Nine ways to get free publicity and more clients

Copyright 2006 Joel Sussman

One of the disadvantages of traditional marketing is that it often lacks credibility. Why should someone believe you when they know you're trying to sell them something? However, there are free or inexpensive techniques for gaining business-building, positive exposure through a number of channels that may not be occurring to you or that you may not be taking full advantage of.

1. Send out a press release to the media when your business opens, expands, diversifies, invents something or innovates a process, partners with another business or organization, hires, takes a position on an non-divisive issue, or sponsors an event or a worthy cause.

2. Suggest feature articles and news story ideas to reporters and editors concerning your field or area of expertise. Offer to be interviewed or to provide quotes for an article.

3. Make yourself available as a speaker at Chamber of Commerce meetings, professional associations, community groups, and seminars. Announce your speaking engagement to the press in the form of a news release, phone call, email, or post card.

4. Write a 'Letter to the Editor', but avoid taking a controversial position on an issue which could cost you clients. You don't want to alienate people. Make it a practice to read the editorial pages to see what's being written about.

5. Teach a class at the local community college or continuing adult education program. It's a great way to increase your credibility, visibility, and acquire new clients.

6. Become a columnist. Speaking of credibility and visibility, if you can arrange with a print or online publication to run a regular column of yours, especially with a photograph and brief bio at the end, you'll gain a lot of valuable, free exposure.

7. Word of mouth is the best kind of free and credible advertising. Keep focusing on providing exceptional service and going above and beyond what clients expect, and word of mouth advertising and new business from referrals is virtually guaranteed.

8. Write informative articles that would be helpful to your clients or prospects and post them on your web site. Let people know about the articles in every way you can think of: talk it up, add a one sentence blurb at the end of your outgoing voice mail or answering machine message, include it in updates of your brochures, flyers, business cards, print ads, and broadcast commercials. If you’re editing and uploading the articles yourself (as opposed to having a web designer or search engine optimization expert do it) make sure you liberally sprinkle the article with a few appropriate and repeated key words that would help Internet searchers find your articles. When choosing key words and phrases, think in terms of what a customer or prospective client would enter into a search engine when looking for the topic or service you’re writing about. One website where you can get a list of keyword phrases arranged by popularity (the number of times they’ve been searched) is at Overture. com . Click on ‘Visit the Resource Center’, then go to the Keyword Selector tool.

9. Invite people to sign up for your monthly email bulletin in which you can provide clients and prospects with news, helpful tips related to your business or profession, and new product or service announcements. Four recommendations if you do this: Don’t sign anyone up without their permission, assure subscribers that their email address and other personal information will remain private (have a publicize a privacy policy), tell people they can ‘unsubscribe’ from your list whenever they want to (immediately honor those requests), and avoid making people feel like they’re being inundated with your information and offers. For more information on the responsibilities of email marketers, visit: http://www. ftc. gov/bcp/conline/pubs/buspubs/canspam. htm

While marketing tactics that cost money are a necessary part of almost any strategy, make sure to get the most mileage you can out of techniques that are either free or extremely economical. Remember, even if your marketing budget is tight, there are still plenty of things you can do to increase inquiries, boost referrals, and expand awareness of the unique aspects of your business.

Five ways to improve your fico credit score get lower california mortgage rate

Over 30 million people in the U. S.A. have credit scores low enough (less than 620) to make shopping for low mortgage loan rates very difficult at best.

The major credit reporting agencies use a slightly different system to arrive at a credit score. The best known is called the FICO score, developed by Fair Isaac and Company (FICO).

A FICO credit score can range from 300 to 800. Most borrowers fall into the 600-800 credit score range.

A high FICO score is your reward for paying bills on time. This is one of the most important factors that determine your California home mortgage loan rate

If you've had a few credit "bumps in the road" recently, and you're asking yourself, "How can I improve my FICO credit score"? Here are 5 ways to boost your FICO credit score.

1. Paying your bills on time is the first step in improving your FICO credit score. Late payments can have a big negative impact on your FICO score, 30 days or more late on one account can lower your FICO score 50 points or more.

If you don't like writing checks, go online and automate your bill paying.

2. Don't max out your credit cards. The smaller balance gives you a wider difference between your balance and your credit limit.

Also, if you are planning to purchase a new car or other major item, wait until you get that low mortgage loan rate.

3. If you are sincerely interested in improving your FICO credit score, bankruptcy MUST be avoided! Bankruptcy is more negative than late payments or collection accounts.

4. Get credit counseling if you have too much debt and begin to fall behind, or can't see a way out.

5. Keep old paid off accounts in an open status. If you close an account, it won't help your FICO score but it could lower your credit score.

If you close an old account it could make you look like a "rookie" in the credit world. A factor in obtaining credit is how long you've had credit.

If your FICO credit scores are over 620, but you want to raise it, obtain a copy of your credit report and request that the credit bureau remove any errors.

About GoldMedalMortgage. com

GoldMedalMortgage. com provides a variety of mortgage solutions including first time home buyer home improvement loans, home equity loans, and debt consolidation loans through their partners.

For more information about California home mortgage loan rates or to improve FICO credit score please call 866 398 4664 or go to http://www. goldmedalmortgage. com

Freelancing in a free world

Freelancing brings unmatched flexibility and in fact this is one of the most popular reasons for becoming a freelancer. Flexible working hours allows the freelancer to tailor his/her work around their life style and growing responsibilities. Another plus is that you only get paid for how long you work – overtime is actually paid! Furthermore, if you like to set your own holiday and travel time, freelance allows you the option to go on holiday two weeks, or two months – depending on your financial/business needs. Freelance work is also an excellent way to earn quick money and a good amount of it.

Generally, freelance workers earn more money at an hourly rate than their permanent counterparts. Because the recruitment process for freelance is much shorter then for permanent roles, speedy turnaround allows individuals to get in and out of a project quickly and still receive a good income from it.

Career Variety

For those individuals who like variety in the workplace, a career as a freelancer enables professionals to work on a wide range of projects for some of the leading firms in the country. Freelance work can often improve career prospects – allowing an individual to gain valuable experience on many different sector schemes while working for a variety of major companies. Another motivating factor is the desire to “test drive a company” before committing to a permanent position.

Freelance gives the candidate the opportunity to see if a particular company works for them without any long-term commitments on their part. Recognizing that this has become a preferred option for many workers, firms are now opting to initially employee candidates on a freelance basis rather then putting them through the traditional probationary period of a permanent role. Freelance can be a good option for those who want to have more control over their working environment. A highly competitive market means that there is no shortage of contracts for an individual to choose from – allowing for greater choices in where you want to work, the type of firm you want to work for, and the rate at which you’ll work – certainly a tempting proposition for many candidates in any industry.

Choosing A Freelancing Career

Freelance can be a great career move – whether done independently or in conjunction with an existing fulltime job. There are three main points to consider when making a decision to head down this particular career path. Firstly - salary: freelance workers on average do receive a reasonable rate of pay. Firms realise that they have to pay more for better solutions. With the increase in the temporary market has come a rise in options for salary payments. However, it is important to remember that freelance salaries are subject to extreme fluctuation – often a case of feast or famine. Therefore, it is crucial that jobseekers be able to plan ahead – making preparations well in advance to compensate for an uncertain income, lack of benefits, moving location or travelling expenses.

Secondly a freelancer must be able to accommodate an uncertain work environment. Freelance work often involves an extensive amount of travelling/relocating. The roles that are often offered may not always be the ideal choice for the candidate, but sometimes have to be taken due to income necessities. They must also be able to accommodate the company culture in their new job, and be flexible enough to adapt to new work practices and environments. Finally, situation – it is important for new freelancers to consider their future in realistic and planned way. Training and promotions are not often available to freelancers as many companies don’t perceive a temporary employee as a long-term investment. Consider your career goals – will freelance help you to achieve these goals – will it work against or work for your current lifestyle and future aspirations?

The Smart Choice

Freelancing and consulting are great ways to explore various career paths and revenue streams. Performing this kind of work on the side can be fulfilling, exciting and fun. Taking a chance to explore a new career, or explore the world of being your own boss is a great opportunity stretch yourself a bit. The best part is that you work for the best company ever: You, Inc. Take a chance. Do a little consulting and freelancing. You might find a whole new career is waiting!

Facial tips scrubs masks and exfoliaters

Your skin is your body’s largest organ. It’s also the first thing that most people notice about you. It shields your bones, muscles, and blood vessels. Skin is so vital, so why do people not take better care of it?

Not drinking enough water, going out in the sun without sunscreen, and using harsh chemical products adds to the damage. There are a myriad of products on the market nowadays to help you keep your skin healthy, among them masks, scrubs and exfoliation products.

Before settling on a skincare regimen, you have to know what skin type you have. If you’re lucky, you might have normal skin – not too dry or too oily, but just right. More people will have combination skin where there are parts of the face and body which are dry and other parts oily. Or, you might just be all oily or all dry skinned. No matter which type skin you have, there are products made specially for you.

Facial Masks:

Facial mask products can be found for any skin type or condition. Do you suffer from acne or blackheads? There are facial masks that you apply, let dry dry and then peel off. Dead skin covering blackheads will become unclogged which helps clear them up. There are also facial masks that you apply and allow to dry, like mud masks. When you are done, you wash your face with warm water to remove the mud mask.

Mud masks have a number of benefits, including oil control. You skin will glow with health, not shine with oil. The impurities in your skin’s pores are removed by the mud mask, and appearance of those pores will be minimized. Pimple growth is lessened and blackheads dissolve and wash away.

Scrubs and Exfoliaters

You can consider exfoliating like using very fine sandpaper for your skin. You will be using a mildly abrasive material that buffs away dead skin cells, leaving glowingly healthy skin in its place. Exfoliating has several benefits. First, old dead skin cells making your complexion dull are scrubbed off, leaving new fresh skin cells. Additionally, after exfoliation, it is easier for skin to absorb moisturizers and other skin treatments.

If your complexion is normal to oily, exfoliating is helpful three to four times a week. For drier skin, exfoliation should only be done one to two times a week maximum. You should establish a skincare routine that includes all of these products, and adds a cleaner and moisturizer. You will keep your skin healthy far longer and feel better as well.

A computer software engineer resume should highlight your advanced knowledge and technical skills

A computer software engineer resume must highlight your technical skills. This article gives you some ideas of the sort of information that an employer is looking for in your resume.

Apart from the basic resume requirements like contact details, experience etc, a software engineer resume should include the following information:

A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.

Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles.

Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.

The number of staff that you manage (if applicable)

Include some of the topics that are applicable to you like technical certifications, hardware knowledge, operating systems, networking/protocols, programming/languages, web applications and database applications etc.

Include a statement of your goals which is the clearest indicators to a prospective employer to match you with the job position.

Include projects done with a brief description about it and the platform used, front-end, backend and programming languages used.

Mention any technical or computer qualifications and personality development, marketing diploma etc done as a course with its content in brief, the duration, institute and also its result.

Planning, analysis, design, implementation and testing responsibilities as computer software engineer.

If you had budgetary responsibilities specify some of the important impressive technical projects that you have worked on and whether you completed the projects on budget and on time and accomplishments gained.

Highlight your initiatives and performance that resulted in enhanced efficiency, faster work, and money savings.

Highlight your certifications like Sun Certified Java programmer or Microsoft certified programmer to stress your skills in that particular language.

Highlight, if you presented any whitepapers, or addressed any group of audience to showcase your expertise.

Showcase your learnability. With the changing technology every month, you are required to be a quick learner in the IT field.

Highlight any other achievements that have benefited your department and obviously your organization in general.

Should include the following information:

A clear cut career and job objective which shows your sense of direction to the employer.

Your resume should have the names of each of your employers and your corresponding job titles

Give a brief description about the employer like what they are doing, if they are not well known.

The number of staff that you manage(if applicable)

Include some of the topics that are applicable to you like technical certifications, hardware knowledge, operating systems, networking/protocols, programming/languages, web applications and database applications etc.

Include a statement of your goals which is the clearest indicators to a prospective employer to match you with the job position.

Include projects done with a brief description about it and the platform used, front-end, backend and programming language used.

Mention any technical or computer qualifications and personality development, marketing diploma etc done as a course with its content in brief, the duration, institute and also its result.

Planning, analysis, design, implementation and testing responsibilities as computer software engineer.

If you had budgetary responsibility specify some of the important impressive technical projects that you have worked on and whether you completed the projects on budget and on time and accomplishments gained.

Highlight your initiatives and performance that resulted in enhanced efficiency, faster work, money savings.

Highlight your certifications like Sun Certified Java programmer or Microsoft certified programmerto stress your skills in the particular language and your itnerested to go one extra mile for learning.

Highlight if you presented any whitepapers, OR addressed any group of audience to showcase your expertise.

Showcase your learnablity. The changing technology every month, you are required to be a quick learner in IT field.

Highlight any other achievements that have benefited to your department and obviously your organization in general.

Build your credit history with student credit cards

Nowadays almost all people, including students, have credit cards. Everyone knows that people have to grow up sooner or later and credit cards for students can provide young people with invaluable lessons in the world of finance. Young people who have student credit cards should know how to manage their finances as soon as possible. For the first time, young people with student plastics can be responsible for their spending and their bills.

There is no doubt that student credit card deals can help young people in building good credit history which they will need in the future if they want to apply for best credit cards.

While some young people manage to use their student plastics wisely and build credit history, others get into debt. Student credit cards can help you to solve some financial problems during your college years. But they can be also disastrous to your bank account, credit report and your ability to get the best plastics in the future.

Student plastics can be a good way of teaching young people how to become responsible for handling money. By wisely using credit cards, students will be able to build credit history and get benefits from obtaining these cards. On the other hand, plastics for students can cause lots of debt that may follow students after graduation from college or university. Young people should realize that their future financial life depends on actions they take during college years. So, students should learn how to manage their finances.

In fact, nowadays students can obtain a student plastic without much difficulty even if they don't have a stable source of income. This kind of credit cards is created exactly for building credit history, so students with no or bad credit history can get these cards.

Nowadays there are many different banks and credit card companies that provide young people with a wide choice of student plastics. Students are considered to be the most desirable customers for banks and credit card companies. The fact is that many students can't pay off their debts on time. As a result, banks and credit companies take advantage of this fact. They can make a lot of money by charging different annual fees, fees on unpaid credit card balances and late payment penalties.

It goes without saying that choosing a student plastic is an important decision that will influence the financial part of your life in the future. Thus, it's not so easy to make the right choice among a variety of student credit card offers.

Such plastics can offer various benefits, such as no annual fee, 0% APR and different rewards. In case you want to benefit from all the rewards a student credit card can offer you, compare the best credit cards to make the right choice.

You should remember that a student credit card is not free money. It is a debt and you will have to pay it off.

Thus, student credit cards can be an invaluable tool for young people. Use your plastics wisely, make your payments on time and you will build good credit history.

Are you ready for ebay success

Get Rich Quick Scams RevealedRead this article before you consider paying for a "get rich quick" program.

From: Silent SaleEverybody would love to make lots of money quickly, working from home, and only doing a few hours of work per week. I've spent the past two years trying to find a great way of doing this. Only over the course of the past few months have I found any "get rich quick" programs worth buying. I've been trying to make money online for a long time. I had a few small websites, but they never made much more than a few hundred per month. It was easy money and didn't require much work on my part, but I knew there were people out there doing better than I was and I knew I could do as well as them. Now, I've seen a lot of "get rich quick" programs. Most of these people make claims about earning $2000/day with Google or something similarly insane. Almost all of these people are complete liars. Even if they were making $2000/day with Google AdSense, it'd be because they had high - traffic websites with a lot of quality content. I'd know, because in one whole month, I never even made half of what they promised I'd make daily with their programs. Maybe you've already been scammed by one of these fraudsters. Anyway, I finally got sick of what was being offered. I decided I'd look through the all of the "get rich quick" programs I could find and see if there were any that were actually legitimate. I found that there were owners selling their programs for well over $100, but the information in them could be found almost anywhere online for free. Additionally, they all contained out-of-date information, had no e-mail support, no money back guarantees, and broken links in the downloads section. In conclusion, almost all of the programs I found were completely useless. The owners knew it, but they couldn't care less about their customers since they didn't offer refund policies! Amazingly, while looking through all of the programs, I actually did find a few legitimate programs. They were run by ordinary people like you and me, and they had found some great methods of making money from their home by doing very little work. I spent some time working with those programs, and my income is now ten times what it used to be. These programs provided a large amount of great information on how to make extra money on your computer doing very little work. Numerous customers had provided great feedback and reviews for their products. Many of them have started to make money just days after buying! Their programs have excellent prices, and the authors have a group of paid staff who are dedicating to helping you or providing assistance if you need any. I must say I was amazed! If you do decide to purchase any of the programs listed below, I recommend you join quickly. Most of the owners tell me they are getting an overwhelming number of sales and plan on raising prices in the near future, so order while prices are still low! To Your Online Success, Silent Sale