The Helpful Pointer

Southern Africa is a fascinating place, the marvellous open planes teaming with animals and one of the lowest population densities in the universe. Zambia comes with some of the nicest natural surroundings in South Africa, the fabulous blend of unmarked fields, forests and marshlands makes the entire land come to life. Not only might you be seduced at the surroundings, one will also be allured at the seductive lakes and waterfalls. This is a real heaven on earth.

In Zambia you yourself will be able to see the leading waterfall of all, the Victoria Falls. This alluring waterfall has been a location for countless wild dogs with many big cats & elephants coming to bathe in the cold waters that run here. Furthermore make sure you yourself see the crocodiles and hippos in the Zambezi River, and do not forget to book a safari guide as the river can often be a tiny bit rough. one may additionally wish to hire a photography safari in South Luangwa National Park and get near with the diverse wildlife. On a driving tour one will view giraffes & extraordinarily rare wild dogs. If you are lucky enough you yourself can view a heard of giraffes with their young. The opportunity to be so close with all of these fantastic animals is amazing.

Accommodation in Southern Africa might often range from 5 star chain hotels right through to tents without any showers. Whichever accommodation type you select one will be sure of a wonderful time. Explore Zambia with a Zambia safari.

You’ve finished building your web site. Now there’s all that invaluable traffic, just waiting to beat a path to your site. You’ve dotted all your i’s, crossed all your t’s and followed the standard to get the word out. You wear a path out in your carpet pacing back and forth, In between your pacing you check your server logs, hoping for a sudden increase in visitors. The reality is, unless your corporate America with a huge advertising budget, the days of staggering increases in traffic are way down the road. Isn’t there something I can be doing while I wait for the search engine traffic to come?

As a matter of fact there is. Yet this particular form of Free website promotion doesn’t make the headlines and requires no software to install, no backdoor tricks into the search engines, and it’s totally free. What is it?

Now, Before I reveal this technique, I want you to promise you won’t go near the delete button and you’ll give me a chance to lay this thing out to you. Promise? O.K. The Technique is “Posting to Forums.” In the first couple days of “Going Live,” you can hope to attract a couple of hundred visitors, at the least. This will be small in comparison to the knowledge you’ll attain, by allowing the members of these forums to critique your site. You’ll then be able to make whatever changes necessary before the search engines crawl your site. Having your site critiqued by experienced marketers, For Free, Well, Let’s just say, “You Can’t Beat The Price.”

If you’ve never visited or posted in a forum. Don’t be intimidated. These are people no different than you and I. Merely a group of like minded individuals seeking to get answers to their questions or providing answers to questions asked. Usually on a specific topic or topics.

Side Note: Before you Post make sure you read the rules for posting. Read some of the posts being made. Stay on Topic, You’ll get the hang of it in no time.

Once you get the hang of it you’ll want to make sure you don’t go announcing your new site to every other forum you come across. This is viewed as Board Spamming and is definitely a No No. There are boards that will accept this sort of post but on a whole you’ll have to remain on topic and wait for the opportunity to legitimately slide your announcement in. Sometimes outright and others in your signature.

Finding forums to fit your needs is easy. Just type “forums” into your favorite search box, you can then refine your search from there. Check to see if the list of sites meets your needs and go from there.

As a newcomer you’ll want to keep your initial posts simple. Remember to mind your manners. Be polite and friendly and always maintain the prescence of the Business Professional that you are. When the time is right, simply ask them to look at your site. You’ll recieve a pretty good cross section of positive and critical comments. Don’t go getting your shorts all in a knot because someone has posted, what appears to you to be, a negative comment. Keep in mind that you’ve enlisted them to critique your site. Be prepared for all the comments. On a whole, the folks in these forums want to help. However, from time to time you may run into those that seem to have nothing good to say about anything or anybody. Take all comments “Buffet Style.” Take what you want and leave the rest.

Initially you may want to go look at one or two other members sites and supply some feedback before asking to have yours looked at. This will give you valuable insight. What you may find wrong with someone elses site, you can apply it to your own and make the necessary changes. When looking for a site to be looked at, look for the post who has little or no responses to it. By responding to their post they’re likely to express their gratitude by visiting your site when you ask in your post. This technique may seem a bit sly but nonetheless effective. Just don’t get in the habit of operating in this manner.

You’ll not get a ton of traffic from forums but you will have engaaged in an effective form of site promotion and all forms of site promotion need to be entered into the mix. As has been said by someone other than myself, “You don’t need to get it right, You just need to get it going.” By applying the above you will have “Indeed Got It Going!”

Forums are a great place to make new friends and interact with those that are trying to accomplish pretty much the same things we are. So keep things rolling right along by “Posting to Forums!”

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On February 8, 2006, the real estate business changed a bit with the launch of
Zillow ™ (http://www.zillow.com). Zillow’s goal is to simplify the process of
finding the market value of a home.

Zillow is the creation of Richard Barton and Lloyd Frink. You may have heard of
Richard’s last project, founding the internet travel site Expedia.

In his launch press release, Barton says, “We believe you shouldn’t need a computer
science degree or a real estate license to find out what a home is worth. That’s why
we created Zestimate values, providing free and instant valuations for millions of
homes in America. This beta is just the beginning… Zillow will continue adding tools
and services to empower consumers to make smarter real estate decisions.”

With Zillow, 60 seconds is all is takes for anyone to find the current market value of
any home in the Zillow database - whether or not it is on sale (currently they have
data for about 60 million homes). Zillow computes its valuations based largely on
publicly available data (tax records, etc.), which leads to some pretty interesting
results.

In some cases, Zillow’s estimates seem to be accurate within the 10% margin of
error they list on their site. Many of the tests we ran and have read about, however,
show Zillow is regularly off the mark by as much as a few hundred thousand dollars.
A lot of properties don’t even show up, my house included.

Regardless of the accuracy of the data (which we assume will improve the longer
Zillow stays in business), the idea of Zillow is angering many real estate
professionals who feel that publicly accessible information like this puts the success
of their business in the cross hairs.

Good technology is disruptive, meaning it interrupts the status quo and forces us to
change (hopefully for the better) or get left behind. Whenever a new technology like
Zillow comes along, you can view it in one of two ways: optimistically or
pessimistically.

Let’s choose the former.

So how can you use Zillow to your advantage?

Start using their biggest asset (pricing information) to boost YOUR biggest asset
(the VALUE you deliver to buyers and sellers).

Zillow concentrates on price and makes that pricing information readily available to
anyone. And while price is important, it is only one part of buying and selling real
estate.

Fortunately, your business is not built on information alone. What good is
information without the knowledge required to interpret that information and turn it
into action?

I could go out and buy the entire curriculum used by the top medical school in the
country, but having the information doesn’t help me DO anything. Knowledge and
experience are required to turn that information into real VALUE for me and others.

It’s kind of the same thing for Zillow. Your goal is to make sure your potential
buyers and sellers understand that.

So here’s just one way to make Zillow work for you:

If you study the Zillow results carefully for properties you know well, you will find
that it is particularly poor in keeping up with major improvements made to
properties that substantially increase their value. This is just ONE of the holes that
exists right now.

Next time you are heading to a listing presentation, take the Zillow results with you.
Study the report and use it to your advantage to show the seller just how much
value you bring to the table. Use the Zillow Zestimate (their word not mine) as a
teaching tool with your seller. Show them why or why not the data is accurate and
make it clear that your knowledge can either make them more money or save them
from the frustration of trying to sell at an inflated price.

Zillow can deliver price, but you can deliver value.

And VALUE is what clients will pay for.

In the end, basic business principles still apply. You get what you pay for. Be sure
to communicate that to your clients in every possible way and you will never be
threatened by the next new technology that comes along.

Jason Leister is owner of Computer Super Guy, LLC, a Chicago-based technology
firm that helps real estate professionals profit with technology.

Sign-Up for the free real estate technology newsletter ProfIT by clicking on the link
below:

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Each issue is filled with a mixture of business, marketing and technology ideas you
can put to immediate use to make money. And it will be written in plain English
from start to finish.

For years I wondered how big the bucks were that were roaming our property in the dark of night. After all, I knew that monster bucks had to be eluding me during the daylight hours only to roam the woods at night. In an attempt to reveal these mysterious nocturnal monsters I purchased a scouting camera in 1996.

After a couple of years of using the camera I was very disappointed. The camera worked fine and we had many pictures of deer, but they were the same does and spike bucks that I was seeing during the day. Something must be wrong; I knew that there had to be big bucks stalking the hillsides at night. After all, everyone always said “you know there is a big one in there somewhere”.

After many rolls of film and an equal number of anxious trips to retrieve developed pictures, I came to realize that there simply were not any mystical trophy bucks roaming our property.

This scouting camera was the proof that I needed to convince myself that the problem was not nocturnal deer but it was actually a deer management problem.

In the eight years since that initial camera purchase I have gotten pictures of bucks that I had not seen, but this wasn’t until after I had implemented a quality deer management plan on our property. One thing is certain, if mature bucks are not on your property you will not get a picture of them and you will definitely not see them.

You can use your scouting camera pictures to get approximate buck to doe ratios simply by observing the ratios that are in the pictures. Also it is easier to estimate the quality of the bucks on your property once you have a picture that you can study. You will also get pictures of the other wildlife that make their homes on your property.

With a scouting camera you can practically perform 24 hour scouting, especially with the new digital scouting cameras. For those of us who work it is difficult to spend a lot of time scouting, but the camera can be your eyes.

A scouting camera cannot find bucks that are not there but they do a real good job of letting you know what is.

Camera Placement

Where do you put your scouting camera? This is one of the fun parts of having a scouting camera. Deciding where to put the camera is just like deciding where to hunt.

The easiest way to get pictures of whitetail deer is to have something that attracts them. If you do this, a camera can take a lot of pictures in a short period of time. Be careful of your delay settings on your camera or you could get a lot of pictures of the same deer.

It is interesting to put the camera up at various places such as: well used trails, scrapes, rubs, food plots and minerals licks. I’m sure that you can think of a few places where you would like to know how much deer activity takes place.

Most scouting cameras have the ability to place the date and time on the photograph. This can be very helpful in determining the time of day the deer show up at your particular hotspot. I use it to let me know what time I have to be in the woods in the mornings so that I don’t have to get out of bed any earlier than I have to.

Set Up Tips

There are a few things that will help ensure that you will not be disappointed with your scouting camera.

Try not to place the camera where it is facing into either the rising or setting sun.

Clear weeds away from the front of the camera so that you do not get pictures of weeds swaying in the breeze.

Do not set your camera up too close or far away from where you expect the deer to travel. A camera set up on a tree within 3 feet of the trail is too close whereas most flashes cannot reach much beyond 30 feet or less.

Fresh batteries! It is very disappointing to find out that you didn’t get many pictures because your batteries have died. Rechargeable batteries are gaining popularity lately; I’m having good success using them with my digital scouting camera.

I advise buying a scouting camera that has a locking device. It would be too easy for someone to walk away with your camera if it is not locked.

I am using a digital scouting camera for the first time this year and highly recommend them. There are many advantages to the digital camera, in particular the capability of viewing your pictures right away.

The exciting part is seeing a picture of a nice buck that you didn’t know was on your property. These pictures help you get out of bed on those cold mornings and make you stay in your stand longer when you get bored. Get yourself a scouting camera and have fun with it.

About The Author

I have been deer hunting in West Virginia for close to 30 years. Now I am teaching my children to hunt and enjoy it more each year.

You can read more about our experienced with scouting cameras and our latest digital adventures at www.whitetaildeer-management-and-hunting.com.

Well it looks as if Al Gore is warning all of us about global warming. And it looks as if he is promoting his new movie of the same time? Must be convenient to get free advertising like that. If Al Gore wants to be in the White House and he wants to clean up the globe and all the oceans of the world maybe he needs to start a little smaller.

Maybe he can become the White House janitor in clean all the toilets. We already know he has a security clearance and he has a few Secret Service people who are watching out for him as well. I believe Al Gore could clean up the world but I’d like to see some of his work first, show us these talents and therefore I’d like to see if he can also clean the journals on Capitol Hill and toilets in the White House.

I understand some of his Democratic friends wanted to put more Johns in the White House, but John Edwards and John Kerry were not elected. Perhaps all of them could form the White House janitorial crew and clean all the toilets. John Edwards could file class-action lawsuits with anybody in the White House who left to big of a turd. Of course John Kerry would probably find a lobbyist to do all his dirty work for him.

You know those lobbyist will bend over backward to do just about anything in Washington D.C. including both clean out a little crap and removing other crap, which is in their way. Let us get Al Gore to commit to cleaning up the world one toilet at a time. Consider this in 2006.

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

A recent survey proves beyond doubt that select nightclothes are doubtlessly the astounding objects of yearning known to allow today’s women to perceive themselves as fetching. At the top of the exclusive lingerie and nightwear market, Myla is a London headquartered renowned corporation concentrating on preparing today’s women to feel sexy and self-possessed in select ladies’ sleepwear. Myla’s product list spans come-hither soft triangle bras plus, of course, fishnet stockings, sweet sleepwear outfits including, obviously, voluptuous bed room sex enhancement paraphernalia.

Focused on the best-of-breed in passionate indulgence the Myla store presents its clientele with suggestive nightclothes manufactured from luxury fabrics encompassing pure high gloss silk, lightweight chiffon, tatted lace including, obviously, soft sheer mesh. Focused on flirtatious females, young and old there’s underwired lace bras alongside skirted knickers, brassires alongside correlating silk & lace thongs and body lace garters and/or sweet impish lace-trim babydolls manufactured from lightweight chiffon and tatted lace. Naturally, this prime mass of articles presents its clientele with lace basques, silk and lace open knickers, sheer long chemises including, obviously, long silk satin halterneck nightshirts. For sheer come-hither witchery, experts are likely to recommend a novel quarter cup underwired bra or preformed padded plunge bra corresponding with silk and lace open knickers and a body lace rounded off by pantyhoses. Fit for the boudoir, we can see pure structured silk satin and tulle stays, skirted knickers, pettipants, body lace g-strings and strops.

If you require voluptuous bed room accessories experts are likely to recommend sex enhancement accessories, satin high heels, pantyhoses, body lace garters and sensual smelling lavender passion candles. Cast a spell and tease with feather ticklers, tie ups, satin and chiffon blindfolds, exotic jojoba massage oil, fantastic lover’s chocolate body paints or a impish paddle. Focused on the best-of-breed voluptuous sex enhancement paraphernalia, the Myla store presents its clientele with a large inventory of intimate pleasure toys specially made by a swarm of quality artists. Lingerie lovers may choose from a wide-ranging lineup encompassing the sleek look sex toys by Habitat Creative Director Tom Dixon, the aesthetically unique platinum bow engraved vibrator by Jimmyjane or Mari Oda’s variable speed vibrating toy Pebble.

Myla - presenting the best in luxury lingerie.

Some networking companies are built around gaining customers, some around recruiting people into the plan. These people in turn recruit others who recruit others who recruit others etc. To some this sounds like a typical pyramid scheme and the boundaries of what is and isn’t a pyramid can often be confusing. Essentially, the money coming into the distrubtors pocket should mostly come from outside the scheme itself.

The way I see it is that if you’re not getting paid for recruiting people into your company and the money comes from these people purchasing products and services, then it’s okay. I’ll further qualify this by saying that these products and services should be things that these people actually want and would buy at that price even if they weren’t to be compensated for being with that MLM.

Should you focus on building a base of recruiters who recruit? Personally, I think that an organisation of recruiters is a flakey one and one that flirts with the law. I’d much rather focus on what makes these companies exist in the first place. The products and services they offer. Build a solid base of customers - who have no idea about MLM, network marketing or otherwise - and I’d say you’re in a very solid company indeed. You’re also on more solid ground when it comes to recruiting other people to do the same and in a better position to make your downline more profitable. A profitable downline means a downline that is going to stick around and be less dependant on you, and in turn they’ll be in a position to repeat the process.

Some companies won’t actually pay you until you qualify for commission by virtue of your own sales. This is a good thing and I wish more would do this. It would scare a lot of people away that would otherwise get involved, if they don’t want to be in the sales game then you shouldn’t be dangling carrots of financial freedom and riches in front of them.

Chris Andrews has a keen interest MLM and network marketing, but not in the way most people are. He writes about his experiences on the site http://www.wanttoknowmore.com/ and the blog http://christopherandrews.blogspot.com/

Once you’ve brought your German shepherd home, it’s time to start training.

Though Shepherds have a reputation for instability, the fact is, with the help of an experienced obedience instructor, your dog can be extremely well trained. The first thing you need to understand is that dogs need to be trained from birth; they cannot be trained when they have already become adults. Trainers will tell you to always provide your Shepherd with plenty of regular exercise as well as mental stimulation to tame their rambunctious natures. Otherwise, you may find your bored doggie will turn to destructive chewing. If this occurs, simply sprinkle chair legs and other attractive targets with black or cayenne pepper to discourage chewing. Provide plenty of fresh water everyday, but especially after long walks. And introduce your dog to lots of friendly people so he can learn to recognize normal behavior of good guys; a dog that’s isolated may become suspicious of everyone, which can lead to biting.

German shepherds shed constantly, so be prepared to do a lot of vacuuming. There are some tips to reduce the work load: Mix one part brewers yeast and garlic with two parts doggie stew, or try Mrs. Allens Shed Stop, which is also mixed with the dog’s food. Daily brushing helps, but frequent bathing isn’t necessary. And do remember to trim Fido’s nails at least once every two weeks. A little care and lots of love help your German shepherd grow into a loyal and welcome member of the family for years to come!

German Shepherds provides detailed information on German Shepherds, German Shepherd Breeders, German Shepherd Kennels, German Shepherd Puppies and more. German Shepherds is affiliated with Golden Retriever Training.

The nuisance involved in going to a gambler’s den can be ample reason to drop it unless you have to. At the end of the day, all those long drives, the nuisance, and umpteen things to take care of cannot seem to justify the distress for the mere opportunity to test the odds at gambler’s den, though allowing for this, if you happen to be a person who thoroughly ache for casinos and gambling then going online is surely the more obvious solution. You don’t have to leave your desk to have a bash at online texas holdem and related games as everything will be conducted from your home office provided you have a personal computer and an Internet connection. In spite of this, don’t get in a frenzy– there are a fair number of guidelines which you’ll want to study in regards to online texas holdem and related games, specifically if you’re a beginner.

The topmost thing which every well informed Web plunger definitely must look for is an online texas holdem and related games web site of the sort that can guarantee the best odds. Make a point of establishing that the online texas holdem and related games web site is connected to a trust-worthy bookkeeping firm to verify the casino games payout in a documented manner. Always be sure to confirm the online video poker etc web site holds an authentic license, such as by probing the governmental operating permit on the webpage. If you can’t determine any governmental operating permit on that particular online video poker etc web site, don’t think of laying at this place. Don’t miss out! Live gambling internet here.

For some more imperative advice, is obviously to gamble initially with trivial amounts instead of risking top dollars on the spot. Check first the integrity of this particular online video poker etc operation prior to running some severe injury- specifically in regards to money… Our last consequential information in regards to online casino. It is, expectably, this- always to call to mind that gambling should actually be concerned with pleasure rather than big winnings. Casino wagering isn’t a job, but, instead, a hobby which is supposed to help you become happy and life in general enjoyable. Thus, having adhered to the spelled out facts, you’re free now to defer to the magic of online video poker etc.

Direct mail post cards are one of the fastest and most economical ways to reach your customers. And, because there’s no envelope to open your messages are seen as soon as your post cards are taken out of the mailboxes. Consequently, you have the ability to instantly establish a connection, or kill a deal, so your message must be attractively packaged.

In keeping with that there are important elements of direct mail campaigns that you must include in order to get the most out of your marketing efforts. For example:

1) Keep it simple. Keep copy simple, direct, short and to the point. Also, use words that motivate.

2) Create bold headlines. Grab the reader’s attention and make them at least think about your advertisement.

3) Ask questions. Asking questions is also an attention getter, as the readers of your mailings are likely to pause and think of an answer.

4) Solve their problems. Remember that real estate sales people are in the problem solving business. Your prospects have real estate related problems, and your aim is to have solutions to them.

5) Call to action. Always include a call to action; the prospect must be motivated to respond. Be clear and direct about what it is you want them to do.

6) Choose appealing colors and fonts. Your choice and use of colors, font sizes, white space, etc influences the effectiveness of your marketing campaigns, as does your ability to tailor your marketing messages to your targeted audience.

Marketing mailers, flyers, brochures and post cards are more affordable and accessible than ever, as they can now be easily published from your computer. Or, you can still go the conventional route of purchasing your marketing materials from a third party vendor.

And because they’re so affordable small businesses and individuals can wager year round marketing campaigns.

There’s no shortage of statistics about the importance of consistent advertising, but the bottom line is that repetition builds recognition. So, when you start a mailing campaign commit to it for the long haul, as it can take 3- 7 mailings before the recipients connect the mailings with you and your services, at which time you’ll be more than half way there.

So, the main goal of direct mail marketing campaigns is to get your name before as many people as you can, as often as you can, so that when buyers and sellers in your community need an agent they’ll think of you.

The more marketing pieces you put into prospects hands the sooner you develop warm and hot leads, prospects ready to do business with you. And the more frequently you do it the more leads you develop for sustaining your career.

Full gloss direct mail post cards can evoke powerful visual images with short, compelling marketing and sales messages - your messages! And with a direct mail marketing campaign you can deliver your sales messages quickly, often and save money doing it.

So, begin a direct mailing campaign when you’re ready to

• generate more leads with less time and effort

• create a steady stream of responsive prospects, and

• brand yourself as the agent/business of choice

Direct mail is a cost effective solution for every budget, and when combined with face to face, website interaction and other marketing strategies is so effective that it can set the tone for and sustain a real estate agent’s career.

Repeated mailings of a single, strong direct mail piece is a very effective strategy for Realtors on limited budgets, and consistently produces one of the highest rates of return on a small to mid-size size marketing budget… and did I mention you’ll save time while doing it?

Keeping customers informed of your real estate marketing efforts and successes should be your top priority, and simple, eye-catching post cards can be the solution!

Lanard Perry is the webmaster of “Real-Estate-Marketing-Talk”, a real estate marketing site for real estate agents, buyers, sellers and investors. Discover more direct mail marketing ideas at http://www.real-estate-marketing-talk.com/direct-mail-post-cards.html