Articles page 2

Betting on baseball has never been better!

Now that we have put the Barry Bonds/ Babe Ruth blah, blah, blah to sleep, I think it’s time that we sat back and wagered a few bucks on our favorite MLB team. Parity is here and every one of the six divisions is up for grabs this year and handicapping these teams, takes patience and talent.

Let’s start with the glamour division and of course I am referring to the American League East where the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have been trading punches since the opening week of April and George’s boys are now sitting in the penthouse.

Lurking down in the lobby are the Toronto Blue Jays who have fought off injuries to their starting pitching staff, with superb hitting and are 32-25 and are just three games back. Toronto has made it clear from the get go, that they will spend money during the season in order to contend.

In the AL Central my 9-1 betting bonanza and that would be the 2005 Chicago White Sox are scuffling a bit after a torrid start and presently trail the Motown Detroit Tigers. The Tigers began the first 50 games under Jim Leyland in spectacular fashion, but injuries are beginning to hit them, with the latest being to Pudge Rodriguez.

At 28-29 the Cleveland Indians will make a move at some point and placing a few bucks on them, could provide you with a nice return on your dollar. The AL West with Texas, Oakland, Seattle and Los Angeles is a crapshoot, with only 5.5 games separating the VIP section and the cheap seats. The first place Rangers incidentally are the only team in the West with a winning mark in games played within the division and against the powerful AL East and you cannot ignore that vital gambling statistic.

The New York Mets like their neighbors the Yankees like to throw the money around and they sit atop the NL East presently, but the Phillies and Braves can almost reach out and touch them. With 14 straight division titles, I certainly would think about a wagering a few bucks on them to win once again.

The Cardinals are suddenly trying to ward off the Cincinnati Reds who are getting healthy and pounding the ball. The Cardinals meanwhile have all kids of injury issues with Pujols and ace Chris Carpenter does not look stable.

Just like their counterparts in the AL West, the NL West Diamondbacks, Dodgers, Padres, Giants and Rockies are in a fierce battle for supremacy. Just six games separate the top and bottom, with Arizona leading the pack. The Dodgers are getting superb play out of Garciaparra and if their veterans can stay healthy, watch out!

Bob Acton

Current baseball betting lines

Health Woes in Tech-America

The improvement in the overall health of Americans is decreasing. While the 1990’s saw a 1.5% increase per year in overall health, the 2000’s have yielded an increase of just 0.3%. According to the American Public Health Association, obesity and smoking are to blame. 23.1 percent of the American population is considered obese, more than twice the amount of 1990. Furthermore, 65% of the country is considered overweight. The number of people who smoke dropped sharply between 1990 and 1993 but has shown no decrease from 1993 to the present. Smoking is the biggest preventable cause of death in the U.S., contributing to nearly 1/2 a million deaths each year.

We’re all well aware that we should stay away from fast foods, desserts and cigarettes but we don’t. Just look at our life expectancy, 69.3 years. Twenty-eight other countries exceed ours. Is it our technological, fast paced lifestyle that is setting us up for stress- eating and a sedentary lifestyle? Is all of this technology really helping us or is it hurting us? Think about this for a moment: as things continue to get easier for us from technology, being motivated gets harder. It naturally decreases. Why? Because we can order food, cloths, vacation’s and just about anything we want without having to budge. We can buy robotic vacuums to clean the floors and even robotic lawn mowers to cut the grass. We can even run a business from the corner bedroom. We can literally never leave our house and get just about anything done that we want. And we can do it without having to leave our seat. That’s not much of an incentive to get-up and get going. It’s more of an incentive to dive into a bag of cheese doodles.

Our brains get accustomed to the sedentary nature of our 21st century lifestyle, which is why it can seem so difficult to get moving, to get out there and make the changes we need to improve our health. It can be very tempting to order-in all the time because it’s much easier than cooking. Even a mere 1/2 hour of daily exercise seems like a monumental task these days because it is not consistent with the “easy” messages we send to our brain. We need to get-up and go out and apply some good, old-fashioned effort. In order to break out of our sedentary shells, we need to reprogram our thoughts. We need to reprogram our minds. If

Here are some quick tips that will help get you going now.

1. Start with one goal at a time.

2. If you cook 3 nights a week, start cooking 5 nights a week. Just make the commitment.

3. If you purchase most of your items on-line, go to the mall and do some shopping instead. Just get moving. Your body needs it.

4. If you want to start an exercise program, don’t think 2 hours. Think a 1/2 an hour to start off.

5. Take the stairs instead of the elevator.

6. If you watch a lot of television, start replacing some of that time with a brisk walk outside. After all, the average American watches 21 hours of televisions a week, yet we “don’t have time” to exercise even just a little bit.

Thomas J. Kersting, LPC, Ph.D is the author of FAT PROOF: Power Programming Your Bodies Weight-Loss Computer (Harbor Press, coming in Winter 2006). Dr. Tom has helped countless people to lose weight with his power programming method. Please visit his website to learn about his Power Programming Weight-Loss CD and free offer. Don’t forget to sign-up for his free bi-weekly e-newsletter http://www.fatproof.net/.

The Easy 1-2-3 Quick Workout

Think you have to kill yourself at the gym to get in shape? Too many people believe that when starting a workout regimen, that they’ll to have to hit the gym for a couple of hours at a time in order to see results. Wrong. This is precisely what prevents people from starting a workout routine in the first place. All you need is a half-hour to forty-five minutes three or four times a week to get yourself into shape, and I guarantee you’ll get results.

The key to starting an exercise plan is to think small. Think 30 to 45 minutes of exercise, not 2 hours. Certainly you can spare a half-hour or forty-five minutes of your time. Once you really get into it, you can kick-it up a notch if you’d like, but you don’t have to. Here is a simple three-day plan that you can do right from home and you don’t need an expensive gym membership or fancy equipment. And I guarantee you’ll see results in just two weeks. It’s as easy as 1-2-3. Go to Target or Sears or K-mart and pick-up two 10-pound dumbbells. If you’re feeling a bit stronger, get some 20-pound dumbbells. You may want to purchase both sets of dumbbells because depending on the exercise you’re doing, you’ll find that the amount of weight you need may vary.

1. (Monday) Arms and Chest

BICEPS (arms)

BICEP CURLS: Stand-up straight holding the dumbbells in each hand at your side. Slowly lift one arm at time leaving your elbows in place. Bring the dumbbell from your side to your shoulder. Do 10-12 repetitions with each arm and do three sets. A great workout for your biceps.

TRICEPS (arms)

TRICEP EXTENSIONS: Keep both feet together, bend over slightly, rest one hand on the wall and make sure your other arm is at your side with your elbow at 90 degrees. Your elbow to your hand should be facing perpendicular to the floor. Extend the dumbbell straight back without moving your elbow and do three sets of 10-12 repetitions with each arm.

PECTORAL (chest)

CHEST PRESS: Lie down on a bench, bring both arms to your armpit area with dumbbells in hand and extend both arms straight up. Do 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions. If you don’t have a bench, good old-fashioned push-ups will get the job done.

2. (Wednesday) Back, shoulders and trapezoid muscles

BACK

DUMBELL ROWS: Place left knee on a bench or chair with a dumbbell resting on the ground. Reach down and grab the dumbbell with your right arm. Bring the dumbbell straight-up under your armpit without moving any body part but your arm. Do 3 sets of ten repetitions with each arm.

SHOULDERS: Stand straight-up, holding both dumbbells at your side. Keep arm straight and move one are at a time directly away from your body at shoulder height. Do 3 sets or 10-12 repetitions with each arm. (do not use more than 10 pounds for this exercise)

SHOULDER SHRUGS (TRAPEZOIDS): Stand straight up holding both arms at your side with dumbbells in hand. Lift both shoulders up toward your ears and pause at the top. Do 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions.

3. (Friday) Legs

QUADRICEPS: Stand-up straight, hold both dumbbells at your side and squat down as if you’re sitting in a chair. Do 3 sets of 10-12 repetitions.

CALVES: Stand straight-up, hold both dumbbells at your side and stand-up on your tiptoes. Hold at the top for a couple of seconds. Do 3 sets of 10 to 12 repetitions.

These exercises should take you 15 to 20 minutes to complete. When you are done with your weight training you can use the remaining time to incorporates some cardiovascular activity like walking, running, swimming or biking. Once you get the hang of it, you can purchase some additional dumbbells if you feel you need more weight. This 1-2-3 system will get you on your way and you will see results. The key: be consistent.

Thomas J. Kersting, LPC, Ph.D is the author of FAT PROOF: Power Programming Your Bodies Weight-Loss Computer (Harbor Press, coming in Winter 2006). Dr. Tom has helped countless people to lose weight with his power programming method. Please visit his website to learn about his Power Programming Weight-Loss CD and free offer. Don’t forget to sign-up for his free bi-weekly e-newsletter http://www.fatproof.net/

Affiliate Marketing

by: Arthur Caby

If you have even a passing interest in the topic of Affiliate, then you should take a look at the following information. This enlightening article presents some of the latest news on the subject of Affiliate.

Affiliate Marketing: Why is it One of the Most Cost-Effective Ways to Advertise your Business

When you think about Affiliate, what do you think of first? Which aspects of Affiliate are important, which are essential, and which ones can you take or leave? You be the judge.

Ever heard of affiliate programs? These are forms of Internet advertising that rewards the affiliates for driving traffic to the advertiser or for other transactions. The advertiser pays the affiliate to place a link on their website, and the affiliate sends traffic to the advertiser in return. Simply put, it's about paying commissions to people who help you make sales. It's that easy. NOT.

Affiliate marketing has its ups and downs. It could be draining if you are not armed with updated information and the technical how-tos. But this article's sole objective is to reach out to you and not to badmouth affiliate marketing.

Here are the following reasons on why web marketers go gaga over affiliate marketing as a form of Internet advertisement.

1. Low cost

Many are scared to go on a home based business because of the capital required. In affiliate marketing, you don't have to spend much to start raking in moolah.

2. Inventories not included

Product management fuss could be very stressing. An inventory is not asked to be maintained. The merchant does the maintenance required.

It's really a good idea to probe a little deeper into the subject of Affiliate. What you learn may give you the confidence you need to venture into new areas.

3. Unlimited income through leverage

See how much you can learn about Affiliate when you take a little time to read a well-researched article? Don't miss out on the rest of this great information.

When you have a paid job, your monthly income mainly relies on whether you go to work or not. With affiliate marketing, your affiliates could all just lead traffic to your site without having to lift a finger after providing them your ad copy and links. Though not every web marketer earns limitless, it still is a fact that all the necessary matters for the advertiser or Internet marketer are all there to be successful.

4. Go worldwide

With affiliate marketing, you are dealing with a global market place. All you have to do is choose a niche product and prepare all the necessary tools for your affiliates to lead traffic from just about anywhere to your website.

5. Low risk

The very main reason for Internet marketer's enthusiasm with affiliate marketing is its having a low risk factor. Especially for those with low budget set aside for advertising, affiliate marketing is just the way to do it.

6. No closing time

With affiliate marketing, your business works every single second of the day while targeting a worldwide market! What could be better than that?

But all of these will be put to waste if you don't have the right niche product and all the other important tools to make it big in affiliate marketing, i.e., well-SEO-ed website. So better work on this first before ever considering those benefits.

Brought to you by: Internet Income Resources http://www.incomeintheusa.info/cms/index.php

The day will come when you can use something you read about here to have a beneficial impact. Then you'll be glad you took the time to learn more about Affiliate.

About The Author

Arthur Caby

I have been marketing on the internet for over 5 years with most of that time involved with Affiliate Marketing. Http://www.incomeintheusa.info/cms/

This article can be used as anyone see's fit with no restrictions.

B2B Sales Lead Management: 8 Tips for Selecting a Sales Lead Management Service

by: Mac McIntosh

Are you looking to outsource your sales lead management? Do you need a sales lead management service that understands the importance of properly managing, developing, identifying and distributing qualified sales leads to your direct salespeople, dealers, reps or distributors?

If you answered yes, then you’ll need the following 8 tips for selecting a sales lead management service:

1. Determine what your inquiry handling or sales lead management system must include. Construct a flow chart of the process, including the steps required and the time allotted to each.

2. Prepare a "wish list" of the features your lead generation programs will include if budget allows.

3. Put together a package of background information for each vendor being reviewed. Include literature about your company, products or services as well as samples of current inquiry response materials.

4. Share your numbers with the vendors. How many inquires per month? How many sales offices, reps, dealers or distributors are involved? How many different pieces of printed literature are required?

5. Get a written proposal. The proposal is an easy way to check the sales lead management service company's understanding of your needs. It should include background on the sales lead management service company, its qualifications, a detailed program recommendation and the related fees. Keep in mind that the quality of the proposal and its attention to detail will often serve as a reflection of the vendor's quality and its attention to detail in all aspects.

6. Tour the sales lead management service company's facilities. Be sure to venture beyond the conference room, and go onto the production floor. Listen in on phone calls. Look over the shoulders of people who enter data and fulfill information requests. Be sure you meet the people who will actually be managing your business.

7. Check the sales lead management service’s references. Ask to see a current customer list and look for other companies in your industry or market. Call these companies, not just the ones provided on a reference list. Ask about both the quality of the company's services and the quality of the company's customer service representative who handle their account.

8. Conduct a trial program. Establish measurable objectives up-front, and then determine how long it will take to decide whether the relationship with the sales lead management service will be a good one. Consider running the trial program concurrently with your in-house operation until you are sure everything is working properly and smoothly.

About The Author

M.H. "Mac" McIntosh is one of America's leading B2B marketing and sales lead consultants. Put Mac to work for you as a marketing speaker or as your business-to-business marketing consultant. SIGN UP NOW FOR A FREE Business Marketing Newsletter: http://www.sales-lead-experts.com/tips/newsletter-signup.cfm

mac@sales-lead-experts.com

Why Christians Fail at Internet Marketing

by: Sean Mize

Discover why Christians fail at Internet marketing and what you can do to change it. This revealing and honest article will change the way you think about Christian marketing.

A Christian begins to think about marketing online, and wants to market to the Christian Internet Market. After some extensive research, he or she finds that the Christian Internet market is saturated with multilevel, get-rich-quick, gifting, Ponzi schemes, and surf programs. The Christian either chooses to become involved in one of the above-mentioned schemes, thinking that is what Christians are looking for, or decides that Christians aren’t willing to pay for good content or services online.

Unfortunately, the Christian is wrong on both accounts. Christians are willing to pay for good content and services online, but sadly enough, there are very few good Christian services online. Why? Because marketers, both Christian and Secular alike, have assumed that Christians will not pay for online products, because they are unwilling to spend money online. That is the problem. While many Christians, in the early years of the Internet, may have been reluctant to spend money online, with the advent of better Internet filters and screening software, more Christians are spending time online. I contend that the only reason they don’t spend more money online is because of the dearth of good Christian content online. I believe there is a conspicuous absence of good Christian content online, and I believe that those who step up in 2006 and supply the content will get rich doing it.

That may be a bold statement, and some of you will quit reading right now. Go ahead.

Those of you who are still reading, think about this for a moment. When is the best time to get involved in a new window of opportunity? When it first becomes a new window of opportunity, right? I contend that this year, 2006, will be a break-out year for Christian online marketing and sales.

Now, get me right here. I do NOT mean more Ponzi schemes and multi-level games. I mean good, Christian, grounded, chockful-of-useful-information web-based content. Content like information materials that teach about popular Christian topics like Christian self-improvement, Christian dating, Christian success, and Christian values. Products like Christian books, Christian videos, Christian web-sites, Christian marketing tools, and Christian studies.

Another vital point here. These products must be two things: 1) Bona-fide faith-based products that are not ashamed of the Christian identity and 2) High-quality products that contain as much or more good content as a competing secular product. You cannot think that just because a Christian sees a product with a Christian label that that will close the sale. It must be worth every penny you price it at.

If you want to get involved in Christian Internet Marketing, now is the time. Do it.

About The Author

Sean Mize is a Christian Entrepreneur and Christian internet Marketer, and the author of “The Christian Guide to Maximizing Your Time”, which can be ordered via http://www.christiansuccessnetwork.com

He also co-publishes a Christian Article Directory. To read articles or submit articles for inclusion in the directory, click here: http://www.christiansuccesnetwork.com/christian-article-bank

Note: You have my permission to reprint and distribute this article as long as it is distributed in its entirety, including all links. © Sean Mize 2006

mizesean@yahoo.com

Using Surveys to Gather Valuable Customer Data

by: Adrian Mullan

The more you know about your customers, the better you'll understand them. And the better you understand them, the better you'll be able to sell to them.

One of the best ways to collect this information is by creating a quick online survey.

The data you collect from customer surveys can be invaluable to the operation of your business.

Survey results allow you to examine your marketing strategy and ask important questions like:

- Are you promoting the fact that you have a huge product range, when what your customers actually want is extended operating hours?

- Are you promoting your products as technically superior when what your customers really care about its ease-of-use?

- Are you heavily promoting cheap prices when what your customers are more concerned about is customer support?

If you take the time to ask, you'll be surprised at how helpful your customers can be.

To begin with, the two key areas you want to explore are Demographics and Psychographics.

Demographics identify 'Who is your customer?', and

Psychographics asks 'Why does your customer buy?'

When collecting demographic information, you're trying to find out what the profile of your ideal customer is. When collecting psychographic information you're trying to determine what motivates your ideal customer to buy.

Here is some of the information you'll want to gather from your customers.

Demographic Questions

- Are they male or female?

- How old are they?

- Are they married, single or divorced?

- What is their average household income?

- Where do they spend the majority of their time online?

- What are their interests?

Psychographic Questions

Of the people who purchased your product or service...

- What do they think of your product or service?

- Why did they buy your product or service?

- What do they like about your product or service?

- What do they dislike about your product or service?

- How do they think you could improve your product or service?

Of the people who didn't purchase your product or service...

- Why didn't they buy from you?

- Do they feel you are overpriced? Underpriced?

- How did they say you could improve your offer?

- How do they think you could improve your product or service?

What's the Best Time to Collect Customer Information?

The best time to collect this valuable customer information is at the time of purchase (or directly after). The other option is to offer some form of an incentive in exchange for filling out the survey.

What Sort of Incentive Should I Offer?

Remember, you'll get a much better response to your email surveys if you offer something of value in exchange for their personal information.

This can be in the form of a:

- Free report

- Prize

- Discount off their next order

- Offer with a high perceived value

About The Author

Adrian Mullan is the author of 'The Internet Demystified' and founder of WebDummy.com - a popular Internet marketing resource for small business owners.

http://www.t3nt3tion.com

We all had the thirst and hunger to dig in some forums and chow down some topics with some good, constructive crticism. And then it hit you. You weren`t a VIP or a certified member.

Being a well known forum doesn`t mean necesarily that you must make all your threads exclusive for paying members. Just take a look at vbulletin`s mother website. You find a hack, or an addon how it should be called, you need more info, but can`t post or reply because you didn`t buy their product. This is useless and in the mean time very annoying for both programmer and buyer. If you want to buy something, then you might as well try it before you buy it. 160 $ for a license is something not very cheap.

In conclusion, having these said, I hope all you happy people out there, reading and digesting this post, make your forum free, or make special hidden forums.

Related articles and discussions:
http://www.t3nt3tion.com

How to Avoid Online Auction Fraud

The popularity of online auctions is growing at a phenomenal rate. Ebay, the market leader has over 60 million registered users and in the USA over 155,000 people claim that selling on Ebay auctions is their main source of income. However, the great fear that many people is that if they buy or sell through online auctions they are leaving themselves open to be defrauded.

In realty the chances of being scammed on Ebay are quite low, in fact Ebay claim that only 0.01% of all transactions can be considered fraudulent. In fact for most people any problems that do arise can usually be put down to misunderstandings rather than deliberate fraud.

If you are a buyer the starting point is to check out the sellers feedback record. This is the self-regulating system whereby buyers and sellers give each other either positive, neutral or negative feedback after each transaction. The higher the positive feedback the better but don’t just take it at face value because it is possible to build up a high feedback by buying low cost items. Recently in the USA a woman quickly built up a good feedback this way and then listed a great number of high ticket priced items and then disappeared with the cash. The good news is that she did get caught but I do not know whether the money was refunded or not.

Many problems arise because we do not read the listing correctly. The other day I though I was bidding for an audio tape program on Ebay.co.uk which I won but when it arrived it turned out note to be an audio tape but a soft back book. But when I re read the listing it became obvious what was being sold. You have to be particularly careful when you are buying things such as cameras and electrical equipment. Research the item and model numbers and if possible go to the shops and inspect a similar item in a shop.

There have been many cases when having won the auction the buyer finds that the seller has asked for an extortionate amount for postage and shipping. Some sellers set a low minimum price, this way they get away with a low listing fee and load the profit into their postage costs. What can appear a bargain can become an expensive purchase when you add £7 or £8 on for shipping.

There is nothing stopping you contacting the seller before placing a bid, in fact Ebay’s
“Question for Seller” system makes this very easy. Make sure you understand what if any guarantees or return policies are in place. Check which payment methods the seller will accept. Avoid electronic transfers and if it is an expensive item you might consider using an escrow service. This is where a third party holds the money until both buyer and seller declare themselves happy with the transaction. You will have to pay for this service but it can be worth it just for the piece of mind. For most purchases I like to use Paypal as this allows an instant transfer of funds.

Other common sense precautions you should take are to make sure that you do not disclose any unnecessary personal information. Never tell anyone passwords, credit card details and the like. Also get into the habit of printing out all relevant documents
and keeping them in case of any dispute over the transaction.

As I said in the opening paragraph the occurrences of deliberate fraud are low and most online auction companies take very positive steps to combat it. If you ever feel that someone has attempted to “rip you off” then report it immediately. But if you follow the guide lines laid down in this article the chances of you being defrauded is pretty low, so if you have not tried online auctions yet, why not give them a try because they are a great way to dispose of any surplus items that you may have and there are also a lot of bargains that you can buy

Dave Bromley is the author of “How to make Big Money on Ebay Auctions” and is one of the leading UK writers on the subject of On line Auctions.
You can sign up for his free twice monthly newsletter and 6 part mini course on his website at www.ukauctionline.co.uk.

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