In Search Of Heroes Spreads Good News About Everyday, Real-Life Heroes Who Deserve Recognition For Their Good Works

Enjoy this amazing interview of Michael Levine by Super Star Mind Reader Robert Channing.

Robert Channing: How are you doing today?

Michael Levine: Hi Robert. How are you my friend?

Robert Channing: Oh it’s fantastic to have you on the line today, talking to you. Listen Michael, public relations affect every area of life doesn’t it?

Michael Levine: Well, I don’t know if it affects every area of life. But it certainly has a profound impact on the way contemporary business is done in America in the early 21st century.

Public relations would be kind of like; an analogy I use is this Tiffany Theory. The Tiffany Theory says that if I came to visit you today and I gave you a gift and I gave it to you in a Tiffany box, in your mind, the gift would have a higher perceived value.

The reason that’s true is not because you’re a psychological fool. It’s true because we live in a world that perceives value in the wrappings we use for products.

Robert Channing: I could be a psychological fool (laughing).

Michael Levine: Well, you may be but that’s not the reason it would have a higher perceived value. The reason it would have a higher perceived value is because you and I and every person listening to this right now, live in a culture in which we gift wrap everything.

We gift wrap our politicians. We gift wrap our corporate heads, our movie and TV stars and even our toilet paper. Public relations are like gift wrapping. That’s why the process is so important.

Robert Channing: Well, isn’t it important to learn how to sell ourselves and services in the field of business and in our own personal lives?

Michael Levine: No. It is only important to learn how to sell ourselves if we want to be successful. If we want to be a failure, it’s not important in the least. But, if you want to be successful, particularly in today’s contemporary environment it is important.

You see, there is competition today. If you owned a business, let’s say 30 or 40 years ago or 50 years ago, there might be competition from your local city, perhaps even from your local region. Unlikely, there would be much competition from the rest of your state and certainly not from this nation or other nations.

But today, as my dear friend Thomas Friedman reminds us, "The world is flat." We are being competed with today by virtually everyone on planet earth. The internet has allowed about two and a half billion people in the last ten years to plug and play.

Therefore, the competition is significantly greater. With that, competition places a greater pressure on us to market smarter, better, faster, quicker. We found out that the average business in America spends 4% of its gross on marketing.

Robert Channing: Four percent, that’s a low amount isn’t it?

Michael Levine: Well, the average business does. Take all businesses from the biggest company to a shoe shine shop in your local community and they spend approximately a total of 4% of their gross on marketing.

Robert Channing: I see. I would think it would be a lot higher than that.

Michael Levine: Yeah, well, that’s what it is. Now, the 500 fastest growing businesses in America spend 11% of their gross on marketing.

Robert Channing: How interesting.

Michael Levine: So what we’ve learned, really is that if you want to hyper grow your business or create a brand leadership where you’re number one or number two in your brand category, you’ve got to out market your competition about three to one.

Robert Channing: Now the meeting planners that are out there listening. How would that affect the meeting planning industry because we have a lot of independent meeting planners that are listening to this today? They have a ton of competition out there.

Michael Levine: Well, that’s exactly the point. Meeting planners have to think of their business as a business. To the extent that they want to be very successful in their business, see, if they don’t care about being very successful, if they’re just interested in doing the minimum and getting the minimum, they don’t really have to listen to this very much.

They don’t have to market very much. But if they have a deep desire to touch magic, to create something memorable, to do something that not only will they be remembered for, but will be very profitable and a brand entity that some day may be sellable, an equity that may be sellable. Then they’re going to have to out market their competition about three to one.

They’re going to have to do it in traditional and nontraditional ways.

Robert Channing: Can you give us some examples with the maybe one to three of what you would start out with?

Michael Levine: Oh well, of course. Marketing is just really a fancy word for sales. On the street, people call it sales. At Harvard, they call it marketing. So sales are broken up into three categories. Or, at least, I break it up into three categories.

The first is advertising. Advertising is what you pay for. It could be anything. It could be direct mail. It could be TV. It could be radio. But advertising is what you pay for.

Public relations are what you pray for. Advertising is what you pay for; PR is what you pray for. That’s those stories that you see in Time or Newsweek or People or Us or LA Times, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, USA Today.

Robert Channing: What the investment would be in advertising if they hired, for example, I could spend $50,000 in advertising, maybe once in a quarter or I could spend $5,000 in PR and that PR would probably, most likely, be if I get a good hit, give me millions of dollars if not hundreds of thousands or even tens of thousand of dollars worth of free publicity.

Would you agree people pay attention more to the PR, something that is written by someone else instead of the standard advertising written by us?

Michael Levine: You’re exactly right. The Harvard study on that says that a story of exactly the same size as an ad has a believability, accredibility ratio of ten to one. If an ad is worth $50,000, the exact same story, the exact same size would be worth $500,000.

Robert Channing: How beautiful is that?

Michael Levine: But the point, also, I think we have to be very direct with our listeners today. While you are exactly right that public relations is a very high leverage, high potential return, there are no guarantees. Business, another word for business is risk. If you want guarantees, get out of business.

Robert Channing: How true that is.

Michael Levine: Get out of it. Go get a job at the post office or working for FEMA. But if you want risk and you’re willing to take some chances and become part of the greatest economic wealth producing system in the history of humanity, then you should advertise. You should do PR. You should also get involved in word of mouth.

Robert Channing: Would that be your third pier that you were talking about?

Michael Levine: That’s the third pier. Yes sir. Word of mouth could be going to an event and going to chamber things and contacting people in your local community or speaking. That could be word of mouth.

The truth is you have to have all three of those categories, those engines firing off at a very high and efficient level for your marketing machine to be sailing in an aggressive manner.

Robert Channing: Let me ask you this, Michael. If we could take a magnifying glass and peer into Michael Levine’s life and we looked over your shoulder on a daily basis and these three factors were there, what do you do to get out in the public eye? What do you do to advertise? What do you do for public relations for your clients and yourself?

Michael Levine: Well, I think the question today is a different answer today than it was say 20 years ago. See, 20 years ago I was a self-educated guy. I didn’t go to college. I started a PR firm and went on to represent the biggest stars in the world. You mentioned some of them; Michael Jackson, Barbara Streisand, Charlton Heston, Nancy Kerrigan, Demi Moore, Michael Fox, Sandra Bullock, David Bowie, Prince, Kareem Adbul-Jabbar, Jon Voight, Fleetwood Mac, Cameron Diaz.

Robert Channing: Amazing.

Michael Levine: Dave Chappelle, John Stewart.

Robert Channing: I love Dave Chappelle.

Michael Levine: Bill O’Reilly, Ozzy Osbourne, Suzanne Somers and a whole host of others. So today I’m asked to be on television and radio more times. I’m asked to be on television and radio more times in a six month period than most people are in five lifetimes. I have the advantage of getting on television; CNN, Fox News, Good Morning America, Today Show, Nightline.

Also I’ve been interviewed by radio, newspaper. So my marketing, if you will, is staying today in part by the media having selected me as one of the people that they choose to call to define what’s going on in contemporary culture with the media.

Robert Channing: That being said. Using that for yourself, how would you intersect, use that with your clients or even people that are just listening, these folks on the line? The meeting planners are listening right now. How could they use your services as well as maybe take some tips of what you’re doing?

Michael Levine: Well the first thing I would do, if anyone was listening to this, and they could do it for free is really terrific. There’s a gentleman in California who a couple of years ago started a web site based on my book. It’s called www.GuerrillaPR.net. It’s absolutely terrific. G U E R R I L L A P R dot net.

You can go on the site and there are endless amounts of free information about guerrilla PR including a free weekly marketing newsletter. It’s terrific. It gives you as much free information as you want. It costs you exactly zero. I really think it could be of value. It’s a good way of starting the education process.

Robert Channing: Now, getting back to what you were saying. You had no college education.

Michael Levine: No.

Robert Channing: You started from nothing, self-taught, self-educated.

Michael Levine: Yes sir.

Robert Channing: How did you do it?

Michael Levine: Okay. I’m going to tell you. Here’s how you do it, okay. First, before I tell you how you do it, I’m going to tell you why you do it.

Robert Channing: That’s very important.

Michael Levine: Ladies and gentleman, listen very, very carefully to this because this is the product of 25 years of experience working with the biggest stars in the world. This is why you do it because in the end, human beings respect wisdom, but obey pain.

If you feel sufficiently motivated, sufficiently scared, in my case, fearful and frightened and in pain, I didn’t know what I was going to do. I had no education, no parenting to speak of, and no good parenting. I was born into a home with alcoholism.

So I had a sufficient level of discomfort or pain to motivate me to try and want to do something. It was that burning maniacal rage. That pain, that feeling as if I had a gun in my mouth that drove me to seek and ultimately find the answers. That’s why I did it, because people respect wisdom, but obeys pain. I was scared.

Robert Channing: So you had a burning desire. You had more than a burning desire. You had a feeling of emptiness that you needed to fill that void in a sense. Would that be right?

Michael Levine: No. I had a feeling of fullness. A gun in my mouth is a rather full feeling.

Robert Channing: Oh, okay.

Michael Levine: I felt like my only chance was to fight to make my own way. I would encourage others listening to this to consider this. If you are not willing to fight as if your life depended on it, you’re probably not willing to win because there’s someone out there who will.

You see, when Michael Jordon went out to play basketball, Robert. He probably didn’t go and see his teammates at the beginning of the game and say, “Look fellows. We have a game tonight. If we win, we win and if we lose, we lose. Let’s just see what happens. I certainly hope we win. But let’s have a good time, see what happens.”

That’s not how Michael Jordon played basketball.

Robert Channing: No. I don’t think they’d hire him.

Michael Levine: He played basketball as if his life depended on it. Bill Clinton ran for president as if his life depended on it. I began my PR firm with an approach that my life depended on it and I worked 24 hours a days, seven days a week with a burning maniacle rage of intensity. That was what I did and how I did it.

Think of yourself. Everybody listen to this. Imagine yourself, I say to you, “Listen. I would like you to find a kind of bicycle that you rode when you were a child.”

You would say to me, “Well gee, Mr. Levine. I don’t know where to look for it. I don’t know where to find such a bicycle I’d have ridden when I was a child. Those are old bicycles. I wouldn’t know where to begin to look.” And that would be the answer you would give me.

Robert Channing: I’d go to a garage sale.

Michael Levine: Right. You might go to a garage sale. But imagine how you would answer that question differently. Ladies and gentlemen, listen to this. Ask yourself this question. How would you answer that question differently if I said, “I want you to find me a kind of bike that you rode as a child?”

And then, as I finished the question, I stuck my hand in my pocket. I removed from my pocket a revolver and I insert it in your mouth. I said, “In the next 24 hours, one of two things is going to be on that pad of paper you’re holding.”

Robert Channing: Incredible!

Michael Levine: “Either your brains or some information on how to find a bike that’s similar to the one that you rode as a child.” What would happen to that experience?

Robert Channing: I’d say 90% of the people would have their brains on there.

Michael Levine: Well, I think what would happen; I think 100% of the people would approach the problem with more intensity.

Robert Channing: I agree.

Michael Levine: More creativity, more determination because they value survival. Then the question becomes what would happen if I or you or someone could seduce them to consider what life would feel like if they valued creativity and excellence as much as they did survival. That’s what I did.

Robert Channing: That’s incredible Michael. Your lecture is called Success Secrets of the Superstars. In that lecture, can you tell us a little bit more about what you’re going to deliver for the people listening?

Michael Levine: Sure. I was obsessed with the question, because I was self-educated. I became obsessed for two decades with one question. I was working alongside the biggest stars in the world. I wanted to know what was it that those stars knew that I didn’t know that mere mortals didn’t know. How did they do it?

How did they go from nothing to the greatest success in their field? Because at first glance, Oprah Winfrey and Bill Gates didn’t look like they had anything in common.

Robert Channing: Right. They came from nothing, right? Bill Gates.

Michael Levine: Yeah and they looked like they had nothing in common except they were both rich. So I began this 20 year journey on trying to autopsy what were the secrets, if any that were common 100% of the time, predictable, in super achievers of any fields.

I found out that I, to the best of my ability, 20 years of journey, said that there were three things that all super achievers had in common. If you applied these three things to your work, you could create super achievement in your field.

Robert Channing: Now, you’re going to tell us what these three secrets are. You’re not going to let us wait.

Michael Levine: No. I’ll be happy to tell you. They’re what I refer to the three magic Os. Three magic Os.

Robert Channing: Okay. And it’s Oprah Winfrey.

Michael Levine: Here are the people, here are the secrets, that if you apply to your life in a serious and committed way, you will have remarkable impact on your career and create a relationship that makes super achievement possible. Here they are.

Robert Channing: I’ve got my pen and paper out.

Michael Levine: Here they are. First is obsession. If you want to be super successful, by the way, if you don’t want to be super successful, I’m not talking about one in a thousand or one in a million. I’m talking about Michael Jordan. I’m talking about Bill Gates. I’m talking about Nelson Mandela. I’m talking about Bill Clinton. I’m talking about.

Robert Channing: Michael Levine!

Michael Levine: People who are the defining people in their field. You have to have one, an obsession, and a burning, maniacal rage. Act as if your life depended on it, an obsession, and a burning, maniacal rage as if your life depended on it.

Number two is optimism. It was very interesting studying people. The optimism I’m speaking of is not kind of goofy. Like a cartoon, everything’s going to be fine.

Robert Channing: I think I can, I think I can.

Michael Levine: Right. It was optimism that was paradoxical. What I mean by that is it was optimism that came after. It was an optimism that was born after a militant willingness to look at brutal facts. The brutal facts that the people found were the game is not easy and the game is not fair.

Robert Channing: That’s so true.

Michael Levine: But, while the game is not easy and while the game is not fair, through the use of enough burning, maniacal rage; focus concentrated efforts.

Robert Channing: Like a bullet in flight.

Michael Levine: The game is winnable, though not easy and though not fair. The greatest thing I ever heard said on optimism was said by General Colin Powell. He said it in only six words. Robert, what he said is, “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.”

He’s a military general so what I think he was saying is if you took ten men and you saturated them with optimism, just gave them saturated amounts of optimism, those ten men could fight with the force of fifty.

If you took that exact same group of ten men, a group exactly the same and you saturated them with negativity, those ten men couldn’t fight with the force of two. So the second magic O was optimism but it was a paradoxical optimism.

Robert Channing: So we have obsession, a burning desire. We have optimism.

Michael Levine: Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier, optimism born after looking at the brutal facts. Brutal facts are the game is not easy, the game is not fair. But through enough burning, maniacal rage the game is winnable.

Number three is a sense of obligation, keeping your word, principally to yourself. Obligation is a word to describe a hyper sense of responsibility. If you say that you’re going to do something next Wednesday at 4:00 pm you must not complete, do that task Wednesday at 5:15.

It is very important. The people that were super successful had a sense of obligation, a sense of the tasks were assignments that they had a deep commitment. With the third magic O, the sense of obligation, hyper responsibility, hyper willingness to take responsibility when they weren’t, the one in a thousand times they weren’t able to keep their word.

The people that they were held responsible for that were themselves. They were deeply, deeply obligated and responsible, principally to themselves.

Robert Channing: And they felt the pain. Like you talked about, the pain itself.

Michael Levine: Oh, it was missing a deadline was a painful experience for the super successful. They saw their word. They meant what they said and they said what they meant and meant what they said.

Robert Channing: With integrity as well.

Michael Levine: With deep integrity, deep. When they didn’t keep their word they didn’t blame Bush or Cheney or traffic or the world or their mother-in-law. They blamed themselves. With the third magic O comes a voluntary homework assignment. It’s the only voluntary; it’s the only homework assignment I give. It’s voluntary.

But I can tell everybody listening to this right now. That it is a homework assignment that they can do in the next 24 hours. They can do it in ten minutes or less and they can do it for free. So in the next 24 hours you can do it. You can do it in ten minutes or less and you can do it for free.

Robert Channing: Ralph, are you there with us?

Ralph Zuranski: I am there. I’m writing down all that Michael is saying.

Robert Channing: Ralph is awestruck. He is awestruck Michael as well as I am. What you’re just giving us right now is so true and I’ve been one to study motivational speakers and all the past, the Biblical writings and you’re laying it out for us in three Os which is fantastic.

Michael Levine: Well thank you. You’re very kind. It was born of experience, pain, hard knocks, and real world. It wasn’t created in a Harvard MBA program. It was born out of real visceral, palpable experience.

Robert Channing: And by the way, your books are in Yale, Harvard, is that correct? Are they in college and universities?

Michael Levine: Well yeah I’m very touched, I was surprised but touched to know that Guerrilla PR is now taught at the top 25 business schools in America. It’s taught in all 25.

Robert Channing: Unbelievable.

Michael Levine: It’s been translated into six languages, so.

Robert Channing: And you’re originally from New York, Michael?

Michael Levine: I was born in New York City about two and a half miles north of Ground Zero.

Robert Channing: Wow.

Robert Channing: I’m calling you right now; we’re on the line right now doing the radio show. I’m at Waldorf Astoria on a little vacation and we’re going to Tiffany’s.

Michael Levine: Good for you.

Robert Channing: Just to check things out. We’re not going to spend as much money as you.

Michael Levine: Well, in the year 2006, I just got news that I have purchased a co-op in New York and I’m going to be spending a lot more time there. Allow me if I can to give Ralph and the others a voluntary homework assignment.

Robert Channing: We’d love to hear it.

Michael Levine: It can be done in the next 24 hours. It can be done in ten minutes or less. It can be done for free and if you do it, Ralph, it will instantly and radically change your life more than any self-help book, a thousand self help books.

Robert Channing: A thousand self help books?

Michael Levine: In this one act, all you have to do is this one homework assignment. You can do it in 24 hours or less. You can do it in 24 hours, in under ten minutes for free. Here we go. Are you ready Ralph?

Ralph Zuranski: I’m ready.

Michael Levine: Here’s what you have to do. You have to go home, in the next 24 hours, and make a commitment to fire your flaky friends. That’s it. You have to go home, in the next 24 hours, and make a commitment to fire your flaky friends.

Robert Channing: Ralph, I think I’m going to get off the phone right now and call up half a dozen people.

Michael Levine: Okay. Well, here’s why every person listening to the show should consider my homework assignment. Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing is more deleterious, more negative to your development as a super successful person than the second hand fumes of flakiness.

Being around an environment in which people are flaky, are irresponsible, do not keep their word, will have a horrible, horrible deleterious, negative, deeply damaging impact on your capacity to become super successful. That’s why the concept of firing your flaky friends is so invaluable.

Robert Channing: Because they’re wasting your time, right?

Michael Levine: Well, they’re more than wasting your time. In fact, I’ve said if I had the choice between taking anyone listening to this show and locking them in a small room, enclosed room for 24 hours with either second hand cigarette smoke or second hand flakiness, there’s no question that I would much prefer they be in that room with second hand cigarette smoke because you can see.

Robert Channing: You can see life experiences on, personally from you.
Michael Levine: Yeah, the truth is the second hand cigarette smoke may or may not annoy you. The second hand flakiness will kill you. So, that is the homework assignment. Those are the three magic Os. They’re obsession, optimism and obligation.

Robert Channing: And fire your flaky friends.

Michael Levine: Fire you flaky friends. That grows out of number three, obligation.

Robert Channing: You know a lot of people out there listening. They’re going, “Oh, okay Michael. You know, that sounds pretty elementary. It’s a bold statement. But how true is that?”

That is very true folks, people listening out there right now. People bring you down. It’s called in England the, what is it, the dog, the small dog theory where there’s a kennel of little puppies. The little dog is just trying to get over the top and he’s finally up there and all the little puppies are pulling at him to bring him down instead of pushing him up to put him over.

Again, get rid of the puppies that are pulling you down. Get the ones that are going to be on your side and have like-minded people, like Michael Levine, on your side. Or people that you can go to and actually his web sites, and find out free information about the top of the best of the best of the industry.

Michael Levine: I’ve got a great new web site. I have a book out now that I’d like to share the web site with you. It’s called www.BrokenWindows.com. I’ve created a new book that’s just out from Warner Books called Broken Windows, Broken Business.

It’s a theory of how little things matter a great deal in business. We have a great web site called www.BrokenWindows.com and I’d like to recommend it to your listeners.

Robert Channing: Well terrific. We have a few more minutes with you Michael. I just have a couple more questions. Being that we’re on the phone with a lot of event planners, college event planners, corporate and meeting event planners. Having worked with so many famous people, what advice can you give your event planners to maximize the benefits of their speakers or entertainers that they hire for their events?

Michael Levine: I think that in all business relationships, there is a buyer and a seller and you have to determine initially who you are. Who are you? Are you the buyer or are you the seller? So in your relationship with a celebrity, you are, in fact, the buyer. They are the seller.

You have to figure out, look at life from your, the person’s you are doing business with, point of view. Try and answer the question, what’s in it for them? Don’t ask; don’t think about what’s in it for you. Think about what’s in it for them.

It’s almost like reverse engineering a process. If you want a pizza parlor, don’t think about how you can make the pizza cheaper or go home earlier. Think about what’s in it for the customer.

Well, the same is true if you’re a meeting planner. You have a job to do. Think about what’s in it for the customer. How can I make the event, how I add value to the event?

Robert Channing: Make the experience a memorable experience for them.

Michael Levine: Right, actionable, usable. Can they take something home with them? Is there a guide, a study guide? Is there a way of making this experience better, faster, cheaper, smarter, and memorable? How can I make it unique? You know, all leaders do, and leaders do everything that their competitors do very well. They do one more thing.

Your job, if you’re deeply dedicated to excellence as a meeting planner is to figure out that one more thing, that one extra value added thing. Now the problem with my theory is, of course, that it forces you to work harder, longer. You’re not going to be taking four weeks off on Christmas if you use my theories.

Robert Channing: What about the theories of working smarter not harder? How does that collate with what you say?

Michael Levine: Well my experience has taught me that you need to do both. In today’s world, you need to work smarter and harder. These people that, you know, people who throw around the terms you need to work smarter not harder are usually people trying to justify laziness.

Robert Channing: Exactly.

Michael Levine: You need to work both, harder and smarter. There are people all over this world competing with us right now in India, in China, in the former Soviet Union. They don’t take their birthday off.

Robert Channing: They put 16, 24 hour days in sometimes.

Michael Levine: They don’t take their birthday off. They don’t take a week off for Thanksgiving. They don’t take a month off for Christmas. They don’t take Ground Hog Day off. They work weekends and they love that Americans, frankly, have adopted an attitude of entitlement.

It’s very common now in major metropolitan cities in America to hear women, frequently, if you ask them what they’re doing next Tuesday and they’ll say, “Well, Tuesday is my birthday.”

You say, “Great. What are you doing?”

They’ll say, “Well, I’m taking the day off from work.” It’s very common. This is unthinkable 30 years ago. Who took their birthday off from work? But this is very common, very common, you know.

Robert Channing: Entitlement is what you’re telling us.

Michael Levine: Entitlement, right. When your parents were growing up, they would have Thanksgiving off from work, right?

Robert Channing: Right.

Michael Levine: Today, you get Thanksgiving off, you get the Friday after Thanksgiving off and usually you get to leave early on Wednesday. Now, if you don’t get the Friday of Thanksgiving off, your boss or your business is considered very mean.

Robert Channing: What do you think about that Michael?

Michael Levine: I think it’s outrageous. By the way, I think that it’s our culture is at war with many other cultures in terms of the, they are racing us, not to the bottom. They’re racing us to the top.

If we are going to maintain our leadership position in the world, which God hope we do, we are going to have to find ways to work not only smarter but harder. We are not going to be able to do this with a four week, six week vacation cycle like Europe.

Robert Channing: They’re trying to get students to only go to four day classes.

Michael Levine: This is absolutely nuts. Listen, you know who loves this kind of thinking? People in India, people in China, people in the former Soviet Union; they think it’s great. They think, “Hey Nancy. Take your birthday off. That’s cool. Take two days off. Great, you need it. You deserve it. You’re an American.”

Robert Channing: And they’re going to clean up.

Michael Levine: You bet. You bet. You have to work harder and smarter if you want to win. Now, if you don’t want to win, you can do any damn thing you want.

Robert Channing: You know Michael. It’s been great having you on the radio show today. The Success Secrets of the Super Stars. I watched your DVD a few times because www.PowerPerfomers.com, we’re right now in the pursuit of getting you some dates for big corporations as well as colleges and universities.

You had mentioned on that DVD of keep on keeping on, keeping on, keeping on, keeping on, keeping on, keeping on, keeping on, keeping on, keep going, no matter what.

Michael Levine: You know, I think life really is one question with two parts. Every person listening to this should ask themselves this one question. Here’s the question. It has two parts to it. What do you most want and what are you willing to give up to get it?

Until you can answer that question with two parts, really with enthusiasm and effectiveness, you’re just playing at life. You have to be able to answer the question what do you most want and what are you willing to give up to get it. When you can do that, really magical things start to happen, particularly when you use the three magic Os.

Robert Channing: Wonderful. Well then my last question today is what is the most valuable advice you can share today with our listeners?

Michael Levine: Begin with that question. You see most people who are under achieving, are under achieving not because they’re not smart. They’re under achieving because they don’t know where they’re going.

There’s a great little piece in a story of Alice in Wonderland. Alice is walking down the road and she comes to this fork in the road and she doesn’t know which way to turn. She looks up at the Cheshire cat and she says, “Cheshire Cat, which road should I take?”
The Cheshire cat looks down and says, “Alice, if you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t really matter what road you take.”

Most people who are under achieving don’t have a deeply firm committed vision to where they want to end up. It’s got to be written. If you don’t know where you’re going, it doesn’t really matter what road you take.

Robert Channing: I agree. They say most people don’t plan to fail, they fail to plan.

Michael Levine: Yeah, yeah. You’ve got to make your goals accountable. You can’t say to your friend, “Hey, next year I want to lose weight.” I want to know how many pounds by what date.

You’ve got to make your goals accountable, discernable. You can’t say, “I want to move out West.” You have to say, “I want to move to Los Angeles.” If you want to move.

Robert Channing: A friend of yours and mine, Adam Christing had mentioned that one of the things he says is to put a deadline on it.

Michael Levine: I think you should create some kind of accountability for yourself. I think you should also get an accountability partner. I think you should find someone, preferably a same sex member, not a wife, a same sex member who shares your vision and holds you accountable as you hold them. Maybe a weekly or monthly meeting, phone meeting, in person meeting, have an accountability partner. I think that these are the beginning seeds of greatness.

Robert Channing: Now do you have an accountability partner as well?

Michael Levine: Yes sir I do.

Robert Channing: You have mentors I’m sure?

Michael Levine: I do and I’ve been. Of course, one of the greatest ways of learning something is by teaching it. So I speak frequently in an effort to learn myself.

Robert Channing: That’s wonderful. Well I appreciate it, Michael, you being on the phone with me today and with Ralph on the Power Performer’s Radio Show. In closing I’d like to thank everybody out there listening, all the meeting and event planners, all the sports stars, celebrities that are listening today.

Michael, if there is anything that we can do in the future, please don’t hesitate to call us. We’d love to have you on again.

Michael Levine: Well you’re very kind. Thank you so much for sharing your audience. I hope it was of some value.

Robert Channing: Thanks so much Michael. Ralph, thanks for joining us as well. I know you’ve been there probably writing all the notes down so we can put them up on the web site at www.PowerPerformersRadioShow.com.

One more time guys, thanks so much for being on today and Happy New Year 2006.

Michael Levine Online Website
Michael Levine is one of the best known names in the field of public relations. Referred to as the “Michael Jordan of Entertainment PR” by the late Steve Allen, he has made his mark on the public relations world through his books.

Michael Levine's Broken Windows Website
Here you will find the latest business news pertaining to Broken Windows. Whether its companies fixing them, or customers complaining about them, you will find it here!

Michael Levine's Communications Office Website
For more than 20 years, LCO – Levine Communications Office has created innovative and dynamic public relations plans for a host of renowned entertainment and business clients.

Michael Levine Medal Charitable Website
The Levine Medal for Self-Education (LMSE) is a non-profit charity established to spotlight and encourage the concept of self-education.

Posted by ralph at 08:08 AM | Permalink

Click Here to listen to Heather Seitz's Awesome In Search Of Heroes Interview!

Heather Seitz contributed to several industries prior to becoming a full time real estate investor and business owner back in 2002.

In a short time Heather was able to buy and sell over $3 Million in real estate, speak nationally on a variety of platforms, and align herself with successful people and partnerships across the country. She currently owns several businesses, markets multiple information products nationally, and continues a successful investing career.

Heather lives by the philosophy that in today's world of multiple streams of income vs. paychecks, domain names instead of company names and your first million instead of a retirement fund, that goal setting, time management, and leverage are more important than ever. To truly take advantage of everything that is available to you today, learning to make time work for you rather than against you is the only way to maximize your potential.

Heather is dedicated to bringing quality training and information to people in both the real estate industry and the seminar promotion industry and is the founder of Interviews with the Experts, a weekly series bringing industry leaders from all over the globe to the living rooms of entrepreneurs each and every week.

Heather is also the co-founder of the Next Level Institute, an education-based marketing company that is committed to setting the standard in information product development, education marketing and the seminar business in it's entirety. In 2005, the company successfully launched two divisions - (1) Real Estate and (2) Seminar Marketing and Promotion - and plans to take their model across multiple platforms in the near future including, but not limited to, information product development, internet marketing, and the stock market.

Heather has the unique ability to take in ideas from all around her and apply marketing principles, business strategies, and tactics across countless industries. Heather is also a "big thinker", constantly looking toward a big vision.

Posted by ralph at 11:09 AM | Permalink

Listing tools automate the process of adding listings to eBay, to stop you having to go through the 'Sell Your Item' process every time. There is a surprising amount of choice out there when it comes to eBay listing tools, to the point where you might not know what to choose. Here's an overview of what's useful and what's not.

Turbo Lister.

Turbo Lister is a free download from eBay, and allows you to sell on eBay without ever having to actually visit the site. You can write descriptions, save them and list them over and over again - if you want to, you can even do most of your eBay work offline, and just go online for a few seconds to upload it.

You can list in bulk and schedule your listings to start any time. Since this is eBay's officially supported program, you're guaranteed that upgrades to eBay's site will never break it and leave you out in the cold. Personally, though, I find the design quite bad - it's not really that much easier than just going through eBay directly.

Blackthorne.

Also from eBay, this is what used to be called the 'Seller's Assistant'. It's a downloadable program, but it's more powerful than Turbo Lister is. It lets you do everything in bulk: listing, re-listing, and even feedback. You can export your sales data to an accounting program, and track your auctions while they're still going on. You only have to enter things like payment choices and shipping details once, and they're saved forever.

So where's the disadvantage? It costs $9.99 per month, or $24.99 for the pro version, which also lets you print shipping labels in bulk and manage an inventory.

Andale Lister.

If you want to try something that's not been made by eBay, Andale's lister is still web-based, but aims to streamline the process.

You can create 'profiles' with different selections for your auctions. For example, you could create a 'Normal' profile that doesn't include any of the listing upgrades, a 'Promote' profile that includes Bold and Highlight, and a 'Super Promote' profile that buys Bold, Highlight and Featured Plus. This makes it easier to choose the set of options you want for each item.

It's all about saving things you've done. Each time you upload a picture, it gets added to a 'Picture Library' for you to use again, and you can store an inventory and choose from it to create a listing. You also get nicer-looking templates than eBay provide.

Of course, if eBay had their act together then this is what their own process would be like - but they're happy for third-parties to make money doing the work instead of upgrading their own site. Andale Lister can cost anywhere between 20c and 4c per listing, as you get discounts for volume.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 09:45 AM | Permalink

This last week has been one for the record books.
No time has been available to even write a few lines of prose. When you are a full time care giver for your parents, even sleep is a luxury. Now I know the horrible truth about an undesirable future every baby boomer has already faced, is dealing with now or dreading.

Occasionally, weird ideas pop into your mind and you wonder how in the world it is possible such strange thoughts could ever become a part of your reality.
It is horrible to say, but at times you face a wide range of temptations that hit you like black evil anvils dropping out of the clear blue sky. The temptation to be angry at God, parents, siblings, spouses and the world in general, circles around occasionally, just like a bad penny that keeps turning up. When extreme sleep deprivation and almost unbearable stress climax at radical levels, these wild thoughts and other bizarre imaginations filter through your weakened mental and spiritual defenses.

Of course you would never give into these terrible thoughts, but it is a very strange experience to watch this weird process in your minds eye.
Often, I wonder it other baby boomers have similar thoughts. I believe it is a strategy of our spiritual enemies to try to make us guilty. The thing to remember is that the temptation is not a sin.

Prayer during these times is a powerful defense.
When these wild and weird and unthinkable thoughts enter your mind, my only defense is to cry out in the name of "Jesus" for the help that is always available, if we go to Him in prayer. Sometimes it is almost like a legion of demons and devils are hammering at your mind 24 hours a day with their sharp pitchforks of evil...poking, prodding and puncturing your sense of peace.

If only, if only, if only my parents would have taken the advice of the Health Heroes in the Alternative Medicine Hall Of Fame at HealthyDoctors.com.
I feel so inadequate lately, while dealing with all the health issues in my family. Changing diapers, moving limbs that are dead weights, cleaning up spilled food, running errands, etc. really sap your energy. I am desperate to publish the valuable health information from the Alternative Medicine Pioneers.

By the end of the day, I can hardly transcribe even one line of the interview of the greatest doctors in the alternative medicine world.
My prayer is that events here will lighten up a little so I can work on the doctor interviews. Over 20 are still on tape, desperately waiting their turn to see the light of the internet.

Please forgive me for my snails pace.
I am working as fast as a "one armed paper hanger." (-:

To Be Continued....

Posted by ralph at 08:25 PM | Permalink

"...there are many other subtle "little" tricks you can use to increase the responsiveness of your mailings, which is what it's all about, right?"
Making money using direct mail isn't easy. And anyone who tells you it is, is lying.

To run a successful direct mail campaign, you must have a compelling offer... amazing copy... and most important... the right list to mail to.

And even if you have each of these things running at their peak, there are many other subtle "little" tricks you can use to increase the responsiveness of your mailings, which is what it's all about, right?

Because this means...

You'll Be Increasing Your Cash-Flow As Well!

And remember, in whatever you're doing: All you need is 5-or-6 little steps that each increase your response rates 1 or 2 %, and before you know it, you've got a lot more money pouring in than you did before.

So don't start neglecting the subtle differences -- this is usually what separates the people who are marginally successful, from the people who are wildly successful.

First, always hand-address your envelopes. Why? As my mentor Gary Halbert taught me from "Day 1", you'll always open a hand-addressed letter because you think its "personal" mail -- as opposed to a sales letter or a bill.

Make sense?

Remember, if your letter never gets opened, I promise you... you'll never make the sale.

Second, in your corner card (which is the upper left-hand corner of the front of your envelope, where your name and address goes), DON'T put your company's name!

Put your name and then your address.

See, your prospects are programmed into thinking as soon as they see the name of a company, even yours... your letter's either trying to sell them something, or collect their money -- neither of which is good for you if you want that envelope to get opened. And,

Third, use "live" postage stamps and NOT a "bulk" rate indicia. Again, when your prospects see a "bulk" rate, or even a metered stamp, they know right-away... you're trying to sell them something.

Also, try to use the "decorative" postage stamps the post office has and not the "standard" stamps with a U.S. Flag. I always tell my clients to use the ones that say "Happy Birthday" on them.

After all, who doesn't like opening a personal letter that says "Happy Birthday" on it?
P.S. I know having your letters hand-addressed is a pain. Honestly, I do.

And I have seen some software out there that is "almost" close to human handwriting, but the amount of variation from letter-to-letter isn't quite there yet.

If you see software that can simulate "real" handwriting, I'd sure appreciate you letting me know so I can tell the rest of my subscribers.

Thanks!

Did you like this tip? Let me know. Send your comments to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page. I appreciate your feedback!

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 12:53 PM | Permalink

If you bid for a few things on eBay, the chances are that sooner or later you'll end up getting your bid beaten at the very last second by a 'sniper'. This can be a frustrating experience, and while in theory sniping is against the rules and you can report it to eBay, in practice they never do anything about it.

The bad news is that there's only one way to beat the sniper - and that's to become the sniper. The good news, though, is that once you understand sniping you can use it to win auctions at a far lower price than you would otherwise.

Manual Sniping.

Manual sniping isn't that hard, if you have a lot of time to spare and a reasonably fast Internet connection. Write down when each auction that are bidding on ends, and then make sure that you're sitting there in front of the page for that vital last minute. You can then outbid the current winning bidder, or defend your own winning bid.

The only tip you really need to remember for manual sniping is to make sure that you set your maximum bid quite high - otherwise you might be automatically outbid, and the auction will have ended before you can bid again.

Also, it's not worth your time to compete against someone who is using an automated sniping service - if it's any good, then they will always manage to outbid you. In the sniping arms race, you need to find a sniper of your own.

Automatic Sniping.

If you type 'ebay sniping' into your favourite search engine, you'll come up with plenty of online services that will snipe on your behalf for a small fee. They usually let you have a free trial, so give it a go.

If you don't want to pay each time for an online service, then you might be better off getting a piece of software like Power Snipe. You can pay for these once and use them for as long as you want. Once you've installed the software on your computer, you tell it which auctions you want sniped and the maximum amount you're willing to pay. The software will then place the bid with only a few seconds left. The only disadvantage is that you need to be able to leave your computer on nearly all the time, or you might miss the end of some auctions.

A Sniping Alternative.

If this all sounds a bit too much like playing dirty for you, then is another, more low-tech way to get around sniping. You can just email the seller and say that you were sniped at the last minute but would really like the item. If they have another to sell, the chances are they'll agree to sell it to you for the price the auction closed at.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 06:32 AM | Permalink

Hello, and welcome to another addition of the Power Performers Radio Show. Power Performers Radio is the exclusive voice of today’s leading edge event planners featuring today’s top motivational speakers, super star celebrities, leading sports professionals and over the top interviews with the best of the best.

Power Performers Radio is all about planning and perfecting your next company, corporate, college or private special event. From highly talked about trade shows to memorable cutting edge conventions, this is Power Performers Radio.

Robert Channing: Hi, this is Robert Channing. I am the world’s leading mentalist, mind reader and mental motivator. I am the owner and CEO of Power Performers, Inc. We work with event planners, motivational speakers, sports stars, celebrities and famous people to create memorable events for everyone or their event is free.

I am on the phone today with Ralph Zuranski. He is a special featured writer, photographer and theme Web site developer as well as the creator of the In Search of Heroes program. He is also an internet consultant that helps individuals and companies use audio, video blogs, podcasts and video blogs to achieve their marketing goals.

He has been a technical director for many companies for over 25 years specializing in ACT Contact Management software, Microsoft Office, computer hardware, PDAs and delivering audio and video over the internet. I first met Ralph when he took photographs and ran the speakers Power Point at the Spiritual Marketing Super Summit.

Joe Vitale hired my company Power Performers to coordinate the entire event. I was the master of ceremonies and the featured entertainment for the big awards banquet. I was so amazed at how Ralph could not only run the computers, instantly troubleshoot everything, the speaker’s computer problems and take photographs of the speakers all at the same time.

He created a great themed site for the event at www.SpiritualMarketingSuperSummitPhotos.com.

Robert Channing: I have Ralph on the line right now. Ralph how are you doing today?

Ralph Zuranski: I’m doing great Robert. How are you?

Robert Channing: I’m doing fantastic. It’s a little bit cold in upstate New York, but you’re out in San Diego, right?

Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. It’s freezing - 45 degrees.

Robert Channing: I woke up this morning and had to jump start my car. It was about 6 degrees this morning.

Ralph Zuranski: Oh, man that is cold!

Robert Channing: Listen, it’s nice to have you on the Power Performers Radio Show. I just wanted to ask you a few questions if you are up to it.

Ralph Zuranski: I am up to it.

Robert Channing: What benefits do event planners receive when they have a professional photographer take lots of photos of the speakers and attendees at their event?

Ralph Zuranski: One of the biggest things that I’ve seen that really benefits event planners is creating a family album of all the people that attended their event. When people have a house that’s on fire, one of the most important things that they run out of the house is basically their photographs. Photographs of people, well people love to look at photographs of themselves.

Robert Channing: It’s basically creating a community for them right? When you have that after the show don’t you put everything up on a Web site for them?

Ralph Zuranski: You bet. I actually do it during the event. I take photos over multiple days seminars or events I actually upload the photo albums everyday to my In Search of Heroes Web site so that people can go in and look at the photos that day of themselves and send those photos to the people that are in their intimate circle.

Robert Channing: Why is it so important for event planners to have photos taken at their events?

Ralph Zuranski: Well, the reason why it’s so important is because you need to have a record of what you do. If you get a bunch of pictures of people that are having a great time, people are smiling, it builds a huge bond to your particular event plus it bonds each of the individuals to the other people that are there.

When you have those photos you actually have the history of your event that you can use to help you in marketing your future events. Then to the people that didn’t get a chance to go to the event, when you have those photos and put them up on the internet everybody can go and enjoy your event just by looking at the photos. A lot of people actually see their friends.

I’ve been doing photo themed sites for internet marketing events and other conferences and it’s amazing once you put that up there it becomes like a family album. People continue to go in there day after day, month after month and look at the photos of themselves and their friends and I haven’t really put up anything other than just the photos.

Robert Channing: You did Joe’s event and I’ve been there many times to re-look at the event and recapture moments. It made me feel good just to see all the smiling faces and it reminded me of a lot of people that I did meet at the event. What are the qualities and services that event planners should look for in a photographer or Web master?

Ralph Zuranski: The abilities that the person should have are one, being able to take great photos of people smiling and having a good time and basically be able to take a lot of photos. The more photos that you take of the people at the event, the more people are going to go in and look at the themed Web site for the event.

If you have somebody that really is hard working and has a good ability to grab peoples cards and put numbers on the cards to the photos you can actually put the names and information about the people that are in those photos as a way of driving traffic to their Web sites and also, just by giving everybody a catalog, not really a catalog but an album of names and faces.

I know when I go to a lot of different events, I may show up at home with 100 or 200 cards. I look at all those cards and I absolutely have no idea who those cards belonged to. In the early days of doing the themed sites of the different marketing conferences I took the time to basically ID those photos and put the names of the people underneath those photos.

I actually created a story of the speaker through photos that I took of them to help share that knowledge of the speaker with the people that didn’t have the chance to actually be there. Also, for a refresher for people that were there they could go back and look at the photos and the stories that the speakers had to say.

Robert Channing: I have got to tell you Ralph that I was so impressed. I’ve got to interrupt you for a moment here. I was so impressed when I met you at Joe’s summit. We actually became very good friends at that time. What impressed me the most was how fast that you could get this stuff done.

I’ve never seen anybody work as fast as you or take the time to really make people feel good about themselves and also during the event we could view the photos. You had a little slide show at the end to show us all.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s another neat thing that I do is I try to upload the photos. If I’m running the computers at the same time that I’m doing the photos for the event and I’m running the Power Point, I upload the photos of the people that I took in the previous break up to the computer and run it as a screen saver of all the photos of the people.

While the people are at the event they actually see photos of themselves and photos of their friends during the event. That further creates loyalty between them and the event planners. I know you were there. You just look at the audience and the screen saver is up there and the photos are flowing across the screen.

You’ve got those people’s attention. They are looking to see if their photo is going to pop up because you are a famous performer. People know you and you are famous world wide and it is kind of neat to get some type of credibility, some type of exposure and when people are there at an event.

I’m mixing their photos with your presentation as the world’s greatest mentalist and mind reader. That just makes them feel better about themselves. It’s sort of like fame by association rather than guilt by association.

Robert Channing: I hear you Ralph. I remember at a couple of conferences that you have done, these people had their picture taken and after the conference they might have forgotten who that speaker was or who that person was that they met can get that information just automatically.

They can create lifetime friendships, lifetime bonds, lifetime relationships just by using the photographs. What a great marketing tool that is. How can event planners use photographs of previous events to market their future events?

Ralph Zuranski: The most valuable thing that you can give a person is a good picture of themselves. I use a special type of printer that is made by Canon. It’s a little bit older printer, a CP200. What it does is it prints out the photos onto a postcard that is ready to be mailed.

What I do is take those postcards and use those throughout the year as part of a Piranha Marketing strategy where ideally you would send up to ten postcards a day to people that you know in your business or in your client group. There is nothing more powerful than sending somebody a postcard that has their photo of them looking good and having a great time at an event and then putting a nice little note on the back of it.

By taking those photos and constantly printing them out and just sending them out throughout the year to the people that are important to your business with a little personalized note on it there is nothing that I know that is more powerful than that, even sending gifts or money or whatever.

If you send a good photo of somebody and you send it to them periodically with a special message that you have for them it’s just astounding the impact that has on that person.

Robert Channing: How can event planners use photographs for pre and I know how you just said for post event promotion, but for pre-promotions to an event?

Ralph Zuranski: Well if they have the photographs of the people from the previous event in all of their different events, if they use that simple strategy of printing out those photos on a postcard that’s already preprinted that has the information about that event, they can send that out to market their event. Ideally when they had their event and they followed the advice that you have on your Web site about marketing it to the media.

They can get the photographs of the different media people that were there and it makes a huge difference. They can again send some people a photograph, especially a good one either as a postcard marketing your event, or send it out to market the video and audio of that event.

Send out the postcard to remind people that they were there at the event that they were at and use it to sell the audio and video programs of previous events. Also, to promote the future event if you record everything and record not only the speakers but also the performers and have that as a package. That’s something that you can sell over and over and over again. You can use it as a gift that you give people to encourage them to attend your new event.

Robert Channing: Okay Ralph, let me ask you this. What are some suggestions that you can give the event planners that are out there listening or even the speakers and entertainers that have their own events or perform they can give advice to the event planners?

Event planners are always looking for something new, something to make them look great. Everybody wants to look good in front of their employees or in front of the people that hired them. What are some of the suggestions that you have for event planners to integrate photographs, audio and video themed Web sites?

Ralph Zuranski: The way that I work it and I’ve had the opportunity to work with some phenomenal groups of people having done so many conferences. I work with not only the creators of the event, but also work with the companies that they hire to put that entire event on. I’ve worked with some good ones. I’ve worked with some great ones.

I’ve worked with some that were just a total flop and the most valuable thing that the event planners can do is first, set up a company to go in and do the video taping and the audio taping of the event so you’ll have a record. You want to make sure that those people are competent and that they have two cameras that they are going to use.

One is for audience response and two that they are keeping a camera on the speakers and also at the end of the event and during the event to be able to do audio and video testimonials of the people that are there. It’s important to get those testimonials. Those are going to help sell the event and sell the product that is created from the event. By doing that, that’s one of the most valuable things you can do.

As you know, video is probably the most powerful medium for communicating information to everybody, especially people go to movies. They watch TV all the time. They say that 70% of the people after they graduate from school, they never read another book.

Robert Channing: I will tell you just to prove that point Ralph. I do thousands of shows over the last 15 to 20 years and out of all the events that I’ve been to, the ones that stick out in my mind are the ones that were photographed and video taped. I’m glad that we video taped them and had the client photograph them because I use all that stuff in my promotional material.

If I didn’t have that I wouldn’t have promotional material. I don’t hire people to go out and do this. It’s pretty easy for somebody like me as an entertainer, speaker or even a celebrity to have somebody come out and shoot the videos or the photographs with even a small disposable camera, right?

Ralph Zuranski: Anything you can have and you have to remember that images are much more powerful than words. You know, when you are working on the internet everybody says that copy is king. Well, the way I look at it on a priority basis is first a video is king because that’s what everybody is used to.

That’s how everybody prefers to have their information delivered. They can see the people. They can hear them. They can establish an instant rapport with those people when they see them in action. It’s almost like being there seeing them live.

The next most powerful thing is the photograph because again there is something special about the image. You capture the true essence of the human soul if you take a good photograph. So having somebody there to photograph everything and then uploading those photos it gives you probably the most powerful way of benefiting from that event and promoting that product created at that event.

Then creating advertising for the future event and creating a huge family or community around your event that everybody just becomes dedicated to. They just feel like a part of the family because you were kind enough to take a good photo of them.

Robert Channing: For a little while ago you were telling me a story before we got on the phone about a gentleman by the name of Joe Polish that has a company called Piranha marketing and you actually shot his event and did the photographs. He just called you recently didn’t he? Could you tell us a little bit about that, what happened and what he wanted? He is the top marketer in the world, one of the top marketers. He is the top guy isn’t he?

Ralph Zuranski: Yes he is. He has the top selling program Piranha Marketing on Nightingale and I met Joe at the big seminar in LA last year and he saw me taking photos of one of the speakers. I took some really great action shot of him while he was up on stage.

He sells to the carpet cleaning people because he is a carpeter. That’s where he developed all of his marketing techniques for people to dominate their market. He takes these sort of like shoe covers that look like plastic hair nets. They are opaque and he put that on his head while he was speaking on stage and it was really funny, so I made sure I captured that moment in time.

Right there on the break I went up to my room and printed it out on one of my postcards and gave it to him. He was just so thankful for that and he said, “Would you do this at my event?” I said I would be happy to.

Robert Channing: I noticed when I looked at the event after on his Web site and it was your photograph that he used to promote his event that he just did for selling different services. Basically I just saw the picture and it had about 15 in one photo and 150 people in other photos. He had a big sign up that said Piranha Marketing.

Ralph Zuranski: It was awesome.

Robert Channing: They were cheering. He is using it all on his Web stuff now isn’t he?

Ralph Zuranski: He’s not only using them on his Web sites, but he’s also using them in his Power Point presentations when he goes out and markets to big groups. If you have quality pictures of people at your events it is just such a powerful image of people having a great time.

Joe was so impressed with my ability to give photos on postcards, because right after the event I took the best photos of him and his staff and his speakers and I gave it to him right on the spot as a special gift from myself. Then I gave him my photos of the other people and suggested that he send them out to people who are important to his event and to the success of it, people that you want to do a little something special for.

He was so impressed with that. He said, “Ralph, you’ve got to show me how you do that!” I just got an e-mail from Joe today.

Robert Channing: He’s the top marketer in the world. Right? He’s one of the top guys. He’s the one that everybody goes to and gets information from. Doesn’t he charge like $10,000 an hour to come out or something along those lines?

Ralph Zuranski: I don’t think it is $10,000 an hour. I think that’s his day rate.

Robert Channing: That’s for the day. You’re right.

Ralph Zuranski: But all the internet marketing gurus and his marketing program that he has developed over 15 years is the best that I’ve ever seen because it’s ELF. It’s easy, lucrative and fun and it’s all automated so by the time anybody comes to your business to learn about contracting with you…

Robert Channing: They already feel like they know you just by seeing the photographs.

Ralph Zuranski: Absolutely. They know, love and trust you because you’ve already done all of the selling. You’ve had automated things like automated 800 numbers, auto responder downloads where they can educate themselves before they ever get to talk to you.

It’s just such a much easier way to do it because the people are already pre-qualified. Sales people don’t have to try to re-educate the people every time they call. By the time these people call they go through the Piranha Marketing program they are ready to get involved. They are ready to get going.

Robert Channing: Even college event planners and corporate planners, any event they have. I’ve been to so many events where they didn’t take photographs and after the show or after the presentation or after the whole event really people forget 95% of what they have seen. If they can go back and refresh their memory they are going to remember the great time that they had.

How can you help event planners make their events more enjoyable? What would you recommend to make their events more enjoyable and profitable using photographs?

Ralph Zuranski: Well, as I was talking about originally the first thing is doing the videos. The second thing is doing the photographs. The third thing is showing the photographs during the event if it’s a multiple day event or just even a one day event. If you have somebody that’s fast that does it with a digital camera and you are running a Power Point you can throw those photos of the people that are there up on the screen right while it’s happening.

Robert Channing: That is so incredible. I’ve got to tell you the people listening right now and believe me when I tell you that one of the best things, probably the best thing if I could do this at every event that I performed at or had my performers take a camera with them and take pictures remember most of your business, 80% of your business comes from 20% of your clients.

If you can do this for the top 20% of your clients or the top 20 events you do during the year and keep in contact with them over the year with photographs and different images of the past event they are apt to do more business with you. Wouldn’t you agree Ralph?

Ralph Zuranski: Oh, I totally agree. Just look at how powerful it is just the photos that I sent out over the last couple of years. I am now probably the leader in the field of creating themed Web sites and shooting photos at events just from letting people take those photos and using them off of my Web site where I put them and being able to use them for free.

A lot of times the photographers will charge a pretty good amount for people to buy the photos. If you go ahead and just make those available to people to use in newsletters, just as long as they give you credit or give your event credit of the photographer or where the photos came from that also increases links to your Web site picked up by the search engines.

It just increases your standing in Google and the other search engines because you have links coming directly into your site. I’ve used photos of people as a means of creating links to my sites to help them have high rankings in the search engines.

Robert Channing: People think, “Oh, that’s just too simple Ralph. Big deal, photographs it’s just so simple that people forget to do that isn’t that true? People just don’t think about it. Oh, photographs, big deal.” But when you take a camera with you those are just the best memories.

How many times did somebody get married and they hired a photographer and then half of the time even the photographer didn’t catch the cool moments? Maybe it was the people in the reception that had cameras on their table and took all the pictures and they had more of the action shots and stuff.

I would say if you are going to go out and photograph and event maybe provide 20 cameras for all of the attendees.

Ralph Zuranski: That’s a brilliant idea. You bet. That is a brilliant idea and then just have them turn the cameras back in to you. You get them developed and create a little themed Web site for that event. Send it back to your entire list and I guarantee you will have no problem selling your next event.

Robert Channing: And also getting speaking business or consulting business or if you are an event planner communicating with your next client or even showing a future client or even a past client, past and future clients of what you have done for other clients and how well the event went. They can actually physically look at it on their screen and just instantaneously pull it up, look at it and say, “That was really cool!”

They build more rapport with you. They like you more. They love, trust and respect what you have done. Is that right?

Ralph Zuranski: That is so true.

Robert Channing: I just wanted to say thanks so much. If you have any other closing comments before we finish our time is running out for this interview. Do you have anything else you would like to share with our event planners or any speakers or entertainers out there that could use this for their events?

Ralph Zuranski: I really look at your company as the model. I’ve seen you live a couple of times and I’m just astounded at how incredible your performance is.

I really felt thrilled to have the opportunity to photograph your event when I was at the Spiritual Marketing Super Summit and told your story through photos of the event. If people are interested just to see the power of it they can go to my In Search of Heroes and actually listen to your In Search of Heroes interview.

Robert Channing: What is the Web site?

Ralph Zuranski: www.InSearchOfHeroes.com and you can click on the photo album and you will be able to see all the photos of all the different events that I’ve done. You can actually see Robert Channing’s presentation and I put in little captions underneath. I think I did over 60 photos of you at that event to tell the story of your being an MC.

Robert Channing: My ESP mind reading show right?

Ralph Zuranski: That was incredible.

Robert Channing: Well good!

Ralph Zuranski: I was just thankful to have the opportunity to be there and to see you as MC and you as a performer and to see how well you coordinated that event. It had to be probably the best coordinated event I have ever been to.

Robert Channing: I appreciate it. Well, it’s been from 25 years of being in events. For the people out there listening, this was Ralph Zuranski In Search of Heroes.com. If you want to look at www.SpiritualMarketingSuperSummitPhotos.com and just search for Ralph Zuranski. How do you spell it Ralph?

Ralph Zuranski: Z-U-R-A-N-S-K-I

Robert Channing: Zuranski, Ralph Zuranski. Well, Ralph it was a pleasure having you on today and it was a pleasure having you on. It was a great tool for everybody to use with the photographs. Please everybody listen to it again. Check it out and implement it even if you are taking photographs without the video you are going to see an increase in your events next time and also a pleasurable thing to take your clients back to look at.

Ralph, it was a pleasure having you here today. Have a wonderful holiday season.

Ralph Zuranski: Thank you so much and the same to you.

Thank you for listening to Performer’s Radio. Get all of the up close details and to give you the ultimate edge visit www.PowerPerformers.com and www.CollegePowerPerformers.com. Get the latest news and information right now by visiting www.RobertChanning.com.

If you are listening to Power Performers Radio right now on syndication please be sure to get all today’s show facts at the Power Performers Radio show liner notes at www.PowerPerformersRadioShow.com. If you have any questions, comments or suggestions please e-mail us anytime at info@powerperformersradioshow.com.

We’ll see you on the next edition of Power Performers Radio. Thanks a million for listening and keep moving towards your dreams. They may be but a step away.

Posted by ralph at 08:48 PM | Permalink

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

The secret to success, in life and in business, is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into something big. Bill Bonner
 
*** ''God is in the details''

Here is an easy-to-accomplish technique that will
boost your response rate in brochures, direct mail
and on your website.

The technique is to simply use yellow highlighter to
enhance your key words and phrases.

It's so easy. Yet it's surprisingly underused.

Done correctly, the key points you wish to highlight
really stand out. Plus, you make the copy far more
reader friendly.

Another big advantage is customers with short attention
spans can scan the copy and quickly pick out key
points. If the copy is well written, they will be
encouraged to read all the copy more carefully.

Why light yellow highlighter? The contrast between
black body copy (which is the only color you should
use for body copy) and yellow copy is greater than
with any other color combination. This makes what
you want highlighted stand out.

I also like how this technique increases the personal
"feeling" this gives the copy. The copy comes across
as though somebody actually sat down and highlighted
the key parts. And of course they have!

You can also boost readership in e-mail by highlighting
major points when you send the letter as an attachment.
But please be aware that not everyone can receive it in
that form.

Tip: Don't go crazy and overuse the highlighter.
That is the biggest mistake people make who try it.
Just highlight key words and underline here and there.
For example, highlight no more than 5% of the copy.
Reason? When you highlight everything, the emphasis
is lost. That means in a 1000 word message do not
highlight more than approximately 50 words.

Talk with your printer, who can help you create the
"hand-done" effect. On your website you can create
the highlighter using many standard software programs.
In reality it is quite easy to do. If you need assistance,
ask your software vendor, who is often a great help.

To greater success in all that you do,

Yours truly,

Ted Nicholas
www.tednicholas.com

Copyright 2003 Nicholas Direct, Inc

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 08:34 PM | Permalink

You know, some jobs just stink, and no matter how hard you
try, there's just very little to no redeeming value in them.

For example -- the guy who splits the peas that go into
split-pea soup.

That can't be too much fun, now can it?

Or how about the guy who collects the tolls on the highways,
bridges and tunnels.

That job sucks!

I know -- I used to do that while I was going to college.

And you know what's different between the first car you give
45 cents change to, at 11 pm... and the last car you give 45
cents change to, the following morning at 7 am?

Absolutely... NOTHING!

Anyway, there's a man named Donald Lau, who's vice-president
of Wonton Food, Inc., in Long Island City, New York.
(that's just outisde of Manhattan)

Donald is the guy who's responsible for writing up all the
fortunes that get wrapped up inside the fortune cookies at
your local Chinese restaurant.

In fact, Donald's company cranks out 4 million fortune
cookies a DAY, so Donald just might be the most prolific
writer in history.

Whatever.

Donald never expected to be a fortune-cookie writer, of
course, things just happened that way, as they sort of
do for most people.

Needless to say, now-and-again, Donald suffers from 'writers
block' (No doubt, the thrill is probably 100% gone for
Donald.), and so he's constantly looking around his
environment to pick up little gems he can put on the
fortunes that go inside the cookies his company
manufactures.

Like when he rides the subway to work, for example: 'Beware
of odors coming from strange places.'

My favorite fortune-cookie fortune of all time, is... 'He
who eats jellybeans, farts in technicolor.'

I wonder if Donald wrote that one -- maybe you've cracked
open a fortune-cookie or two and found that one as well?

Donald recently came up with 2 gems I wanted to pass on to
you, about writing, because they are very very relevant to
writing your sales copy.

And here they are:

One, 'Don't have too complicated a mind.'

The simple truth is, the easier you can say it, the easier
your prospect can understand it.

And two, 'Think in ten word sentences.'

You should never go on and on in your writing, just like you
should never go on and on when you're talking to someone.

Ancient Chinese wisdom from Donald, sure makes good sense to
me, no?

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 10:38 AM | Permalink

When it comes to durations, you have a wide range of choices: your auction can run for 10, 7, 5 or 3 days, or even only one day if you have a good enough feedback rating.

There's a reason why you get to choose your duration, and that's because different durations are good for different things. To decide how long you should list your items for, all you need to do is ask yourself a few questions.

Do you want to sell things quickly? If you'd rather sell now than in a few days, even if it means losing a little of your profit, then go ahead and choose the shortest duration you can get. If you're the more patient type, on the other hand, you might as well sell slowly.

How much is your item worth? Items with a higher price are worth re-listing every 3 days or so using Buy it Now. The fees aren't that big as a percentage of the item's cost, and you'll sell more when you're constantly higher up in the search results.

Could your item benefit from competitive bidding? Not every item is going to make bidders get excited and try to outbid each other. If you have items that consistently attract more than five bidders, though, you should always list then for as long as possible, to get the best price you can. People will be quite happy to follow your auction for days, bidding the price higher and higher as they go.

What did the seller getting the best price do? Go back to that completed items display, and take a look at which durations the top seller uses the most often. The chances are that what they're doing works.

Can you ship quickly? You might find that customers get frustrated if they have to wait for over a week for your auction to end, only to have to wait some more for the item to actually turn up. If you're running auctions with the longest duration, try to have the thing packed and ready to go for posting the day it ends.

Is there a rush on? If it's the holiday period, or there's a sudden surge in demand for your particular item, then don't list items for as long as you would usually. It's in your interest to have a quick turnover, then you should be listing for the minimum of one day.

How visible do you want to be? You might have noticed that most of the effects caused by varying item durations are basically caused by the fact that, by default, eBay sorts search results so that items ending sooner appear first. Since it's the default, this is the view most people use - meaning that items ending sooner get viewed much more.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:39 AM | Permalink

Janet is on her way to Dallas to pick up our tax info for 2005 and I am taking care of mom and dad alone.
Wow! Talk about how precious time is when you are taking care of your parents alone. Feed, clean, entertain and walk the dad ( with his assist belt) is my daily adventure. The good thing is that dad sleeps most of the time. He is still tired from the surgery.

I am still astounded how someone that weighs only 108 pounds and is 5 foot 8 inches tall can keep on going.
When I look at my mom and dad I realize that staying alive has a lot to do with a person's mental attitude. They are determined to live as long as they possibly can. No matter how bad they feel or how low on energy they are, they refuse to give up. That is really inspirational to me in every aspect of life. I refuse to give up on my dreams. Some of the greatest people in history also had the same attitude.

The original Zuranski Saga continues below:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Wow! I Changed My First Adult Diaper And No One Cried." by Ralph Zuranski

What amazing resources we all have locked within our souls!
Who would have ever thought they would be changing the diaper of their mother or dad late at night. I know this was not a part of my thought process until my dad's recent stroke and mom's congestive heart failure.

Both of them almost died in the hospital but the caring staff and daily support by our family members pulled them through a tough battle for their very lives.
Isn't it incredible how our lives can change in the blink of an eye, the beat of a heart, the rupture of a blood clot and biochemistry gone out of balance. Health is truly a marvelous gift worth getting and maintaining at any price. When I see my beloved mom and dad suffering illnesses that bring fear to the most stalwart individual, I am thankful for all the doctors, nurses, therapists and family members that helped them stay alive.

The true unsung heroes are the health care workers who silently and with a smile, change dirty diapers, motivate difficult patients to take their medications and hand feed those who cannot feed themselves.
During both of my parents health difficulties, we met a wide range of individuals working in the hospitals who make the difference between life and death, hopefullness and hopelessness, fear and anticipation, joy and sorrow. Their kindly smiles and willing hands do the work of angels...ministering to the sick, injured and psychologically damaged. They are an inspiration to us all.

Now that we are feeding, exercising, changing diapers and providing full care for our parents, our appreciation of all those individuals who take on the task of ministering to their ill family members is great.
After waking before my dad needed me, I am astounded by the psychic link we have to our parents. When I lovingly change his diaper and help him urinate, a great humbleness takes possession of my soul. I think back to all my dirty diapers they changed 55 years ago and am very thankful I have the opportunity to return the favor.

To be continued...

Posted by ralph at 03:23 PM | Permalink

In America every year this time the holiday Thanksgiving rolls around. We forget our vows of low carbs and low-percentage body fat, and gorge ourselves gleefully with the bounty of the land.

I like this holiday. Heck, I love this holiday. It celebrates abundance and food, two of my favorite things in life.

My only concern is that people - Americans, and others - could be making the mistake of seeing Thanksgiving as an event, rather than as an attitude -- a way of living.

The attitude of gratitude is especially important (and valuable) in copywriting, since...

... people definitely pick up on how you're feeling when you're writing copy, and they respond accordingly.

See, if you're feeling good, guess what -- they'll feel good when they read what you wrote.

If you're feeling bored, well, so will your readers.

If you're feeling resentful that you have to write this gol-durned copy, you'll repel your readers and discourage them from taking action.

But if you come into your pitch with gratitude and appreciation, you'll get a lot bigger return from your customers.

You know, I've met a lot of successful people; a lot of multimillionaires in my time.

True, some of them bring to mind that famous icon of stinginess at Christmastime, Ebeneezer Scrooge. I guess just about everyone's met someone like that.

But I have a surprise for you: Most of the winners in business I've met have a profound sense of gratitude. They don't take their bounty for granted; and though they have accumulated much themselves, at the heart of it they're givers, not takers.

Something to bear in mind as you enjoy that second helping if you're celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday... and certainly something to remember when you put together your next killer promotion.

David Garfinkel is one of the best copywriters on the internet and was a speaker at Armand Morin's Big Seminar Series and Carl Galletti's Internet Marketing Super Conference. You can learn more about his books and training courses by clicking the links below.

David Garfinkel is founder of the World Copywriting institute and is considered by many people to be the best teacher of copywriting in the world. The stated mission of the World Copywriting Institute is to “eradicate copywriting illiteracy in the world.” Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the world’s best selling series of marketing books, Guerrilla Marketing, says, “David Garfinkel is the best copywriter I know.” Sign up for David’s free World Copywriting Newsletter. and you get a free one-hour downloadable teleseminar on copywriting. Also visit David’s World Copywriting Blog:

E-book Secrets Exposed
By David Garfinkel
This incredible ebook explains things nobody else has ever published before! This ebook explains the real way to make real money online with ebooks... Finally! Somebody gives people the truth about what it takes to make massive amounts of money with your own ebook... whether you wrote it or not!

Posted by ralph at 11:05 AM | Permalink

“Whenever you can, try to relate what you're selling to an "experience" as opposed to a "thing". Remember, your prospects have feelings about "experiences", not about "things".”
Listen, if you want to be able to write sales copy that's got any chance of making you more than just a few bucks, there are many critical things you must know, before you start writing your sales pitch.

And one of the very most important things is...

What Are You Really Selling?

Because most of the time, it's not what you're "actually" selling.

Here, let me give you a few examples taken from a random selection of ads I've got here in front of me, from today's paper:

Credit Repair:

What it says: "Save your credit rating"

What you're really selling:

“Cash... Now!”

Think I'm kidding?

Think again: Do you really believe people who have bad credit, are looking for a good credit rating?

No, not at all -- what they really want, and they want it right now... is cash!

They want to be able to start borrowing money again, and buying things like cars and houses and boats, at "normal" interest rates, and not at prime + 14.95 % like most people with bad credit have to pay.

Singles Dating Service:

What it says: "Find the love of your life."

What you're really selling:

“A marketplace simply filled with single people just like you who are ALL looking for a relationship. You see, when you're walking down the street and you pass an attractive person, you have absolutely no idea whether or not that person is "available"... "just looking"... or "horny as a toad"!

Every one of the singles registered with us, WANTS a relationship and they're yours for the picking!”

See the difference?

Divorce Attorney:

This next one may be a little rough, but it's right on target:

What it says: "Amicable Divorce"

What (most) people want: "Get away from your spouse and dissolve your unpleasant marriage immediately! I'll show you how to get custody of your kids, and collect as much child support as possible, and... if your eligible, you'll get to put the screws to your spouse and really stick it to them, for as much alimony as you can get, and... for as long as possible!"

Now I know that last one sounded harsh, but who would you call if you were in that situation - you had kids... you were absolutely miserable... you wanted OUT, yesterday..., and... you wanted blood for all your tireless years of underappreciated service and loyalty?

The lawyer that says "Amicable Divorce", or the second one?

May not be pretty, but life's not pretty sometimes, is it?

So how do you figure out what you're really selling if you're stumped? Well, just like I told you a few weeks ago, in “How To Uncover Everything You Want To Know About Your Customers!”, and just like I'm always telling you -- you've got to go back to the only source that counts -- your customers.

You've got to ask them "why they buy".

Either you ask them, or better yet, have someone else anonymously ask them. Your customers will be more candid and lot less concerned about offending you, or giving you a "wrong" answer if they're talking to someone else besides you.

Here, let me give you an example:

A while ago I was working with a client who sold unusual retail items in a specialty store.

One of his big things was the low price of these items. I told him he was competing using the wrong variable -- price, especially low price -- and if anything... he should be charging higher prices because of the unusual "twist" his items presented, versus the norm.

Anyway, he said his customers had come to expect this from him and that they wouldn't be willing to spend more.

Ha-ha!

So I'm on the phone with one of his customers and they casually mention to me, they just saw another similar item in a competitors shop and they bought it because of the "pretty label" on the outside.

And how much did this gal pay for the item with the "pretty label"?

Make sure you're sitting down for this one.

O.K. Are you ready?

She gladly forked over...

Ten Times What She's Giving My Client!

So what did you learn from that? You learned, what my client is really selling, in this case, isn't "low prices" but unique items!

And he wasn't taking advantage of this.

What he "thought" he was selling, was a low-priced retail specialty. What he's "actually" selling, is a unique retail specitaly item.

Market research is so important -- I can't over-emphasize this point too much.

It's more important than good sales copy and it's more important than what kind of offer you're going to make... and it's certainly more important than what kind of envelope you use and whether you put teaser copy on it or not.

You will never ever know what your market wants (or if what you're selling even has a market) unless YOU take the time to find out!

Before I go, here are a few more examples of "what you're really selling".

Goods or Service
Photographer
Personal Injury Attorneys
Weight Loss or Fitness
Log Cabins
Business Opportunity

What You're NOT Selling
pictures
justice
better health
"a new home"
A career path or a way to make a living

What You're Really Selling
memories that last a lifetime
MONEY!
feeling and looking sexier... younger... and more attractive
Rustic "do-it-yourself" life-style
A Money Machine! Also, freedom from your jughead of a boss.

One more thing: Whenever you can, try and relate what you're selling to an "experience" as opposed to a "thing". Remember, your prospects have feelings about "experiences", not about "things".

And whenever your prospects can relate a positive feeling to what you're offering them...

You're In Like Flynn!

P.S. I've been speaking with a lot of my subscribers lately and one of the common themes I keep hearing, is about the "mental" aspect of success.

So over the next few weeks, just in time for all the warm and positive feelings you should be having around this time of year, as the holidays start approaching... I'm going to be talking about the "head trip" issues we ALL have to deal with from time to time.

Listen, I'm no shrink, that's for sure... but I've seen good times as well as my fair share of bad times, and I've been up-and-down enough times in my life to know...

Bouncing Back Isn't As Easy In Real Life...
As It Looks On T.V.!

Have you had a situation where you were able to turn around a marketing campaign of yours by changing your marketing to more accurately sell "what you were really selling"? If you have, let me know -- this way I can share your experience with all my subscribers.

Thanks!

And here’s how you can do that:

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 09:08 AM | Permalink

When you sell on eBay, it's important to know how to take advantage of the kinds of markets you encounter in the different seasons. As a rule, the summer months are slow and the winter period is fast, but there's more to it than that.

It Depends What You're Selling.

Your sales won't necessarily be slower in the summer than in winter - they might just be different. If you're selling sports equipment, for example, you'll probably find that surfing gear sells in summer while skiing gear sells in winter. You should make sure you are aware of any seasonal variations there will be in your particular market, and plan in advance to take advantage of them.

Selling in Peak Season.

The holiday season is eBay's peak, and the best time to be selling on eBay - the December rush is relatively short, but if you play it right then you could make half your year's profit over those few days.

In the holidays, people are looking for presents, and eBay run more advertising than usual targeted towards buyers, not sellers. Target your auctions more towards new users than experienced ones, writing easy-to-understand descriptions. If you have any items that are in demand, try listing some at auction and some with high But it Now prices, to see what works best.

The chances are you'll be surprised when the Buy it Now auctions go almost instantly and the auctions rack up bids like nobody's business. It is important to remember, however, that most of these buyers will only buy from you once.

Selling Off-peak.

For the rest of the year, the market is far slower. Don't worry though - you can still make money. It's a little like being a stockbroker: you can make money whether the market is good or bad, if you know what you're doing.

Remember that your target market is a little more 'expert': you're mostly selling to people who know what they're buying, and know what they want to pay. Cater to this by providing a service suitable for these customers. Show that you know what you're selling and sell things consistently and you'll have people coming back again and again.

Here's one extra tip that you might try. If you know of items that have a consistent value, it might be worth buying up as many as you can cheaply in the summer, storing them for half a year, and selling them during the winter rush. If you're willing to give over a little space for storage, you can make a lot of profit for little effort. After all, you don't even have to take the items out of the packaging the last seller put them in.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:26 AM | Permalink

eBay offers quite a few simple tools to help make your buying easier, so you don't lose track of what you're doing. Most of them are on the 'My eBay' screen - if you're logged in, you can go there just by clicking 'My eBay' on the toolbar at the top of any eBay page.

My Summary.

Your summary screen shows what you're currently buying or selling, as well as any announcements eBay want to make that day. It is set up as a list of reminders, so it will tell you if there are items you need to pay for or if you have been outbid - it's like your eBay 'to do' list.

You can make this screen show what you want it to by clicking 'Customise Summary' in the top-right corner. To go to any of the other buying tools pages from here, use the menu on the left of the screen, under 'All Buying'.

Watching: This is your watchlist - the auctions you have decided are worth keeping an eye on but don't want to bid on yet. To add an auction to this page, click 'Watch this item' in the top-right corner of its description page. To delete an item, just put a tick in its box on the Watching page and then click the Delete button.

Bidding: This is a list of all the items you're currently bidding on. Items that you're currently the winning bidder on are highlighted in green, while items that you've been outbid on are shown in red, with an option to bid again.

Best Offers: You can see here all of the best offers you've made on Buy it Now items, and whether or not the seller accepted them.

Won and Didn't Win: This is where the items from the Bidding page go when the auction is over. If you won the item, then you will be able to choose an action depending on how far along you are in the buying process. From here, you can pay, tell the seller you've sent payment, or leave feedback once you've got the item. You should keep going through these steps until you've done them all. There are small blue icons to show you which of these steps you have completed so far, and whether the seller has left any feedback for you.

Don't worry if you don't often get the chance to check back at My eBay. If anything important happens, eBay will email you, and the email should contain a button or link to let you do whatever you need to do. If you want real control all the time, though, then the tools available on the My eBay page can work well for you.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 09:33 PM | Permalink

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Online, I believe business success is certainly easier to achieve than its brick-and-mortar version. It's not a free ride and it definitely requires some time let alone work. But on the web, I also believe that one can easily -- as that famous cliché goes -- work smarter instead of harder.

Yet the challenge that most Internet marketers encounter is the fact that they feel their success is not coming as fast as it should. As Wayne Dyer once said, "They keep striving but never seem to be arriving." Most people jump into business with the hope (and often the erroneous or naive assumption) that their marketing efforts will lead to virtually instant results.

I can certainly appreciate how entrepreneurs, business owners and Internet marketers feel since, in my life, it took me years (and many of them) to finally learn the so-called "secrets" -- and enjoy the fruits -- of success. With two bankruptcies under my belt and numerous sleepless nights, it certainly was not an instantaneous, overnight process.

In fact, I was once interviewed and asked: "Mike, you seem to be an overnight success; how did you do it?" My wife loves that question. With a huge grin on her face, she answers my critics with a simple comment:

"Indeed, it took him many 'overnights' alright."

Experience as Priceless Education
I've lost everything a few different times in my life. I've had my cars repossessed and lost two of my homes. I was once forced to seek shelter at a local YMCA. I was reviled by my peers and persecuted by my own family. I was even forced to -- yes, believe it or not -- find a job. I even once had to work in three of them simultaneously in order to make ends meet.

But I learned from my mistakes. After falling flat on my face, I quickly picked myself back up, dusted myself off, rolled up my sleeves, shifted gears and kept on keeping on. In short, I didn't look at it as failing, but as educating myself and gathering priceless feedback along the way.

The truth of it all is this: Failure is feedback. And failure is probably the most common denominator among the successful. One of my favorite marketing gurus is without a doubt Dan Kennedy. In one of his books, "No B.S. Business Success," Dan explains: "Failure is part of the daily entrepreneurial experience." Therefore, failure is to be expected.

All this is to say that, while success is indeed possible, it is not an instant result like that of winning the lottery. And I'm not saying that you have to fail a lot in order to succeed. Moreover, I certainly am not trying to inculcate some positive, rose-colored glass, pollyannish kind of thinking in you. But as Jim Rohn once wrote: "If the man is going down the wrong road, he doesn't need motivation to speed him up -- what he needs is education to turn him around."

You Need Tools in Order to Build
In other words, there is no such thing as "get rich quick." But with the right tools, the right education and the right attitude, one can definitely get rich quicker. There are many resources and websites that can certainly help. I encourage you to investigate them.

As Bill Gates once said, the Internet will definitely create more millionaires than any other medium in history. Since the Internet is founded on both information and speed, the web's plethora of information and tools grant the entrepreneur the ability to achieve success faster than ever.

It took me years to achieve success in the offline world but only a small fraction of that time to achieve it online. And I believe that it's because, with the Internet, one has the ability to (quickly and efficiently) access knowledge, ideas and resources that were once unavailable to brick-and-mortar business owners. It's all available at the simple click of a mouse.

In essence, and I've said this many times: Learned experience is far better than learning from experience. And you have the ability to learn from other people's failures, setbacks, bouncebacks and successes -- these are, in my opinion, the most powerful weapons you can ever include in your arsenal.

Be a Sponge
The moral of it all? Learn. Keep learning. Use the Internet to learn as much as you can. If you can join the many resources available on the web (especially if they're guaranteed, like my own private website), do so. Attend seminars. Take courses. Listen to audio cassettes while you're surfing the web. Turn your car into a university on wheels by listening to tapes as you drive.

Remember that you can chalk it up to research and education for tax purposes. Personally, I have a library literally filled with thousands of books, videotapes and audiocassette programs, from the motivational to Internet marketing. The most popular ones (ones I often shop myself) are located at:

http://www.audible.com/,
http://www.amazon.com/,
http://www.success.com/ and
http://www.peoplesuccess.com/.
And more important, don't expect an instantly gratifying, panacean solution. It's takes work. Hard work. Like building a house, your Internet success still needs to be built somehow -- it can't be built by itself. But it doesn't always have to be hard work. You can certainly work smarter: With the right tools, your "house" can be built much faster, stronger and straighter.

Don't kid yourself. There is no magic wand out there that will do it for you. And trust me, there are a lot of "smoke and mirrors" out there (get rich quick schemes), especially on the web -- I've been a victim too many times. But also, don't despair after the first setback. Turn your setback into feedback and you will simply add more tools to your toolbox.

Above All, Learn From People
In my life, I was lucky to have several mentors assist me in my beginnings. One in particular will remain in my heart for a long time -- a man, Pierre A., who literally built a multinational empire out of a small, basement apartment business. Online, potential mentors (let alone partners, associates, colleagues, strategic alliances and friends) exist by the thousands.

In my free book, The 10 Commandments of Power Positioning, one should vigorously seek out alliances -- there are as many different forms of strategic alliances out there as there are online businesses. I also firmly believe that the web is an incredibly fertile ground for such arrangements.

Why? It's because the only thing that separates us all are computer screens. Cyberspace is indeed a cold world. And not only customers but also business owners are constantly looking for ways of humanizing their online activities. It makes perfect sense to finally add a voice if not a face to those plain text messages we receive in our email inboxes on a daily basis.

Second, if the online world doesn't know you exist, you don't. Period. But through such alliances you have the ability to leverage your visibility, your sales and eventually your success -- and quite effectively too, I might add. I guess you can say that it all boils down to the famous "Mastermind Group Principle" originally taught by Napoleon Hill. Let me explain.

The Driving Force Behind the Web
Mr. Hill, the grandfather of success principles, wrote in his book "Think and Grow Rich" that successful people are those who develop relationships with like-minded people. While the book was written almost a century ago (long before the Internet or computer), those principles still ring true today.

Strategic alliances thrive on the web. I believe it's part of John Nesbitt's prediction that we're moving towards the high-tech/high-touch, made in his book "Megatrends." Even psychologist Wayne Dyer once said, "We are human BEINGS, not human DOINGS." To paraphrase, we are real people and not just a bunch of commands, scripts and email links.

Lester B. Thurow, in his great book "Building Wealth," mentioned that most of today's billionaires -- including Bill Gates, now the richest man in the world -- do not really own anything. Unlike the rich people of yesteryear, these billionaires do not own oil refineries, gold, manufacturing plants or real estate. They own soft goods: Information. Not only that, what they only exists with the help of some unseen force (i.e., electricity). In short, they own nothing.

With today's knowledge-based economy, more people will become rich than ever before. Whether your business sells a tangible or an intangible product, selling on the web is still a process that's really based on nothing. So the key is to create alliances with the entities behind those nothings: Real people, because they can help turn those nothings into somethings.

It's a Small World After All
This certainly applies to customers and customer service. But it also includes developing solid relationships with other webmasters, Internet marketers and business owners to help build one's business. Of course, email is free for most and therefore an economical means of communication. But surprisingly, online discussions or chats, phone calls and even face-to-face meetings with some of the people behind those electronic veils we call web sites -- key people from whom you can learn -- can become quite positive and richly rewarding.

Being alone in a world of nothingness is indeed a cold prospect. You don't have to be. In fact, if you take a look at the most successful Internet marketers out there you will always find that there are some kind of partnerships, alliances or joint ventures somewhere in the mix. For instance, take the biggest launch in the history of the Internet, John Reese's Traffic Secrets, pulling in over a million dollars in one day... All because of the power of creating alliances.

Another example, my copywriters discussion board is maintained not by one but by a panel of Internet marketers who share their wisdom, successes and mistakes -- people with whom members can easily develop a certain kinship and receive priceless advice. More important, such forums can often become the springboards for many successful and enduring online partnerships -- they have been for me.

In essence, look at ways of building relationships online not only with your customers but also with others who can help you. Networking is not a concept strictly limited to multi-level marketing, affiliate programs and resellers. They also include suppliers, associates, webmasters, non-competing business owners, brick-and-mortar businesses, publication editors and so on.

In the end, realize that success is not an instant process. Most important, it doesn't have to be a lonely one. The most powerful tool that you can ever use to build your "house" is OPE (which stands for two things, namely "Other People's Experiences" and "Other People's Efforts"). But keep in mind that today, OPE also stands for "Online, People Exist."

In closing, here's my favorite quote of all time. It's from Jim Rohn and it's been hanging on my wall, in front of me, for over seven years. It goes something like this: "There are some things in life that you don't have to know how it works. The main thing is that it works. While some are studying the roots, others are picking the fruits. Success just depends on which end you want to be."

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 02:42 PM | Permalink

The golden years are not what my mom expected.
It has to be really frustrating for my mom. She had a wonderful life up until last year when she suffered pneumonia and congestive heart failure, all at the same time. Her life consisted of going shopping with my dad for food, going swimming every day at the mission beach plunge, taking care of her garden, watching her favorite television shows and eating the delicious for food prepared by my dad.

When my mom had her congestive heart failure and pneumonia, in March of 2004, I flew back to help my dad take care of her.
Even at that time, my dad said that he felt that he was getting weaker by the day. He said he was having a hard time taking care of her. He told me that in the near future, it might be beneficial if I could move back to San Diego with Janet and help take care of both of them.

How true that prediction actually was.
Just four months after my mom had congestive heart failure, my dad had his crippling stroke. I should have listened closer to his plea. I was too busy thinking about my own life and what I was doing rather than being attentive to what he was asking. He did not want to disrupt my life but knew he needed more help. I often wonder if I had read between the lines and moved back before he had the stroke it never would have happened. I guess hindsight is 20-20.

Life is a joy when everything is going your way, until your health is lost in a blink of the eye.
When your health is taken away from you by a catastrophic event, the joy of living seems to diminish to a great degree. That is what happened to my mom and my dad both.

After almost 15 months, my dad seems to be handling it better than my mom.
Mom loved her freedom and ability to just do the things that she wanted on a daily basis. It's tough for her to see my dad paralyzed in bed, and having to depend upon others for just about everything.

The Golden years are not what my mom expected them to be.
My dad's recent aneurysm and heart surgery really scared my mom. To keep herself occupied and her mind off the precarious situation of my dad, she organizes and reorganizes everything in the closets, constantly. She goes through her's and my dad's clothes, socks, shoes, books, etc., moving, packing, storing and sorting.

The kitchen has many things to keep her entertained.
Mom is always going through the refrigerator, moving food around and throwing away food and containers. Sometimes, I have no idea where anything is. It was there yesterday but today is a whole new story.

I know it's frustrating for her because it hard to find something that givers her life meaning.
When our parents get to the point where they have to depend upon their children for existence, their daily decision of how they will deal with the challenges of life determines their attitude.

I am often reminded of how important is to be thankful to God for everything.
It is so important to choose to be happy no matter what is going on. A lot of times, that is the only choice that you have...what your attitude is going to be. You're happy or sad depending on your choice.

Who would've ever imagined, that the choices we make in life on a daily basis so powerfully transform our experience of life.
Happiness, sadness, joy, fear and all the other emotions are our choice. Don't you think it's a good idea to choose to have a positive attitude and be thankful for what you have...especially at this time of year.

The most important part of the holidays is not shopping for and giving gifts and going into debt.
It is important to keep a positive attitude when we are trapped in a room with people who drive us up the wall. No wonder the holidays are a tough time of year for many people, especially when you throw alcohol, sugar, fat, sickness, the flu and stress into the holiday mix.

Happy Birthday Jesus!
Imagine what Jesus Christ sacrificed for us. His birth is the original reason for the season. I believe in celebrating Jesus's birth, life and death because it is through His love for us, we are set free from the consequences of our sins. He has given us eternal salvation, the greatest gift possible with out requiring anything from us other than our willingness to accept the free gift.

Next part of the original Zuranski catastrophic illness story.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wow! Life Can Be So Challenging When Both Your Mom and Dad Are Suffering Catastrophic Illness!" by Ralph Zuranski

Mom had congestive heart failure so bad we had to take her to the emergency ward on Sunday.
She did so much better after they removed the excess water. She was home that day. Janet and I found out she was not taking her meds every day. That is why she almost died. Now we make sure she takes her medications. Unfortunately, when she takes her medications, she cannot sleep, because she has to go to the bathroom every hour. She is totally exhausted in the morning without a deep sleep. It is a Catch 22...no rest and staying alive. Wow! What a horrible choice between the quality of life and death. Janet and I agonize over the challenges facing us.

Dad is coming home tomorrow.
All of our Sin Jin Jyutsu is paying off. The only problem is we have to reconfigure the entire house. We had to tear out all the carpet. There are hardwood floors. I had to pull up all the staples and clean the hall and room where dad will be staying. We had to move out all the furniture before the carpet was removed.

It was an incredible amount of work removing all the furniture and carpet.
I cannot tell you how much work was involved. If your parents are in this zone...GET PREPARED! MAKE SURE THEY HAVE MEDICARE AND THE MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF SECONDARY INSURANCE. You will not be sorry.

I had no idea as to how much work it will be to take care of him at home.
Don't let your parents get into this situation if you can help it. It is unbelievable...the amount of stress on everyone. We spent the last two days learning how to take care of dad. It has blown my mind. Am I ready to change diapers, do physical therapy, do all the cooking and cleaning?

Am I man enough to step up to the plate to take care of mom and dad?
Would it be easier to take care of them when they were not experiencing crises at the same time? I don't know because the you know what is hitting the fan all at the same time. If only they had listened and chosen optimal health. Hindsight is 20-20. You have to accept the situation you are in.

Janet and I love my mom and dad, but what a challenge for 24 hour home health care.
Are we up to the challenge? I don't know at this time. We will keep you updated. Janet is working like a madwoman to transcribe my interview with Doctor Garry Gordon, MD, one of the most brilliant people I have ever met.

Posted by ralph at 09:22 AM | Permalink

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

The secret to success, in life and in business,
is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those
little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into
something big. Bill Bonner

''God is in the details''

Abstract: Once understood, it can propel you to an unprecedented level of happiness and success. You are the master--the author--of every single thought, giving you absolute control over your emotional state. Imagine for a moment how the power and control you would have in life if you could actually ''fool'' your subconscious at any time into the feeling you most desire! The experts tell us each and every moment the typical human being uses approximately 1,000 words in their ''self talk.'' Imagine what this can do to your emotional state if the majority of the words and thoughts are negative. Certain words can quickly catapult you from poverty to great wealth. Well-chosen words can persuade, lead, impress or attract people. Words have the absolute power to control your entire life as well as to make it meaningful and happy under any circumstances.

Full Article: The secret to success, in life and in business, is to work hard at the margin. Relentlessly. Those little marginal extra efforts will inevitably grow into something big.

All thinking people know that every form of outer communication, including
writing, speaking and body language, is crucially important.

However, this issue deals with a topic far more important. It is about a
little known ''secret.'' You cannot be a successful communicator without
this skill. Once understood, it can propel you to an unprecedented level
of happiness and success.

As we think in words, the real key to success and happiness lies within
the words you choose for your "self talk."

The implications of this personal dialogue are enormous.

Why?

You are the master--the author--of every single thought, giving you absolute
control over your emotional state.

Imagine for a moment how the power and control you would have in life if you
could actually ''fool'' your subconscious at any time into the feeling you
most desire! This discovery changed my life. And, if you take it to heart,
it will also change yours.

Once you master the art of positive ''self talk'' it will no longer be
important what happens to you in life. What counts far more are the words
you choose to ''frame'' the event in your mind.

Most ''self talk'' is extremely negative. Indeed, it's rare to find a
person who is positive most of the time, as I'm sure you'll agree.

The impact of this negative ''self talk'' will, of course, severely hamper
or sabotage what you achieve in the business world.

A typical sales message that I create, such as an ad or sales letter, usually
contains at least 1,000 words. Contrast this with the number of words which
go through our minds during our inner dialogue.

The experts tell us each and every moment the typical human being uses
approximately 1,000 words in their ''self talk.'' Imagine what this can do
to your emotional state if the majority of the words and thoughts are negative.

Certain words can quickly catapult you from poverty to great wealth. Well-
chosen words can persuade, lead, impress or attract people. However, other
words can turn people off, sometimes forever.

I've been thinking recently of examples of what words can actually do in and
to your life.

Here is a short list of them.

Depending on the words you choose, you can:

 · Criticize or support your mate
 · Discourage or inspire a child
 · Be invisible to others or have others eager to talk with you
 · Pass judgment or accept a friend
 · Take for granted or recognize a valued employee
 · Feel the depths of despair or unlimited joy
 · Facilitate loneliness or passionate romantic love
 · Appeal to one's intellect or touch someone's heart
 · Make an enemy or a friend
 · Feel blue or joyous on a rainy day
 · Quit trying or never give up on motivating yourself to greatness
 · Accept someone’s erroneous judgment or ask for their love and support
 · See yourself as a hopeless failure or an outstanding success
 · Dream small or dream big and achieve either one you choose
 · Live in poverty or acquire anything you want in life
 · Feel constantly tired or full of energy
 · View yourself as a weak, unattractive person or as a handsome
or beautiful, healthy human being, and be absolutely right either way
 · Picture yourself helpless and defeated or as a successful entrepreneur
that cannot be denied
 · Persuade others to go to war or march for peace

In this newsletter and in my books, tapes and live seminars, I will do all
I can to provide you the actual Magic Words and phrases you need to
experience positive results.

Think of these Magic Words as a new language of success. They are not theory.
They have been tested and proven all around the world. Use them consistently
and you are virtually assured you'll get what you want nearly all the time.

You have an unlimited future. Choose the words you use, especially with
yourself, carefully and wisely.

Remember, it's not as important what happens to you as the words you use to
describe events to yourself. You can be in a mansion or even confined in
a prison and still be happy. You may remember this poem: ''Two men looked
through prison bars. One saw the night and one saw the stars.''

Again, it depends on what you choose to focus as you ''speak'' to yourself.

Words have the absolute power to control your entire life as well as to make
it meaningful and happy under any circumstances.

Kind regards,

Ted Nicholas
Nicholas Direct, Inc.
P.O. Box 877
Indian Rocks Beach, FL 33785
www.tednicholas.com

Posted by ralph at 06:24 AM | Permalink

Once you've optimised your titles for search terms and your items have short durations to get them near the top of the results, there's really only one sure-fire way to make your auction stand out from the crowd. Unfortunately, it involves paying eBay more money - but it can really pay off, especially for higher-priced items.

In this article, I'll take you through the various 'listing upgrades' eBay offer, how much they cost, and whether they're any good. Remember that if you want any of these, you can just tick their box while you're going through the process of listing your item. The charges will be added to the other fees you're charged for the listing.

Gallery. The most basic of upgrades, this will show your photo on the search results page as well as inside on the item's description page. This is always worth having. Cost: 35c.

Subtitle. If you add a subtitle, you get a little more space to fit in any extra information that you couldn't squeeze into the title. Use this if you're selling a relatively technical item that just has too many good features to fit into that 55-letter title space. Cost: 50c.

Bold. This will put your auction's title in bold on search results pages. Not especially noticeable, but might make your auction stand out a little. Cost: $1.

Border. Choose this option to put your listing inside a coloured box on results pages, making it look a bit special. Cost: $3.

Highlight. You can get your listing highlighted in purple on results pages. Cost: $5.

Featured Plus. This upgrade will show your item at the top of the page in the search results, with the 'featured items', for the duration of your listing. It will also be shown in the featured items list seen by people who browse by category. This is easily the best upgrade you can buy, and will easily pay for itself twice over with an item that's worth more than about $100 and getting a decent number of bids. Cost: $19.95.

Gallery Featured. This will show your item first when someone chooses to view items using the 'Picture Gallery' view. Few people ever use this view, but it might be useful for some kinds of items. Cost: $19.95.

Home Page Featured. This is the ultimate in listing upgrades, but its value is questionable, especially given the small space featured items are actually given on the home page. If you think you could pull a lot of buyers into your auction with nothing but the first four or five words of your title, go for it. Really, you have to get yourself on the home page at least once in your eBay life, don't you? Cost: $39.95.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 05:40 AM | Permalink

Click Here to listen to Kevin Hurley's awesome In Search Of Heroes Interview.

Today, I had the privilege of interviewing one of the greatest entertainers on the face of the planet. Kevin Hurley is a hypnotist, comedian and magician. He weaves all his skills into his stage performance to entrall audiences world-wide. I met Kevin through Robet Channing, the world's greates mentalist, mind-reader and mental motivator. Kevin is one the amazing entertainers exclusively available through Robert's company Power Performers, Inc. We will soon be doing an interview of Kevin as a leader in the field of great entertainers for the Power Performers Radio Show.

Ralph Zuranski: This is Ralph Zuranski. I’m on the phone with Kevin Hurley. Kevin is the world’s foremost hypnotist and also is recognized as one of the funniest of all the hypnotists in the world today.
 
He has wowed audience from one side of the planet to the other and has basically been on the stage with some of the most important people. Kevin, how are you doing today?
 
Kevin Hurley: Ralph, I’m doing fine. How are you?
 
Ralph Zuranski: I’m doing well. Would you be able to tell us a little bit about your career and what you do?
 
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely. I’ve been in show business and entertaining, making people happy since I was ten years old. I started out as a magician and a slight of hand artist and an illusionist. Then eventually I moved over to hypnosis.
 
I’ve been so fortunate to train with some of the best hypnotists around the world. I really believe in doing my own material so I took what I learned and developed a 90-minute stage show that’s taken me all over the world.
 
Ralph Zuranski: That’s really amazing. One of my friends, Robert Channing, who is the world’s foremost mind reader, I did a Heroes interview on Robert. He was how I was able to get connected with you.

I was just amazed at just how incredible you are and how you can transform people’s lives in such a short period of time just by working with their mind. How do you do the hypnosis thing?
 
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know, hypnosis is based on a psychological principle called suggestion. Basically, we’re walking around - you, Ralph, myself, everybody listening to us is walking around with the most powerful computer in the world inside of them right now.
 
Scientists are always arguing that we use somewhere from 7% to 14% of our brain. So that’s all that we’re tapping into right now. Everybody feels they’re exercising in hypnosis. We could use a little bit more.
 
It’s called pyramiding. Somebody goes into hypnosis by progression, by listening to my suggestions, by trusting me and they just go deeper and deeper. I do a combination of things.
 
Obviously, I make people all over the world happy by watching the stage show. It’s a comedy stage show. I come out. I do some stand up comedy. I get some people out of the audience, 15 to 20, sometimes 30, and 40 depending on the size of the stage. I hypnotize them and I make them do extraordinary things.
 
They’re happy after the show because I just made them the stars of the evening. They’re going to be so popular in their communities, the talk of the town for weeks to come. I made the audience happy because I made them forget about their problems for 90 minutes. All they were worried about was what outrageous thing is going to happen next.
 
I did that for a while. Then I found something else out. People kept asking me afterwards, “Kevin, can you help me stop smoking? Can you help me lose weight? I am so stressed out. I’m afraid of flying. I grind my teeth. I bite my nails,” and so on and so on.
 
I kept a notebook of all these requests from all over North America and all over the world. Now we’re actually developing products, audios, CDs and entire programs of self-help to utilize the hypnosis, to use progressive relaxation in the comfort of your own home and accomplish these goals while you’re completely relaxed or sleeping.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Well, you know, that’s pretty amazing. I know that you’ve met a lot of really important people and a lot of individuals that others would consider as heroes. What is your definition of heroism?
 
Kevin Hurley: My definition of heroism is on so many levels. But, you know, I don’t think you have to be in the Wall Street Journal or make headlines to be a hero. A hero is somebody that claps their hands when their feet hit the floor out of the bed in the morning; they just want to make a difference.
 
An old wise hippie told me the definition of an intellectual is somebody that gets up and thirsts for knowledge every day. I just think a hero is somebody that can go out in their community and make a difference. I don’t think it should be measured by money and publicity. It’s about, obviously, how many lives you can touch.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Did you ever create a secret hero in your mind that helped you deal with life’s difficulties?
 
Kevin Hurley: A secret hero in my mind? You know, to be honest with you. I have an extreme schedule. I perform over 300 stage shows a year all over the country. So you can imagine.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Wow.
 
Kevin Hurley: I’m in busses. I’m in cars. I’m in airplanes. I’m meeting different people, constantly traveling. It’s stressful. It’s tough to manage a family life with a really strong career.
 
Here’s just a funny little thing. One of my heroes is Rocky from Sylvester Stallone movies. Any time I can’t get out of bed, I always think of Burgess Meredith when he’s down on the mat with Rocky. He says, “Rocky, get up you son of a bitch because Mickey loves ya.” So there’s just a little hero.
 
Ralph Zuranski: So what are the qualities and attributes of that particular heroic character that you think are beneficial for others to emulate?
 
Kevin Hurley: Well, I think anybody can be a leader or a hero when the going is easy. When everybody is going with you, when there’s no turmoil, hey, that’s easy to lead. The ultimate captain, the ultimate hero, the ultimate leader is somebody that can lead through diversity or when things are going wrong.
 
When it gets intense, that’s when I think about it. You’ve got to finish it to the end. Really, what I found is anything worthwhile is worth working at hard. Something amazing is it going to be accomplished in a day or a week or a lot of times even in a year.
 
I really feel like what I’m doing with the hypnosis and the entertaining and stuff, I’ll never finish it. It’s going to be a lifelong quest.
 
Ralph Zuranski: What is your perspective on goodness, ethics and moral behavior?
 
Kevin Hurley: Gosh. Again, with all the traveling and working and coming in contact with so many people, you really have to have a keen sense. That’s what I look for most when I do business with somebody. Or, even have a personal relationship with somebody. It’s of the utmost importance.
 
There’s so many people out there that I could deal with. I’m going for somebody that I trust implicitly.
 
Ralph Zuranski: What principles are you willing to sacrifice your life for?
 
Kevin Hurley: What principles am I willing to sacrifice my life for? Obviously, freedom is an important thing. I think that’s why I’m a United States citizen. I love this country. I wouldn’t live anywhere else at any other time. The ability to enterprise.
 
I took something that I love; I picked something that everybody made fun of me for. Nobody thought I could do it and become one of the best at it. That’s my favorite thing about America.
 
Ralph Zuranski: What was the lowest point in your life and how did you change your life path to win a victory over all obstacles?
 
Kevin Hurley: The lowest point in my life would probably be about six or seven years ago when I really decided to focus on this full time. It’s an incredible challenge to build a business or to build anything up from the ground.
 
Obviously, financial burdens are a difficulty for many people. That would encompass, just having the faith, just thinking of the Rocky movies and to keep going and to keep going. There’s going to be light at the end of the tunnel. That would be my best advice. If you believe in something, lock onto it and don’t let go.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have a dream or vision that sets the course of your life?
 
Kevin Hurley: Yeah, greatness, really, just to touch as many people as I can. I’ve been saying through this interview and I just did one for College Power Performance Radio, it’s just touching people individually.
 
It means so much to me when somebody comes up and says, “Thank you. Thank you for helping my son or daughter, they were obese and you brought them up on stage and you made them a star of the show. They weren’t popular for two years in the school. Now they’re the talk of the town. Thank you for helping me lose 50 pounds. I was a slave to cigarettes for 25 years. I listened to your CD for a month. I was able to throw them down.”
 
I think the thank you’s is what I’m going for.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Do you take a positive vision and positive view of setbacks, misfortunes and mistakes?
 
Kevin Hurley: Yeah. It’s funny, especially doing what I do, hypnosis. It’s really cutting edge. We’re still learning stuff. It’s still not exactly mainstream. I really believe it’s going to become that.
 
I just heard this guy Don Motten say, he put out a program that I was just learning some techniques from. He said, “Boy. If I put out a program on techniques that didn’t work, there would be 500 DVDs.”
 
Ralph Zuranski: That’s true.
 
Kevin Hurley: I think it’s like the Edison thing, creating the light bulb. Actually, I used to get frustrated constantly at the beginning of my career when something wouldn’t work, something wouldn’t work. Now to tell you the truth Ralph, I get excited by it because that just means that you’re one step closer to the right answer.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Are you an optimist?
 
Kevin Hurley: I try to be. I’m a realist though, too. I like to look at things always positively, but you know, let’s face it. You’ve got to deal with reality and sometimes things how they are. You can’t always have what you want but you can get as close to it as possible.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Do you have the courage to pursue new ideas?
 
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Why are you willing to experience discomfort in the pursuit of your dream?
 
Kevin Hurley: I guess that comes down to faith. The reason I’m a performer, the reason I travel and make people happy and help them and hypnotize them is because I can’t see myself doing anything else, really. Sometimes I feel like it’s almost a calling, not in a religious aspect but I was meant to do what I do. I believe in that. There’s just no other option. It’s either this or nothing.
 
Ralph Zuranski: How important was it to believe in your dreams that they’d eventually become reality?
 
Kevin Hurley: It’s very important. What people have to understand is in today’s society it’s very competitive and a lot of people will either believe that they’re encouraging your success. Then all of a sudden you become successful, you’re going to experience jealousy.
 
That really roots out who your real fans and your friends and family and the real believers in you and who is not. Again, believing in what you’re doing is, for me, 100%. Then everything else will just fall in place. You’ve got to be willing to put the time into it. You’ve got to understand that it just doesn’t happen overnight.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Everybody has doubts and fears. How were you able to overcome your doubts and fears?
 
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know. I actually utilize hypnosis. I have a fear of flying. I have to fly from 100 to 200 times a year. I’m really tall and it’s crampy. I have sensitive ears. I use progressive relaxation to do that which is something on my audio CDs that I teach people how to do.
 
I just use a lot of meditation and a lot of belief. It’s a natural instinct to be afraid of something. It seems to me that a lot of people are afraid of things that they just don’t understand. A lot of people are afraid of hypnosis. A lot of people even think that hypnosis is in some sense, mind control or demonic.
 
Then after they see the show and they see how powerful and how positive it is, it completely changes their mind. I think it’s just important for people to be educated on what they’re making an opinion about.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Who helped to give you the willpower to change things in your life for the better?
 
Kevin Hurley: Strong faith and a strong community for sure. I grew up in the city of Pittsburg in a small neighborhood. I was raised Irish Catholic in an Italian neighborhood with a really strong sense of community and honor and discipline. I guess it all stems from that.
 
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it to forgive those who upset, offend and oppose you?
 
Kevin Hurley: You know that would be a tough position for me Ralph, to sit here and pass judgment. Every scenario is different. There have been some people that have done things that are completely out of line. Again, you asked the question earlier about how important ethics and morals are for somebody I work with - 100%.
 
But as far as forgiveness goes, I don’t hate anybody or anything. In fact, I’ve found the anger and hatred towards anybody is just a useless emotion. It really ties up your mind, your body, your spirit. Forgiving is one thing. Forgetting, I guess it depends on what happens.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Do you experience service to others as a source of joy?
 
Kevin Hurley: Absolutely. Absolutely. I do a lot of charity work for animal friends, some high school organizations and actually I’m a board member of something called DECA, Distributive Education Clubs of America. It’s something I was in as a student. I really think it gave me the confidence in the business world because you know, I’m in show business.
 
There’s the show which I’m really good at and then there’s the business. I’m a little bit business savvy, but I have a lot of agents and representation that help me. This organization, DECA, is all about training young kids to become the next business leaders for the future, almost like FBLA.
 
I give a lot of my time and efforts to that because it’s something I believe in the next generation being schooled on the way it should be.
 
Ralph Zuranski: What place does the power of prayer have in your life?
 
Kevin Hurley: The power of prayer? It’s important. It’s important to constantly search within myself for the power and the wisdom and others to continue.
 
Ralph Zuranski: How important is it to maintain a sense of humor in the face of serious problems?
 
Kevin Hurley: Again, people have coined me as America’s Funniest Hypnotist. Obviously, I have a huge sense of humor. In fact, that’s one of my ways I deal with things. To be honest with you, sometimes that offends people. But that’s the way that I cope with things, with humor. If that’s your personality, it makes it a lot easier.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Who are the heroes in your life?
 
Kevin Hurley: My mother would definitely be one. Here’s a lady that’s lived in the same community her whole life and just really believes in the system, really believes in America, really believes in the community and doesn’t want anything other than her health to get up and go to work. She works for a bank downtown. She’s there every day. That would be a hero.
 
Let’s see. David Copperfield, who is a famous illusionist, is a hero of mine because he’s pushed the envelope harder than anybody. This guy has been in show business for 25 years. He still does 500 shows a year. So what does that say to me? That says it’s not all about the money. It’s about love and passion and making people happy.
 
I’ve received a lot of help on the way up from people like Zig Ziggler and Tony Robbins.
 
Ralph Zuranski: How did they make a positive difference in your life?
 
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know each one in a different way. Obviously entertainers, there’s been some standup comedians, even like Richard Pryor, George Carland. To see what they do, to see their greatness, their awesomeness, has really inspired me to go foreword.
 
People like Tony Robbins and Zig Ziggler have inspired me to use what I have. That’s the thing. Everybody’s different and you’ve got to play, as they say in the business, you’ve got to play to the room. You’ve got to know who you’re in front of. Really, I think it’s about taking what you believe in, taking your natural abilities and talents and really magnifying them to help others.
 
Then again, my Mother, just for supporting me through everything. I come from a broken household. She’s just a woman that lives by the system, wants to get up, have her health so that she can go to work and take care of business. To me, that’s a hero.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Who do you feel are the real heroes in our society today that aren’t getting the recognition that they deserve?
 
Kevin Hurley: I think you get any community, especially in America, and find heroes. Volunteers, I’d like to see some more people volunteer for literacy. It really is one of my favorite things to do and it’s almost a sarcastic or cynical thing.
 
When I go to a town, what I like to do is to watch their local news. I just see crappy production value and scare tactics. It seems like that’s what gets rating now in the media. We’ve got to scare them. We’ve got to show some negativity, somebody got shot, something is going wrong, this or that.
 
Would it really kill them to do five minutes a day on what’s positive that happening?
 
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. That’s why I created the Heroes program because you have to counter. If it bleeds, it leads philosophy in the media. The only way you can do that is a grass roots level like the Heroes program.

Why are heroes so important in the lives of young people?
 
Kevin Hurley: That’s your most impressionable time. I find myself wishing I would have learned how to speak more languages. That’s one of the things that fascinates me is speaking languages. If I would have learned that by the time I was twelve, put two or three under my belt, it would have been a lot easier.
 
I always keep that in mind too when I do my charity work. I still sometimes go in and work with the younger kids in schools. It’s a very impressionable time. What kids pick up, I would say, between kindergarten and the time they get out of high school are really the things that are going to stick with them the rest of their lives.
 
Obviously, negativity is going to breed negativity. If we could get this out positively is going to breed positively.
 
Ralph Zuranski: How could anyone become a hero?
 
Kevin Hurley: I would say take everything that I just said. Take what you believe in. Find out what your strengths are because is it really worth doing if you don’t believe in it? If you’re just after something about the money, that’s not going to happen. There are a lot of people that are even successful financially; I really don’t think they’re happy.
 
To me, money is just evidence that you’re good at what you do. So find your inner strength. Find out what you’re good at. Find out what you like and then make a difference in your community. Is it that bad to help people?
 
I really find it interesting physically speaking, that people that have less are across the board always to give more to charity because they understand that there are other people that have even less than they do.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Boy, you know, that’s true. I just saw a report on the people that gave the greatest amount to charity and they were the people in the middle income range. The people that are up in the millions of dollars gave just a small fraction of what they earned.

You seem to think that maybe they’re in a position where the love of money is a thing that drives their lives. Where do you think heroes are located? I came to the conclusion that they’re everywhere and most importantly they were in the lives of the people and the families like the grandmas, the grandpas, the teachers, the coaches. What do you feel about that?
 
Kevin Hurley: I feel that they’re everywhere too, Ralph. I’ve met so many of them. I keep a photo journal when I take pictures of what I make. My life consist of flying into a town and getting picked up by complete strangers. I’m only there for a day. So no matter how good it is or how bad it is, I’m there for about 24 hours.
 
I get to have a meal before we go to the theater and I do the show. I find that the majority of the time people were good and they’re completely touching. Everybody is a hero on a different level. But you’ve got to give back, especially if you are successful, especially if you have had a good life.
 
A good friend of mine, Rick Abrams is a really successful financial investor. He’s made millions and now he’s constantly raising money for rehabilitation programs and for really positive things in the community.
 
I say, “Rick, you could do anything you want. You could be in the Islands. You could be on vacation. Why are you doing this?”
 
He goes, “You know, I had a good life. If I don’t give back, I could get struck by lightening at any point.”
 
Ralph Zuranski: Well, Kevin, how does it feel to be recognized as a hero?
 
Kevin Hurley: I’m honored. I’m honored and really I hope I can continue to just make people happy. I can’t thank people enough that have supported me over the years through all this, the true fans and the people that keep in touch. It’s a beautiful thing.
 
After all the traveling, there’s something fantastic going on all over North America, all over the world, in small communities. Ralph, I really hope this program helps put a magnifying glass on that.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Well, I hope so too. I’ve been working on it for almost 12 years to try and counter the bad press and the fear tactics that the media uses. By doing a grassroots level like this, I think that we can all work together to make the world a better place.

What are the things that you’re doing to make the world a better place?
 
Kevin Hurley: Well, you know. One of my biggest, biggest, people that I look up to would be Frank Sinatra. For the reason that he could go into a town or a theater community and just make people forget about their problems for the hour or the two hours that he was on stage singing his songs.
 
I’m just trying to spread good will and cheer and educate people on the fact that there are alternatives if you need help. If you feel overweight, if you’re not self-confident, if you have nervous habits, if you have smoking, I really try to use my name, my image, just make it better for people. The bigger I get, the more I’m going to give back.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Kevin, do you have any good solutions to the problems facing society, especially racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people?
 
Kevin Hurley: I think when you see the media and you talk to people, everybody blames the kids, the kids, the kids. Well, you know. Where did the kids come from? The parents, right?
 
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah.
 
Kevin Hurley: I really think and not being a parent myself, I hope I’m not out of line this way. I really think bad parenting leads to bad adolescence and bad children. Give me the question one more time, Ralph.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Okay. Do you have any really good solutions facing the problems in society, especially racism, child and spousal abuse and violence among young people?
 
Kevin Hurley: I’m a big fan of this movie, Big Fish. The guy says in Big Fish, “Most people are scared of things that they don’t understand. They just lack the social skills.”
 
I think that is so true. Most people are just afraid of the things that they don’t understand. As far as racism, for myself, I was educated in a private school and a public school which I could see advantages and disadvantages to both.
 
There’s a real problem in some of these guarded communities with exposure to different cultures and ethnocentrism. I would like to see that gone. A person is a person. Culture is a culture. Hanukah, Christmas, Kwanza, Dolly Llama, whatever you want to do. People should be educated.
 
I was just in a school yesterday. It’s a complete private school. They were wonderful academically, but I saw a real lack of culture there. I think that’s really important part of the education process, not just reading and writing and arithmetic but learning how to deal with other people.
 
Unfortunately it seems to me that a lot of kids don’t get that until they get to a college or a university.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Boy, that’s so true. Well, if you had three wishes for your life and the world that would instantly come true, what would they be?
 
Kevin Hurley: I guess success, peace and prosperity.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Those are good ones. What do you think about the In Search of Heroes Program and its impact on you the parents and business people?
 
Kevin Hurley: I think you’re doing a wonderful job like I said, Ralph. I hope everybody is listening up. I hope it’s inspiring you to become a hero. Again, you don’t have to go out and make a million dollars; you don’t have to be on TV. You could go to the local food bank and help put some stuff together for the holidays.
 
I’ll be down at the Salvation Army Christmas Day serving up some stuff.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Oh. That’s great. I know that you’re not a parent yet but what do you think the things parents can do that will help their children realize that they too can be heroes and make a positive impact on the lives of others?
 
Kevin Hurley: I think parents have to realize that the globe is becoming more and more diverse. This is the United States of America. It’s not all one religion and it’s not all one race.
 
You can, obviously, if you’re one faith, or of one ethnic background, you’re going to raise your kids like that. For me, being a parent, if I’m ever lucky enough to be married and to do that I just want them to understand that there are good people and there are bad people and that’s that.
 
It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what you look like, what you believe in. A good person, either you have moral ethics from the way you were raised or you don’t.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Yeah. Boy, that’s so true. Well, Kevin, I know you’re a busy person with over 300 dates a year. That’s pretty amazing. That’s a lot of traveling. I know that Robert Channing does a lot of those also. It’s just a heavy strain on his family. I really admire you and how many people’s lives that you’re changing by helping them understand the power that’s resident within their own minds.

Do you have one parting thought that you’d like to leave with the people listening to this interview?
 
Kevin Hurley: Believe. If you can dream it, you can have it. You can become it. You’ve just got to be patient. You’ve just got to persevere. Isn’t that really what a hero is? You just lock onto it and you don’t let go until you accomplish it.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Boy, that’s so true. Kevin I really appreciate your time and thanks again. Good luck on all of your gigs that you’re doing. That’s astounding. Are you going to continue that level of going out that often for the next couple of years?
 
Kevin Hurley: Yeah. I’m going to do it as long as I can. We’re going to see what happens. My products are becoming more and more popular and I’m spending more and more time developing programs to help people off the stage.
 
But I’ve got to be honest, Ralph. I didn’t get into this for the money or any other reason other than I love what I do. I don’t think it’s going to be possible for me to be able to put it down. It just wouldn’t be me. I have to do this.
 
Ralph Zuranski: Oh, that’s great. Well, thanks again, Kevin Hurley. I really appreciate your time.
 
Kevin Hurley: Thanks Ralph.

Posted by ralph at 12:30 PM | Permalink

There are plenty of companies out there offering third party eBay tools. Most of them are web-based instead of downloadable, so you pay a monthly fee instead of just buying the software. But do you know what these sites can do for you? It can be hard to get to grips with what's out there using a search engine, so here's a quick rundown of the key players.

Andale (www.andale.com).

Andale offer lots of small products instead of one solution that does everything: you can take your pick from a lister, image hosting, counters, analysers, a gallery, a checkout and an email manager. The price plans are a bit of a maze, but quite reasonable as long as you don't go and use everything.

Andale's real claim to fame is that they've been doing it for so long - they're not some fly-by-night organisation, and many eBay sellers have been using their free counters for absolutely years. They also have a reputation for being very responsive to customers, and will often talk to you directly on their forums and implement any suggestions you might have for improving their software.

Vendio (www.vendio.com).

Vendio offer two editions of their software, Sales Manager: a Merchandising edition and an Inventory edition. The difference between the two is that the Merchandising edition is designed to make it easier to list individual auctions, while the Inventory edition is for sellers who sell many of the same item. They offer a pay-as-you go price of 10c per auction.

They also offer software called Tickets Manager, special software for people who sell lots of tickets on eBay - an odd product to have, but useful if you happen to sell tickets. Other services offered by Vendio include web and image hosting, fancy Flash galleries of your products for your listings, and stores.

ChannelAdvisor (www.channeladvisor.com).

ChannelAdvisor offer their software in three versions: Enterprise, Merchant and Pro. Enterprise and Merchant are both designed for very big businesses, though, and the chances are that the Pro version does everything you'd want. ChannelAdvisor is popular among sellers who want a solution that they know is used and trusted on a very large scale by enterprise-level customers.

It offers all the standard bulk listing and inventory features, as well as the unique feature of being able to create auctions from an Excel spreadsheet of your inventory. The cost is high, though, at $29.95 per month.

And Many, Many More...

eBay maintain a comprehensive directory of third-party software, which you can browse through anytime you have a few days to kill. You can look either for complete solutions or for each part of what you want individually - the choice is so daunting that there's bound to be something out there for you. You can look at their directory at http://cgi6.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?SolutionsDirectory

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:56 AM | Permalink

Click Here to listen to Kevin Hurley's awesome In Search Of Heroes Interview.

Today, I had the privilege of interviewing one of the greatest entertainers on the face of the planet. Kevin Hurley is a hypnotist, comedian and magician. He weaves all his skills into his stage performance to entrall audiences world-wide. I met Kevin through Robet Channing, the world's greates mentalist, mind-reader and mental motivator. Kevin is one the amazing entertainers exclusively available through Robert's company Power Performers, Inc. We will soon be doing an interview of Kevin as a leader in the field of great entertainers for the Power Performers Radio Show.

Kevin Hurley truly is an entertainment junkie. His love for magic, hypnosis, music, theatre, current events, comedy, and live entertainment shines through in every performance. To visit Kevin Hurley's website click on his name. To see his awesome hypnosis CD Click Here.

After 12 years of live stage experience Kevin Hurley has become one of the hardest working people in Novelty Entertainment. Performing nearly every day sometimes multiple times a day Kevin combines his sleight of hand magic, illusion, mental demonstrations, hypnosis, and his personality into a unique experience for audiences all over the country.

What makes Kevin’s show so memorable is his ability to connect with the audience. No matter if it is a big stage in a theatre or a small setting near the swimming pool get ready to hear “ how did he do that” “WOW!” “I never liked a magic show until now”. With well over 2,500 live performances, TV – Radio – Newspaper Coverage, 3 hypnosis CD’s, and an instructional magic DVD titled Show Stoppers keep your eye on this act because it is going places.

Posted by ralph at 03:41 PM | Permalink

"In times of physical, emotional and psychological stress, prayer is invaluable in helping you keep a positive attitude...no matter what." by Ralph Zuranski

Over a lifetime of making mistakes, dealing with countless failures, seeking solutions to a multitude of health problems and injuries, prayer is the one thing that never fails to bring peace and strengthen hope.

Over the years different types of prayers have proven beneficial. Below are the prayers I say each morning to help me get through the day with a sense of peace and acceptance of everything over which I have no control.

I don't remember where the prayers came from.
Feel free to take any or all of the prayers and use them to your benefit. I am confident the original authors would be thrilled if you took their words and personalized them. You can create your own special prayers to God.

Prayer For All Needs
We beg you, Lord,
to help and defend us.
Deliver the oppressed.
Pity the insignificant.
Raise the fallen.
Show yourself to the needy.
Heal the sick.
Bring back those of your people who have gone astray.
Feed the hungry.
Lift up the weak.
Take off the prisoners chains.
May every nation come to know that you alone are God, that Jesus is your child, that we are your people, the sheep that you pasture.

DAILY PRAYER
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your paths."

"Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you. Where your treasure is, there also will your heart be."

Luke 12:22-26 "Do not worry about your life and what you will eat, or your body and what you will wear. For life is more than food and the body more than clothing. Notice the ravens: They do not sow or reap; they have neither storehouse nor barn, yet God feeds them. How much more important are you than the birds. Can any of you by worrying add a moment to your lifespan? If even the smallest things are beyond your control, why are you anxious about the rest? As for you, do not seek what you are to eat or drink and do not worry anymore."

Dear Lord:
"I thank you for this day. Thank you for my being able to see and to hear. I'm blessed because You are a forgiving God and an understanding God. You have done so much for me and You keep on blessing me."

"Forgive me this day for I have sinned. I ask now for Your forgiveness. Keep me safe from all danger and harm. Let me live this day with a new attitude and plenty of gratitude. Let me make the best of each and every day and give my best in all that is put before me."

"Clear my mind that I can hear from You. Broaden my mind that I can accept all things. Let me not whine and whimper over things I have no control over. Let me continue to see sin through God's eyes and acknowledge it as evil. And when I sin, let me repent, and confess with my mouth my wrong doing, and receive the forgiveness of God. And when this world closes in on me, let me remember to slip away and find a quiet place to pray. It's the best response when I'm pushed beyond my limits. I know that when I can't pray, You listen to my heart."

"Continue to use me to do Thy Will. Continue to bless me that I may be a blessing to others. Keep me strong that I may help the weak. Keep me uplifted that I may have words of encouragement for others."

"I pray for those that are lost and can't find their way. I pray for those that are misjudged and misunderstood. I pray for those who refuse to share a word from You. I pray for those who don't know You intimately. I pray for those who don't pray to You or share their faith with others."

"I pray for those that don't believe. But I thank you that I believe that God changes people and God changes things."

"I pray for all my sisters, brothers, friends and business associates. For each and every family member in their households. I pray for peace, love and joy in their homes, that they are out of debt & all their needs are met."

I pray that every person knows there is no problem, circumstance, or situation greater than God. Every Battle is in His hands for Him to fight.

Jesus said, " If you are ashamed of me," I will be ashamed of you before my Father."

"Yes, I do Love God. He is my source of existence and Savior. He keeps me functioning each and everyday. Without Him, I can do nothing. I am nothing without His grace and mercy. Without Him, I am nothing, but with Him I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me." (Phil 4:13)

Special Prayer For the Forgiveness Of Sins
"Forgive me my sins, O Lord, forgive me my sins; the sins of my youth, the sins of my age, the sins of my soul, the sins of my body; my idle sins, my serious voluntary sins, the sins I know, the sins I have concealed so long, and which are now hidden from my memory."

"I am truly sorry for every sin, mortal and venial, for all the sins of my childhood up to the present hour.
I know my sins have wounded Thy tender Heart, O my Saviour, let me be freed from the bonds of evil through the most bitter passion of my Redeemer. O my Jesus, forget and forgive what I have been and done."

"Oh most Holy Jesus, fountain of every blessing, I adore You, I love You, and with a lively sorrow for my sins, I offer You this poor heart of mine. Make me be humble, patient, pure and wholly obedient to Your will. Grant, dear Jesus, that I may live in you and for You. Protect me in the midst of danger; comfort me in my afflictions; give me health of body, assistance in my temporal needs, Your blessing on all that I do, and the grace of a holy death."

"Almighty and everlasting God, look upon Your well-beloved Son and upon the praise and satisfaction which He offers You in the name of sinners; and as they seek your mercy, be pleased to grant them forgiveness in the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with You forever and ever."

Prayer for family and friends.
"Father, I ask you to bless my friends. Minister to their spirit at this very moment. Where there is pain, give them Your peace and mercy."

"Where there is self-doubting, release a renewed confidence in Your ability to work through them. Where there is tiredness, or exhaustion, I ask You to give them understanding, patience, and strength as they learn submission to your leading."

"Where there is spiritual stagnation, I ask You to renew them by revealing Your nearness, and by drawing them into greater intimacy with You. Where there is fear, reveal Your love, and release to them Your courage."

"Where there is a sin blocking them, reveal it, and break its hold over my friends lives."

"Bless their finances, give them greater vision, and raise up leaders and friends to support and encourage them. Give each of them discernment to recognize the evil forces around them, and reveal to them the power they have in You to defeat it. I ask You to do these things in Jesus' name."

Personal Spiritual Affirmations
"I, Ralph Zuranski , am a person of integrity with a good attitude and very specific goals. I have a high energy level, am enthusiastic, and take pride in my appearance and what I do. I have a sense of humor, lots of faith, wisdom, and the vision, empathy and courage to use my talents effectively."

"I have character and am knowledgeable. My convictions are strong and I have a healthy self-image, a passion for what is right, and a solid hope for the future."

"I am fully equipped for the Divine plan for my life. God is my unfailing supply."

"Every plan my Father in heaven has not planned shall be dissolved and dissipated and His Divine Will now comes to pass."

"Only that which is true of God is true for me. As I am one with God through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, I am blessed by God's goodness. God is both the giver and the Gift."

"Divine Love now dissolves and dissipates every wrong conditioning of my mind, body and affairs. Divine Love is the most powerful force in the universe. It dissolves everything which is not truly of God. Divine Love fills my consciousness with peace, health, life, joy and anticipation of being with the Lord forever."

"My eyes are God's eyes. I see with the eyes of the Spirit. I see clearly the open way. There are no obstacles on my pathway. I see clearly the perfect plan. I am divinely sensitive to my intuitive leads and give instant obedience to Thy will."

"I cast all my burdens on Jesus Christ and I go free. I am an honest, sincere, hard-working person. I am tough but fair and sensitive. I am disciplined, motivated, and focused. I am a good listener and patient, but take decisive action. I am bold and confident, yet humble."

"I am an encourager, a restorer and a forgiving person. I am caring, unselfish and committed. I am family-oriented, open-minded and an excellent communicator."

"I am a student, a teacher and a self-starter. I am obedient, loyal, responsible and dependable. I have a servant's heart, am ambitious and a team-player. I am personable, optimistic and organized. I am resourceful. I am intelligent, competent, persistent and creative. I am health-conscious, balanced and clean. I am flexible, punctual and thrifty."

"I am an honorable person who is truly grateful for the opportunity life has given me. These are the qualities of the winner I was born to be and I fully intend to develop these marvelous qualities with which I have been entrusted."

"Tonight I'm going to sleep wonderfully well. I will dream powerful, positive dreams. I will awaken energized and refreshed, and tomorrow is going to be magnificent."

"These are the qualities of the winner I was born to be, today is the first day of the rest of my life, and it is wonderful."

"Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen---for faith holds the vision steady, and the adverse pictures are dissolved and dissipated and in due season we shall reap if we faint not." We are under grace, not law. The gifts of God are poured out on me. Jesus has overcome the world. Be of good cheer."

"What can I do to become a better Son of God today and be a better witness for Jesus Christ?"

"How can I become healthier physically today?"

"How can I be a more loving and kind person?"

"I am healthy and my entire body, with every cell healed and strong."

"What is great about this? Or what could be good? What’s not perfect yet? What am I willing to do to make it the way I want? What am I not willing to do to make it the way I want? How can I do what is necessary to get this job done and enjoy it? I choose to do this because I see great good and much pleasure coming from it."

These prayers are my first priority each day.
The Bible talks about putting on the full armor of God...the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit. Without prayer, I am confident there would be no way Janet and I could successfully overcome the trial and tribulations in our lives.

To Be Continued.

Posted by ralph at 03:10 PM | Permalink

Some people think they can make money on eBay by setting a high price for something they perceive to have a high value. The problem is that their perception is skewed. Very often they assign an emotional value to the item and are disappointed when they can’t get their asking price.

You can avoid disappointment and even losing money by following these simple steps:

1) Don't buy anything.
The object here is to make money on eBay. So don’t spend any. It often very tempting to surf eBay and buy something that you think you need.

Start out by having a "garage sale" or clean out the basement. In other words sell what you got. On eBay especially, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure. Old books, toys, tools, souvenirs, office supplies, electronics, etc. Anything you can find, you can sell. You will just have to set reasonable expectations on price.

2) Research pricing.
The biggest mistake made is setting an opening bid too high. It works against you in two ways. First, a prospective bidder may not even open your item. The opening price is listed on the summary. Second, it costs more to list it at a higher price.

3) Lose the sentimental value.
This is the toughest part. When we are selling mementos, memorabilia or other items, we tend to remember the circumstances upon which we got them. "Remember how long we had to stand in line for those concert tickets?" or "That was from my first car."

If you can’t stand to part with it... don’t. Other people will not have the same attachment to it that you do. Price it as if you were going to go to the mall and buy it today.

Antiques and ephemera generate their own "sentimental value" by the provenance or history of the object. But it is unlikely that your ownership has added much to that.

4) Set a low starting price.
The best opening bid is one that is high enough to indicate some value. Bids starting at a penny or a dollar are often thought of as junk and a waste of time. But a hundred dollar item opening at ten dollars is a real bargain.

To determine the best starting bid. Surf eBay and the rest of the Internet for similar items. Look at both the new retail cost and the resale value. Then set your price low enough to get generate some excitement. It will rise to its proper value.

5) Place it for 7 days.
This is the standard listing. Listing it for a shorter period may seem to generate a bid sooner. In reality, it is missing out on a lot of potential buyers who will return when it’s close to closing time - not the best way to make money on eBay.

6) Make it pretty.
At the very least use a photo. No matter how well you describe you will ALWAYS benefit from the extra "thousand words". It will result in more bids and higher bids (important to make money on eBay). Even if it looks like junk, the buyer knows exactly what they are getting.

Even better, use ad builder software to dress up your presentation.

7) Don’t buy any extras
BOLD listings, slide show, gift tags, etc. all add up to increase the fees associated with your listing. This only serves to reduce your profit.

8) Cover your costs
Do not estimate the shipping costs. Use actual costs. Be sure to include charges for the shipping materials, as well as postage. The best way is to use free materials supplied for Priority Mail. Using Stamps.com or a postage meter is convenient, but be sure your scale is accurate. More than once I’ve had to add postage at the post office.

9) Use Paypal.
The quicker you get paid, the quicker you make money on eBay. Paypal is instantaneous. No waiting for the "check is in the mail" and no waiting for the check to clear.

10) Do it often.
The more you sell, the more you make on eBay. Don’t worry that you only getting a few dollars at a time. Ten dollars a day, every day for a year will get you $3,650. Not a killing, but quite a nice vacation.

© Copyright 2003 Jim DeLillo Reprint rights are granted if this entire resource box is included.

Jim DeLillo, is president of Pleiades Group, Inc. He has been an invited speaker for: American Management Association, Material Handling Society, APICS, and Independent Computer Consultants of America. Pleiades Group, Inc. implements improvements in efficiency by automating processes. Mr. DeLillo holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from NJIT.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:54 AM | Permalink

I am burned out today on creative writing so here is the next part of the original saga. I was happy to survive this one!!!

"How Fear and Terror Knocked on My Door Every Foot Of The Way But I Would Not Let The In!" by Ralph Zuranski

Everything was going great until Las Cruces New Mexico.
Being broiled alive at the last rest stop seemed to be the catalyst needed to stay awake. As the car approached the Border Patrol station, a tune was on my lips. The air conditioning was working perfectly. The car flew along at 75 miles per hour with no hint of complaint. The searing hot environment was shielded by my steel cocoon.

It is difficult to successfully battle the intense levels of terror and fear created when you realize something is seriously wrong with your car in 111 degree heat.
As the car slowed, the engine suddenly died 200 yards from the inspection station. My heart sank into the pit of my stomach. Fear, False Evidence Appearing Real, immediately penetrated my consciousness like a red hot knife. The terror of being crushed from behind by an out of control 16 wheeler became my momentary reality.

Unexpected events throw a monkey wrench in your activities, just when you feel on top of the world.
Has your car ever died on the freeway with cars honking and drivers YELLING obscenities? There was just enough forward motion to get the car out of the one lane of traffic onto the side pavement.

Again and again the ignition failed to ignite the spark plugs.
"What was wrong? What's wrong?" I wondered. Was the car out of gas? Was my exhaustion so great, filling the gas tank had been only a delirious dream?

Suddenly, a Border Patrol vehicle, with lights flashing, raced up to my car with the agents waving their hands wildly and shouting, "Get your car off the pavement onto the shoulder!"
"My car just died for no good reason. It won't start again," I yelled in return. The two border patrol agents jumped out of their vehicle. They ran to the rear of my car and yelled, "Put your car into neutral. We are going to push you onto the shoulder."

Total compliance was my instant response.
After the shoulder became the new home for "Silver Belle," our loving nickname for the car, I climbed out into the blazing heat. "Thanks for pushing me to a safer area," I said gratefully. "No problem," they said in unison. "We were afraid a semi was going to destroy your car. You would not imagine the wrecks we have seen and the people who have died. So many people's car die right where yours did."

Would you believe my cell phone had gone dead?
As I looked at the blank screen on my cell phone, the horrible realization hit like a ton of bricks. In my anxiety to get home to see my dad, charging the phone was overlooked the day before. It was a miracle the car died within 200 yards of the border checkpoint.

Miraculous help appears at the times you need it the most in incredible ways.
"Hey! You guys. Can I use your phone to call AARP towing by AAMCO? My cell went dead sometime last night. Like a moron, I forgot to turn it off." "Sure," they said in a friendly manner. "But, you will have to ride in the lockup. where we transport illegal aliens."

My gratitude knew no bounds.
"Thanks," I said with relief. "Anything to get out of this unbearable heat." I walked over to their truck and jumped into the back. The cell was small, hot and all metal. Their air conditioning did only a marginal job in cooling the detention area. I took a seat...grateful for the ride. "So this is what the illegal aliens have to endure," I thought to myself.

The border patrol check point was a huge facility...deliciously cool on such a raging hot day.
The agents generously pointed me to a phone to call the towing service. Their soonest estimate for help was forty minutes. This was the best they could do.

Anxiety, fear, depression and terror tried to creep into my consciousness but with not success.
By this time, I was resigned to whatever happened. I was powerless to do anything but stand around waiting. "Why don't you wait in the detention area. We can't have the public wandering around the facility." an kindly agent suggested.

As I stepped through the large door with steel bars, I suddenly realized a little of the desperation illegal aliens experienced.
"We won't lock the door," another agent laughed good-naturedly. "You can use the bathroom if you want." This last statement was huge relief. I had been drinking plenty of Alacer Emergen-C laced water and taking their Super Gram III. I desperately needed to deposit some of the excess minerals and vitamins in the appropriate receptacle.

Time seemed to slow down to a standstill.
Anxiety, fear and depression again assaulted my consciousness. My only defense was repeating my Bible verse, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your paths." Of course, I had to repeat this verse at least 10 times over and over again. Finally, the peace that goes beyond all understanding arrived...and none too soon.

A premonition to return to my car was stronger than I ever imagined.
As I escaped from detention with a big "Thanks for your help!" on my lips, the heat felt like a blast furnace. Sweat immediately streamed from every pore. Just as I arrived at the car, the tow truck arrived. The drive dumped 5 gallons of gas into the tank. Everyone thought I had forgotten to fill the tank during my journey.

With high hopes and prayer on my lips I jumped into the car and burned my bare legs against the leather seat.
"Ouch," I screamed, as I rocketed off the seat to a standing position. A towel was my immediate salvation. With the correct placement, the hot seat was not a problem. The tow truck driver suggested I try to get the car started.

My prayers streamed to the heavens.
"Please God, let my car start." Miraculously, the engine turned over and worked perfectly. I turned off the air conditioning to take the strain off the engine. "I guess it was out of gas after all," I said excitedly to the driver. "How far is the next gas station, " I asked concerned. "Just ten miles. Good Luck!" the driver said as I signed the paperwork. He ran for his truck, anxious to be out of the heat.

At this time nothing else mattered...I just wanted to make it to San Diego alive.
At the very next turn off, I stopped to fill up what I imagined was an empty tank plus the 5 gallons from the tow truck driver. As I stood watching the pump digits click by, the stopped after only 6 gallons. "Uh! Oh!," I instantly though. "It was not the gas. Something else must be wrong." I hoped and prayed that I would make it home without any more car troubles.

The drive to Tucson was hotter than a "two dollar pistol."
When the heat became unbearable, I turned on the air conditioning only to find it was dead. Roasting time was about 8 hours from Las Cruces to Tucson. I figured that long of a period in 111 degree heat was enough to cook just about any living creature. The only thing that saved me was popping Alacer's Super Gram IIIs, drinking water laced with Emergen-C.

New Vision's "Super Hydrate" also provided tremendous benefits in keeping my body hydrated.
Patrick Flanagan created this valuable product using his proprietary Microcluster® technology. This unique product lowers the surface tension and increases the alkalinity of water (or other beverages) creating wetter water — water that more closely resembles the water in the cells of your body. It helps water go into the cells at an accelerated rate. As you age, it is harder for your cells to absorb water.

As I drove into the parking lot of a Comfort Inn, right off the freeway, I whispered a prayer of thanks.
Other than no air conditioning, the car performed magnificently. "Silver Belle" had the heart and guts of a road warrior. Perhaps she would carry me all the way home. The morning would tell the story of the new day.

After charging my phone for a few minutes I called a frantic Janet.
She had been trying with no success to call me on my cell phone that was dead. Fear had ruled her day. She imagined my broken body and wrecked car sizzling in some desolate ravine. Janet had been dead opposed to my driving through the night with no sleep.

Janet was furious, distressed and angry with me all at one time, but relieved I was okay.
Telling her about the car problems and no air conditioning was not a good idea. She was furious I was putting my life at risk. All I could do was say, "Sweetheart, I am really sorry. But, I want to get home as soon as possible. I am afraid if I don't get there soon, my dad will die without me having the opportunity to say goodbye!

Little did I know but one of my favorite uncle's in San Diego had died that day.
Thankfully, Janet kept the bad news secret. My plate was already overflowing. I did not require any more unfortunate information to create greater anxiety and fear already being dealt with.

What bliss the simple things in life bring during difficult times.
A long warm shower, an air-conditioned room and a soft bed provided a break from the extreme stress of the last 24 hours. Totally exhausted, I slept like a baby. The events were so far out of my control, I decided to just trust in God and let Him sort everything out. I would just flow with whatever happened and accept it as a unique part of my life designed by God to make me a better person and better servant to others.

Before I went to sleep, I used two of my secret health weapons that helped me fight exhaustion for the last 10 days.
I applied a double dose of "Endosis." It is an adrenal strengthening cream created by Dr. Michael Borkin. This cream is one of my secret weapons for keeping my cortisol, stress hormone, levels balanced. I could not have survived with out it during the last couple of weeks. It provides the important hormone supplementation I need to keep my adrenals from freaking out when I am under extreme stress.

Active H capsules from New Vision. were also very valuable in helping my cells battle the free radicals.
This product created by Patrick Flanagan, a true genius, is one of the most powerful antioxidants available. Called "Fuel for Life", hydrogen is the most abundant element, making up the majority of all atoms.

In the human body, hydrogen is the essential factor that produces the energy that fuels every human cell.
Active H- is the result of over 30 years of research and development by Patrick Flanagan. This remarkable product contains the latest discoveries in Patrick's proprietary Microcluster® technology and is treated with active, negatively charged hydrogen ions. Active H- is the most advanced and powerful negatively charged hydrogen ion formula available anywhere!

The morning dawned with intense heat and difficulties appeared from the word go.
I had been out of touch with my blog readers for almost a week. Now that my phone was charged, I hooked up my data cable to my laptop, logged on to the internet and started blogging. After writing for over an hour, the cell phone lost the connection. All my update disappeared into the hidden internet universe, where all lost correspondence disappears into a black hole with no hope of recovery. I hoped this was not a forecast of the trials and tribulations to come.

The car's surface was already as "hot as an El Paso plate lunch" and I was dreading the final drive.
The car started immediately. "Is this a sign from God everything is going to be okay," I wondered. The temperatures were already soaring into the low 100s. I kept the driver side window down to try to remain cool. "Who was I kidding? It was like being a roasted chicken under a heat lamp being blow-dried by a 70 mile wind blast. I prayed to God to get me home while I powered down the Alacer Emergen-C and Super Gram IIIs to keep my electrolytes in balance. Heat prostration was not pleasant. I had no desire to die in a car crash after losing consciousness.

The auto accident was devastating.
As I drove along, no sooner had I left Tucson than I saw the traffic on the other side of the freeway at a standstill. A car lay in a mangled heap along side the road. The roof was crushed flat. I said a prayer for the passengers, hoping against fear I would not experience a similar fate.

Sometimes you are too smart by half.
My decision to take HWY 10 through Los Angeles, to create less stress on the car proved dead wrong. Even as I was driving 40 miles east from HWY 8, the subtle feeling of going the wrong way weighed on my unconscious.

There was just something about crossing borders that bothered "Silver Belle."
Fear and doubt suddenly pummeled me about the head and shoulders...seeking their insidious control over my emotions. The border check point between Arizona and California loomed on the horizon. "Would "Silver Belle" falter and stop? My prayer was that she would victoriously sail across the border and carry me safely home.

My worst fears became reality...again.
As "Silver Belle" slowed down while approaching the check point, she died again. I was barely able to steer her into an empty lane as the power steering ceased. Brute force was required. My foot jammed down on the brake...pressing for all I was worth, trying to stop the car before I ran over the orange cones.

What do you say when FEAR and Despair dog your footsteps?
Totally bummed out was my first emotion. But, in a matter of seconds there was a peace in knowing God was in control. My favorite prayer, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. Acknowledge Him in all your ways and He will direct your path." echoed in my mind over and over again until I experienced the amazing peace the message promises.

When God is building your faith and character through trials and tribulations, it is no picnic.
It is easy to say, "God, I have had enough. I don't think I want to be quite that sanctified yet. What else could go wrong? How about something going right for a change?" But, after years of hard experience and guidance from God, I finally realized the the correct question is, "What else can go right?" If total faith and trust in God is a reality, everything that happens is an integral part of His plan. My gut feelings were contrary to my soul's aspirations.

Not wanting the agents to think I was a border breaker, I jumped out of the car and walked up to them.
When I explained my car problems, they smiled. "For some reason lots of cars stall or break down here. It has to be the heat. They just get too hot with the air conditioners running full blast." "Can I borrow your bathroom for a second," I asked. "Sure," they said kindly after I explained my dad's condition.

The agents recommended I take the small road to Brawley and El Centro 4 miles down the freeway.
After I explained my free 100 mile towing allowance on the AARP car service, the agents, in no uncertain terms, told me to take the road to Brawley. "If you make it to El Centro, you are within 100 miles of San Diego. You are home free!"

After a quick visit to the men's room, it was time to see just how far "Silver Belle's" heart and soul would carry me.
What an incredible champ of a car. She started up immediately and we were on the road again. When the turn off to Brawley appeared in 4 miles, just like the agents promised, I was afraid "Silver Belle" would stall. My least desire was to be stranded in the blazing hot sun, a few miles from the border. So, I did not take their advice and forged ahead, hoping against all odds that I would make it home today.

It was the middle of the day and the blistering sun's rays were beating down full force on the driver side.
Desperation forced me to wrack my brain to discover solutions that would give my body some relief. I decided to shut down the 111 degree blow dryer by closing the driver side window.

Then miracle of miracles, I opened the passenger side and the temperature changed. Believe it or not, this simple action actually cooled the temperature inside the car dramatically.

111 outside caused concern because I had no idea on how hot it was inside.
Sweat streamed down my face and body. I chugged the water with Emergen-C and popped the Super Gram IIIs every half hour. There was no way I was going to pass out and kill myself or someone else.

After about two hours, gas was running low and I dreaded slowing down.
Chiraco Summit appeared on the horizon, almost like a mirage. As I slowed going up the off ramp, "Silver Belle's" engine died. It was back to brute force steering. A huge semi truck barely missed my front end as I went through the stop sign, hoping to coast into the station.

Desperation, exhaustion, fear, terror and other unwanted emotions fought for my attention.
It was so hot outside, my hand almost sizzled against the paint. My trip into the station resulted in 4 big bottles of water. My mind was made up. El Centro was my destination...even though backtracking 40 miles was my fate. If only my decision would have been to take HWY 8 straight across the desert to El Centro. My destination would have been attained over an hour ago.

Only 200 miles to go to salvation.
"El Centro, here I come!" I said with a scream of defiance. What ever God had in store for me I could handle with His grace. At 55 miles an hour, it took a lot longer than I imagined to arrive in El Centro. Along the way, I had the opportunity to enjoy the beauty of the azure blue Salton Sea, the delightful smells of fresh cut crops and a slowing of my pace.

Perhaps, all of these events were designed to get my attention and teach me there was really nothing to be gained by worrying and doing everything at high speed.
As cars roared past with their air conditioners humming, windows closed and radios blaring, going slower was not so bad after all. Look at how much pleasure...the sights, sounds and smells they are missing along the way. Was the frenetic pace really worth the risks of early death and life threatening diseases.

Suddenly, the realization that stress was the true killer of hearts, minds and bodies popped into my brain.
The faster I wanted to go, the more God slowed me down. The greater my efforts to attain my goals, the farther away they seemed. Was this my problem? Was I trying to power my way through life, busting down all the obstacles with sheer physical force and determination of will?

What a defining moment in my life this trip through the desert inferno was!
My dad's stroke, mom's pneumonia and congestive heart failure, my financial problems and marital difficulties were all messages from God to slow down and smell the roses. Anxiety, stress, fear and terror lead to unrelenting depression, hopelessness and eventually bitterness.

Was I willing to see God's hand in the failures of my life?
Could I accept the events now transforming my life forever? Was I willing to choose an attitude of total surrender to God's plan for my life? Was I really ready to let God take over my life? Did I want to know what is possible when you align yourself with what God is already doing in the world and the lives of those around you?

The dying engine, reversed directions and total uncertainty were God's simple request, "Trust in Me!"
Now I knew the awful truth. Even though I thought I was seeking after God, it was not totally true.

Life always has it's forwards and backwards, ups and downs.
Finally, I was ready to take His advice. Being beaten to a bloody pulp by your own efforts and thought processes was not God's loving plan. He sent his son Jesus to take the beating and go through the suffering for us.

Gratefulness and an inner peace calmed my heart and spread through my mind, even in the boiling hot temperatures.
Heat suddenly stopped being a factor. The sweat stopped and a cool breeze came out of no where. El Centro was only 10 miles away. I rejoiced at my new found freedom. Victory over fear, terror, anxiety and depression was mine!

Oh no! Ten stop lights in a row suddenly became the next hurdle.
Even though "Silver Belle" stalled at each stoplight, directing traffic with a smile around my obstacle became a joy. The heat did not seem to affect me. After 5 minutes, "Silver Belle" reliably started up and carried me one small step at at time closer to my home.

When I reached HWY 8 and saw the sign 100 miles to San Diego, my joy was unrestrained.
My goal for towing was reached. I could pull over now and call it a day. Or, I could take the challenge to see just how far God could take "Silver Belle" and me.

The impossibly steep Banner Grade, the road up the backside of the mountains that led to Jacumba, Julian and Alpine, loomed before me.
Could we possibly make it up this last huge obstacle? "Silver Belle," the magnificent Queen of the Road with the unfaltering Heart of a Road Warrior" took the obstacle at a run. 75 miles per hour, then 70, 60, 50 as the incline increased. I could not believe she was going to make it over the top.

Just as we sailed over the summit at 40 miles per hour the engine died.
I was not afraid. We coasted down the first off ramp. Miraculously, two gas stations populated a lonely outcrop of rock. "Silver Belle" had just enough power to make it to the gas station on the left. She deserved to rest, after her incredible journey. 12 years old was a long time in any car's life. What a great triumph for a car built in 1992.

With great joy and reverence I turned off the key one last time and locked the door on a dear friend that had taken me farther than I ever imagined she and I could go.
Even to her last moment, "Silver Belle" knew even if I didn't that there was no phone service in these desolate mountains. With he last dying breath, she had delivered me to a place of safety.

To Be Continued...

Posted by ralph at 08:00 PM | Permalink

It's usually when auctions are about to end that they get half their bids - sometimes they even get their only bids. If you want your item to sell for a good price, then, it makes no sense to let it finish on a day and time when no-one's going to be around to care.

Selling to Business.

If you're selling business equipment and have mostly business customers, you should really aim to have your auctions finishing between 9am and 5pm on weekdays. It is worth, however, trying to avoid mornings and avoiding the 'lead-in' and 'lead-out' that takes place on Monday and Friday themselves.

Selling to Home.

If most of your sales are to private customers having it shipped to their own home, then you want your auctions to finish when these kind of customers will be around. Unfortunately, these times are the opposite of what they are for the business customers. The ideal time to catch a home customer is on a Sunday evening.

List for Durations.

In order to get your listings to end on a particular day, you can simply change the duration of your auctions depending on what day it is. For example, if you mostly sell to home customers and the day today is Thursday, then your auction needs to run for either 3 or 10 days to hit a Sunday. If you sell more to business and the day today is Friday, then:

a 1 day auction would be bad (finishing on Saturday),
3 days would be alright (Monday),
5 days would be good (Wednesday),
7 days would be good (another Friday),
and 10 days would be alright (Monday again).

You could draw up a little timetable of when you should and shouldn't be listing depending on the days of the week - make it red, amber and green, traffic light style, and stick it on your wall.

Schedule Listings.

Of course, if that all sounds like too much trouble then there is an easier - if more expensive - way of doing things. Simply use any of the many tools that let you schedule listings (almost all listing programs and sites do) - you can set the start date for any day and time you feel like.

Be aware that you might have to pay a few cents per listing for this if you do it through eBay. With some software, you may also need to leave your computer on all the time, so the software can start the auctions when it's supposed to. The advantage of this method, however, is that there will be no per-listing fee, since the auctions were scheduled through your computer and not through eBay.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 10:03 AM | Permalink

“... the real reason this letter worked so well is, it evokes an emotional response throughout, especially in... the list of benefits... ”
Sometimes you reach a milestone in your life, that causes you to sit back and think about the circumstances leading up to it, and everything it took to get you there in the first place.

If you're lucky, you can look at your milestones with some sense of pride and accomplishment.

Other times, you might feel a sense of "melancholy"... or "sadness".

I recently had an experience that made me feel both pride and melancholy, and I'd like to share it with you.

Oh, and in case you're beginning to think this week's tip doesn't have anything to do with marketing...

Shame On You!

Because in a minute, I'm going to write a simple sales letter and show you how to use it to make as much money as you want!

O.K.?

Alright then, let's roll up our sleeves and dig right in here.

I've got 3 children.

And I don't know your situation, but if you have any children yourself, I'm sure you'll agree, as your children reach different milestones in their lives, you start reflecting on things.

Anyway, my oldest son Nicholas is 14, and... he's a pretty sharp cookie.

He's been a great help to me on a lot of my projects, and the truth is... he's picked up a thing-or-two along the way, about direct-response... and about writing copy.

So when Nick recently applied for a job at our local Publix Supermarket (his first part-time after-school "real" job), I asked him what he was going to do, to make himself stand out head-and-shoulders above the crowd.

After all, there were 297 other kids applying for the same job he was.

And of course, Nick being a chip off the old block, said...

“I'll Send 'Em A Sales Letter Dad!”

And so here's a copy of the letter my son sent to the store manager, immediately after he applied for his job:

August 10, 2004
Mr. Thomas Peters
Publix Supermarket

“How To Prevent Your Competition From Stealing Your Best Employee, Right Out From Under Your Nose!”

Dear Mr. Peters,

As you can see, I have attached a nice, crisp one million dollar bill to the top of this letter.

Why have I done this?

Actually, there are two reasons:

First, I have something extremely important to tell you, and with all the junk you get in your mailbox, frankly I needed some way to make sure I caught your attention.

And second, since what I have to tell you concerns making money, I thought using a million-dollar bill would be an appropriate "eye-catcher".
What's this all about? Let me tell you.

If you want to hire an eager and enthusiastic entry-level employee, who spends more time looking for things to do, than wondering what to do, then this is the most exciting and important message you will ever read!

My name is Nicholas Garber. I'm a 14 year-old student, and life-long Plantation resident, about to enter Faber High School (the public "Faber", not the "private" Faber).

For the last 10 years or so (at least that's how long I can remember anyway), I've been going to your store with my mom, usually... at least once a week.

And ever since I was 10, I've been telling my mom, "Mom, as soon as I'm able to work, I'm going to get a job working in Publix."

Well, needless to say...

That Time Is Now Here!

You see Mr. Peters, last Friday my dad drove me over to your store, and I spent a half-hour or so, filling out your electronic job application.

I realize your staff has loads of applications to sift through in addition to running your store, but I wanted to take this brief moment of your time to let you know, why you'd be losing the employee of a lifetime, if you passed my application by.

Here's what I can do, that most other people my age, can't do... and more importantly... here's how it can benefit you:

First, I'm a hard-working person! My dad works harder than anyone else I know. He's always taught me how important this is... and he's made sure all of us (me, my brother, and my sister) have earned things along the way.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not afraid of hard work, and I'm not going to be one of those kids who's always looking for a break. I know, working hard will help Publix make more money, and this will help me get better positions and more money as time goes on.

Second, I know how important it is, to always accommodate your customers! I realize, if your customers are unhappy... and if they stopped shopping at your store... everyone would be out of a job.
And that would not be good!

So don't worry -- even though some of your customers may be cranky and frustrated, I don't really take things like that too personally, and I'll make sure to always do my best to make them feel good -- especially the ones who are "having a bad day". And...

Lastly, I’m really excited about the opportunity to earn money! So, if I'm scheduled to work... outside of serious illness or an act of God, I promise you...
I'll be there, and... I'll be there on time!

If I sign up to work a shift, you won’t ever have to worry about me not showing up! This means you'll never be short-staffed and having to run around asking someone else to work late... pay overtime... or banging out the phones to hopefully find someone who can come in early or on their day off, on my account.

Anyway, if you want to bring me in for an interview, please call me right now. My phone number is 954-xxx-xxxx (actually, that's my dad's cell phone), and if I'm not around when you call, I promise to call you the moment I get back.

Thank you for reading this letter and I hope to see you, and start working for Publix, really soon!

Sincerely,

Nicholas Garber

P.S. Since school's starting on the 16th of August, I'm in the process of applying to a few different places to work, so I can get my schedule sorted out. But the truth is... Publix really is my first choice.

Then, my son stapled the million-dollar bill to the top of his letter, and next we tucked this little gem safely away in a flat-rate U.S. Postal Service Priority Mail Envelope.

After this, we watched "Starsky and Hutch" with the rest of the family.

Monday morning we dropped the letter into our mailbox, and we waited.

Wednesday afternoon around 2:00, I got a telephone call from Mr. Thomas Peters, the manager of our local Publix. He was looking for Nick.

He mentioned to me how amazing this letter was... that he had never seen anything like this before... and how impressive my son was.

I agreed on all counts, and after thanking him for his call, I handed my son the phone.

Mr. Peters (a very nice man, by the way) told my son, he really was looking to hire people who could work evenings. Unfortunately, Nick can't work past 6 p.m., because Publix won't let kids do this until they're 16 years old.

But because of the letter Nicholas sent, Mr. Peters said he just had to speak to him and bring him in for an interview anyway.

He told him...

They would create a position for
someone who was this impressive!

The next day, Nick went on his very first job interview and "bam", just like that, he's got his first job and he starts training next week!

Now, let's get to what's really important here. And that is...

How you can use a simple letter
like this, to make you a fistful of rupees!

So let's get right to it!

First of all, the real reason this letter worked so well, is because:

It really did make my son stand out. Trust me, no one else sent in anything, and if they did... it certainly wasn't like this.

It evokes an emotional response throughout, especially in the list of the "3 ways" Nick can benefit Publix.

And lastly, it works on the "fear of loss" emotion. If Publix doesn't grab this kid, they're going to get some other lethargic 14 year-old instead!
You'll notice, I've pointed out the 7 Critical Components Of Your Sales Message, in the margin to the left of Nick's letter... to coincide with the list I gave you on your “Now At Last, Here's A 100% Risk-FREE And Guaranteed Way To Take All The "Guess Work" Out Of Your Sales Copy!” web page.

Also, I've highlighted some of the text in yellow.

Let's take a look at each of these components, and see how, with very little modification... you can use a letter almost exactly like this, to sell whatever it is you want to.

O.K.?

Your Headline: Let's say you're my friend Neil Stafford, and you're selling subscriptions to your internet newsletter.
Maybe you'd have a headline that says something like...

“5 Proven Ways To Make Money Online In 31 Days
Or Less, Without Working Yourself To Death... Without Having To Be A Computer "Geek"... And Without
Having Any Products Of Your Own To Sell!”

That would be O.K., wouldn't it?

Your opening Line: First of all, you should know, that the famous "dollar bill" opening, was developed and perfected by my friend (and the world's greatest living copywriter), Gary Halbert.
And in fact, using a "grabber" attached to your sales letter, along with an opening line like this, is a sure-fire way to dramatically improve your response rates (and your cash-flow, of course).

Here's another thing you can use, if for example... you're one of the best video cameramen around, like my friend Steve Beverly (telephone number 954-771-1607), who's shot footage for the Fox Network... ESPN... and QVC?

Maybe your opening line could say something like:

“If you want to use network-ready video footage that sells like crazy... with edits that are literally seamless... and... that makes you look as attractive on T.V. as a supermodel on the runway, then this is the most exciting and important message you will ever read!”

And what about...

Your actual story or sales message: A client of mine, Ian Kelly, is the owner of an English Candy distributor called "English Delights".
Ian distributes English "Rock" (which is shaped like a candy-cane here in the U.S., but tastes like no other hard candy of it's kind -- it's simply "lovely" as the British say) and he could open up with something like this:

“Did you know, since 1816 when the first roll of rock candy slid off the old sugar-boiler's press... 14,237,612 rolls of rock have been sold, and each-and-every one of them have been made the exact same way that very first roll was?

It's true!

Each stick of Coronation rock is individually hand-made using the same recipe the Queen once called, "sweeter than the morning dew"” blah... blah... blah...

That's not a bad way to start a pitch for a somewhat mundane product, now is it?

See, this stuff is easy once you get rolling!

All you need to do is apply a little creativity to your marketing, and before you know it, you've got something to work with!

Here, let's press on before I get thrown totally off-track.

Your offer: What if you sell Petroleum Gas to heat people's homes, like the company my brother works for?
Your offer may say something like this:

“Why should you switch your gas company? After all, doesn't each one of us seem to be exactly the same as the last one -- when we want your business, we're smiling ear-to-ear.

And then when you need us, we're nowhere to be found, right?

Well, we're a little different. See, first of all... we don't pretend to be something we're not.

For example, we don't claim to have the best gas, not by a long-shot. After all, "gas" is "gas", right?.

That's like saying the tap water on 57th street is better than the tap water on 55th street -- and that just doesn't make any sense, does it?

But, here's where we are a little different: First of all, when we tell you we're going to make your delivery between 9 and 11...

We're actually there between 9 and 11!

And we also guarantee, if your heater breaks, one of our 23 "Mobile Service Squad" cars, will be there within 24 hours -- or else your next month's gas bill is on us!

And finally, we're so confident you'll be pleased with our service, we're willing to make you the most irresistIble offer you've ever heard!

In fact, my boss over at corporate wanted my head on a platter, the first time I offered this -- but now, he calls me twice a week to congratulate me! And here it is:

"Use our service for 3 months. If we don't hold up our end of the bargain, we'll go away and never bother you again...

Plus... we'll reimburse you for all
the gas you've paid for during that time!"

Sounds nuts right?” Yadda, yadda, yadda...

See, that's the kind of knock-you-off-your-socks offer that's going to attract new customers like a brand new attraction at Disney World attracts visitors.

Make sense?

Good then. Let's move on.

Your compelling reason to act now: Let's say your my client Ewen Vile, over in Auckland, New Zealand... and you're trying to get people to use your lawn-service.
Maybe your compelling reason could be this:

“If my offer sounds even remotely appealing, I urge you not to hesitate signing up. Right now, I've got 5 time slots left open in your area, and once they're gone...

That's it!

You'll have no other way of taking advantage of this offer ever again! (I've had a 100% customer retention rate since 1998, so no time slots in your area are very likely to be open for quite some time, if ever.)”

See, that's a very believable reason, and by backing it up with "reason why" copy as well, you make your case an iron-clad one.

Your call to action: This one's easy:
“To order our famous ex-spouse repellant, grab your Mastercard, Visa, or American Express credit card, then pick up your telephone and call my toll-FREE 800 number (1-800-xxx-xxxx) right now. Operators are standing by to take your order anytime, 24 hours a day - 7 days a week.

And don't forget to ask for your FREE book, "How To Make Sure You Never Ever See Your Ex Mother-In-Law, Ever Again!", if you are one of the first 17 callers.”

And lastly... your P.S.: One of the safest things to do when you write your P.S., is to re-state one of the strongest benefits of either your offer... your guarantee... or your actual service or product you're selling.
Sort of like this:

“P.S. Remember, time is not on your side here. You will not "magically" lose weight simply by thinking about it... hoping for it... or praying for it to happen.

And remember, with your 6-month 100% better-than-risk-FREE money-back GUARANTEE, you have literally absolutely nothing to lose -- except your anxiety... your fears... and your sense of powerlessness! But...

Ordering this package, may very well... change... your life!”

Anyway, like I said... if you want a more in-depth and candid explanation of the 7 Critical Components Of Your Own Sales Message, check out this web page, right now: “How To Dramatically Boost Your Sales Copy: A Risk-FREE And Guaranteed Way To Take All The "Guess Work" Out Of Your Sales Copy And Give It An Instant "Overhaul"!”

As far as my son goes, I'm really proud of him. He's taking his next step and going off into the world, learning how to make his own way in life... and in business.

Of course, at the same time... I'm terrified because of all the bumps in the road I know he's going to come up against.

But, if I were a betting man... I'd bet heavily, he's going to handle things just fine.

The exciting, and yet somewhat "sad" part of this is, I know Nick will be around the house a little less now.

And for all the excitement that goes on around here (and Lord knows some days I wish it were less), I'm really going to miss that he's not here as much, very dearly.

P.S. Remember, if you do want me to review your sales copy (it's 100% risk-FREE and Guaranteed), your $200 dollar cash savings will expire in just 26 more days. After that, I do NOT envision running another special like this for quite some time -- I'm simply way too busy.

P.P.S. I still haven't finished going over the figures, but as soon as I get the final results in, I'll explain why I needed you to re-sign up as a subscriber to my website the other week.

P.P.S.S. I'd like to thank one of my subscribers, Olga Farber-Becker. Olga's a very bright young lady and a rising star who's living in Israel now. And she was nice enough to point out several spelling errors on my website.

If you'd like to see Olga's website, you can check it out here: www.notrivia.com.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:59 AM | Permalink

The Case For.

Whatever you want to buy, whether it's large or small, cheap or expensive, everyday or just plain weird, the chances are you can find it on eBay. It's the largest auction site in the world, and when it comes to the variety of what's on sale, size is vital. When was the last time you heard of someone getting a great deal on a weird and wonderful item at uBid or Yahoo Auctions?

People who've got used to eBay don't often stop to think how amazing it is - an online marketplace where you can buy things from all over the world, without leaving your home. You can get things that you would never think anyone would bother to sell, and you can get them cheaply. The powerful search engine means that you can find things you'll like without even knowing exactly what you're looking for.

Not only that, but you can send money quickly and electronically to almost all of these sellers, without worrying about currency conversion or exchange rates or anything else.

If you're looking for rarities or bargains, eBay is an ideal place to buy.

The Case Against.

However much you might dream of a truly international marketplace, international postage costs will always bring you back down to reality with a thud. Do you have any idea how much it costs to send even the smallest thing to the other side of the world?

Then there's the fact that eBay is packed with fraudsters and scammers, preying on the innocent users who've heard that eBay is a great place to buy stuff but don't know the risks. People can lose thousands of dollars, and eBay do nothing. Is that fair? It is hard to even leave negative feedback for the very worst sellers, for fear that they will retaliate and leave a black mark against your own account.

eBay is unfair to buyers when other buyers don't play fair, and unfair to sellers who end up selling things for a very low price, only to have eBay's fees take away the last part of their profit margin.

The Verdict.

Those are the arguments for and against. So is eBay good, or bad? I'll leave it up to you to decide. For me, though, the answer is this: as long as you're aware of the downsides, and you know how to protect yourself from scammers and fraudsters and how to get ahead of the competition, eBay is one of the best places in the world to shop. Having followed us this far, of course, you now know all these things, which means that for you, eBay is a great place!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 09:34 PM | Permalink

“See, what this does, is... it makes you more "real" as a person. And don't kid yourself -- your prospects are buying YOU -- NOT your goods and services.”

Here's why you really should sweat the small stuff -- at least... the important small stuff.

According to the "Random House Dictionary of Popular Proverbs and Sayings" by Gregory Y. Titelman (Random House, New York, 1996), the saying "The Devil Is In The Details", is a variation of a quote made by French author, Gustave Flaubert (1821 - 1880).

Flaubert said (in French, of course) "God is in the details - Whatever one does should be done thoroughly -- details are important."

The thing is,

It's True!

It's the small details that transform "greatness"... into... true "excellence!"

Think about it: The people in the gym who train like machines, and keep their diet clean, 100% of the time, don't look 10% better than the same hard-working people who do it 90% of the time,

They Look... 10 TIMES Better!

Right?

So if you want your sales copy to be "excellent" and not simply "great"... assuming your copy's already good... the path to excellence travels across these small details.

For example, in a few different places on this website, I list my contact information, like this:

I've highlighted part of the text in yellow, because that's the part I want you to pay attention to.

It's the part that reads, "(that's just behind the Walgreen's on the corner of Nob Hill and Sunrise)".

Not a big deal -- just tells you more specific details about where I'm located, right?

Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!

See, what this does, is... it makes you more "real" as a person. And don't kid yourself -- your prospects are buying YOU -- NOT your goods and services.

How effective is this?

Well, it's pretty damn effective. One client, told me the sole reason he hired me was because I was smart enough to include this little, seemingly insignificant, specific subtle detail.

I'll tell you exactly what he said, in fact: "I've hired literally every single copywriter out there, and few, if any... ever pay attention to ALL the little details, like you do.

I'm saying this NOT to brag about myself, but hoping you'll take away this very important message about, how... just like in the gym... and just like when you're cooking... it's these subtle, seemingly unnoticed small enhancements, that...

Will Take Your Marketing From Great... To Excellent!

And excellent marketing (meaning, marketing that makes your prospects buy)... lines your pockets with mucho dinero.

Here's another example:

The headline of this week's tip is:

“Why The Devil Really Is In The Details!”

Which is a LOT more compelling than,

“The Devil Really Is In The Details!”

Isn't it?

That's another instance of how subtle little changes, make all the difference in the world.

Oh, one more thing, and this is something you really can't find in the details: If you're not passionate about what you're selling... if you're not excited about what you're doing... or how you're doing it... or, if you don't feel great about the impact you're having on your customers or your clients lives... then you can sweat over all the small details in your sales copy, from now, until kindom come...

But You Still Won't Sell Very Much!

Because that's something your prospects will "sense" in you.

And even the best sales copy in the world can't make your prosepcts believe there's hope for a better tomorrow... unless... you're excited... about that... too!

P.S. Remember, when thinking about the small details:

"Little Hinges Swing Big Doors Open!"

See you next week.

Any comments?

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 08:46 AM | Permalink

During my presentation at my recent Underground Online
Marketing Seminar (www.UndergroundOnlineSeminar.com) -
I talked about my own "Underground" secrets. One of the
things I covered was how to sell super high-end products.

Personally, I've sold everything from $17 ebooks to
$14,500.00 "Apprentice Programs" and lots in-between. My
most recent high-end product is a $7,995/month program for
cosmetic surgeons.

I really love high priced products and you'll see why in a
moment...

First off, if you want to make $1M this year - then you'd
have to sell 20000 copies of my 'doohickey' at $50. Or it
could be 2000 copies at $500. Or better still 200 copies at
$5000.

It's a lot easier dealing with 200 customers than 20,000.
Think of all the customer service and infrastructure, etc.
Plus, as a general rule - the buyers of a high-priced
product or service are better buyers are easier to deal
with than someone who bought a $9.95 ebook and drives you
crazy.

The other thing is these customers pay more attention and
revere the information or product/service more. I've
attended $500 seminars and I've attended $10,000.00
seminars. Which one do you think I was paying more
attention to? So having higher priced products is actually
better for your customers because they are more committed.
Think about the last time you gave free advice to someone -
what happen? That's right. Nothing. But if you had made
them pay you for consulting - they would have taken it to
heart.

But there's still more on the economics side...

With a higher priced product that means you have more money
to advertise. If I'm going against someone selling a $19
ebook and I'm selling a $199 home study course in the same
market - who can spend more?

No contest, right?

My competitor can only go up to $19 (unless they've got a
back-end product) but I can actually spend up to $199. But
what else does that let me do? I can come into a
marketplace and suck up a big part of the resellers because
I can give more commissions. Hey, that's the name of the
game for many affiliates. I can give them $100 to promote
my product instead of the measly $10 my competitor might
give them.

And of course speaking of economics there's more money in
it for you. If you've got a high priced product there
should be a very high margin built in. If not, raise the
price. I'm serious most people are undercharging for what
they provide. My rule of thumb and one of my values I look
at it every morning in my planners says "I am rich by
enriching others 10x - 100x what they pay me in return".

That's a big deal for me. If you pay me $1000 for a product
- I want to make sure it delivers $10,000 in value for my
customers. I suggest you consider something similar. If
your product isn't good enough for you to raise your price
on it - make it better!

Here are just some of the high-end products you could sell
in the information marketing world (I've successfully sold
all of these and taught many of my students how to do the
same):

* Live events like workshops and seminars

* "Big" boxes of manuals, CDs, DVDs, CDroms, etc

* High end facilitated group masterminds

* eClasses

* "Done it for them" services

* Coaching

* Reprint rights and licenses and many more...

And don't think high-priced products can only sell if you
are selling 'how to make money' related products. I have
students and friends doing very well selling high priced
products to the fitness marketplace, the dating markets,
small niche obsessive-compulsive markets, self-help, career
marketplaces and many more.

Now a lot of people think selling high priced products are
a lot tougher than low-priced products. Not true. You
usually spend about the same effort trying to sell a high-
priced product as a lower priced product.

Now when selling a high-priced product most people make the
mistake of just trying to "1-step" it. That means sending
people off to a webpage or sending them a sales letter and
then nothing more. Only a small percentage will buy this
way. I prefer lead generating where I get people to "raise
their hands" and say "yeah I'm interested". This way I can
now afford to spend more to chase those prospects. And it's
not enough to just email them follow-ups. I prefer to have
a whole arsenal at my fingertips if needed like direct
mail, voice broadcast, telephone calls, postcards, etc.

If over-delivering on value - hold your breath and add an
extra zero to your price. You'll thank me for it! ;)

Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites...and he still
doesn't know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, including his
newest resource for online copywriting -
http://www.UltimateCopywritingWorkshop.com

Posted by ralph at 11:49 PM | Permalink

Over the years, eBay has introduced all sorts of different auction types, in an effort to give people more options when they buy and sell their things on eBay. There are many people who don't like the idea that their item might sell for a far lower price than they intend. Equally, there are people who have hundreds of the same item and don't want to sell them individually. This article gives you an overview of the different kinds of auctions and how to spot them.

Normal Auctions.

These are the bread-and-butter of eBay, the auctions everyone knows: you bid, others outbid you, you outbid them, and the winner gets the item. Simple.

Reserve Auctions.

Reserve auctions are for sellers who don't want their items to sell for less than a certain price - a concept you'll know about if you're familiar with real auctions. They work just like normal auctions on eBay, except that you will be told if your bid has not met the reserve price set by the seller. If no-one is willing to meet this price, then the auction is cancelled, and the seller keeps the item.

You can spot these auctions by looking out for 'Reserve not met' or 'Reserve met' written next to the current bid on an item's description page.

Fixed Price ('Buy it Now') Auctions.

Buy it Now auctions can work in one of two ways. A seller might add a Buy it Now button to a normal auction, meaning that you can choose either to bid normally or to simply pay the asking price and avoid the whole bidding process. Some sellers, though, now cut out the auction process altogether and simply list all their items at fixed price. Recently, eBay added a twist to fixed price auctions: the 'best offer'. This means that you can negotiate a price to someone who offers their items using Buy it Now, which could be a great way to get a bargain on things that don't seem to be selling.

Fixed price auctions are easy to spot, as they have a little 'Buy it Now' logo either next to or instead of the current number of bids on the search listings page.

Multiple Item ('Dutch') Auctions.

These are auctions where a seller is selling more than one of a certain item. Dutch auctions can be done by bidding. Buyers bid a price and say how many items they want, and then everyone pays the lowest price that was bid by one of the winning bidders. If you have trouble getting your head around that, then don't worry - everyone else does too! These auctions are very rare.

What is more common is when a seller has a lot of one item, and lists it using a combination of two auction types: a multiple-item fixed price auction. This just means that they say how many they have, and offer them at a fixed price. You can enter how many you want and then just click Buy it Now to get them.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 09:12 PM | Permalink

Happiness is something many people take for granted!
Who would imagine sleeping in your own bed, wrapped in your electric blanket is one of the greatest joys of life. When my dad got home, it was his greatest wish to go directly to bed for some blessed rest that is rare at the hospital.

My dad still complains about the vampires always coming by to take some blood.
My dad labeled them vultures instead of vampires. I informed him the vultures come by looking for dead or almost dead patients so they can feast. The vampires can only get blood from the live ones. He laughed when he realized the distinction.

Life does not get any better if you focus on the small things.
When your take in to consideration a remote control, unlimited TV channels, good food and being in the bosom of your family, you realize it is the simple things in life that bring the greatest joy. Money, material posessions, cars, expensive jewelry, fine clothes and the other cares of the world are not very important when you have lost your health. So many people spend their lives accumulating wealth and material possessions but lose their health. Unfortunately, no amount of wealth or material posessions can buy lost health. Good health is one of life's greatest blessings.

The next part of the origninal Zuranski health crisis saga is below:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Thousands Have This Priceless Gift---But Never Discover It!" by Ralph Zuranski

The gift that few people ever discover is a trusting FAITH in the goodness of God.
Sometimes, it is very hard to believe God is kind, loving and compassionate. Does He really have a good reason for everything that happens in our lives and those around us?

Perhaps that is why catastrophic events occur in everyone's lives.
God is trying to get our attention. He wants us to realize we are not in control of events. He is!

After reading my last update on June 23 are you wondering how the move went?
Do you hate moving as much as I do? Probably it is something you dread with a passion. The two biggest curses I know are owning a truck and having muscles. Everyone wants your help when they have to move. What a pain!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thankfully, I don't own a truck...only muscles.

Miracles do happen in the most unsuspecting moments.
Right after I discovered the air conditioning was broken, I went outside onto the balcony to try to cool down. Where in the world was I going to find someone to help me move an entire household the next day?

To my amazement, an angel arrived in the form or my upstairs neighbor.
A young black man named Corey was standing in front of my door. He asked, "Is everything okay? I noticed your blue car has been gone for a long time. I got the feeling something was wrong."

My jaw dropped down to my knees when I found out what he did for a living.

After I quickly told the story of my mom's pneumonia and congestive heart failure and my dad's recent stroke, Corey informed me he and his brother Lamont moved furniture for a living. "We are off on Wednesday and would be happy to help you move."

Wow! Does God work fast or what?
After I recovered from my astonishment at this amazing little bit of divine intervention, it was back to the roasting pit. My organizing skills soon collapsed after trying to bring order to the chaos in my wife's dresser drawers.

"Why in the world would she save empty bottles of hair spray, makeup, deoderant, panty hose of all descriptions, endless changes of clothes, etc?
I just did not get it. At this point I was ready to throw all her possessions into trash bags and head to the dumpster. Would my guilty pleasure be worth her wrath? In a nanosecond I realized the truth...no way was I going to risk the fury of the queen.

"Was my male perspective on life and material possessions so depraved I did not know what was important in life?"
After about 4 hours, nothing mattered any more. Exhaustion was my companion...my bosum buddy. He embraced my tired body and whispered to my plumb tuckered out brain..."Go to sleep you idiot."

As I fell onto the cluttered bed, the female treasures poked me in the side.
I was beyond caring...dead to the world. A deep sleep obliterated the events of the month and the fear my dad would die before I arrived home.

The next morning dawned with a new hope and trust in God.
I had survived the night without heat prostration, altough my clothes were soaked with perspiration. God was good, or at least that was my attitude for the moment.

My anticipation of savoring the first cup of killer coffee with a big shot of expresso, motivated me to jump off the bed.
A caffeine buzz from a delicious cup of Starbuck's coffee beckoned. Luckily, there just happened to be a Starbucks across from Home Depot...how convenient.

Armed with a cup of powerful java, my trip to Home Depot ended in victory.
15 plastic storage tubs filled the back of my 1992 Lincoln Continental. My leisurely drive back to the apartment was a pleasant interlude before the hard work began.

Important errands needed to be accomplished before the intensive moving effort began.
My drive to CompUSA, to return a defective Sony PDA, took only a few moments. A young man recognized my problem immediately. He told me to pick out a replacement. I had wisely invested in their instant technology replacement warranty two years earlier.

Unfortunately, nothing was available for $599.99, the original price of the Sony Clie.
The employee offered to give me a store credit so I could buy a lesser unit. This allowed me to use the full amount of my intial investment. This was awesome...another miracle. Normally, there were tons of units in stock that matched or exceeded the price. This allowed me the opportunity to get some other technology I needed desperately without any outlay of cash.

Other errands filled the entire day as everything flowed smoothly.
I dropped off two bottles of New Vision liquids at "Nates," a friend's business in Addison, Texas, the best cajun restaurant in town. One was vitamins with Mangosteen and the other a bottle of herbs that help women be victorious over the uncomfortable sensations caused by the hormonal imbalances of menopause. Then I returned the toll tags.

My heart broke as I stopped by the healing center in Dallas where Janet and I went after she fractured her back when her car was totaled and I was smashed by a prematurely closing elevator door.
Doctor Gary and Andrew were compassionate and understanding. They were sorry to hear my tale of woe. Dr. Andrew, who is a master of SOT, balanced my sacrum(pelvis), occiput(skull) and thoracics(upper back) to prepare me for the heavy labor to come. I was sorry not to be able to say goodbye to one of the best rolfers on the planet, Richard Merbler.

Next was a trip to Dr. Al Johnson's Environmental Clinic in Richardson where the amazing Synchrodyne had found a home.
Dr. Johnson asked how my dad and mom were doing. He has hyperbaric chambers at his clinic for wound healing. I just wished my dad were here so he could benefit from the powerful infusion of oxygen into all his cells.

After a year's training, a new Synchrodyne guru was ready to help patients at Dr. Johnsons.
Frank Yousuf, the son of the owner of the Synchrodyne, tested me to determine what homeopathics would further balance out my energy fields and acupuncture energy. I needed every edge possible to survive the next couple of days. I tested him and wished his family a fond farewell.

As I was driving to the only Verizon office in Dallas that had a computer data transfer cable for my cell phone to check my email, my heart suddenly dropped into the pit of my stomach as the engine died in the middle of a busy intersection.

To Be Continued...

Posted by ralph at 08:54 PM | Permalink

How can two people survive so many catastrophic illnesses?
My sister Denise really nailed it. "Wow! I thought dad would never survive the surgery. Mom is like the 'Energizer Bunny' even though she has congestive heart failure. It is amazing she walked all that distance from the car to the hospital and back on Wednesday and Saturday to drop off dad and pick him up. It seems the only way to kill a Zuranski is with a silver bullet!"

The Zuranski/Brown families have to be genetic mutants to triumph over so many health problems with flying colors.
Prayers from so many people really created miracles for both my mom and dad. Few realize the power of the prayers and the positive thoughts of others. The medical profession is just now realizing that prayer and positive thoughts can help people heal faster and have fewer complications, even if they are on the other side of the planet. After sending out over 1000 emails to pray for my dad, I cannot even imagine how many wonderful people were praying and having positive thoughts for my dad.

Man, was dad ever happy to get home and lay in his bed with a nice warm electric blanket cranked up to full power.
Dad cried on the way home and told Janet and I how grateful he was that we were taking care of him and mom. His gratitude knows no bounds. In fact, he thought Janet deserved a strong dose of Vitamin W (wine) and me some Vitamin T (tequila) for our efforts. It took only a second to fully agree. Also, every one decided to forget cooking and indulge in a big bucket of "El Pollo Loco" chicken. I even snuck over to "Sees Candies" to get my mom a two pound box of soft-centered chocolates. It was definitely a great time to celebrate...delicious chicken, chocolate, wine and tequila in moderation.

I hope everyone has Blessed Christmas and a Great New Year. I would love to send everyone a Christmas card, but my time is limited and prayers for you, your family and friends is the most I can do right now. Thanks again for your prayers and positive thoughts.

The next part of the Zuranski original catastrophic health saga is below:
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Why do events often spiral out of control when our heart is breaking." by Ralph Zuranski

My heart aches when I cannot be with my dad as he fights for survival.
Sometimes, promises we make conflict with reality. I promised Carl Galleti that I would run the speaker powerpoints and take photos at his Internet Marketing Super Conference in Las Vegas. I had to prepare June 15 and June 16 to do my job.

Mom's birthday was on Wednesday, the day I had to fly to Las Vegas and my heart was breaking.
If only I could have celebrated this special day. We almost lost her 60 days ago, when she came down with pneumonia and congestive heart failure.

I love her so much that emotional conflict was at a maximum this entire day.
There is a huge problem with making a living. During this difficult time I want to spend as much time with my beloved parents as I can.

It could be their last days.
Because of the the importance of making a living, I may not be their to hold their hands and provide solace for their final moments..but I pray this is not the end of their days.

My day had to go into the more sophisticated hospital again to have the feeding tube adjusted.
The amount of pain and suffering is beyond belief....the twiligt zone of emotional pain. I am having such a hard time seeing dad plumbed with lines wandering off to different machines.

My agony at having to leave for the conference at this critical time tested my honor.
I had given my word to Carl and I needed to follow through. It was one of the hardest things I have ever done.

I saw dad for a few moments before I had to leave.
Luckily, he was able to sign mom's birthday card. I left it on her bed just before the cab took me to the airport.

"If only, if only, if only?" keeps flashing through my mind.
I pray my dad will survive until I return from the conference. I work from 7 AM to midnight each day. Taking photos and running the computers is a time consuming and stressing job. With my dad suffering, it is everything I can do to focus.

Why is it that when people learn about my family crisis they tell me about the death and disabilities of their parents?
Their tales of woe make me cry for their suffering and mine. We are bonded by emotinal pain and fear about what will happen in the near future. My heart is with my mom and dad, but my body trapped in Las Vegas.

It really creates a ton of emotional conflict when I know I won't be able to see dad and mom in the flesh until next week.
I have to fly back to Dallas after the conference. Exhausted totally will be my reality on Monday. 4-5 hours of sleep each night this week is not enough.

Time to put all of our possessions in storage and lives on hold.
I am not looking forward to packing all our possessions in the heat of a Dallas summer. The long, wild ride over 1500 miles, in the 100 degree summer heat without air-conditioning will be an experience.

I just pray dad will survive until then.
I wish the doctors were already using the critical healing and life saving devices I will be bringing with me back to San Diego. Why can not the conventional doctors and pharmaceutical companies be more open-minded and compassionate. The financial bottom line is not the most important thing in life.

Life is so frustrating when you can not help your loved ones when they are suffering.
When I get home, my first step will be to share with you all the things to keep you and your family members from going down this terrible trail. I will share all of Janet's and my secrets about health, that we have learned from the pioneers of Alternative Medicine in the Hall Of Fame.

To Be Continued....

Posted by ralph at 11:46 PM | Permalink

So your buyer has paid on time, you've shipped them the item, and they've left you positive feedback. Everything is going great! You know that leaving your buyer some nice feedback will finish everything off, and make them glad they chose to buy from you.

When you see that little feedback box, though, you might find that you have no idea what to write to make your buyer happiest. Well, here's a guide.

Don't write "A++++++++". Once upon a time, leaving grades on eBay buyers actually meant something. Now, though, writing an 'A' and filling the rest of the space with pluses seems to have become a common way of saying 'good'. The meaning of the grades is gone entirely - no one ever leaves a B-, after all - so it's a pretty useless thing to write. Try something more descriptive.

'Prompt/fast/instant payment'. Did the buyer get on PayPal within hours or even minutes of winning the auction and pay you as quickly as they could? If they did, then your comment should include the words 'prompt payment'. This is a big thing for buyers, as other sellers will really prefer to deal with someone they know will pay on time.

'Great communication'. If you found the buyer was very responsive to all your emails, then point this out. It's especially worth putting this if there was a problem that you had to overcome, and the buyer was co-operative and easy to work with.

'A pleasure to deal with'. If this was one of those very easy transactions where nothing went wrong, then you should put that the buyer was a pleasure to deal with, or 'the way ebay should be', or just a 'great ebayer'.

'Great as always'. When it's the second or third time that the buyer has bought from you, make sure to point it out. The fact that they go back to the same seller more than once and build up a relationship is a good thing for them to have on their record.

The Main Rule: Praise to the Skies.

Think of anything good you have to say and try to fit as much of it as you can in that limited space. Don't worry too much about punctuation. Here's a good example comment: "Instant payment, great communication - excellent buyer!".

As a side effect, this then gives you the power to leave slightly negative feedback for some buyers without actually having to make it negative, like this: "Paid quite quickly, communication fine". Making very short, to-the-point comments also reflects badly on the buyer: if you just write "OK", it means "I really wanted to leave a neutral or a negative". Don't do this if that's not the meaning you intend.

Don't spend too much time agonising over what to write in your feedback comments, though - the chances are you'll be leaving hundreds every week. You might find it worthwhile to come up with a few standard ones for different situations, and use eBay's Selling Manager to leave feedback in bulk.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:43 PM | Permalink

“See if you can pick up on the changes and how they draw you into the copy, getting you much more involved...”
There's one thing you should never ever talk about with your prospects when you're trying to sell them something.

Why?

The answer is simple -- they're just not interested in hearing about it.

And yet, well over 99% of all the marketing out there, uses this "sales killer".

Listen, come over here and sit down -- I'm going to tell you a little story about "you".

Do you know what your prospects like to hear about most?

More than how you can save them money... or your state-of-the-art new offices... or why you're so cool to deal with?

Give up?

More than anything, your prospects
want to hear about... themselves!

And, they want to hear about all the ways your goods and services are going to make their lives better -- not how they've already made your life better.

See, in a nutshell... regardless of what you're selling... your prospects are all asking the same question -- they all want to know one thing:

Your prospects want to know, “What's in it for me?”

Make sense?

And one of the easiest ways to communicate this in your sales copy is by using the word "you", instead of the word "I" -- talk about your prospects, instead of... yourself.

Let me show you what I mean.

Last week, my wife picked up an unusual little package of snacks from the grocery store. Apparently, my daughter loves these things -- they're called "Maple French Toast French Twists", and they're made by a company called "Barry's Bakery", out of San Diego. (And no, that's not a typo... the word "French" is actually used twice in the name of the product.)

Anyway, my wife, knowing how anal I am when it comes to looking at marketing information, showed me the little bag of treats (which are quite tasty by the way).

And here's what the back of this little bag of "Maple French Toast French Twists", says:

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU
HAD SOMETHING HEALTHY
THAT TASTED GREAT?

GREAT TASTE AND HEALTHIER

At the age of 42 I suffered a major heart attack. After bypass surgery my doctors instructed me to limit my cholesterol intake, to exercise more, and to stay within the Heart Association's recommended diet.

TWISTS FIT INTO YOUR LIFESTYLE

To stay committed to a healthier lifestyle, my diet needed some excitement. As a sweet lover, I searched for a treat I could enjoy without guilt. After months of experimentation, the Original French Twist™ was born. Layer upon layer of puff pastry dough sprinkled with cinnamony sweet goodness. The only things we have left out are cholesterol, eggs, butter, and yeast.

HANDMADE AND OVEN BAKED

I can now share this exciting taste treat with you. I've found that my new lifestyle, which combines lower fat intake, lower cholesterol, and healthier ingredients in general combined with a routine exercise program has resulted in me feeling the best I have in years.

Barry Yellen
Founder and President

There are several things right with this copy, and many things wrong with it.

But what I want to show you, is how a quick re-write of the ad copy might look, changing the copy around, to put the emphasis on "you", the prospect.

I want you to think about how the sales message changes, and how the story-teller sounds, with the focus on "you" as the interested buyer, instead of on the story-teller himself.

See if you can pick up on the changes and how they draw you into the copy, getting you much more involved:

“Amazing New Tasty Snack Lets You Live
Longer (And Healthier)... Without Having
To Eat Like A Bunny Rabbit!”

"At Age 42, I Was Lying
Face-Up On A Gurney!"

3 months after my 42nd birthday, I suffered a major heart attack.

After my surgery, the doctors read me the riot act and told me to take some precautions: You know, limit your cholesterol intake... watch what you eat... and keep your diet in check.

No doubt, these things are important. But reality is, it's nearly impossible to maintain a routine like this... and still get excited about eating!

At Last, A New Tasty Snack That
Fits Right In With Your Doctor’s Plans!

You want to stay committed to your healthier lifestyle, but how can you do this, and at the same time... find foods to eat, you actually enjoy?

What usually ends up happening, is... if you're a sweet-lover (and who isn't), you end up searching high-and-low trying to find something that tastes good, but doesn't make you feel guilty whenever you eat it!

Well, after 8 months of experimenting day-in and day-out, I finally found the hidden key to the secret healthy snack vault! I've discovered the Original French Twist!

This amazing little puffy pastry is a heatlhy treat you can actually enjoy! It's coated with crunchy sweet cinnamon, and it tastes out-of-this-world.

"Right here, I might add a testimonial. It would be from either a very credible 3rd party, like a doctor... or maybe even from a celebrity who's had heart problems."

But... (and here's the crazy part, both you and your doctor are going to love), this amazing tasty treat...

Contains No Cholesterol... No
Eggs... No Butter... And No Yeast!

And this fits right in with the official guidelines of the American Heart Association's recommended diet for you!

Plus, the Original French Twist comes in 6 different flavors, and each one of them let's you enjoy this healthy new lifestyle of yours, without having to give up any of the excitement of snacking!

And eating like this leaves you feeling better than you've felt in years!. And this of course, helps you...

Avoid Any Unnecessary
Office Visits To Your Doctor!

Oh, one more thing: The Original French Twist even comes with a 90-day no-risk guarantee! Try The Original French Twist. I guarantee you'll enjoy these one-of-a-kind healthy snacks, but... if for any reason, you don't... just send them back to me, along with your receipt, and I'll gladly send you a prompt and courteous refund -- no questions asked!

Bon Appetit!

Barry Yellen
Founder, and former cardiac patient.

© 2004 Craig Garber.

Do you see the difference between these 2 sales messages?

Not only does the re-written copy flow smoother, but what I really want you to notice, is how much more the second copy gets you involved... how it draws you into the sales message... and how your concerns are weaved into the story.

And this makes your prospects a lot more excited about your product, and...

A Lot More Excited About... Buying Your Product!

You see where I'm going with all this?

Listen, getting someone to buy something from you is one of the most difficult challenges you're going to face.

But, you leverage your odds up significantly, when you constantly make the focus of your sales messages revolve around your prospect, instead of you.

How they feel... what they're thinking about... what they're going through in their daily lives... why they'll benefit from your product... how they'll feel after using it... and how their lives will be so much better after they buy your widgets.

That's what your messages should be all about!

Not your story, or your feelings -- tell your spouse those things -- or if you really want some sympathy, tell your mom.

Remember, what's most important to any prospect, is their situation and how what you're selling, can make it better.

Legendary direct-marketer Joe Sugarman (the man responsible for bringing Blu Blocker Sunglasses to market) was very fond of getting his prospects involved in his ads -- and in my opinion, it was one of the great reasons for his success.

In fact, if you want to learn more about getting your prospects involved in your selling process, a great place to start would be to read Joe's classic book, "Triggers: 30 Sales Tools You Can Use To Control The Mind Of Your Prospect To Motivate, Influence and Persuade."

I think Amazon may still carry this book, but act quickly -- last time I checked, supplies were low. You can click on the picture of the book below, and if they do still have it, you'll be taken directly to their site so you can order it.

P.S. Sometimes, if you're telling a story... your situation, or something you've experienced, will help give you credibility, and posture you as an authority in whatever you're trying to sell.

In this case, you should talk about yourself, and your experiences. But keep talking in terms of "you"... and never "me" or "I", whenever possible.

Later.

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 12:57 PM | Permalink

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.

Public speaking ranks right up there with death in terms of the things we are terribly afraid to do. Whether it’s the fear of being watched closely by others, or the insecurity and self-conscious feeling of slipping up during the presentation, these six tips will help you give a polished, professional speech that you (and your audience) can be proud of!

1. Know your audience. This is the single best piece of advice for delivering a presentation that really hits home. What are there interests? Their backgrounds? Why are they coming to hear you speak or present? What ideas do you have to share with them? Approaching your speech as more of a “me-to-you” discussion rather than a full-blown broadcast will make it more manageable (and less stressful) and easier on you.

2. What do you want your audience to do as a result of your speech? What’s really at the heart of your presentation? By concentrating on the “end result” rather than slogging through the beginning, you can create a powerful punch that drives home your message instead of rambling on and losing your audience’s interest (or missing the point entirely!)

3. Share a story. In public speaking circles, this is called a “hook” – something that gets your audience’s attention and makes them sit up and listen. Start off by asking questions or sharing an experience you had. People like to be active, rather than passive listeners. By giving them something that they can identify with, you’ll find that these people are, in essence – just like you! And that makes giving a presentation a whole lot easier. Just be sure your story has a beginning, a point, and an ending. There’s nothing quite as bad as telling a story to an engaged audience and then forgetting why you told it!

4. If you’re selling a product, focus on the benefits instead of the features. People would much rather hear WHAT a product can do for them than HOW it does it. Narrow down your product’s features until you get to the core of how it solves a problem. If you need help with figuring out the difference between a feature and a benefit, ask yourself “So What?” For example, if you’re selling a vacuum cleaner that has a hypoallergenic filter, put yourself in the customer’s shoes and ask yourself “so what?” The answer would be something like, “It picks up dust, mold and pet dander”. Again, “so what?” Answer, “You’ll feel relief from runny nose and sneezing plus itchy, water eyes.” Now THAT’s a benefit!

5. Don’t lean too heavily on media to make your message clear. Powerpoint presentations are great for making specific points, but they can be overwhelming – or downright boring. Instead, give your audience something to DO by providing them with fill-in-the-blank flip charts or “team activities”. These help reinforce and emphasize your message in ways that a computer presentation simply cannot.

6. Above all, make sure your speech ends in a way that reiterates the beginning. Too often, speakers get carried away with the details and leave their audiences asking, “What was the point of all that?” People naturally digest information in “chunks”, so focus on the big picture rather than all the pieces. If the details are just as important, save it for an after-speech handout that the audience can take with them and read over at their leisure.

If you keep these six tips in mind, you’ll not only have an easier time overcoming your fear of public speaking, but you’ll have a very appreciative audience who will in turn be more receptive and eager to try your product or service. Go get ‘em!

Posted by ralph at 12:42 PM | Permalink

If you've got this far, you've got the basics of eBay. There are a few things left, though, that you might not have thought of trying. Quite a few of these tips go against the advice many give for eBay selling - some are a little risky and some are just odd. They're all worth a try, though, and I'm sure you'll find at least some you want to keep using.

1. Keep more records. It might sound time consuming, but you'll actually find it easier in the long run - less time spent trying to figure out which item that cheque you got this morning is for.

2. Post without payment. Don't even wait for payment to clear! That might sound risky, but it'll mean that the buyers get their items more quickly - for small items, you might find it worth the occasional loss to give such quick service.

3. Post every day. Once you start shifting a high volume of items, go and post them every day - again, they'll get there more quickly, making your customers very happy. The best way to do this is if you have items small enough to drop in a postbox.

4. Encourage an auction mentality. Don't have a Buy it Now price, and make it very clear when it's the last or only stock you'll be getting in. Always refer to winning bidders as 'winners'.

5. Mention every defect your item has. Now why would you do that, you might ask? The answer is that it builds credibility: the small hit you take from the slight flaws is nothing compared to the big boost in trust you get for admitting it. People bid more when they trust the seller.

6. Say how you got the item. Don't be afraid to go off on a tangent and give all sorts of fun details of how you got hold of what you're selling - it gives your auction character and, again, builds trust.

7. Accept odd payment methods. Sooner or later you're going to get a buyer who wants to pay by sending cash in an envelope, or something equally unusual. Why not let them? Be flexible.

8. Don't be afraid to sell low. Let the occasional item go for a really low price to a good buyer. You might only just break even on the item, but the person who got that bargain will be back again and again.

9. Give free shipping for a certain number of orders, or orders over a certain amount. People might buy something else they don't want as much, just to get the free shipping. (Amazon use this strategy to great effect).

10. Ship worldwide. Take the time to investigate the prices, and be nice to international customers - imagine how much you're expanding your market. That's not to mention the effect of people bidding highly for items that are rare in their country.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:55 PM | Permalink

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Search engines change all the time, and many of them now charge for the privilege of including your website. So, people often ask me how to gain traffic, beyond search engines and with little to no cost. There are two methods that I've used consistently to attract thousands of hits to my site at virtually no cost.

Granted, everyone's different. And these techniques may not be appropriate or appreciated by all people. But let me share with you what works for me and what I do. My two favorite methods are:

posting on message boards, forums and discussion lists, and
writing, syndicating and submitting articles to ezine publishers.
Posts As Conversation (And Conversion) Pieces
Discussion groups are either threaded web-based forums or email discussion lists in which you participate in conversation. One technique I use is to publish (or better said, post) full-length articles on discussion boards or in discussion lists. It is an effective technique...

... But it is also a tricky one.

You have to monitor the board to see what kind of posts there are to ensure that your article is acceptable. Better yet, review the guidelines before you submit. Usually, there is a charter or a set of rules that the board will have published somewhere on the website (or even in the forum itself). Read them first before you do anything. (Or email the moderator just to be sure.)

Often, discussion boards are conversational in tone and, as such, are not good places for posting whole articles. But it is safe to say that, while many of them do accept articles, a better way is to use them as a means of supporting your ideas and arguments.

You can do this by adding links back to your articles within your posts. If you maintain an online archive of articles that you've written, your posts can certainly include links to specific ones as a way to back up some of your posts. In fact, most moderators I know prefer this since you keep posts brief and to the point.

The obvious benefit is the fact that you don't appear as overtly promotional, and you also get people to visit your website in the same breath. (At times, I've had more traffic from links within my posts than with signature files.) It is also important to note that signature files (the brief byline at the end of your posts) is also a great way to get board participants to visit your site.

Here's what I wrote as an answer to a question about signature files in the I-Copywriting Discussion List, posted in Issue 45, entitled "Nobody Reads My Signature File" (by the way, I-Copywriting is part of a larger family of discussion lists published by Adventive.com):

"As far as signature files go, I have to agree that a lot of these taglines are a bunch of platitudes or 'bigger than thou' statements. Who cares if you're 'better than,' 'expert in' or 'known for.' It's just a bunch B.S., if you ask me.

"A tagline that really hits home is one that doesn't just 'brand' the poster but one that also supports her USP (or unique selling proposition) -- i.e., not just *how* she is better, different, of quality or whatever, but also *why*). Another is one that offers something of value -- one that the reader can really take advantage of and get something from.

"What I mean is, the bestselling word in the English language is the word 'FREE.' If you offer something for free in your signature file or tagline, your chances of increasing traffic are significantly higher. For example, in my case I offer a freely downloadable ebook on my website. Without question, it's one of the best viral marketing tools I've used.

"When I incorporate this freebie into my tagline, or even an invitation to subscribe to my free newsletter or to obtain a free quote for my copywriting services, my traffic goes up. Sure, a 'tire-kicking' freebie-seeker is not going to give me immediate business. But many of them have bought my services after reading my book or being subscribed to my ezine for a while. It's all about building trust, right?

"Essentially, the tagline is not meant to get people to visit but meant to get people to do something: subscribe, download, join, read, reprint, you name it. I call this 'directional marketing,' since it directs people to do something, and not just 'here's my link, read it.' (I mean, if that's all there is, then why should I click it? Who cares, in other words?)"

A caveat, though: keep in mind that most discussion boards and list moderators will not accept blatant advertisements -- your post should therefore avoid being too engrossed in your company or product, or being copiously filled with links to your site.

This goes for your signature file, too -- it should be no more than seven lines long (three to five are the norm). The bottom- line is this: Check the board's guidelines or, better yet, lurk for a while to get a flavor of what's being posted before you dive in. You want to build your credibility, not destroy it.

Caving In To The Content Craze
Electronic newsletters, and specifically ezine publishers and editors, are similar to discussion boards and board moderators -- in other words, the same rules apply when submitting an article for publication to them. You must check with the publisher or the site on which the ezine appears for submission guidelines -- they will tell you what is acceptable or for what they are looking. Follow them as specifically as possible.

Most often, it is best to actually subscribe to the newsletter directly, one in which you have an interest, in order to get a flavor of what articles are being published before you do submit one of your own. This is also important especially to find out if the ezine and your topic both target your specific market as well (you want to appear in front of qualified eyeballs).

By subscribing, you will also get the email address of the editor or publisher, in many cases. Most of them are constantly seeking fresh content, and as a result will publish an email address in the ezine issue -- an address to which you can send article topic ideas or actual submissions.

Above all, an effective and safe method is to hire a publicist to distribute your articles for you. That person may not only have a large number of contacts (and some of them in the thousands), but also they have developed relationships and credibility with editors. One I strongly recommend, and the one I use for all of my article submissions, is Anne Marie Baugh of Write-Promotion.com.

An important guideline: never send your article as an attachment. Beyond the fact that it's annoying, most editors file their article submissions in a specific folder in their email programs. And when they conduct a search to retrieve articles of a certain topic or theme for their next publication, attached articles will simply be overlooked.

Most editors and publishers prefer wrapped articles, particularly at 65 to 70 characters wide. I highly recommend TextPad. Textpad is like notepad but on steroids. It's loaded with functions, such as an integrated character map, a multi-document table and more. It's also effective for hard-breaking word wraps at 65 characters (called "split-wrapping").

As far as actual ezines go, one I recommend for writers and ezine builders alike is Ezine-Tips.com. It's part of a family of ezines for ezine publishers, editors and writers at List-Universe.com.

Another one is Article Announce, which comprises of several announcement lists providing free content to thousands of ezines, newsletters, magazines and websites. And finally, there's also IdeaMarketers.com website and list.

One technique I found to be very successful is the solo mailing, where your article is delivered alone to a targeted, opt-in list of subscribers. (They're also called "advertorials," which means articles, tutorials or editorials that are sponsored or advertising-oriented.)

Of course, these types of solo mailings are not cheap. But keep in mind that the attention level is much greater than a typical article embedded within an ezine. Also, an advertorial appears more as an educational piece than an overtly commercial message.

If you choose this route, advertise only in ezines whose readers logically fit into your target market -- whether or not they are the same is not important. For example, if people who like, say, New Age music also like topics related to spirituality, then try to get into ezines whose topics revolve around spirituality, too. Read my article, entitled How to Target Your Perfect Market.

There are tons of ezines focusing on pretty much every subject imaginable. Finding a topic-specific ezine is good, but also find one whose subscribership consists of people who enjoy, say, New Age Music -- while not targeting that specific niche directly. In other words, fish where the fish swim. Hang out where they do.

In addition, some ezine publishers outright offer solo, exclusive mailings to their newsletter subscribers for a fee. In this case, your articles are distributed by themselves to the readers of an existing ezine, which offers several advantages. For example, you are able to join the ezine, get a flavor of the topics discussed and define the quality of the readership, in advance.

A Final Note
In the final analysis, realize that getting "out and about" by submitting content, whether it's to ezines, discussion lists, message boards, content-driven websites and even newsgroups, is an effective and often overlooked strategy. If you're tired of relying on (and paying) search engines for your traffic, and you also want targeted, qualified traffic, too, try this tactic.

Don't just create content ... Spread it around!

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 04:06 PM | Permalink

Did you notice the title for this article?

Of course, it's a headline. That's right and it uses a
shop-worn classic format which still continues to amaze me
with its power. Just 2 simple words...

"How To..." Stick with me on this, I know it sounds too
easy.

The simple, lowly "How to" headline is still tops in my
book for simplicity and effectiveness. You really cannot go
wrong with it. The 'how to' headline is so versatile. You
can follow it with several benefits, a question, an offer,
almost anything - and it works great!

In fact, using the 'how to' formula is one of the best
places to start when writing headlines because it forces
you to think of what your product/service actually does for
the person.

Here are a couple of winning examples to get your juices
flowing:

How to Collect from Social Security at Any Age

How To Get FIVE Money-Making Web Sites In 29 Minutes Or
Less...Without Spending A Fortune!

How to avoid the biggest mistake you can make in building
or buying a home

How to cruise the world for $19 a day

How to get Enthusiastic Applause - Even a Standing Ovation
- Every Time You Speak (Ted Nicholas)

How To Win Friends And Influence People

How to make your car invisible to radar and laser!

How to make your computer as easy to use as your telephone

How to fix cars

Check out the last winning headline on our list - "how to
fix cars". I mean it really can't get any simpler than
that, but it works...and it works big time!

Now here are a few "How To.." headlines you can plug-in
and use right away when brainstorming:

=============== "How to" Formulas ===============

How to get ____________
How to have __________
How to keep__________
How to start __________
How to begin _________
How to become ___________
How to improve your _________
How to develop _____________
How to get the most out of_____________
How to avoid ________________
How to end________________
How to get rid of _____________
How to conquer _____________
How to enjoy _______________

Even just adding the word "how" in front of a headline
gives it an additional appeal. Compare these 2 examples:

A strange accident saved me from baldness

How a strange accident saved me from baldness

Which one is more compelling? I think you'll agree #2 does
the trick. And that one is a winning headline used over and
over.

Okay, but maybe the tried and true "how to" is too boring
for you. No problem! Spice it up by adding a little
something before the 'how to'

Here's HOW TO...

Discover HOW TO...

If you think a 12% annual return on your money is good,
here's HOW TO set your sights on 100% or more

All new course reveals HOW TO use Pop-Ups to double your
opt-in rate, explode your sales, and squeeze up to 300%
more revenue out of each visitor to your Web site!
(Jonathan Mizel)

I'll show you HOW TO hit golf shots as straight as you can
point, or this video golfing lesson is free...and I'll pay
you $25 for wasting your time! (Jeff Paul)

Ohio man discovers the secret of HOW TO escape the American
Rat Race

Or if you still want to change it up a little - just use
"How you..." or "How I..." like these winning examples:

HOW I earn my living in 4 hours a day

HOW YOU Can Make Well Over $300,000.00 Per Year As A Real
Estate Agent Working Less Than 40 Hours A Week.... Have A
Top Income AND A Life..... And NEVER Have To Make A Call
You Dread Or Waste Your Time With Unrealistic Sellers Or
Insincere Buyers, Ever Again (Craig Proctor)

I think you'll agree for getting the most bang for your
buck - "how to" headlines are the way to go.
Yanik Silver is recognized as the leading expert on
creating automatic, moneymaking websites...and he still
doesn't know how to put up a website.

He is the author, co-author or creator of several best-
selling online marketing books and tools, including his
newest resource for online copywriting -
http://www.UltimateCopywritingWorkshop.com

Posted by ralph at 12:57 PM | Permalink

There is nothing new today other than my dad is still calling every fifteen minutes and asking us to come to get him and then not hanging up the phone so we cannot call out.
We get to pick up my dad today. I have to say unplugging the phone is a huge help in peace of mind. I don't know why dad keeps calling every 15 minutes and not saying anything and not hanging up the phone. I guess he is reaching out to us by phone because it is his lifeline to his family.

Oh well, by unplugging the phone I get to sleep all night.
This morning, I had the opportunity just to lay in bed when I woke up for as long as I wanted. It was an awesome experience. I forgot just how wonderful it was to lay there and do nothing by choice.

Sometimes you forget how much you sacrifice for those you love.
"A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. Proverbs 17:17 This scripture goes a long way in helping me remeber what my responsibilities are to my dad. If you are supposed to love a friend at all times, your parents and family members definitely fall into that category.

The original Zuranski story continues below. It deals with biorhythm knowledge, one of the most valuable things I have learned after 40 years of health research. The original creators really understood the value of biological cycles. Most of the biorhythm books totally missed the important information the researchers discovered.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"How is it possible to deal with life's tragedies?" by Ralph Zuranski

Have you ever wondered why your relationships with certain people in your life are more intense?
As my dad suffers through the humiliation and depression of being trapped in a hospital bed, I know why it affects me so much. 1. He is my dad and I love him very much. 2. We travel along a similar physical energy path according to biorhythm theory.

When you look at the similarity of our physical biorhythm pathway, you begin to understand why I personally experience my dad's pain.
We travel the same physical energy path...100% compatibility. When he is low on energy or high, so am I. On the days when the energy crosses over the center critical line, bottoms out or peaks, we are unstable together.

During my lifetime, we experienced major conflicts because our emotional and intellectual cycles are almost opposites.
Even though we were the same physically, it was difficult to relate emotionally and intellectually. Our emotional and intellectual energy levels were very different.

My chosen life path was exactly the opposite recommended by my dad.
He said, "Follow in his footsteps. Get a steady job. It does not matter whether you like it or not. Marry a woman you love. Then have kids. Love them. Invest in their education. Buy a home because it will appreciate."

I did none of these.
My focus was health and desperately searching for things that made me feel better. Few could relate to the physical and emotional suffering that was my daily lot in life.

A 99-pound weakling does not get much sympathy from anyone, especially other kids.
Born three months premature, weighing only 3 pounds 8 ounces, the image of "Tom Thumb" was my reality.
Other kids were so cruel. They made fun of my scrawny body, big nose and gigantic ears.

My diet consisted of candy, donuts and Coke.
This terrible diet was funded by collecting pop bottles that had a 3 cent bounty for the small and 5 cents for the large bottles. At that time, everyone though sugar, fat and caffeine was fine as the all-American diet. It is no wonder my body did not grow or heal at a normal rate.

At an early age, the dentist pumped my mouth full of mercury amalgam fillings.
Some health researchers believe your health only has to decline by 25% before your teeth begin to rot inside your mouth. This was my reality.

Every six months, the trip to the dentist was a dreaded event.
At least 3-4 teeth needed new fillings. I hated the needle and Novocain, drilling and filling was a nightmare. Every night before the forced visit, I tossed and turned and sweated in fear of what the morning would bring. After a while, I refused the Novocain and grimly battled the hideous pain of drilling...torture beyond description.

As the fillings increased, the stranger I became psychologically...severe depression and allergies my miserable fate in life.
Last year, I finally had my body levels of mercury checked...they were completely off the charts. This was surprising since I had all the amalgams removed in the early 90s. Mercury toxicity and disrupting the acupuncture meridians related to each tooth were partially to blame for my youthful psychosis.

My poor diet, hormonal imbalances and pesticide exposure contributed greatly to my non-existent immune system and severe depression.
I will discuss my health path in the "Biorhythm Chronicles" in the near future as the events of taking care of dad and mom even out. It is important to go all the way back to life in the womb to understand why poor health plagued my life.

In second grade, right after receiving the Polio vaccine my eyesight deteriorated to almost legally blind.
There was only one style of glasses back then...black horn-rimmed glasses. Over the years, my peers kept telling me I was the model for "Mr. Potato Head" or Alfred E. Newman in "Mad Comics."

As the quintessential nerd, life was pretty miserable.
Since I looked like my dad when he was young, I hated my image...wished I was dead. My only refuge was reading books and comics.

The irony of my eyesight was that I had perfect vision for one foot.
After this distance, everything was a blur. Books became my world...fantasy my reality. I dreamed about the super heroes...wishing I was one.

This fantasy world filled my mind as my grades continued to suffer.
It wasn't that I was dumb, but only extremely hyperactive...perhaps an undiagnosed ADDHD child, before it was discovered. Often I though, "If only I had muscles and super powers, people would be nice to me."

My only solace was mom and books about real and fictional heroes.
We were very similar emotionally and intellectually. It seemed like our thoughts and attitudes were the same. Our bond was incredible. Take a look at our biorhythm compatibility. The similarity is amazing.

My dad soon became angry at me because of my attitude toward him.
Our perspectives and paths were so different. We could not agree on anything...upset with each other most of the time. Of course, I rebelled against everything he stood for...delighted in making him angry with my strange choices, bizarre attitude and preoccupation with fantasy.

Once I learned about biorhythms in 1970, my life and relationships with my parents suddenly made a lot of sense.
My daily journals were invaluable as my study in the effectiveness of biorhythms progressed at a rapid rate. Soon, I began to understand the unique relationships with my parents and others prominent in my life.

You either marry your mother or father.
Do opposites really attract in marriage and relationships? If you look at compatibility scores between my mom an dad and Janet and myself, it is obvious I married a surrogate for my dad. We both married opposites, to complete our own weaknesses. We decided the more difficult path of working on our own insufficiencies, as did mom and Janet.

PS Here is a link to a biorhythm software program I use. The software programmer has done a phenomenal job with this software for a Palm OS operating system. The awesome news is that this software is free. There are no biorhythm programs I know that are better. I have evaluated them all and this beats all the others by light years.

To Be Continued...

Posted by ralph at 08:43 AM | Permalink

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If there is something about which I am pretty adamant, it's the concept of attracting clients that are pre-qualified and willing to do business. And this involves many different things, but most of it comes down to three core practices: 1) Focus, 2) targeting, and 3) multiplication (such as focusing on a niche, market targeting, and multiplying one's marketing efforts).

However, this fundamental magnetism is not only based on pure marketing practices or strategies. It also involves something at a much deeper level that is far more effective than any other marketing tool or process. This "thing" to which I am referring is, I believe, the most important marketing secret that I can ever teach you -- and it's far from being a secret at all.

It is considered as one to a certain degree simply because it is often neglected or ignored by many businesspeople. What is this secret that's so elusive? Before I divulge it to you, I must first admit that it upsets me terribly to see when people tend to scoff their most valuable marketing assets. No, I'm not referring to salespeople or promotional activities. I'm not referring to prospects or clients either. I'm referring to dreams and passions.

"Marketing is not a battle of products, but of perceptions," marketing expert Jack Trout once wrote. If people perceive that doing business with you has an implicit added value, especially when compared to your competitors that are fiercely fighting for your market's attention, you will often end up with their confidence (and their repeat and referral business) as a result.

Of course, there are numerous ways that value can be added to your business -- e.g. by specializing, by branding your products and services, by presenting benefits rather than features, by delivering personalized services, by presenting a professional image, by offering something for free and so on. But the most effective way to communicate this added value is through the genuine, sincere, and passionate zest you have for what you do.

People have a tendency to gravitate toward other people who love what they do -- their enthusiasm, charisma, and authentic desire to serve others are instantly communicated through their actions and particularly their marketing efforts. Sadly, however, the marketplace is filled with so many people who jump into business for one sole purpose: Money.

They work for a pension instead of a passion. They are so profit-minded that they fail to enjoy the process. The great anthropologist, Joseph Campbell, said it best when he said that old cliché: "Follow your bliss" a few decades ago. Actually, that saying is older than you think. Chinese sage Confucius, in 500 B.C., said: "Do what you love and you'll never have to work a day in your life." Author Marsha Sinetar wrote a book, entitled: "Do what you love and the money will follow." Peter McWilliams, author of "Life 101," claimed: "Do what you love and the necessary resources will follow."

Now, it's my turn. I say...

"Do what you love and the business will follow."
Well folks, there you have it. That's the greatest marketing secret of all time. It's to do what you love or to love what you do. And if you don't love what you do, then find it. Make *that* your bliss. As Jim Rohn once said, "If you don't like where you are, then change it! You're not a tree."

Doing what one loves is a fundamental marketing process. For example, when you deal with two people competing for your business, and if one of them has the "fire burning in their belly" (a genuine passion for what that person does), then how much more willing will you be to do business with that person than the other? How much more believable and credible will that person be compared to the other? And most important, how much more value will that person bring to the table than the other? The answer is pretty obvious.

Enough said.

People who love what they do generate far more word-of-mouth advertising. In subtle ways, they communicate that they are experts, that they are interested more in your needs than your money, and that they will go out of their way to please you. And they certainly develop far more enriching and superior customer relationships -- let alone referral-sources.

Entrepreneurialism has increased in fervor these days, and that's good. But as a result, the hypercompetitive nature of the marketplace will in turn increase the demand for more uniqueness, more competitive value, and greater customer service. However, if you love what you do, your passion will intrinsically communicate all of those things combined.

Just as people choose to work in jobs they hate, many will choose a business or an endeavor that gives them absolutely no sense of purpose. They attempt to earn a living and do so with retirement in mind (or the thought of financial independence), anxiously awaiting those golden years when they will finally start to enjoy their lives. (The funny part is that the future is guaranteed to no one. So, the key is to enjoy it now -- later may never come.)

Needless to say, if you do what you love (or focus on a business you enjoy instead of the money you want to earn from it), you will not only make money as a natural byproduct but also enjoy much happiness, satisfaction, joy, inner peace, and of all things, security.

How many millionaires out there have reached phenomenal levels of success but failed in other areas? According to Bob Proctor in his book "Born to be Rich," the list is endless. To make it short, he mentions numerous wealthy and famous Wall Street magnates in the past century alone that have ended up going insane, getting divorced (multiple times), going broke, suffering from heart attacks, committing murder, or even killing themselves.

Ultimately, if you do what you love or love what you do, you will naturally attract more business by the sheer fact that your passion is also communicating to others that you are offering the best solution to their problems. Why? You are offering them the best... YOU.

Listen to the Interviews of the Leading Entrepreneurs in the World Who Are Heroes That Are Pursuing Their Dreams With Every Ounce of Strength and Faith.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialty are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by ralph at 02:40 PM | Permalink

Janet, my mom and I went to visit dad at the hospital yesterday.
Dad looked great. I joked with him about the surgery and chasing the nurses around the floor with one paralyzed leg...he appreciates hyperbole...exaggerating everything so much the bizarreness of it all just makes you laugh.

Dad was ready to get dressed and come home with us.
He was very upset that he could not. The doctor said he needed more recovery time. He did seem a little disoriented on what time of day it was.

How will I ever get any sleep?
Aaah! The opportunity to get some much needed sleep was a wonderful thought. As I lay down on my bed, I anticipated 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.

Suddenly, I was shocked awake by the ringing of the phone.
I leapt to my feet and raced to pick it up. It was my dad. "Come get me. My leg is itching really bad." I explained to my dad it was 11 PM and I was sleeping. He said, "Okay."

Every fifteen minutes after that the ringing of the phone broke into my efforts to get some sleep.
After the third time of telling dad I was sleeping and there was nothing I could do for him that late at night, I finally unplugged the phone. I guess with all the anesthesia, my dad does not realize he only has to tell me once about his desire to come home.

Dad must of called a million times with the phone ringing, ringing, ringing, ringing on his side but blessed silence on my end.
When I woke this morning, as soon as I plugged the telephone line into the phone, it rang. "Hi Dad, how is it going." "Ralph," he said, "I want to come home!" "I know dad. Wait till the doctor checks you out and I will come and get you." "Okay" he said and meekly hung up.

I will let you know how it goes.
Today, before dad comes home, Janet and I are escaping to the movies to see "King Kong." It is going to be an awesome day.

We will find out more today.

The original Zuranski health saga next part is below...
------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why doesn't conventional medicine keep an open mind about new and ancient therapies that are effective?" by Ralph Zuranski

Why doesn't the conventional medicine doctors, nurses and hospitals keep an open mind?
On Sunday and Monday we spent time with my father. Friday and Saturday we were elated because he seemed to be getting a little better...if only in small noticeable steps.

These last two days, he does not look so good.
Dad still cannot swallow or move his left side. He can hold his eyes open for longer periods of time, but that seems to be decreasing. We both were very depressed today at his apparent decline. It is a day-to-day battle....forward-backward, one step forward-two back. At least, I pray this is true and that he will get better.

Dad hated the feeding tube down the the nose so he consciously or unconsciously pulled it out during the night.
How agonizing is it when you cannot enjoy the food you love? Dad is a gourmet cook. He loves food with wild flavors and different consistencies. The white liquid dripped into his stomach has no taste. Anything pumped down the nose and into the stomach bypasses all of the taste organs.

We wonder how in the world he could be getting the protein, vitamins and carbohydrates required to heal his body.
Can dad's body even identify this solution as nutritious? It is a frustrating situation when we are aware of the recommendations by the Doctors in the Alternative Medicine Hall Of Fame. If only the doctors and nurses would provide the therapies that would speed his healing and ease his suffering. Experiencing powerless promotes humbleness.

Years ago, there was a study on patients who were continuing to deteriorate over a period of months that were being fed through tubes.
For many years doctors and researchers wondered why patients who could not swallow continued to get sicker and eventually die. They were fed through tubes surgically inserted directly into their stomachs. After many studies over a long period of time, they were perplexed. The formula had been changed constantly without any improvement.

Finally, one brilliant researcher decided there must be a connection between the mouth, chewing and the process of digestion.
This one pioneering individual suddenly decided to have patients chew the same nutrient combination pumped into the stomach and then spit it out. In a short period of time the patients improved dramatically.

Just by chewing the food and then spitting it out, this activity sent valuable clues to the body's digestive system how to process the nutrients.
This is not rocket science! The chewing process signals to the digestive system what juices to add at each stage of digestion. Protein needs lots of acid. Carbohydrates require an alkaline medium.

When you mix two different food groups, like protein and carbohydrates, the acid and alkaline digestive juices cancel out each other.
This minimizes digestion and absorption. In many cases, the food becomes a toxic waste the body must neutralize. When people are in poor health, proper food combining is another secret technique that can make the difference between life and death, disease and optimal health. In the near future I will create a report on "Just How Important Food Combination Really Is!"

Dad had to be transported today back to a crisis medical care hospital to have a new feeding tube inserted down his nose and throat.
Before he left, I spent a half hour shaving his face, trimming nose, ear and eyebrow hairs growing out of control. He looked so much better after this intense beautification process. It is amazing just how prolific hair growth can be, even when someone is ill. Just this small act seemed to lift his spirits.

Still, I cried inside as his left hand and leg did not move...motionless.
He could barely talk. He coughed often to clear his lungs of the sticky mucus that constricts his breathing. While waiting for the ambulance crew, I secretly placed the Life Field Polarizer on his chest under his covers. We played Mozart's healing music to integrate his brain and calm his spirit.

Tenderly I placed my right hand on his left shoulder.
My goal was to provide a feeling or love and reassurance through human touch. Also, I wanted to transfer some of my own healing energy into his frail body.

According to acupuncture masters, energy comes into the body through the left hand and foot and exits through the right side of the body.
Energy then flows through the entire acupuncture meridian system. Then it exits the right side of the body. By placing my right hand on dad's left side, it is the most efficient method of transferring energy.

When the nurse came in to take another endless sample of blood we cringed.
Janet hid the Life Field Polarizer. Dad's poor veins rebelled at being assaulted one more time...most of them already black and blue from previous punctures. It was difficult to find a vein willing to provide one more drop of life's precious liquid.

Everyone hates needles and getting punctured.
It seems a cruel and usual process just about every patient suffers. Is it no wonder everyone fears experiencing any event that lands them into a hospital.

Why is it that in the last 60 days of the lives of senior citizens a heroic effort is made to keep them alive a few more days?
There is such a struggle in this country. It seems everyone focuses on keeping patients alive at any cost. Wouldn't it be more considerate to end their time on this earth in peace and dignity.

Is life so precious that the quality of one's existence is ignored?
Why torture elderly patients with all manner of punctures, tubes and tests. It is so frustrating and perplexing when simple inexpensive therapies exist that really make a positive difference.

If only the beneficial therapies that are used in some progressive, alternative medicine oriented hospitals and other countries were allowed in every hospital in the United States.
It would be great if the therapies patients received increased their health and speeded their recovery. Why prolong a patient's misery just to increase the hospital's financial bottom line?

If only we could stage a hospital break.
Janet and I considered pulling down dads covers, throwing him over our shoulders and racing for an exit. But, what could we do at home...no special bed, unskilled at inserting feeding tubes and IVs and untrained at physical therapy. Sometimes, a feeling of hopelessness permeates our beings like a dense fog obscures the bright, radiant sunlight.

We can only leave dad in the capable hands of God.
God is in control of all life. His ways are not our ways. In moments like these, our faith in a loving creator is our only hope and peace. When there is nothing you can do physically to change a situation, prayer seems the only avenue available.

Using something as beneficial as a Life Field Polarizer is scorned by most people.
Dad was one of the few who acknowledged that energy medicine has its own special place. He allowed me to place a Life Field Polarizer on an electric cord in the house 25 years ago. He did not question me when I claimed the polarizer would make the EMF radiation coming from all electrical devices strengthening rather than weakening.

All life including man consists of subtle electrical fields which control such vital functions as growth, metabolism, thought, movement, etc.
The human body, composed of ions, minerals and a high percentage water, is a strong conductor of energy and like metal is a very effective antenna structure. It has an inconceivably intricate biocomputer system which controls and orders biological processes.

The subtle energy field of the body provides the instructions for the reproduction, division, and function of all cells.
Any disruption in the integrity of this critically important biocomputer and subtle energy field can be devastating to the correct and effective functioning of all organ systems, especially the brain.

When I arrived home, the first thing I checked was to see if the Polarizer was still on an electrical cord.
Some how it had been moved off the electrical cord and was sitting uselessly on the carpet. We wondered it this simple device had contributed to good health for so many years. I immediately placed it back on the electrical cord, to protect Janet, my mom and myself.

Electromagnetic fields from power lines, appliances, radars, televisions, microwaves, and other electrical devices are dangerous to your mental and physical health.
The incoherent electromagnetic pollution produced by man-made electricity is similar in effect to the glare produced by incoherent light. Incoherent life energy is a major hazard to basic bioelectrical functions and, like incoherent light, must be properly aligned (Polarized) to be optimally useful.

Your home and office are filled with electrical wiring and devices which create electromagnetic pollution.
These unnatural energy fields, especially those produced by alternating currents operating at 60 cycles per second, are suspected of causing depression, cancer, leukemia, psychosis, and other mental and physical problems in unsuspecting individuals.

Recent studies of mice exposed for 30 days to 60 cycle electromagnetic fields of the strength approximating those found near high voltage transmission lines revealed some startling conclusions.
Changes in hormone patterns, body weight, and blood chemistries appeared. These were signs of chronic stress. They also showed a steady increase in degenerative disease---particularly those related to a decreased competency of the immune system, such as cancer.

Over the last 15 years, there has been scattered media coverage about the dangers of electromagnetic pollution.
Many researchers and scientists in this field were persecuted and ridiculed for their dire warnings of the dangerous affects of electromagnetic energy fields on living creatures. In 1989, news broadcasts, radio programs, television specials, magazines, and newspapers covered the topic of electromagnetic fields and their affects on human beings. The "New Yorker," "People," "Infoworld," "Newsweek," and "Discover" magazines carried articles exposing the frightening results of recent scientific studies.

They addressed newfound fears about the harmful affects of electromagnetic pollution created by power lines, appliances, machines, and computers.
Dr. Becker, M.D., author of "Cross Currents" and one of the most respected research scientists in this area, stated, "We now live in a sea of electromagnetic radiation that we cannot sense and that never before existed on this earth. New evidence suggests that this massive amount of radiation may be producing stress, disease and other harmful effects all over the world by interfering with the most basic levels of brain function."

In his book, "The Body Electric," Dr. Becker expounded on this theory on harmful effects of EMF radiation.
He said, "These dangers must be brought into the open so forcefully that the entire population of the world is made aware of them. Since our civilization is irreversibly dependent on electronics, abolition of electromagnetic radiation is out of the question. However, as a first step in averting disaster, we must halt the introduction of new sources of electromagnetic energy while we investigate the biohazards of those we already have with a completeness and honesty that have so far been in short supply." (page 328)

In "People Magazine," in December of 1989, Paul Brodeur, author of the "Zapping of America" and the "Currents of Death" discussed the alleged dangers posed by electromagnetic fields generated by high current power lines, electric blankets, and computer video displays terminals (VDTs).
He said, "Anyone who lives or works in an electromagnetic field is at risk. VDTs first came under suspicion in the late 1970s and early 80s, when a dozen or so unexplained clusters of miscarriages and birth defects were found in groups of women who worked with computers. In one group of computer operators at Sears in Dallas, eight out of 12 pregnancies ended in miscarriage or neonatal death. In 1988, the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program did a study of 1,583 California women who worked 20 hours or more in a week with VDTs and found they stood an 80 percent greater chance of miscarrying than women who did similar work without VDTs."

In the July/August 86 issue of "American Health," Nancy Shute talked about a study done in Colorado by Nancy Wertheimer which linked high current power lines and transformers to cancer in children.
In the December 89 issue of "Discover Magazine," David Noland explored updates in Wertheimer's research which indicated that the homes most affected were those closest to the transformers serving the largest number of people. She believed that the more power being drawn, the greater the electromagnetic field and incidence of disease.

Automobiles, planes, buses, motorcycles, and planes are now being recognized as powerful generators and receivers of electromagnetic field pollution.
Microwave and radar transmitters, CB radios, and radar guns all produce harmful electromagnetic fields which are absorbed by the metal parts in the vehicles and aircraft. The metal body in most vehicles and planes is acts like an antenna and concentrates all the different types of electromagnetic radiation. The body is also the ground for the electrical system. The spark plugs in conventional combustion engines emit strong pulses of electromagnetic energy every time they fire, bombarding unsuspecting passengers. No wonder most people feel exhausted after long trips.

You are probably wondering how you can protect yourself, loved ones, and pets from this damaging unseen force.
Life Field Polarizers are a solution to the adverse effects of electromagnetic pollution. The large Life Field Polarizer polarizes the incoherent electromagnetic energy in a building, vehicle, boat, and plane. The small Personal Polarizer helps to protect your body whenever you are not in a safe polarized environment. They effectively combat the harmful affects of electromagnetic radiation. They properly align life energy and produce a supportive electromagnetic environment similar to that which existed before Edison activated his first electric utility plant in 1882.

The complex technology which goes into the production of the Polarizers is a culmination of many years of research, study, and development.
The manufacturing process is strictly controlled and each polarizer is individually tested for strength.
You can correct the radiation problems in a building or home by placing the Life Field Polarizer on top of any electrical cord plugged into the electrical circuit of the building. When placed on the floorboard of a car or plane, it provides amazing benefits.

The small Personal Polarizers protect you when you wear one or more on your body.
Many people report marvelous health benefits and increases in vital energy. Once the body is protected from EMF radiation and the biocomputer starts working correctly anything is possible.

No specific health claims are made for the Polarizers.
When a person experiences health benefits it is because the body and brain are working the way they were designed to operate by God.

We know the Polarizers work because so many people feel better when they become polarized.
Animals are also beneficially affected. Kirlian photography, muscle testing, acupuncture, and high-tech computers prove that polarization really helps living system. Subtle energy fields, when balanced and protected from harmful EMF, may be the missing link to health and vitality many are searching for. For more info on polarizers go to: http://www.bewisepolarize.com

To Be Continued....

Posted by ralph at 08:37 AM | Permalink

"Source: Red Hot Super Tab Rakes In The Dirt, But Serves Up Gems For Copy Scribes!" by David Garfinkel

I am one of two copywriters ever to have been featured in a profile by the National Enquirer, and it's not because I'm so darned good at writing copy.

It's because I openly admitted that a lot of my success in pulling orders from my copywriting came from what I learned reading America's Favorite Newspaper.

(The other copywriter is some guy named Gary who announces from the audience at Internet marketing seminars that more people read the Enquirer each week than have read the Bible in all of history -- a claim I don't even think the Enquirer would make.)

My new Enquirer (October 25 issue) arrived in the mail today and I can't wait to read it. Here's why...

● Tatum O'Neal Ignites Brutal Family War - beatings, drugs, orgies revealed!

● Lisa Marie's Weight Soars! - Secret reason she's packed on the pounds - EXCLUSIVE PHOTOS

● Roy Marked For Death - Shots Fired at Siegfried and Roy - Enquirer exposes plot to kill him

● Mafia Doctor Exposes Gangsters' Secrets

Now don't tell me this is hype. (Tell me something I don't know.)

What I just bulleted out for you are the headlines from next Thursday's cover. You can get a gold-plated education in writing headlines just from studying the covers.

What's great about the Enquirer is the writing, and the way visuals are integrated with the words to get attention and hold attention.

That's the copywriter's first job.

And where else you gonna find examples that really work?

The Enquirer has taken everyday drama and elevated it to a high art. People make fun of it, but most advertising pales by comparison, when you look at the sheer energy and magnetic quality of Enquirer prose and graphics.

Now, can you take what you learn in the Enquirer and use it as a cookie-cutter template for your own copy?

Almost assuredly not - unless you're selling to the Enquirer crowd and it's a high-drama, very personal type of consumer product.

But you can take the techniques, principles and turns of phrase, and adapt them to your situation and circumstances.

By the way, do you think it's fun getting profiled in the Enquirer?

Yes, and mostly no.

Yes: A girl I was courting finally agreed to go out with me. It was one of the wildest affairs of my life!

No: I got an email from an attorney working for the IRS. (Turned out it was someone I knew from childhood. The Enquirer made it look like I was rolling in cash simply because I was a reader -- and he wanted to let me know that he was an Enquirer reader himself and wasn't making a lot of money himself as a result.)

No: My mother told me the Enquirer was taking too much credit for my success, and the credit in fact should go to her.

No: I got a copywriting client in Hollywood that made every other unworkable situation in my life look pleasant and desirable by comparison.

OK. So. You don't have to get profiled by the Enquirer for your copy to benefit from it. But you can learn a heck of a lot just reading it and studying how they do what they do.

And if you hurry, you'll learn the secret reason Lisa Marie has packed on the pounds!

David Garfinkel is one of the best copywriters on the internet and was a speaker at Armand Morin's Big Seminar Series and Carl Galletti's Internet Marketing Super Conference. You can learn more about his books and training courses by clicking the links below.

David Garfinkel is founder of the World Copywriting institute and is considered by many people to be the best teacher of copywriting in the world. The stated mission of the World Copywriting Institute is to “eradicate copywriting illiteracy in the world.” Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the world’s best selling series of marketing books, Guerrilla Marketing, says, “David Garfinkel is the best copywriter I know.” Sign up for David’s free World Copywriting Newsletter. and you get a free one-hour downloadable teleseminar on copywriting. Also visit David’s World Copywriting Blog:

E-book Secrets Exposed
By David Garfinkel
This incredible ebook explains things nobody else has ever published before! This ebook explains the real way to make real money online with ebooks... Finally! Somebody gives people the truth about what it takes to make massive amounts of money with your own ebook... whether you wrote it or not!

KillerCopyTactics.com
By David Garfinkel
A fully interactive multimedia course by David Garfinkel, the man many call "The World's Greatest Copywriting Coach." David will show you "how to turn words into cash" in this groundbreaking tour-de-force. This course sets the bar for what Internet based learning should be.

AdvertisingHeadlinesThatMakeYouRich.com
By David Garfinkel
This ebook makes it unnecessary to write another headline ever again. David Garfinkel has been described as, "the world's greatest copywriting coach." He's a successful results oriented copywriter and his new ebook shows you exactly how to adapt proven money-making headlines to your business.

Posted by ralph at 07:55 AM | Permalink

Most people do far more shopping in the holiday season than they do for the rest of the year - and now you know how to use eBay, why not do it there? If you know what kind of thing your friends and family like then eBay's categories are ideal places to get ideas. Plus, you won't have to fight your way through the holiday rush when you're getting everything posted to you at home!

Buying Presents for People.

Here's how I do it: think of the last thing the person you're buying a present for bought for themselves. Type it into eBay's search engine. Now take a look at which category it's in, and click the link to look at everything in the category. Straight away, you have a huge list of things that they're probably be happy to receive - and if you know them well, you should have no trouble picking through to find something really special.

Look at Their eBay Histories.

If the people you're buying presents for use eBay, and you know their eBay usernames, then you can take a look at what they've been buying to see what they might want. To look at a user's history, just click 'Advanced Search' on the main page, then Find a Member on the left-hand menu. Type in their username and you should reach their user page, complete with all the item numbers of things they have bought. Just paste any item number into the eBay search box to see what the item was. That should give you a few ideas!

Shop in Advance.

It's a bad idea to use eBay for your holiday shopping at the very last minute - prices will be high, and items might not turn up in time. Every year there's a present that children want so much that all the shops sell out, and it starts appearing on eBay at a premium. Parents then pay hundreds of dollars and still don't get one in time for the big day. Don't fall into this trap.

Remember You're in Silly Season.

The holiday season is peak time at eBay - loads of people are there, and they're often inexperienced, bidding things up far higher than they should. Try not to end up paying far too much for an item just because it's the last one that would turn up in time, or because everyone else is bidding too high. You should always know when to cut your losses, stop bidding and just go get something from the shop instead.

Have Fun!

Don't take eBay too seriously - treat it like a game, and don't be too disappointed if you lose. It can sometimes feel like gambling, but when you get that really rare and special thing in the post, it's all worth it.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 07:35 AM | Permalink

So you want to market your eBay business? Well, you probably won't have too much luck with traditional marketing methods - they're just not targeted enough. The best way to do things is to pay for targeted advertising, which comes up when people search for keywords you specify: they're looking for exactly what you're selling, and so many of them will click on your ad.

On eBay.

You might not have noticed that eBay offer this kind of advertising, but they do. You can pay them for a small ad that will appear above the search results (next to the banner ad) for any keywords you want. Buyers will then be able to click through and get to your eBay store - and you only pay for clicks, not for views. You can also set a budget for how much you want to spend, and your ads will simply stop if they go over-budget.

If you do this, it is best to create very targeted ads for specific products. Buy a specific model of something as your keyword, and write how much you sell it for in the ad - this will be more effective than just advertising across the name of a whole category.

There are some products that this approach simply doesn't work for, though, and you might be better off spending your money on a more visible Featured Plus listing for your item, especially if you're trying to advertise on valuable keywords.

Search Engine Ads.

If you want to market your business more widely, then you can try to bring in business from outside eBay. The best way to do this is by buying keyword-targeted ads on search engines. With Google AdWords, for example, your ad will appear in their 'Sponsored Links' section when someone searches for your keywords. Again, you set a maximum budget and only pay for clicks.

This can be very effective, as you've just taken your products to the world outside eBay - imagine someone going to a search engine, typing in what they're looking for and seeing your store right there! What's more, if you target this approach to specific models of a product it can be very cheap. Most advertisers try to get as much traffic as they can instead of targeting their ads as specifically as you will be, meaning there won't be much competition for the keywords.

eBay benefit from this as well as you, since it drives new buyers to eBay as a whole, not just to your site. They actively encourage sellers to go and advertise on search engines by offering you 75% of your final value fee back for each item that someone finds and buys this way. On expensive items, that's probably enough to pay for the advertising to begin with!

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:46 PM | Permalink

I'm writing today's tip from over on the west coast of

Florida, just outside of Tampa, where my family and I will

soon be relocating.

Sometimes it's refreshing to be looking at the world from a
different vantage point -- you don't see things the same way.

You know what I mean?

Are you consistently looking at your business from your
customers and your clients point of view?

And even more important, are you looking OUTSIDE your
business for new ideas, trends, and ways to market your
business?

For example, purchasing goods and services from your
competitiors is one of the most basic things you can do, to
get new ideas for upselling... cross-selling... and back-end
products.

Investing your time and money in this incredibly easy way of
"spying" on your competition, is a sure-fire way of keeping
you on your toes... staying "hungry"... and making sure you
aren't doing anything stupid.

How's that?

Simple: Because you really DO see things differently when
you're on the outside looking in.

Now go sell something,

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved

Posted by ralph at 08:29 PM | Permalink

One of my guilty pleasures is listening to non-stop weirdness known as The Phil Hendrie Show. It's three hours, five days a week, and 100% spoof.

97 stations in 38 U.S. states carry it, as well as two Ontario stations in Canada. If you get XM Satellite radio, it's on channel 152.

What's so weird about this show? The guests. Not one of them is real, but every one of them is outrageous. All are offensive -- racially, or sexually, or socially, or religiously. No politically-correct stone gets left unturned.

But the most amazing thing of all about this show is...

... that the "guests" are all inventions of the host. He's a quick-change ventriloquist. He can play himself and up to four other characters at the same time, in rapid-fire sequence.

Sure, you do catch on after a while that every guest is a gag, a comedy routine.

But you might never realize that the voices are all the work of one person -- in real time.

I probably never would have figured it out if I hadn't read numerous articles on Hendrie's Web site that describe how he does it, in intricate detail. He's that good.

In fact, Hendrie was the voice of the computer "I.N.T.E.L.L.I.G.E.N.C.E." in the cut-up marionette feature film farce "Team America, World Police."

But the show's the thing. One reason it's so hard to figure out what Hendrie's up to is, not only do the "guests" have different accents, speech patterns, voice inflections and vocal tonalities, but they have distinct (and usually obnoxious) points of view that are consistent, intriguing, and up to a certain point, even believable.

Towards the end of their segment, each "guest" usually goes over the top, past the point of crackpot, into stark, raving absurdity. Stuff you couldn't get away with in a mental hospital. Beyond-nutcase material.

But -- and this is important -- always in a way consistent with the oddball person they started out to be.

You have "guests" like Jay Santos, of the "Citizens' Auxiallary Police," who goes around to tables at restaurants and tries to quell conversations that oppose the war effort in Iraq. Telling people to step outside if they want to discuss that topic.

Or Bobbie Dooley, of the "Western Estates Homeowners Association," who was "carded" (asked for age I.D.) at a liquor store, even though she's 45 years old -- and so, she convened a meeting of the Homeowner's Association to announce that fact.

And that's mild, compared to the high school football coach who feels entitled to sexual favors from the widowed mother who wants her kid to play in the starting lineup; the waiter who pours triple-shots into drinks of senior citizen customers to wheedle a bigger tip out of them (never mind the lives he's endangering when his customers get back in their cars); the private-school teacher who makes broadside racial slurs about his students... and the list goes on and on.

Hendrie is one talented guy. A character actor, you could say. Maybe a character actor on maniac-grade crystal methamphetamine, doing what Joanne Woodward did in "The Three Faces of Eve" -- in triple-time.

A dark, dark comic mind, but the funniest thing going on radio today.

So by now you must be itching with the question, what in blazes does all this have to do with writing copy?

Simple. Getting into the head of another person -- not necessarily a beyond-certifiably-insane one, like Jay Santos or Bobbie Dooley -- but another person, to the point where you can voice their opinion in a way that really sounds like them.

See, your copy is a conversation with your prospect.

It doesn't hurt if you sound a little like your prospect, or a little like one of their friends, in what you say.

But the real breakthrough comes when you can "mock up" an imaginary conversation with the prospect... hear their questions and objection in your mind, just the way they would say those things, and respond in a satisfying way.

Just save your walks on the wild side for other parts of your life. Comedy bits don't work too well in sales copy, unless you really know what you're doing -- and what not to do. And almost nobody does.

But real conversation -- ah, that's what they pay the big bucks for.

David Garfinkel is one of the best copywriters on the internet and was a speaker at Armand Morin's Big Seminar Series and Carl Galletti's Internet Marketing Super Conference. You can learn more about his books and training courses by clicking the links below.

David Garfinkel is founder of the World Copywriting institute and is considered by many people to be the best teacher of copywriting in the world. The stated mission of the World Copywriting Institute is to “eradicate copywriting illiteracy in the world.” Jay Conrad Levinson, author of the world’s best selling series of marketing books, Guerrilla Marketing, says, “David Garfinkel is the best copywriter I know.” Sign up for David’s free World Copywriting Newsletter. and you get a free one-hour downloadable teleseminar on copywriting. Also visit David’s World Copywriting Blog:

E-book Secrets Exposed
By David Garfinkel
This incredible ebook explains things nobody else has ever published before! This ebook explains the real way to make real money online with ebooks... Finally! Somebody gives people the truth about what it takes to make massive amounts of money with your own ebook... whether you wrote it or not!

KillerCopyTactics.com
By David Garfinkel
A fully interactive multimedia course by David Garfinkel, the man many call "The World's Greatest Copywriting Coach." David will show you "how to turn words into cash" in this groundbreaking tour-de-force. This course sets the bar for what Internet based learning should be.

AdvertisingHeadlinesThatMakeYouRich.com
By David Garfinkel
This ebook makes it unnecessary to write another headline ever again. David Garfinkel has been described as, "the world's greatest copywriting coach." He's a successful results oriented copywriter and his new ebook shows you exactly how to adapt proven money-making headlines to your business.

Posted by ralph at 08:17 PM | Permalink

How can I thank you?
Your prayers and positive thoughts really made a difference for my dad. He sailed right through the surgery to fix the aortic aneurysm in his abdomen. All my family is very grateful for your help.

When I took dad and mom into the hospital yesterday morning at 5 a.m., the tension was palpable.
It was hard to believe that anyone that looks like an escapee from Auschwitz and the other death camps, could survive even a pricking of the finger.

My dad is 5 foot eight and only weighs 108 pounds.
We've done everything that we possibly can to the sum up, but nothing seems to work. Those darn medications have destroyed his hunger.

Dad is out of the intensive care ward and has been moved to his own room.
He is a little disoriented. About 12 midnight last night, the phone was ringing and I thought, "Oh my God, my dad has died." But, it was my dad calling me thinking that my mom and my wife and myself were out in the hallway trying to get in to see them.

Dad demanded that the nurse call our telephone number or just to see if we were out there in the hall.
I talked to him for a little while and he seems a little delusional, but that is commonplace for people that go under the knife. It is an aftermath of the anesthesia. I guess you'd say the anesthesia is taking a person as close to death as you possibly can and still bring them back after the procedure is done.

We are excited about going in to see him today.
Dad still has a few days in recovery in the hospital. We pray he does well and that that nothing goes wrong. We hope to bring him home for a miraculous, joyour Christmas. Hopefully, his recovery will be fast and completed in a short period of time.

Again, thank you so much for your prayers and positive thoughts. It was you who made the difference between life and death.

Below is the next part of the story of the original Zuranski saga:
--------------------------------------------------------------------

"Why do the simple, natural therapies have a beneficial impact on everyone?" by Ralph Zuranski

Hurray! My dad is showing improvement in small steady steps.
He can now open his eyes for a few precious seconds. His speech is slightly slurred but he makes perfect sense. He has not lost his dry wit or sense of humor. He recognizes everyone and is making jokes about his situation.

Who would have ever imagined the tremendous beneficial impact loving family members can have on their sick or injured loved ones.
Often, simple things like massaging the reflex points in their hands and feet and auricular points in the ears has an amazingly valuable impact. People, even when they are not sick or injured, are desperate for human touch.

Wouldn't you kill to have some one rub your hands, feet and ears?
The power in the massage is knowing where the points are located that need special attention. You want to concentrate on the energy points directly related to the injured or malfunctioning areas. If you are willing to sacrifice a little of your time and healing energy, you to can help your family members dramatically.

Also, the health professionals won't be freaked out by your actions.
Secretly, they are wishing you would massage them next. In most cases, they deserve a quick massage for all their diligent hard work caring for your family member!

Of course, this would be a great thing to do on yourself and for other family members to keep them healthy.
After a person has their hands, feet and ears massaged even once, they are anxious to receive these tender ministrations as often as possible. Why not get a reflex hand and foot roller for yourself. They only cost a few dollars. Then you can use it daily. Massaging your hands and feet by just rolling them over the reflex roller on the floor is so simple, yet so incredibly powerful.

You will be amazed at how sore the points on your hands and feet are initially.
When you look at the hand and foot reflex charts and locate your sore points, you will be astounded at direct relationship to your health problems. It is incredible how fast these sore points disappear. Massaging your hands, feet and ears should be a daily part of your new health plan.

When you are consistently massaging yourself, you will experience in a few short days enjoyable feelings of well-being and better health.
This is one of the cheapest and fastest ways to increase your health and vitality. The subtle energy systems balance throughout your entire body rapidly. I carry my inexpensive hand and foot roller where ever I travel. It is worth its weight in gold.

One of my missions as the "Holistic Health Human Guinea Pig" was to research holistic health therapies.
We traded memberships to the practitioners in exchange for my treatments. It was one of the major missing links to my health challenges.

What better way to see if the therapies were a fraud or really worked than testing them out on my own body.
Many of the therapies were beneficial, but at that time in history very revolutionary. The local "Holistic Health Newspaper" wrote articles about my experiences. The practitioners were invited to promote their therapies at monthly seminars for "Family Fitness Center" members. Every one loved the seminars and learned a lot.

Unfortunately, the owners of "Family Fitness Centers "were threatened with the loss of their lease for the La Jolla center if the seminars continued.
The conventional medical center that owned the property considered the therapies quackery. The practitioners were frauds of the worst order. The owner of "Family Fitness Centers" told me to forget the "Holistic Health Guinea Pig Program," dump my super hero for health, Captain Biorhythm, and return to being Ralph Zuranski. He said, "You will get met more credibility without all that other bizarre stuff."

To Be continued...

Posted by ralph at 08:35 AM | Permalink

100% FR'EE LIMITED TIME OFFER: If you're seeing this offer now it means you must act within the next 48 hours to grab it!...

Good News! Here's how to get YOUR hands on 5 platinum quality niche info product packages [valued at over $1,992 dollars] with FULL RESALE RIGHTS...For NO COST!" I use this service to get content for my newsletters and website. It is a valuable service because we all know "Good Content Is Crucial!"

If you haven't already signed up for IGR at , here's an offer you'd be crazy to pass up!...

Sign up for IGR TODAY (within the next 24 hours) and as a special bonus they will send you the following premium quality information product packages with full resale rights! Do NOT mistake these for the giveaway ebooks being passed all over the web... These are TOP NOTCH products!

Each package includes:
1. A Top Quality, Hot Selling Information Product!
2. A Professional Sales Letter PROVEN to generate sales!
3. KILLER, professional graphics! (Best quality I've seen!)
4. A ready-made direct response style web-site (ready to put your name and order link on, and start selling!)

This a no brainer - even if you sign up and decide to cancel/refund your IGR membership for whatever reason...

"You KEEP these platinum quality packages and you can even continue to sell them)!"

Why are they doing this? The answer is simple. They are willing to practically give away the farm just to get you INSIDE the IGR members area, because I know once you're there you'll be AMAZED by all that is offered, and you'll want to stay!

Here's the list of product titles and descriptions that you'll be able to begin selling immediately:

---------------------------------------------------
"Affiliate Success Road Map"
---------------------------------------------------

A simple, no bull straight to the point guide (or "road map") to becoming a successful affiliate for the long run. The "Affiliate Success Road Map" teaches its readers how to achieve long term affiliate success, by planning from the start and designing an affiliate system that brings in long term affiliate profits month after month.

---------------------------------------------------
"Party Travel"
---------------------------------------------------

A No BS, straight to the point guide on fun and affordable singles travel for young people between the ages of 18 and 35. The "Party Travel" eBook includes everything one would need to have the time of their life, have fun, party with young sexy single and see the world starting at Under $300!

---------------------------------------------------
"PPC Profits"
---------------------------------------------------

A simple, straight to the point beginners guide to making money on the Internet with your very own Pay Per Click search engine. The "PPC Profits" guide teaches its readers exactly how they can make money with their very own PPC search engine, how to create it, promote it and even sell it for a fortune once the PPC search engine is completed.

---------------------------------------------------
"Newbie's Guide To Online Fortunes"
---------------------------------------------------

An easy to follow, simple step-by-step guide to starting your very own online business and actually mak'ing mo'ney with it. The "Newbie's Guide To Online Fortunes" is exactly what people interested in starting their own online business need. This guide teaches its readers the fundamentals and simple ways to start their very own online business.

Don't leave this offer on the table! What they are offering you here is EASILY worth your first 3-4 months of IGR membership!

Even if you choose to cancel and refund your IGR membership fee for some (strange) reason, you can KEEP all these products, and continue selling them online or off!

Click here to join IGR today:

Here For Your Success,

Ralph Zuranski

P.S. After joining, just email them a copy of your IGR receipt to admin@infogoround.com and say "Please send me my $1,992 bonus package!"

Posted by ralph at 05:24 PM | Permalink

Buying collectibles is one of the most enjoyable things to do on eBay, simply because you can find so many things that you just can't get anywhere else. Here are a few tips to help you on your way.

Find your Category.

You'll probably find that all the items you're after are listed in a single category. Add this category to your browser's Favorites, and keep coming back.

Look for Mistakes.

If you collect something, the chances are you know a lot about it. This can be your opportunity to make a mint from a seller's mistake. They might not realise that they have a rare version of an item, or they might have left off the key information that makes it valuable. If you're willing to email the seller and ask them a few questions about the item to confirm that it is what you think it is, then you should be able to buy items like these. You can then resell them at a big profit, if that's what you want to do.

Don't Always Believe Descriptions.

If you find something you haven't heard of, and the description calls it 'rare', don't assume that it actually is. Far too many sellers just put 'rare' into all of their descriptions - the chances are that the item is common and has just been described wrongly. Don't bid unless you know what you're buying.

Stalk Other Users.

When you collect something, you'll probably notice that there are four or five sellers who seem to come up with consistently good items - and the same buyers buying them. Add their user pages to your Favorites, and check back often to see what they've got - or what they're bidding on - that you might be interested in.

Don't Get Too Attached to an Auction.

There are millions of items being listed every day on eBay - whatever you want, it'll come around again, and if you don't get it there are plenty more things to buy. This is similar to the golden rule of negotiating: always be prepared to walk away. If you can't walk away, then expect to pay over the odds. There are few things so rare that another seller won't have one to sell. Go and bid in a lower-priced auction, instead of getting into a bidding war in one that is already expensive.

Beware of the Postage.

If you collect lots of small things with a relatively low value, you might end up paying as much for postage as you do for each item. You should take these costs into consideration when you make your bid. Another good strategy is to always buy a few things at once from the same buyer, as they will almost always offer you a discount on the postage.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Resources Box:

Claim your FREE 14 Day "Learn How to Sell on eBay" e-Course Here:
http://www.auctionresourcenetwork.com

Jason James is a 10 year Internet marketing veteran and an eBay Power Seller of 4 years. His website "The Auction Resource Network" reveals his inside secrets, tips, and sources that help him pocket over $10,000 per month on eBay. His proven step-by-step system shows even users with little or no business experience how they too can make huge profits selling products at online auctions.

Posted by ralph at 08:27 AM | Permalink

Well, tomorrow's the big event, game time for my dad.
The big abdominal aortic aneurysm surgery is tomorrow at 7 AM. I have to drop him off at the hospital at 5 AM. If you have a few spare moments, please keep my dad and family in prayer or think positive thoughts that he will survive this operation.

Gratefulness has a lot to do with choosing happiness and a positive attitude.
"Experience is not what happens to a man, it's what a man does with what happens to him." from God's Little Devotional Book for Men. This is one of the greatest lessons any one can learn. About the only choice you have in life is how you will respond to the the events that occur in your life that you have no control over.

After the last year and half of taking care of both my mom and dad, I've learned that the most important things in life are the people that God puts along your path to help, to hold and to cherish.
Sometimes, it is so hard to sacrifice your own personal desires for wealth, success, power, material possessions, expensive cars, big houses and all the great temptations of life. But, ultimately, this life is all about the people that are made in the image and likeness of God that you have the privilege of knowing and loving.

I guess I'm just kidding myself that I have even one more second on the face of this planet.
You never know when your moment in time to pass from this earth into judgment occurs. It is a pretty good idea to be ready to meet your maker every moment of every day. I think that is one of the great things about taking care of people who are dying, you see just how fragile life is and what a special gift. If you wake up and you are alive, it is a great day no matter what happens.

When you love people dearly, and they love you in return, it is so incredibly hard to think that they won't be around any longer.
You experience a great void in your life even before they are gone. Just the thought of their loss is so hard to bear. You wonder how you can even exist without their kind words, incredible compassion and Godly example. But, you know they will be much better off with their glorified body. There'll be no more paralysis or pain...no more tiredness and no more frustration at being at the mercy of those around you.

If it was up to me, I would keep my dad around for a very long time, just because he is such a great guy, sweet spirit and incredible safe port when trials and tribulations assualt my senses and fears arise.
Fortunately, the decision of life or death is out of my power. It is in the hands of God. He is the one that decides who will live and die and when. I take great comfort knowing that He actually knows what He is doing and has a special plan for every person's life. If they willing to follow this unique path they will experience the ultimate fulfillment of the purpose for which they were created...total completion, absolute peace and incredible joy.

As I meet all the people that my dad has touched through his compassion, kindness and love, I realize that ultimately, the pleasures and material possessions are of a minimal value compared to helping even one soul get to a better place in their life journey.
Of course, I don't want to think the worst, that my dad may not survive the surgery. But, ultimately, I'm a realist. There is a high probability he will not survive.

That is where you come in to the picture.
The most powerful vehicles for traveling to the land of HOPE is faith, prayer and positive thinking. If my dad survives, It will be because of all of you who invested a moment of your precious time to think positive and lift my family up in prayer.

As I sit here with warm, salty tears snaking their way down my cheeks, over my parted lips and then splashing on my keyboard, I think of just how selfish I really am.
My heart aches at the possibility of losing my dad. Of course, I love my dad and will miss him greatly if tomorrow is his last day on earth. But, I have to think about him and the great rewards that are stored up for him in heaven.

With me as his son, I am confident he is in for an amazingly joyful eternal experience because of all the suffering and grief I caused him and my mom.
St. Peter is going to say when he arrives at the Pearly Gates, "Ralph your were a good husband to Winnie and a great father to Ralph. I am sure you never imagined he would require so much faith, prayer and huge infusions of cash. I don't know how you did it. You son was prodigal enough to test even the patience of Job. Come on in. Do we ever have an awesome mansion waiting just for you, thou good and faithful servant."

The next part of the original Zuranski "reality smacks you in the face" saga
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How could anyone feel more overwhelmed than when catastrophic diseases strike down your parents and you have deal with two separated families?" by Ralph Zuranski

Physical and emotional pain are hard to beat, especially when they are slugging you upside the head all at one time.
It is 5 AM Dallas time and feels like 3 AM with the two hour difference from San Diego. I am exhausted beyond recognition, even after sleeping for 5 hours. With all that is going on, deep restful sleep seems only a dream from the past. After working from 7 AM to midnight for the past four days at the "Internet Marketing Super Conference" by Carl Galletti, in Las Vegas, exhaustion is reality, hopefully not my permanet fate.

Few people realize just how much work goes into creating a successful conference.
When you are responsible for the computer, software, remote pointer, wireless connection and LCD projector, the responsibility is huge. Almost every speaker is dependent on their PowerPoint presentation running smoothly. This is critical since their performance is being video and audio recorded. Any glitch has huge impact on the entire event and the educational product being created by the seminar creators.

The computer geek arrives before anyone arrives and is the last to leave.
Setting up the computer, LDC projector, electronic pointer and connections to the cameras is a mind-boggling exercise in frustration. Every cord and wire is critical. The amount of mental concentraion is awesome. When you take into consideration I am also taking digital and 35 mm photos of the speakers and attendees, the complexity rises to a level beyond imagining.

Optimal nutrition is the only way to compensate for massive doses of coffee, Diet Coke, beef jerky, Snickers bars and chocolate.
Yes, you guessed it...cottage cheese for breakfast, lunch and dinner with junk food breaks. To compensate for all the caffeine and junk food, I chug down liquid vitamins with Mangosteen and essential minerals from New Vision International.

Everyone is astounded that I can drink a green mixture that looks like slime composed of SuperFood from Right Solutions and SuperGreens from New Vision mixed in a large-mouthed water bottle. If you want more information about this company and products, call me at 619-795-9034

Instead of popping drugs, my new addiction is 2 grams of Vitamin C in the form of Super Gram IIIs by Alacer Corporation every hour. To chase the green slime and honkingly big Vitamin C pills, I power down water laced with Alacer's Emergen-C powdered Vitamin C mixed with ascorbates and MSM.

Did I hear you say "Yuck!" through my computer speakers?
I know, I know. How could any intellingent person gag down these weird concoctions? After 40 years of health research, I have found what really works well during times requiring maximum mental and physical performance. When the pressure is on and it is time to perform, it is critical to know how to mix your poisons with compensating elements.

I used to be a health purist, but that preoccupation with the fiction of a pure mind and body was slaughtered by the reality of living in the real world.
When youth was my ally and middle age only a nightmare in the future, the cares of the world were not as overwhelming.

The new reality is do whatever it takes to keep going, do my job and take care of my family.
Since drugs are no longer an option, optimal health is the only way to survive and triumph over the trials and tribulations of life. Failure is not an option. Heart attack, stoke and cancer are not the type of friendly neighbors you want to come visit.

An entire day was wasted in travel from Las Vegas to Dallas and you wonder why I am behind in everything, including this blog.
Vice President Cheney put flights behind two hours when he flew into Las Vegas. I was hoping to get on an earlier flight to Dallas, to start packing. My mind was so fragmented, all I could do was read magazines about computer technologies.

Don't laugh...reading about computers and gadgets is relaxing and exciting for a true Geekhead for 50 years.
Oh, if only I had a cup of strong coffee, my laptop humming away and some Babyboomer music playing in the background I would be in heaven. What a dream of happiness...time to surf the web and pound away at my keyboard. Leisure time is only a brilliant memory.

Janet was so furious with me, death or torture would have been my lot in life if I had been in her presence when I told her it was easier to sell off all the furniture and wall-hangings than put it in storage.
Wow! I had no clue how much different women feel about material posessions than men. When I arrived home at 10 PM Monday night, it was over 90 degrees in the apartment. Air conditioning...Ah, the bliss of air conditioning...what a luxury. I quickly turned it on to maximum freezing power, only to find out it produced hot air. While we were gone, the air conditioner crapped out.

It was like a hurricane in the tropics had hit the apartment, as possessions lay all over the floor roasting in the warm, humid heat.
I was sweating like a pig in a barbacue pit. Can I say it too loudly..."Material possessions are a pain!!!!!" I called Janet and said, "I am selling all the furniture and everything anyone will buy. I don't want to move anything one foot further than I have to." Silence, pure unadulteraed silence came from the other side of the the continent. Had I said something politically incorrect or emotionally insensitive?

Janet was speechless, shocked and furious at my lack of emotional involvement with possessions gained in the last 5 years of turmoil, toil and trouble.
How could I be so unemotional while dealing with our beloved possessions accumulated over the life of our 8 year marriage. Of course, all our precious possessions were now a gigantic headache to me but not to her. Every item was precious in her sight...stimulating memories of events, reliving them as if they were today...invoking so many special thought and emotions.

My only thought was "How could I pack and move all this junk in a few days."
My heart ached from missing my dad! I am so concerned he is still paralyzed on the left side and cannot swallow...still trapped in the conventional medical hospital by a system that is phenomenal at crisis care but slow in restoring health. I wanted to be with him, praying he will still be alive when I return to San Diego.

My entire focus will be to share with you what I have learned through intensive study and massive amounts of trial and error on how to compensate for the pleasures and stresses of life.
When I get home and after I see how my dad is doing and visit with him I will get to work on my step-by-step guide on what I do to stay alive and well. After all, do you want to be a vegetable, trapped in a hospital bed penetrated by tubes. The answer is simple. No! NO! NO! Neither do I. Now that my dad is suffering through the sheer agony of catastrophic disease, I am experiencing it first-hand through him. Definitely, this is not the trail of my desire.

I guess this is how you write when exhaustion is you best pal.
Sorry I am all over the page with this blog and don't have time to keep you updated every day. A tired body and exhausted mind wanders. The light is filling the room and it is time to battle with possessions.

To Be Continued...

Posted by ralph at 11:47 PM | Permalink

“And if you think about everything you've already been through, and everything left that life's going to throw at you... "Easy"... "Stress-free"... and "Uncomplicated!", doesn't sound too bad now, does it?”
I just got this message in from one of my subscribers and I wanted you to know about it, immediately.

You know, you never "really" know who's on your list.

It turns out, one of my subscribers is none other than Karol Gajda. Now you may not know who Karol is, but I do so let me tell you.

Karol's a bright young guy who basically took his 100% computer-geek background, and learned every single thing he could about direct-response, and used it to make himself a small fortune online.

Karol's niche is in making little-known but hugely profitable moves on e-bay, and I recently got this e-mail from him.

He was referring to last week's tip called "How To Uncover Everything You Want To Know About Your Customers":

Dear Craig,

In your last newsletter you shared the following piece of information: Test your market! If you've already got something you "think" would be a good back-end, then test it, using an offer to a small sample of people from your customer list.

I'd like to share my own experience and how I twisted this a little bit.

I released a backend product based on what I thought my customers would want without actually creating the product.

What I did was offer an upsell for one of my current products and stated that the upsell would be delivered via e-mail in 7 days. :) That way I'd have at least a few days of a cushion to create the product (which took about 2 days).

My intuition worked out well.

I've made 19 sales of this upsell at $33/sale in the past 8 days. Now I know I have a product I can really roll out -- on its own, and with a larger price tag -- and it only took me a few minutes to figure it all out.

If I didn't make any sales (or maybe just a few) all I'd have to do is "create" a new upsell to test until I hit on something my customers wanted.

Just another way to figure out a backend product I thought would interest you and your subscribers. :)

Karol Gajda
www.WholesaleSearchProfits.com

And, being the smart marketer he is, Karol's offering you a down-and-dirty, 5-step educational class you can take if you go to his link.

See, as Karol showed you, testing your market gives you very accurate feedback... and in this case, he also got to line his pockets with a nice wad of cash too.

Can you do the same thing with your customer base?

Yes, I bet you can.

All you need to do is...

Take Action!

And now, on to this week's tip.

Yesterday I had a near-perfect day.

It was one of those days weather-wise, when you're really thrilled to be living down here in South Florida.

The sun was out, but it wasn't too hot -- maybe 75° degrees or so. There wasn't an ounce of moisture or humidity in the air -- in fact, there was a mild balmy breeze blowing across the coast all day long.

Early in the day I was busy writing some copy on a project I'm extremely excited about. It's the last leg of a rather large project for a client who's about as perfect as you can get.

Not only is he a sharp and successful business-owner, but he's also a helluva nice guy.

What more could you ask for?

Anyhow, after that I spent the afternoon with my wife and kids -- we went for a nice long drive over to the Pumpkin patch and grabbed a couple of pumpkins to carve up and decorate for Haloween.

And then, before grilling up a few steaks for dinner, I finished the day off by washing my car while I was listening to my iPod (those things rock!).

Just a prefectly relaxing day as far as I'm concerned.

Now you might be thinking "Boy, it doesn't take much to make that guy happy. He seems pretty easy to please."

And as a matter of fact, you're right. I really do enjoy the simple pleasures life has to offer.

In fact, if truth be told... I feel lucky to enjoy them!

Now some people may call this life-style "boring", but I call it...

Easy! Strees-free! And Uncomplicated!

And if you think about everything you've already been through, and everything left that life's going to throw at you... "Easy"... "Stress-free"... and "Uncomplicated!", doesn't sound too bad now, does it?

So what does this have to do with marketing?

Only this: Whenever you're selling something, always speak clearly... and always...

Keep it simple... easy... stress-free... and uncomplicated!

Along those lines, I recently stumbled across a FREE software tool that completely (and very easily) cleans up the presentation of your e-mails, lickety-split.

It's called EZ Text Formatter and it was developed by Dave Brown.

What's so good about it?

Simply this: Presentation is everything when it comes to selling. True?

And if you haven't noticed, just like "advertorial" style display ads get you more attention (and much more credibility with your readers), there's a standard format you need to be using when you're sending your e-mails as well.

You want to keep the character length of your e-mails (that means how many "spaces" of text going across your screen) to no more than "60".

Why?

Well for starters, more and more people are using smaller hand-held and portable devices to connect to the internet and check their e-mail.

If you're using one of these devices, you simply can't see as many characters as you can on a "traditional" desktop or laptop monitor.

And even when you're using a desktop monitor, the appearance of an e-mail with only 60 characters is clean, neat, and it makes for easy reading -- as long as what you're saying is interesting, of course -- there's not a software program in the world that can save you from boring sales copy.

The thing I like best about EZ Text Formatter is, once it's running... all you have to do, is literally right click on the EZ Formatter Icon in your tray, and "BAM!" -- your text is formatted right there-and-then on the spot!

Then you just hit "paste" in whatever application you're using (doesn't necessarily have to be your e-mails only), and you pop your text in wherever you want.

Easy as a drive through the park on a lazy Sunday afternoon in autumn, hey?

Think paragraph size and the length of your text doesn't really matter?

Think again: Go back and look at the size of each of the paragraphs in this little article, or in any article I write for that matter.

You'll notice, they're ALL...

Simple! Easy! Stress-free And Uncomplicated!

P.S. If you want to download EZ Text Formatter right now, head on over to this link here: EZ Text Formatter

Have you found any differences in response rates, either online or offline, depending on the length of your sales message... or the size of your character width? If you have, let me know - maybe I'll share your reply with the rest of my subscribers.

And here’s how you can do that:

Send them to me by scooting over to the contact form on my "Here's How To Contact Craig" page, and maybe I'll publish them next time. I appreciate your feedback!

And if you haven 't already done so, go ahead and click here right now to sign up for my FREE Tip Of The Week -- it's the Number One Direct-Response Marketing And Copywriting Newsletter for independent business-owners.

“Craig Garber is America's Top Direct-Response Copywriter. You'll find hundreds of marketing tips to increase your sales, and his insanely popular FREE Direct-Response Marketing Tip Of The Week, on his website, www.KingOfCopy.com. Copyright © Craig Garber. All rights reserved.”

Posted by ralph at 10:07 PM | Permalink

The 'featured gallery' is a little-known and little-used eBay feature, but that's part of its power: it is far more used by buyers than it is by sellers, which means you can pick up some new buyers by advertising there.

Basically, the featured gallery works a lot like 'Featured Plus' for normal listings, which shows your item before all the other results. Buying a 'Featured Gallery' listing shows your listing at the top when someone chooses to use the picture gallery instead of the list view.

Which Picture Gallery?

Exactly - you've probably got no idea what I'm talking about, since it's such a little-used and well-hidden feature. Try doing a search for an item. Do you see just above the results, where you can choose between 'List View' and 'Picture Gallery' (it's next to the options for sorting the results)? Click 'Picture Gallery'. A whole new world opens up before your eyes!

This feature is there for buyers who prefer to work visually instead of by title - and there are a surprising number of them, especially if your items are being sold for their visual appeal.

What Happens When I'm Featured?

Becoming featured in the gallery means that your item will be displayed above the other items in the picture gallery when any search there includes your item in the results. You might think this useless, considering how few people ever look at the picture gallery - but for the people who do look, you'll be right up there. You'll stand out even more, in fact, since so few sellers buy the featured gallery listings.

Not only that, but your picture will appear almost twice the size of the normal gallery listings below it. Your picture will be taking up a big part of the users' screen as soon as they get their results, and they can't avoid seeing it! For users with smaller screens, your picture could take up as much as a third of their display area.

Consider it targeted advertising towards buyers who prefer to work visually - if you want to attract that kind of buyer, you'll do well from the featured gallery. If you sell art then this will be absolutely ideal for you, especially for large, striking pieces. There are independent artists out there who've gone from no sales to bidding wars just by getting featured in the gallery.

So How Do I Get a Featured Gallery Listing?

Just tick the option when you're going through the Sell Your Item process. It costs $19.95 per item, so it's only really worth using on auctions where you think you'll make more than that back in the extra bids.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-