything given a 60-second ad, a free phone number and a price point of $19.95.

Advertising on Billboards.

Here's one that gets overlooked pretty often, but can be very effective if you do it right. Billboard ads are relatively expensive, but they do generally stay up for a long time, and they can be very specifically targeted to an area -- the one where they're physically located. You'll have the best results with this if you can put one near enough to your business that it could say 'turn left at the next junction', or something like that. Phone numbers are, again, pretty useless, although you could have some luck putting a website address up there.

Advertising at the Movies.

Finally, here's one that often gets overlooked. If you turn up to the cinema early, you might have seen that before the big-budget ads, ads for local businesses are run. This can be a great place to advertise relatively inexpensively in quite a high-profile way, and it works especially well for takeaway food businesses.

Tips of Free Classified Advertising

Online free classified sites offer a risk free, no cost solution to promote your businesses and sell products and services. Advertising in free classified sites can be time consuming and frustrating if you do not know how to successfully profit from these sites. Knowing the right tricks and tips of online free classified ads will separate you from the hundreds who post thousands of ads without getting any results.

All free classified sites are not created equal. You should focus on a few good sites and post your ads regularly in those sites only. Your starting point is Google search. Go to google.com and search for "free classifieds" and "free ads". From the search result pages, visit 10 to 15 sites and register in those sites.

If a site asks too many questions during the registration process, abandon the site and go to the next site. Why should you have to provide all your personal information for the site's benefits? Good sites will only ask minimal questions to setup your account so that you can edit, delete and renew your ads. Also, look for sites that will allow you to post without any registration.

Write a precise ad using 80 to 100 words. Write about benefits of your products and services for ad viewers. Try to think benefits in terms of generating extra income, improving health and relationships and providing a sense of good feelings when they use your products and services.

Write a concise, interest grabbing, key words filled ad title with action words that asks the reader to do something now. If you are promoting an affiliate product and many ads are also about the same affiliate product, write your ad title and ad copy differently than others so that your ad stands out in the crowd.

If you are selling personal items, like used cars, cameras etc., provide details description of the item, its selling price, and your contact information. If you are promoting an item to make a profit, do not try to sell your products or services in the classified ad. Use the free ad to lead to another site or your affiliate site where you can provide more information to make a sale.

In classified sites, most recent ads are listed on the top of the ad search or ad listing pages. Some free classified sites have paid premium ads which are displayed on the top of the listing pages, followed by the free ads.

Avoid those free sites that accept premium listings. In free classified sites, your ads will be buried deep in the listing pages as more ads are posted in the same category. To keep your ads fresh and on the top of the listing page, renew your ads every couple of days.

Do not spam by posting your ads in all categories. Post only in a few relevant categories, preferably using different ad copies and ad titles. If the site has regional sections, e.g. US states, cities, or countries and your target is to reach every region, post in 10 to 15 regions only. For the search function of the site to pickup your ad for display, you do not have to post in all the available regions. This will save you time.

Always use photos or banners in your ads. Make sure that the size and dimensions of your image files are within the site's acceptable limits. Otherwise, the site may not display your images in your ad at all. There are a few free sites where you can create your banners or you can use your affiliate banners.

If you are using the picture of a product, take the picture using a good digital camera and then convert the image to jpeg format and reduce the dimensions prior to uploading.

Using the simple techniques mentioned above, you should be able to minimize your online free advertising effort and increase responses from your ads. Remember, your ad title and ad copy should stand out with action words and pictures. You should regularly post your ads to keep them fresh and on top the listing page.

How to Authentically Target Gender in Your Business

A February AdAge article unearthed an old statistic that 80% of purchasers are women, yet only 3% of all creative directors are women. Many think this attributes to the seemingly huge gap in marketing relevance and effectiveness today.


The truly compelling part of the article centered on the role of the often-ignored male purchaser. Consumers’ lifestyles are always evolving, and as marketers, our strategies to connect with them should, too. Women balance work and home; it makes sense that men do the same. I have seen this shift in my own circle: many husbands are either stay-at-home dads or incredibly active in helping at home. Whether it’s shopping, diaper-duty or cleaning, they play an integral role in household operations.

Outside my experience, statistics show a larger sea change. This may be economically driven (more men than women are unemployed at 8.9% VS 8%1), but dads are playing stronger roles at home. With celebrity guys hosting popular cooking, DIY, decorating and landscaping shows, perhaps the stigma around “male domesticity” is changing. And millennial men, a growing purchasing group, are especially comfortable shopping. Millennials are all about self-expression, and 38% of millennial men see fashion and grooming as a means to self-express, versus 16% of boomer men.2

So I must ask, how accurate is the statistic that women control 80% of purchasing power today, especially if 52% of dads now say they are the primary grocery shopper in their household? More than 1/3 of moms admit that their male counterparts have more influence on grocery store purchases.3 Today, dads are:

• Creating a detailed shopping list (63%)
• Collecting coupons or reading circulars (56%)
• Planning meals for the week ahead of time (52%)
• Performing background research on grocery products (24%)


I can’t help but wonder why stereotypes, particularly ones pitted against men, continue to permeate campaigns. Six out of 10 fathers say that although they make household purchasing decisions, only 22-24% felt the advertising in those categories spoke to them.1 In fact, when it comes to the in-store experience, 40% of men feel unwelcome.1 Evidently, advertisers (and their agencies) are missing the mark, and aren’t authentically targeted men.
A couple examples come to mind. A recent Clorox Disinfecting Wipes spot features a bumbling dad amid dinner chaos, changing his baby’s diaper on the kitchen counter. Mom walks in and she does not approve. Wipes save the day. This not only feeds the misconception that dads are inadequate caregivers, it portrays mom as a belittling matriarch.

In another example, a 2007 Sony Cyber-Shot ad uses the subtlety of a sledgehammer. The spot features a family interacting with a real horse’s butt as their “dad.” The horse’s rear can’t cook, ignores a request to go outside and play ball, and starts an argument with his wife at bedtime. But hey, your dad can get his face in focus thanks to this camera!


The moral of the story? Despite shifts in culture, tradition and responsibilities, certain advertising truisms remain. First and foremost, know your target. Marketers may need to dig a little deeper and be open minded about who’s buying their products. It might surprise you. Let those discoveries lend truth and authenticity to the work. Let’s not continue to fuel stereotypes. It comes off as disingenuous and sexist, and consumers can tell. The best way to make a connection and build trust with your consumer is to be real, no matter what gender you’re targeting.
SOURCES:
1.) IDDBA, What’s in Store 2012
2.) Ad Age, Brand Messaging Focused Only on Women Is Stuck in the Past, Feb. 2013
3.) Cone Communications, Year of the Dad, 2012

Through the Lines

http://jacobsagency.com/throughthelines 

BY SOURCES

Importance of a logo design

Your logo. Your business cards. Your advertising. They're all a reflection of you and your company. Properly designed, they communicate to your employees and your customers that your company is credible, trustworthy and professional. Your business image depends on a logo design that is polished and distinctive. Your logo is the cornerstone of your brand.

Not only does a high quality logo show your customers that your business is professional, but it also differentiates you from your competitors and creates a powerful memory in the minds of your customers. When they need your product or service, they'll think of you. Imagine as you hand out your next business card. Instead of a passing glance, your prospect stops and admires the style and colors of your logo. You feel a deep sense of pride, that everything your business stands for has been perfectly communicated in just a few seconds. Congratulations, you've made a lasting impression.

You want to have a successful business which means you simply cannot afford to have a poorly designed logo.

Good logo designers are not only able to design you a professional logo, but they will also make sure that your logo is distinct and unique so as to create a long lasting impression. Therefore the question that now comes to mind is, do we really need logo designers or can just anyone design a corporate logo? The answer to this question is not as simple as it seems. While the obvious answer may be no, the fact of the matter is that we do need professional logo designers because they are specialists in their field and are able to produce quality work that is distinct and one of a kind.

Logo designers understand the importance of a corporate logo. They know that designing a logo is no child’s play but that the success of a business depends on it. Professional logo designers are important because designing a logo is not just some haphazard exercise. There is deliberate and well convinced thought that go into making a logo that represents a company and the image it wishes to portray. Logo designing is more than just selecting the right color of a logo, it is about creating an image that aptly represent a company in every sphere that it is presented.

Logo designers therefore are of great importance to any business as they can help create logos with a powerful impact and reach. Think about Apple’s logo or the logo of Windows, besides the obvious there is more than just what meets the eye. These logos are not only powerful because they represent a company, but they are powerful because of what they stand for. Good logo designers know how to capture and depict the essence of a business in a single small image. They realize that a solid logo design communicates a company identity simply, clearly, and powerfully all at the same time.

The company web design field is rapidly growing and expanding. At LogoSuite, we pride ourselves on keeping up to speed by improving our web design skills, developing new design styles, and searching for new typefaces and design ideas.

How To Advertise Your Work At Home Business Opportunity

The business world is changing, and we are seeing the rapid rise of people who are wanting to work at home. Some companies are looking to make their employees sub-contractors because they want to pay less benefits. The economy and natural disasters have affected others. As a result, more and more people are looking to start a home business of their own.

There probably never has been a greater opportunity to start a home business opportunity than now. With the internet giving access to the world, the possibilities are nearly endless. A store-front is no longer needed, unless you are dealing with a large quantity of product. And because it is in your home, thousands of dollars can be saved each year.

Every business will provide one of two different things to the potential customer. It will be either a product, or a service. But either one must have advertising in order for the customer to know about what you offer. Your work at home business opportunity will succeed or fail based on this one factor. This article will seek to provide some quick ideas about how to advertise your business by using the internet.

Google Adwords

This is probably one of your best promotional tools for every dollar that is spent. This will require some study in selecting the right keywords to use in the google program. There is a cost per click - every time someone clicks on your ad, you pay a few cents, which is predetermined by you. Although effective, it will take a lot of watching to be able to get it right, and to keep it there.

Submit To Search Engines

Various websites will submit your website information, with your keywords, to multiple search engines. Some sites will submit your information to over 75 search engines - for free. For a rather small fee, this number can be multiplied many times.  These will get the word out to the most popular engines, including google and yahoo. A number of search engines will take more than three weeks to list your site.

Create A Newsletter

This one will allow you to "get your list" of potential customers. Before you send out any illegal spam, however, it is important to get their approval for you to send them something. This is one way to be able to weekly email your customers - and in most cases, you can do it for free.

Write Free Articles

Write an article on your niche subject (the theme of your web page), and submit it to websites that distribute free web content. If written well, these will be picked up by other marketers and displayed on their site. Of course, you require that your name and website address must remain attached at the bottom. This is free advertising, and it is possible to be posted around the internet.

If you look around the internet, there are many other ways to get the word out about your business. Add some new ones regularly and see what gets the best results.

What is Offset Postcard Printing?

There are breakthroughs, state-of-the-art printers and other printing craze have emerged in the printing interface.  These are due to the development in today’s technology.

Printers can now print lively, brilliant and clear images at the same time crisp texts in just a matter of minutes. These latest printing styles have tickled the fancies of the printing customers however, the traditional way of printing cannot be overshadowed by this new events.

Offset postcard printing services is the traditional way of printing postcards. It is still widely used nowadays. In fact, it has also caught up with technology so as to accommodate the changes in time and the needs of the customers. Offset postcard printing services now use computers as aid in postcard printing.

Basically, offset postcard printing services uses four color process called CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black). These colors are used in creating a wide selection of colors to give life to color postcards. Full color postcard printing brings out vivacious colors and shades to complement to the images and texts.


In using RGB (red, green and blue) or full color display in computer monitor, it must be realized that the colors on the monitor may not look exactly the same as in the printed materials. This is because some colors created by an RGB monitor cannot be reproduced by CMYK printing. Spot colors, on the other hand, are most frequently used for one and two color jobs and when there is a need to produce the exact colors.

 Pantone PMS color choice delivers the exact color you need for your distinctive printing job. PMS is good for spot colors but not for process colors which are generally specified using the CMYK colors.

After printing postcards, printing companies utilize techniques to protect them. Postcards are then coated. The most popular finishes are the aqueous coating, UV coating and film lamination. Aqueous coating is a fast-drying, water-based and the cheapest protective coating that is applied while the paper stock is still on the press. UV coating, on the other hand, is a liquid gloss plastic coating which is applied after the printing process.

 Finally, we have film lamination. In this finish, a plastic film is applied on postcards after printing.

Postcard printing services through offset printing is one of the fastest, easiest and inexpensive way to keep your business in its outstanding shape.

Closing in on Effective Advertising

Get out all the ads you ran last year. Go ahead. Tear them out of your magazines or newspapers (if you’re lucky enough to have proof sheets, so much the better).


Tear out your competitor’s ads too—as many as you can get your hands on. Next, fold the company names, addresses and logos out of view. If the company names are in the headlines block them off with paper and tape.

Now tape them up to the wall, putting yours on top, your competitors’ below. Now back off, at least five feet. We’re going to gradually close in on the most effective ad in the group (hopefully one of yours).

 The “Eye Test” View First, and this is very important, don’t read any of them. Instead give them a quick, visual once over—what I call the “Eye Test.” Do your ads stand out? Or do they dissolve into the mush of sameness? Remember, your audience will see your ad, not in a vacuum but with dozens of competitive ads in the same or similar magazines or newspapers. If your ads stand out, you’re ahead by a length.  


Step in, Feel the Image Now move in a little closer to your ads. Close enough to get the feel or image they project Like a new salesperson who walks through the door, the first thing people react to is the overall image he or she projects. It’s the same with advertising. The colors, the design, the typeface should be consistent with the image of your company. A tennis shoe salesperson can wear a referee shirt and a whistle around his or her neck, a medical sales rep can’t. If your ads are in sync with the image of your company, you’re a step closer to your audience—and a sale.

 Are You Projecting a Consistent Look? Next comes an equally important aspect: consistency. All your ads should project the same image. No, they don’t have to have the same visual or the same headline. They should, however, look like they all come from the same company. After all, this image is your “familiar face” in the crowd. It’s also something you worked very hard to create.

And it’s uniquely yours, no one else’s. Just like a good salesperson who finally got in the door to make that first sale. You wouldn’t dream of switching salespeople after that. If your ads look like they came from several different companies, your audience might assume your product does. If your ads pass this test, effective advertising is within your reach. Which is exactly where you need to be for the next step.  


Arm’s Length for Positioning An arm’s length away from your favorite campaign of ads. The object of this test is to see how well you’ve positioned yourself. Yes, you can now read your ads, but not for details. How you position yourself should be fairly evident by the time you finish the first paragraph. Positioning is basically how your audience perceives your product, service or company. For example, businessmen, engineers and students all need computers, yet each has a different idea of what computers can do for them.

Advertise a computer to a businessman and you might do better to position it a management or accounting tool. Students might respond better to an ad showing computers as a writing and study aid. And engineers would be better persuaded to buy a computer if you positioned it as a design or research tool.

In each case, the products are the same but the positioning generates the unique appeal for any given market. And the greater the appeal, the greater the sales. If you’ve done your research, your positioning should bring the reader a little closer to your ad and your product.  

Move in to One Ad We’re now going to concentrate on one ad. So pick your favorite one and move in close enough to read it in comfort. The headline and visual should answer the question “what’s in it for me.” If it doesn’t do that quickly and effectively, your audience may gloss over it without ever bothering to read it. Some of the best salesmen in the world start their pitch with a direct customer benefit—even before they introduce the product.

They’ve learned that customers want to know right off what the product can do for them—the big benefit. If your product’s benefit is buried in the body and your main visual is an un-involving product shot or a photo of earth floating in space, your ad won’t go the distance. And the sale will go to your competitor.  

The Revealing Close-up Ok, time for the close-up: the body copy. It should “payoff’ or back up the claim you made in the headline by forcefully and effectively communicating your product’s key benefits.

In essence, you still have to answer the Question “what’s in it for me,” but now you have more room to do it. You can be flowery, you can be humorous, you can even get technical. But you must convince the reader that there is a strong benefit to be gained in choosing your product over the rest. If you‘ve done a good job, your ad goes the distance. What’s left is what all good salesmen do before they leave.


 Close in and Ask for the Order! For this, you’ll have to get in close to the bottom of your ad. Close enough to read your call to action, which should be short and direct, leaving no doubt in the reader’s mind what to do after reading the ad—call, clip a coupon, circle a bingo card. It should also be clear as to what the reader can expect to receive—more information, arrange a demo, have a salesperson call, get a trial sample.

The reader shouldn’t have to get too close to read this either (don’t put this or your phone number in fine print). Remember, when a salesperson asks for the order or gives his or her phone number, it’s always loud and confident, never a whisper.


 There are obviously many market, demographic and personal factors we haven’t considered. But if you meet the key objectives we’ve introduced, your audience can’t help but close in on your ad—and your product. And that’s what effective advertising is all about.

How to Build a Survey

Anyone who has built a survey knows that it can be a hard, and arduous process.  It takes an understanding of how research is done, to create a truly effective survey.  The most important step in creating a good survey is knowing what it is that you want to understand, and building your questions around that.

Now lets look at what a good survey should contain.

1.  First you need to look at what it is you are trying to discover or achieve with this survey.  Or in other words, what's the point of the survey.  Also, you should figure what action will be taken as a result of this survey.

2.  Now you need to picture in your head what kind of visuals will this survey produce.  Graphs, tables, charts should all be formulated to help you achieve your end result, or action.  So think about what your final data will look like and how it can be used to achieve your desired outcome.

3.  With an idea of where your going, it's now important to figure out how your going to get there.  So ask yourself "how easy is it going to be to get the appropriate information from my respondents?"  If it's too hard, then you need to revise your questions or technique.  You can do this by changing the question or the method.

4.  It's time now to look at the questions your going to ask.   Are the questions in the proper order?  Does one question have an effect on the following question?  Do the questions provide answers that are relevant to the survey as a whole.

5.  Write down multiple versions on the same question.  These questions make up the heart of the survey, make sure that you are using the right ones.

6.  It's important to test your questions before coming up with your final survey.  Pretest the survey on 20 or more people.  This should give you an understanding of the abilities of the survey.  Also, you should time your survey.  A good survey takes only 10-15 minutes to administer.

7.  After pretesting the survey, look at the respondents answers.  When reviewing the responses ask yourself: Did the answers make sense?  Were the respondents unsure about anything?  Did the respondents have any questions about the survey?  Were the questions understood? Was there anything surprising in the responses? 

8.  With this information in hand you're now ready to make the official survey.  Once the survey has been re-tooled, pretest it again to make sure that the efficiency of the questionnaire is maximized.

However, creating a survey is only half of the story.  Once you’ve put the right questions together and in the right order, you need to decide on how you’re going to administer the survey.

Each method of distribution comes with it’s own type of response.  You need to look at all the different ways of reaching your respondents.  Surveys by phone, email, mail, online, or in person can yield different types of responses.  It’s worth your time to sit down and consider which of these methods would most likely suite the needs of your research.

Once you’ve settled on the method of delivery, and you’ve administered all of your surveys, it’s time to collect and sort through the mass of data you’ve received.  How this is done, and with what technique you will accomplish this, is up to you.  There are lots of options out there, but it’s important to look into the ones that will help you accomplish your overall goal.

It’s crucial with any survey to always keep in mind the big picture.  Remember during every stage of development, distribution, and collection to make sure that your research needs are being met.

How To Advertise Online

For everyone that decides to start their own web site online, advertising isn't as easy as it seems and many people end up paying others to do their dirty work. Face it, hours and hours of boredom. So how can you get your name out there successfully? Below is a list of some useful advertising tools that can help you lift your web site off the ground!

1. Put your web site in the big search engines (Google, Yahoo, Live, etc). Everyone uses search engines, so that is always a help.

2. Pay to get visitors using Google AdWords. You pay Google a certain amount of money per click that is made on your Ad which is placed on someone's web site. Their site would be related to yours so it's targeted traffic, and they receive money for the clicks so everyone’s happy.

3. Exchange links between other web sites. This is a great way to get traffic. Whether you contact web site owners personally and see if they wish to do a link exchange or you just sign up for a "paid" link or "reciprocal" link, which is where you post their link on your web site as well. These links help you get visitors, backlinks, and improve your Google Page Rank.

4. Purchase advertisement spots on other web sites. Make sure that they are popular, receiving a decent amount of unique visitors every day. You could purchase a banner which is very noticed to help optimize the visitors you get from the web site.

5. Contact customers by e-mail advertising your web site. You can set up a mailing list of only people that would be interested in this so people don't consider it "spam".

6. Submit your web sites URL’s in as many free directories as you can. Even try to submit your web site in DMOZ!

7. Use Digg! Submit articles on their web site to help get traffic to your web site. This is a great method and if you pick very good topics for your articles, even topics that trick the readers to click, you can get a decent amount of traffic.

8. Become an active member on forums related to your web site and put your web site link in your signature. Make sure you confirm with staff at the forum that it is alright with them first because you don’t want to waste your time for nothing!

9. Buy signature links from active members so they can post and get traffic for you.

10. Advertise on MySpace! Yes, that is right, MySpace! Get yourself thousands of friends, real people, not other advertisers like you and put up bulletins advertising your web site.

11. As usual, we saved the best for last. This is definitely one of the best ways you can get traffic to your web site, guaranteed. Put up a video on YouTube with the displayed picture of a naked girl, then trick them to watch and get them to your web site.

Those were just some of the basic methods that you can advertise for free, or at little cost. Good luck getting some traffic!