The LuxMob Info Tags

So You Want To be A Copywriter?

Wannabe copywriters often check out my site for information relating to my services and fees. And quite right too! I still give my competitor’s websites a ‘gander’ every now and then, in case they’re doing something that I should be doing.

I receive many emails from students working towards their marketing or other media degrees, asking for a few tips about securing work in the ‘Copywriting Industry’ I didn’t realise we had an industry! If we have, it’s surely a cottage industry because most copywriters are freelancers who work on their own and usually from home.

“Well what about advertising and marketing agencies?”, They enquire. “Well what about them?”, I ask. And so it goes on and on until they realise that a copywriter who works for a structured and institutional organisation, is a totally different animal to that of the freelancer.

Institutional versus Freelance

So what are the differences between them? There are many. Let’s look at the agency writer. He or she is likely a talented person with creative skills and a good command of the English language. They will have learned, from their course work, the psychology of selling, aspects of communication and how to write in a flowing and interesting style.

Each day, at the agency office, they will work on their assignments, which have been delegated to them by their manager. Their work will be scrutinised by their manager or team leader, who, in the interests of their company, will decide whether it’s worthy of publication.

After a couple of years, doing similar ‘run of the mill’ stuff, they may be offered the opportunity of coming up with something completely original. All by themselves, with no guidance, un-tethered by their mentor. And, in the interests of the company, not to mention their job security, they will produce something as institutional as they have been doing previously. They’ll play it safe. Well wouldn’t you?

Eventually, their creative awareness and talent may break through the institutional membrane and they’ll want to move on. They’ll want to do something for themselves. They may even become a freelancer.

A freelancer is just about anyone with a passion and a flair for writing. Some have started out on their career path by working for agencies, some have graduated in English and just feel ‘qualified’ to do the job, whilst others come into the ‘industry’ from a variety of other routes.

By whichever means, once they become a freelancer, they quickly learn to survive. To survive and prosper as a freelancer you must have the ability to adapt, diversify and develop the skill of writing in any and every style humanly possible. But there’s more! You will have to meet deadlines, sometimes work for less than the lower national wage limit and learn to turn your brain inside out. Sounds painful!

What does it all amount to? What’s the bottom line?

Let’s summarise thus far.
A copywriter working for an agency will work in a nice warm office with nice friendly colleagues, writing simple institutional letters, brochures, ads and information packs. They’ll be paid somewhere between 18K to 26K, get 4 to 5 weeks annual paid holiday and get to slag off the boss at the office Christmas party.

Sounds pretty good to me. If you want to be a copywriter, I recommend you go down this path. It offers a good salary and a steady secure position.

The freelancer’s life is not so clear cut. They mostly work on their own, write all kinds of stuff about everything and wonder where their next packet of fags is going come from. They only take short breaks, get stressed and slag everyone off at any party.
They’re self-employed, so have to keep accounts. They have to buy all their own stationery, stuff their own letters and post off their mailings. They have to advertise or even worse, they have to compete to sell their services for a pittance to unknown clients through some online freelance website. The pits!
Sounds terrible doesn’t it? Then why do we do it?

The uncovered truth about freelancing

Well, obviously I can’t speak for everyone so I’ll tell you why I do it and how I do it.

“Listen up”

The main reason I write for a living is because I love it. I’ve always been a creative person so writing comes as second nature. And let’s face it, it’s not very difficult to do.

I love the challenge that each assignment brings. I have ghost-written several books for clients and each has been on a completely different subject. The downside of ghost-writing is having to sign away all rights to the work, which means you can’t showcase it or put it in your portfolio. The client gets all the credit for your masterpiece.

I’ve written many articles for websites, emails and sales letters. I write poetry, humour and boring stuff like FAQ’s and product information. But I’m never bored because the work can be so varied.

Then there’s the money of course. A good freelancer should be able to make around 50K a year. Some make less but some can make over 100K a year. There really is no limit. Make a name for yourself and not only will you be earning a good living, you could possibly find yourself in the enviable position of being able to pick and choose the work you do.

Still want to be a copywriter?

Good! Now let’s dispel a few myths by answering a few questions that I get asked all the time.

The 6 Most Frequently Asked Questions

1. Do you need a formal education and a degree? No way! Although most agencies will only employ graduates, there’s no reason why a freelancer needs anything other than a good command of the English language, creativity and a flare for writing. There are many copywriting courses available, if you’re a little unsure or want to hone your skills, but make sure the course work is set by an experienced and reputable copywriter.

2. Can previous work experience help?
Yes! Sales and marketing experience is very useful if you intend to make a living as a sales copywriter. At the very least, you should understand the sales process and the customer service aspect.

3. I don’t have a portfolio. How can I get work? Create one! Write some articles, write a small book, write some sales letters, brochures and emails. Show what you can do. Write for free. Write for charities, magazines or newspaper letter pages. Use your imagination and write about anything.

4. Where are the best places to get work? You could try contacting marketing agencies by way of a letter of introduction, but don’t hold your breath. Magazines are always looking for fillers, so this would be a good place to start. Local small businesses might be interested in having some leaflets written for door to door delivery. Contact them by letter, listing your services and your rates.
When you have gained a little experience, go online and subscribe to some of the freelance websites. Elance, Freelance Work Exchange and Getafreelancer are quite good, but be prepared to compete with other bidders from all over the world. Some Indian freelancers will work for as little #3 an hour, so you’re up against it. Still, I think it’s worth the experience. I get some of my assignments this way.

Build a website or have someone do it for you. I’m of the opinion that all businesses should have a website if they want to stay in business.

Create a mail shot and work your way through your local Yellow Pages. Sell yourself. It’s what you will have to do anyway, so get used to it.

5. What should I charge for my services?
This is just a guide. You’ll instinctively know when you’ve become established.

A one page letter consists of around 500 words and should take no more than 2 hours to write, revise and finalise. If you want #10 an hour, that’ll be #20 for the job. Don’t bother quoting a price per word as you’ll find yourself writing a load of drivel in order to fill the pages.

Again, once you’re established you can charge what you think your work is worth. It’s not uncommon to charge #400 for a 6 page sales letter, if you’re good.

6. What do you think is the most essential skill of a successful copywriter? If you can’t do this, you won’t be very successful.

“Write as you talk”

That’s it! You must be able to communicate with your reader right off the page. Your words must be conversational. You must be able to ’speak’ to your reader and stir their interest, their emotions, their desires.

If you’re trying to sell them something, you must be convincing. Your letter has to be compelling and attention-grabbing. Finally, your letter has to make them take some action. This could be filling in a form, making a phone call or writing a cheque. It’s a call to action.

Still think you have what it takes?

Then go forth and return with the bountiful harvest of your creative genius!

Good luck and warm regards,

Bill Knight

http://www.knight-writer.co.uk

(# denotes GBP or US Dollars)

About the Author

Bill Knight is a professional International Copywriter based in the UK. He writes mainly for the UK and US markets, but also has clients from all over the world.
http://www.knight-writer.co.uk

Getting an apartment as a college student is one of the most
difficult housing experiences you will go through. As a student,
you are immediately judged as a risk. You don’t have a good job
and probably only work part time since school is your focus. You
carry the “college student” stigma, bringing to mind parties,
late nights and loud music.

Furthermore, there is intense competition for apartments near
college since everyone moves in at the same time. Apartment
owners whose complexes are near campus can be very selective
since their facilities are in such demand. They can also charge
higher prices and many will be willing to pay.

So how can you possibly find a decent apartment near your
college campus without getting gouged?

The easiest way to find more affordable housing is to look a
couple miles away from campus. Housing within walking distance
comes with a premium. Once you get a few miles away, prices drop
noticeably. What about parking and driving costs? If the weather
allows, a bike costs almost nothing. Otherwise, carpool with
your roommates. With either solution, the money you save on rent
every month will quickly pay for a parking permit or a bike.

You can also check out some alternative housing ideas. Although
it may sound silly, trailer parks can offer great deals if you
can get a hold of an RV for cheap. You can also look into
renting a room from a family or even, perhaps with your parents’
help, buying a house in the area. Think of it as an early
graduation gift.

But if you’re really want that housing next to campus and your
lack of income is a problem with the landlord, look to getting a
cosigner. Your parents or one of your roommate’s parents can
sign on, agreeing to make your rent if you fail to. Of course,
if you really think you’ll have a problem making rent, you
should be looking further away. It will certainly strain
relations with your parents if they’re suddenly footing your
rent.

Before signing up with the high priced apartments near your
college campus, be sure to check out housing options further
away. You can easily bike a couple miles to save hundreds a
month. A thorough investigation of you housing options will pay
off big during your college years.

Webmasters today spend quite some time optimizing their websites for search engines. Books have been written about search engine optimization and some sort of industry has developed to offer search engine optimization services to potential clients. But where did this all start? How did we end up with the SEO world we live in today (from a webmaster standpoint seen)?

A guy named Alan Emtage, a student at the University of McGill, developed the first search engine for the Internet in 1990. This search engine was called “Archie” and was designed to archive documents available on the Internet at that time. About a year later, Gopher, an alternative search engine to Archie, was developed at the University of Minnesota. These two kinda search engines triggered the birth of what we use as search engines today.

In 1993, Matthew Gray developed very first search engine robot - the World Wide Web Wanderer. However, it took until 1994 that search engines as we know them today were born. Lycos, Yahoo! And Galaxy were started and as you probably - two of those are still around today (2005).

In 1994 some companies started experimenting with the concept of search engine optimization. The emphasis was put solely on the submission process at that time. Within 12 months, the first automated submission software packages were released. Of course it did not take long until the concept of spamming search engines was ‘invented’. Some webmasters quickly realized that they could swamp and manipulate search results pages by over-submission of their sites. However - the search engines soon fought back and changed things to prevent this from happen.

Soon, search engine optimizers and the search engines started playing some sort of a “cat and mouse” game. Once a way to manipulate a search engine was discovered by the SE-optimizers they took advantage of this. The search engines subsequently revised and enhanced their ranking algorithms to respond to these strategies. It was clear very soon that mainly a small group of webmasters was abusing the search engine algorithms to gain advantage over the competition. Black Hat search engine optimization was born. The unethical way of manipulating search engine resulted in faster responses from search engines. Search engines are trying to keep the search results clean of SPAM to provide the best service to customers.

The search engine industry quickly realized that SEO (Search Engine Optimization) as an industry would not go away, and in order to maintain useful indexes, they would need to at least accept the industry. Search engines now partially work with the SEO industry but are still very eager to sort out SPAMMERS that are trying to manipulate the results.

When Google.com started to be the search engine of choice for more than 50% of the Internet users it was highly visible to anyone in the industry that search engine spamming had reached a new dimension. Google.com was so much more important to the success of a website that many webmasters solely concentrated on optimizing their sites for Google only as the payoff was worth the efforts. Again - Black Hat SEO took place, pushing down the honest webmaster and their sites in search results delivered. Google started fighting back. Several major updates to Google’s algorithms forced all webmaster to adapt to new strategies. Black Hat SE-optimizers but suddenly saw something different happening. Instead of just being pushed down in the search results their websites were suddenly completely removed from the search index.

And then there was something called the “Google Sandbox” to show up in discussions. Websites either disappeared into the sandbox or new websites never made it into the index and were considered in the Google Sandbox. The sandbox seemed to be the place where Google would ‘park’ websites either considered SPAMMY or not to be conform with Google’s policies (duplicate websites under different domain names, etc.). The Google Sandbox so far has not been confirmed or denied by Google and many webmasters consider it to be myth.

In late 2004 Google announced to have 8 billion pages/sites in the search index. The gap between Google and the next two competitors (MSN and Yahoo!) seemed to grow. However - in 2005 MSN as well as Yahoo! Started fighting back putting life back into the search engine war. MSN and Yahoo seemed to gain ground in delivering better and cleaner results compared to Google. In July of 2005 Yahoo! Announced to have over 20 billion pages/sites in the search index - leaving Google far behind. No one search engine has won the war yet. The three major search engines however are eagerly fighting for market share and one mistake could change the fortune of a search engine. It will be a rocky ride - but worth watching from the sidelines.

About the Author

Christoph Puetz is a successful entrepreneur and international book author. Examples of his search engine optimization work can be found at Web Hosting Tutorials and at Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

The article can be published by anyone as long as the resource box (About the Author) is posted on the website including the links. These links must be clickable.

Think like a businessperson, not an author.

Once the final draft is written, you’re no longer an author. You’re an entrepreneur with a product to sell, and it’s critical that you start thinking that way. Instead of spending your time on editing and proofreading, you’ve got to invest your time in marketing activities. That means finding the answers to three critical questions:

a. Who is your audience?
b. What will compel them to buy your book?
c. What methods should you use to reach them?

At this stage, you need to think about capturing leads, producing sales material, getting testimonials and positive reviews, and arranging publicity events. Your focus should be on all the ways you can create awareness of your book.

The best way to get started in thinking like a businessperson is after your final draft is done but before you go to print, sit down and write out the answers to these questions:

• What is my marketing budget?
• What resources do I have in place already?
• What people do I know who can help me?
• What are my sales goals for the year?

Keep your expectations realistic.

The average self-published book sells only about 3,000 copies, and the average book issued by a publisher sells only a few thousand more. For every bestseller, there are hundreds of books that sell moderately and disappear. So you’ve got to keep your expectations realistic, or you’ll set yourself up to get discouraged and quit trying to market your book.

Rather than worry about the overall number of copies sold, I recommend to people that they set their goals, especially for a first book, like this:

a. Monetary goals. For most authors, selling enough copies to break even is a very worthwhile goal. If you can do that, you’ve done great!
b. Career goals. Your book might give a big boost to your speaking career, medical practice or other endeavor.
c. Publicity goals. Your book could position you as an expert in your field, so that you get invited on radio programs, TV, speaking engagements, etc.
d. Publishing goals. Maybe your book is noticed by a publisher who wants to re-release it, or you are offered a chance to write future books.
e. Networking goals. You meet agents, designers, journalists and others who could be wonderful contacts for the future.

Your expectations for your book should not be centered on copies sold. Instead, focus on developing and executing a brilliant marketing and PR plan, making key contacts, and finding ways to create value for readers, for the media and for organizations who might make big bulk purchases. If you focus on those things, sales will take care of themselves.

Concentrate on meeting all 5 types of goals. That way, even if your sales are only moderate, but you do brilliantly in getting publicity and making contacts, you can consider your book a success.

Have a solid, long-term marketing plan.

Before you ever get close to even finishing your first draft, sit down and map out the basics of your marketing and promotional plan. The key questions you’ll need to answer:

• What is my marketing budget?
• When should my book be ready?
• Who is my audience and what need does this book meet?
• What will my price point be?
• How many copies do I need to sell to break even?
• How many copies do I want to sell?
• What marketing channels will I use to reach my readers?
• What relationships can I leverage to make bulk sales?
• What relationships can I leverage to get press coverage?
• Who will design my Website?
• Do I need a marketing staff?
• Will I do an e-newsletter?
• Will I hire a distributor or ship the books myself?
• Do I want to be in the bookstores?
• Will I do “guerilla” marketing?
• What ancillary products can I produce (tapes, CDs, etc.)
• How can my seminars/consulting/current business support this book?

That’s a lot of material, but it’s all important. Take a couple of months and figure it out. You can also cut some time off your learning curve by learning from others who have done it already.

About the author:

Are you interested in the one seminar that has created more Best-Selling authors than any other seminar? A seminar put on by the guy who has sold more books than every other book in the history of the world except the bible? Then get yourself to the Mega Book Marketing Seminar and train yourself to be a mega-successful author and become a sought after speaker. Make the difference with your book that you want to make. To Register and for more information go to http://www.bazuji.com/book

Think of a conversation you’ve been putting off. Got it? Great. Then let’s go.

There are dozens of books on the topic of difficult, crucial, challenging, important (you get the idea) conversations (I list several at the end of this article). Those times when you know you should talk to someone, but you don’t. Maybe you’ve tried and it went badly. Or maybe you fear that talking will only make the situation worse. Still, there’s a feeling of being stuck, and you’d like to free up that stuck energy for more useful purposes.

What you have here is a brief synopsis of best practice strategies: a checklist of action items to think about before going into the conversation; some useful concepts to practice during the conversation; and some tips and suggestions to help your energy stay focused and flowing, including possible conversation openings.

You’ll notice one key theme throughout: you have more power than you think.

Working on Yourself: How To Prepare for the Conversation

Before going into the conversation, ask yourself some questions:

1. What is your purpose for having the conversation? What do you hope to accomplish? What would be an ideal outcome?
Watch for hidden purposes. You may think you have honorable goals, like educating an employee or increasing connection with your teen, only to notice that your language is excessively critical or condescending. You think you want to support, but you end up punishing. Some purposes are more useful than others. Work on yourself so that you enter the conversation with a supportive purpose.

2. What assumptions are you making about this person’s intentions? You may feel intimidated, belittled, ignored, disrespected, or marginalized, but be cautious about assuming that this was the speaker’s intention. Impact does not necessarily equal intent.

3. What “buttons” of yours are being pushed? Are you more emotional than the situation warrants? Take a look at your “backstory,” as they say in the movies. What personal history is being triggered? You may still have the conversation, but you’ll go into it knowing that some of the heightened emotional state has to do with you.

4. How is your attitude toward the conversation influencing your perception of it If you think this is going to be horribly difficult, it probably will be. If you truly believe that whatever happens, some good will come of it, that will likely be the case. Try to adjust your attitude for maximum effectiveness.

5. Who is the opponent? What might he be thinking about this situation? Is he aware of the problem? If so, how do you think he perceives it? What are his needs and fears? What solution do you think he would suggest? Begin to reframe the opponent as partner.

6. What are your needs and fears? Are there any common concerns? Could there be?

7. How have you contributed to the problem? How has the other person?

4 Steps to a Successful Outcome

The majority of the work in any conflict conversation is work you do on yourself. No matter how well the conversation begins, you’ll need to stay in charge of yourself, your purpose and your emotional energy. Breathe, center, and continue to notice when you become off center–and choose to return again. This is where your power lies. By choosing the calm, centered state, you’ll help your opponent/partner to be more centered, too. Centering is not a step; centering is how you are as you take the steps. (For more on Centering, see the Resource section at the end of the article.)

Step #1: Inquiry
Cultivate an attitude of discovery and curiosity. Pretend you don’t know anything (you really don’t), and try to learn as much as possible about your opponent/partner and his point of view. Pretend you’re entertaining a visitor from another planet, and find out how things look on that planet, how certain events affect the other person, and what the values and priorities are there.

If your partner really was from another planet, you’d be watching his body language and listening for unspoken energy as well. Do that here. What does he really want? What is he not saying?

Let your partner talk until he is finished. Don’t interrupt except to acknowledge. Whatever you hear, don’t take it personally. It’s not really about you. Try to learn as much as you can in this phase of the conversation. You’ll get your turn, but don’t rush things.

Step #2: Acknowledgment
Acknowledgment means showing that you’ve heard and understood. Try to understand the other person so well you can make his argument for him. Then do it. Explain back to him what you think he’s really going for. Guess at his hopes and honor his position. He will not change unless he sees that you see where he stands. Then he might. No guarantees.

Acknowledge whatever you can, including your own defensiveness if it comes up. It’s fine; it just is. You can decide later how to address it. For example, in an argument with a friend, I said: “I notice I’m becoming defensive, and I think it’s because your voice just got louder and sounded angry. I just want to talk about this topic. I’m not trying to persuade you in either direction.” The acknowledgment helped him (and me) to re-center.

Acknowledgment can be difficult if we associate it with agreement. Keep them separate. My saying, “this sounds really important to you,” doesn’t mean I’m going to go along with your decision.

Step #3: Advocacy
When you sense your opponent/partner has expressed all his energy on the topic, it’s your turn. What can you see from your perspective that he’s missed? Help clarify your position without minimizing his. For example: “From what you’ve told me, I can see how you came to the conclusion that I’m not a team player. And I think I am. When I introduce problems with a project, I’m thinking about its long-term success. I don’t mean to be a critic, though perhaps I sound like one. Maybe we can talk about how to address these issues so that my intention is clear.”

Step #4: Problem-Solving
Now you’re ready to begin building solutions. Brainstorming and continued inquiry are useful here. Ask your opponent/partner what he thinks might work. Whatever he says, find something you like and build on it. If the conversation becomes adversarial, go back to inquiry. Asking for the other’s point of view usually creates safety and encourages him to engage. If you’ve been successful in centering, adjusting your attitude, and engaging with inquiry and useful purpose, building sustainable solutions will be easy.

Practice, Practice, Practice

The art of conversation is like any art–with continued practice you acquire skill and ease. Here are some additional hints:

Tips and Suggestions:

• A successful outcome will depend on two things: how you are and what you say. How you are (centered, supportive, curious, problem-solving) will greatly influence what you say.

• Acknowledge emotional energy–yours and your partner’s–and direct it toward a useful purpose.

• Know and return to your purpose at difficult moments.

• Don’t take verbal attacks personally. Help your opponent/partner come back to center.

• Don’t assume your opponent/partner can see things from your point of view.

• Practice the conversation with a friend before holding the real one.

• Mentally practice the conversation. See various possibilities and visualize yourself handling them with ease. Envision the outcome you are hoping for.

How Do I Begin?

In my workshops, a common question is How do I begin the conversation? Here are a few conversation openers I’ve picked up over the years–and used many times!

• I have something I’d like to discuss with you that I think will help us work together more effectively.

• I’d like to talk about ____________ with you, but first I’d like to get your point of view.

• I need your help with what just happened. Do you have a few minutes to talk?

• I need your help with something. Can we talk about it (soon)? If the person says, “Sure, let me get back to you,” follow up with him.

• I think we have different perceptions about _____________________. I’d like to hear your thinking on this.

• I’d like to talk about ___________________. I think we may have different ideas about how to _____________________.

• I’d like to see if we might reach a better understanding about ___________. I really want to hear your feelings about this and share my perspective as well.

Write a possible opening for your conversation here:

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Good luck! Let me know if this article has been useful by contacting me at http://www.judyringer.com

Resources

The Magic of Conflict, by Thomas F. Crum (www.aikiworks.com)
Difficult Conversations, by Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton, and Sheila Heen (www.triadcgi.com)
Crucial Conversations, by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, Al Switzler (www.crucialconversations.com)
FAQ about Conflict, by Judy Ringer http://www.JudyRinger.com

© 2006 Judy Ringer, Power & Presence Training

About the Author: Judy Ringer is the author of Unlikely Teachers: Finding the Hidden Gifts in Daily Conflict, containing stories and practices on turning life’s challenges into life teachers. Judy is a black belt in aikido and nationally known presenter, specializing in unique workshops on conflict, communication, and creating a more positive work environment. She is the founder of Power & Presence Training, and chief instructor of Portsmouth Aikido, Portsmouth, NH, USA. To sign up for more free tips and articles like these, visit www.JudyRinger.com.

Like adults, children can suffer from depression, in this case: childhood depression. It’s not uncommon and since children actually are the purest of humans, it might be safe to say if a child is depressed-and they actually tell you that-it’s a rather serious issue.

One of the most common misconceptions about childhood depression is:”what do children have to be depressed about?”. Perhaps this reveals a few misunderstandings about childhood depression and what it is. It is indeed quite similar to clinical depression-borrowing from medical terminology and is not just down moods resulting from a child being ‘depressed’ cause they have just been punished or have been told they can’t have something. No, childhood depression is more intrusive into the child’s very existence, may be long-lasting and if not attended to life threatening.

Perhaps another misconception may have to do with us thinking, being a child is a care-free, trouble free stage of human life. Not necessarily, with peer acceptance, school and family expectations, it is enough to make a kid worry and could be a huge factor to be considered in regards to dealing with a case of childhood depression.

Childhood Depression: Common Causes

1. Family History of Mental illness or suicide.

2. Abuse (physical, emotional or sexual).

3. Chronic illnesses.

4. Loss of a parent at an early age to death, divorce or abandonment.

5. Improper diet and lack of sufficient exercise.

6. Excessive exposure to negative factors such as parents arguing, bad neighborhoods etc.

7. Insufficient parental attention.

Though this is not a conclusive list of the causes of depression in children, perhaps these factors are the most common ones.

Childhood Depression: Common Symptoms

1. Loss of interest in hobbies and activities

2. Abrupt change in Appetite

3. Change in sleep patterns (either increase or decrease)

4. Difficulty concentrating

5. Making depreciating statements like “I’m not good enough, I’m stupid…”

6. Persistent Sadness

7. Recurring thoughts of Suicide

8. Excessive clinging or withdrawal

If you notice any of these in your child’s behaviour it may be time to seek help. But, keep in mind, the first step may be a good heart to heart talk with your child.

Reconnect with them. Make plans for a getaway saying things like “How about you and I go to the park, just the two of us eh?”. Now seize this time to carefully see what could be the problem.

Also, borrowing from Yoga principles (Natural Healing as well), now will be a good time to assess your entire families diet. Remember, “you are what you eat”. Diet plays, perhaps the most important role in one’s health, especially children in their growing stages so all efforts should be made to ‘pleasantly’ enforce a proper diet. You may not have to work too hard, most kids LOVE bananas and other sweet fruits and fresh juices. Vegetables…maybe not so much, but you get my gist. Try to replace processed foods with healthier ones.

Take time out to be there for your child or at least be conscious of who he or she is around the most. Remember children are wonderful imitators.

If you yourself happen to be depressed, I recommend drug-free alternatives such as Yoga, and the previously mentioned proper eating.

Also, look into fasting albeit it short as this works wonders for restoring your emotional balance as result of the body not being taxed with the duties of digestion, assimilation and re-building. Your mind clears and all moroseness disappears and consequently, you tend to find the answers to the problems warranting a treatment for depression in the first place. Keep in mind though; this radical step is suited only for adults not necessarily for kids.

Devote thirty minutes or more a day for open air recreation for yourself and your family. Visits to the zoo, active play, and swimming tend to relieve tension created in the home, school, and work and this may go a long way in assisting in curing childhood depression in the family.

Make efforts yourself to be cheerful as much as possible as kids do mimic what their parents constantly do.

Finally, if you are of a spiritual inclination, try prayer power and introduce your child to it. Hey, the Man did say: “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.” I believe a child connected to God is one sure way of preventing childhood depression. (Of course with the factors previously mentioned.)

Parenting or being a role model to a child is a duty that may be tasking at times, even more say when dealing with a depressed child. However with the suggestions given, if tackled properly, childhood depression need not be a thing your kid has to go through.

In friendship,

Foras Aje is an independent health researcher and founder of Bodyhealthsoul.com, a website on Natural Health and Wellness. For additional information on depression treatment go to: http://www.bodyhealthsoul.com/depression.htm

Last month, my wife and I attended the Real Estate Wealth Expo hosted by the Learning Annex. One of the keynote speakers was The Donald himself.

While many of you have seen at least one episode of “The Apprentice”, imagine being able to sit down with him for an hour and have him personally give you advice on success, business, and life. Well, that’s exactly what he did for over 61,000 people.

Here’s what he had to say:

• 1. Need to love what you do or else you will not be successful
• 2. Never give up
• 3. Stay focused
• 4. Be paranoid
• 5. Know when momentum is slowing down
• 6. Go against the tide only if you have the talent
• 7. Have to be really careful about people b/c you never really know a person that well
• 8. Some people are lucky; others are not (but you can help create “luck”)
• 9. Get even! If someone screws you, go back and get even.
• 10. Have a prenup or else business will be seriously at risk
• 11. Power of positive thinking

While some of this is common sense, some are also slanted based on Trump’s own personal and business experience. Thank goodness Trump didn’t copyright this material or else I wouldn’t be able to help you save the admission fee and share this info!

Creating and maintaining an effective presence on the Web has become increasingly complex and challenging as the power of the Internet as a marketing tool becomes more and more necessary to entrepreneurs and emerging businesses.

The good news is that technologies that were only available to the big guys just a couple of years ago — audio, video, ecommerce, e-mail database management applications — are now affordable for almost everybody. The bad news is that the number of choices and opportunities can be confusing and overwhelming.

Here are my eight favorite tips to help you steer clear of some of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen people make when designing or re-designing their Web projects.

1. You begin without a marketing strategy.

Web sites, like brochures, newsletters, business cards, post cards and the like, are simply part of your marketing mix, not just something you build so you can say you have one.

Before you begin, you need to ask yourself important questions about your Web site strategy beginning with why you want a Web site in the first place.

a. What are your objectives? To educate? Motivate? Inform? Attract new business? Serve existing clients? Be perceived a certain way, such as compassionate or trendy?

b. Who is your target audience?

c. What do you want your visitors to discover and/or do when they log on to your site?

As the Cheshire cat explained to Alice — if you don’t know where you’re going, I can’t tell you how to get there. So before you do anything else, make an Internet marketing plan for your site.

2. You have no Internet branding or inappropriate branding.

Once you know what your objectives are and have identified your target audience, your site needs to reflect that knowledge. A music site selling hip-hop to teens needs to look and feel a lot different from a health care site for seniors or a motorcycle site for guys that ride Harley Fat Boys.

A good brand should repel as strongly as it attracts. Once you get the positioning and Internet branding right, your site will sort out your potential clients from the online crowd.

3. You buy the wrong technology for your goals and objectives.

There are two big, broad categories of Web sites — one that you own and one that you rent. The “rental” model is a site offered by what is called an Application Service Provider or ASP. You usually will pay a set up fee and a monthly fee ranging from $59 way up to hundreds of dollars depending on the sophistication of the Web site application.

At the low end, you may see an ad for a “FREE WEB SITE.” The company offers to build your site and then you “just pay” $59 per month— forever! With this

model the site itself never belongs to you, only your content. If you leave the provider, you can’t take the site with you.

With the ownership model, you will hire a Web site designer, or do the work yourself, then pay an annual or monthly hosting fee — usually much smaller comparatively — and you own both the site and the content, which you can move to a different service provider if you wish.

4. You have no Internet marketing plan.

“We will build it and they will come,” has not worked for a long, long time. Budget the money necessary to promote your site and meet your objectives, or wait until you can. It doesn’t have to be a very expensive plan. But do something! There are way too many “secret Web sites” out there in cyberspace.

Start building your email database as soon as possible. Consider an eZine to keep you in front of your prospects on a regular basis. Offer a free report on your site. Put the offer on the back of your business card.

If you want to do more, work with a Search Engine Optimizer (SEO), who will make your site attractive to Google and Yahoo and other top search engines. You may also want to consider pay-per-click (PPC) advertising to get you to the top of the search engine listings.

5. You have no way to measure your site’s effectiveness.

Remember that old saying: “If it’s not broken; don’t fix it?” Well you will need a way to know if your site is working for you or not. Make sure that your service provider offers site statistics, to let you know who is visiting, how often and if your traffic is growing.

Use an email sign-up form to build your database, and keep an eye on your progress. Track what works and what doesn’t, and make changes as you get feedback.

6. Your technology doesn’t match the target audience.

We’ve all had the experience of landing on a Web site, only to get a message saying that we don’t have the right plug-in to view it. Sometimes the site designer has a link letting you know that since you are among the “great unwashed” without the “right” browser of technology, you must go download it to view the site. Don’t expect that potential visitor to stick around!

Research your target audience to make sure your site considers their technology level. Don’t use images that are too large to load in a reasonable amount of time if your users don’t have a broadband connection, for example.

7. You let your users get lost in Cyberspace.

Your navigation system needs to be clear, and intuitive. Links should be in the same position on each page. There should always be a “home” button. Confusing navigation drives potential clients and users away.

8. You play hard to get.

Don’t make it hard for your clients and prospects to communicate with you. Make sure your contact information is on every page and is easy to access. Let your visitors know what you want them to do, like: “Call me!” or “Sign Up for My E-EZine.”

Marcia Torrey-Jay is the owner of Vision Quest Multimedia in Los Angeles, CA. Her company offers affordable, custom Web site design, Internet branding and online marketing services to small business owners, professionals, healers, artists, and other entrepreneurs.

Visit http://www.visionquest.tv to sign up for her free Web site development tips and tools eZine, Envision It!