makemoneyfromhometips.com Blog

Offbeat News And Videos

I’ve been doing a little experimenting lately.

I wanted to find out how to drive hits to my website and to my employer’s website.

I design websites to pay the bills, and I was concerned because my employer wanted to see even more unique hits. Unique hits are people who visit your website for the very first time.

I was already doing everything I could do, creating new copy, finding new ways to say the same old thing, you know the drill.

So, I started thinking.

People use the internet like an electronic library, a place where they can find information quickly. Content is king. You Tube is wildly successful; MySpace is probably in the dictionary by now.

My task was to combine the MySpace audience with the You Tubers’.

So, I created a blog. A blog that offers human interest videos and stories. Entertainment basically. A place where you can just see things, laugh and then get back to that thing called life.

I called it, Offbeat News And Videos.

It was born May 18th. I didn’t decide to track the hits until Saturday, May 26th.

Since then I have been getting a huge amount of unique hits. On Saturday, I received 82 uniques; on Sunday 275; and so far at 11:09pm EST I have 159 unique hits.

In addition, Technorati, a blog ranking site has picked up my blog, so I am getting free advertising from them. They are actually sending visitors my way as well.

Now, this is fun. This is the kind of marketing I like. The kind that has results that are tangible.

These last three days have been a riot. I can’t wait to see what happens at the end of the week. Wow, I guess it’s true, RSS Feeds, Search Engines and relevant content do love one another.

Oh, here is the link to my blogs….

Offbeat News And Videos

Teasa’s Tips And Techniques

Some Tips For Saving At The Pump

Here is some much needed advice on how to save at the pump (it that’s possible!) Enjoy!

Wisdom at the Pump

Luckily, there are plenty of smart choices we can make to use gas wisely. We can’t directly control the cost of gas at the pump, but with the right mindset we can control how we conserve.
Conservation is all about doing the right thing — not only for your finances, but for the environment as well, and planning before you pump can make a huge difference. The following nine easy tips show you ways to increase your fuel efficiency and save money this summer.

Here are the tips:
1. Find a bargain.
If you’re taking a summer road trip, plan out your route before you go. Identify gas stations along the way that have the lowest prices.

2. Keep your tires fully inflated.
The U.S. Department of Energy reports that the average driver can improve mileage by 3.3 percent simply by inflating their vehicle’s tires regularly.

3. Get a tune-up.
A vehicle in need of servicing is wasting gas in more ways than one. According to the Department of Energy replacing a clogged air filter can improve your gas mileage by 10 percent, while fixing a faulty oxygen sensor can improve gas mileage by an unbelievable 40 percent.

4. Fill ‘er up with regular unleaded if possible.
If premium gas isn’t absolutely required by your car’s manufacturer, then opt for regular unleaded. According to AAA, one out of five gallons of gas pumped in the U.S. is premium — yet only 10 percent of vehicles require this higher octane fuel.

5. Adjust your driving habits.
Speeding, excessive accelerating, and sudden braking all waste gas. A more relaxed driving style not only improves safety, it also improves gas mileage by 33 percent for highway driving.

6. Clean out your trunk.
Unnecessary cargo weighs your car down. A hundred extra pounds can reduce your miles per gallon by 2 percent.

7. Carpool.
You’ll literally save thousands of dollars a year in fuel costs if you share a ride to work. Here’s an example: If you commute to work 40 miles per day round trip, work full-time, drive a vehicle that gets 24 mpg, and pay the national average for gas, your estimated yearly cost to commute is $5,124.
Plug your own commuting numbers into the CommuteSmart cost calculator

8. If you’re buying a new car, make fuel efficiency a priority.
Due to the way vehicles (including hybrids) are tested, those EPA ratings didn’t used to reflect real-life conditions. But according to a recent Consumer Reports article, the EPA is using a more accurate method for determining fuel efficiency for all 2008 vehicles. So whether you’re shopping at a dealer or comparing EPA estimates online.

9. Buy a hybrid, get a tax break.
Driving a hybrid, which runs on a combination of gas and electric power, will significantly increase your miles per gallon. Hybrid cars are becoming more affordable, too.

The Right Mindset
Four dollars a gallon sounds scary to Americans. But the fact that demand continues to increase along with price says it all: We complain about high gas costs, but in reality they don’t deter our driving.
Adopting a gas-conserving mindset is a step in the right direction. So think before you pump, and enjoy your summer. Most important, drive safely!

(courtesy of MSN)

LaTease Rikard
For every friend you have on MySpace, you could have made a $1 each from their friendship. Check this out.

Control Your Destiny With Blogging

What is it about blogging that makes it so popular?

That was a question I wanted to find the answer to. So, a couple of months ago I set out on a fact finding, trial and error journey for answers.

I found out that everyone is doing it. If you don’t have a blog, write me and I’ll tell you how to get one free.

Politicians, corporations, writers, housewives, kids, and even co-workers. Yep, everyone seems to have an opinion, they want a forum to express themselves, their views and sometimes be just plain silly.

I think I know the answer, why blogging is so popular.

First, it is interactive. Usually when someone reads your blog, they post a comment. It allows visitors the opportunity to get involved, feel like their views count.

Second, as a home based business owner, it can function as a website in which you control, manage and change the content. When you change this content, not only are you adding a new item to your blog, you are making your blog search engine friendly.

The search engines love fresh, relevant content.

Third, you can add RSS Feeds to your blog. RSS Feeds are another great way to maintaining fresh, relevant content. They update automatically, all you need to do is pop the code into your blog, and voila! you have instant, new content added daily to your website (blog).

If you are a business owner who has multiple streams of income, then a blog is a great place to advertise all of your opportunities in one place.

Don’t be afraid of putting too much on your blog.

Be afraid of not having enough information.

A word of caution: make sure the items you post to your blog are substantive and somehow relate to the concept, the general feel of your blog.

For instance, if your blog deals with offbeat videos and images, then the RSS Feeds should be as relevant. Don’t put CNN news on a silly video page, you’re going to attract two different types of audiences.

And last, a blog helps you to target your audience. If you have a candle making business, then your blog should pertain to all things concerning candle making, even your feeds.

Keep in mind what the internet is used for: information. People look for things and information online, make sure you are providing that.

My unique hits and signups has increased 100% since I started blogging. On Monday of this week my video blog which advertises adult friend finder, amazon.com and more showed 800 unique hits for the adult friend finder website and products.

I think I may have found an audience.

Until next week,

LaTease Rikard

Here are the links to my blogs:

Offbeat News

http://offbeatnewsandvideos.blogspot.com/

Home Based Business News
http://teasastipstechniques.blogspot.com/

Self Defense Products

Blogging, RSS Feeds And Network Marketing

There are lots of ways to market your business. Lots of ways to get your message out. Are you getting your message to the right people though? That is a task in and of itself.

It’s imperative to locate and focus on your niche, your target market. Some will tell you to write articles that pertains to what you are selling. Become an expert so others will trust you and be more likely to buy from you.

Yes that is true.

Still others will tell you to make sure you have keywords, and that you have reciprocal links.

Yes that works too.

Yet others will tell you to join social networking groups and accumulate ‘friends’ people who want to hear your message.

All of that is true. The thing is, it is very necessary to utilize all of those things. And all of it works today in 2007. But in 2003 RSS Feeds were introduced and no one really knew how to use them to assist SEO. The technical gurus were telling us it was easy to create a feed. But, the good thing is, all of these things work.

That is, if you incorporate them together.

My advice, set up a blog, they are free…this one is…and you can customize it like a website. You can set the tone ( I have 3 blogs..one specifically for offbeat news).

If you are reading this, it proves my point, blogging and RSS Feeds work.

Dining out soon? Read reviews from restaurant goers like yourself before you go…

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Adult FriendFinder
http://adultfriendfinder.com/go/p403434

Drought Stricken Australians Give Lap Dances At Car Wash

Photos By LaTease (c)2006

Drought Stricken Australians Give Lap Dances At Car Wash

Bubbles ‘n Babes, a car wash in Brisbane, got the all clear from the police in the tropical getaway of Queensland, Australia.

At first, numerous complaints were filed by citizens getting the mayor’s attention. However, the will of the au naturel lovers won out. Another reason this car wash is so successful is because Australians are drought stricken and have been banned from washing their own cars.

The price of a lap dance is $100, a topless wash is only $55.

The nude car wash is the idea of a strip-club owner who uses recycled water in order to remain water-use compliant.

RSS Feeds And Search Engines Love Each Other!

I was riding in my car today and suddenly had a profound realization: what is it about RSS feeds that make a website or blog more search engine friendly.

So I set out on a journey to find the truth.

What I discovered is that RSS (Really Simple Syndication) Feeds are really simple and quite fun to add to a blog that has user friendly upload tools. This blog has that, just copy the code and voila` there you have it.

RSS Feeds do just what internet marketers have been wanting someone to do for a long time, put your information directly into the hands of the people who are looking for it.

Think of RSS Feeds like this: a search engine uses spiders to crawl the internet looking for relevant content. Those spiders have rules and confusing algorhythms that change all the time, so you never will find out the secret of the temple, what makes them find your website.

RSS Feeds work the exact opposite.

An RSS stands there with its big open portal of a receptacle waiting to receive any and all relevant content on specified subjects. All you have to do is embed the code onto your blog and you will receive relevant, fresh updated daily content from the feed - a necesity if you want the search engines to find you. Basically, RSS does most of the hard work of optimizing your site for you.

Search engines respond to websites that update their relevant content daily. So, if you have an RSS, that updating is done automatically. That is why search engines love RSS Feeds.

Your information is going to reach the audience you are speaking to. Because you are selecting the types of information you want fed onto your blog, you are literally controlling your demographics, like programming your TIVO.

RSS Feeds add strength to search engine optimization practices already in place.

Now, you can track your programs easier and discover instantly which marketing programs are performing and which need help. RSS takes your information to the market daily with fresh content.

The search engines will see this changing content on your web pages and will visit your site more often. Thus you will rank higher in the search results, driving more traffic to your website.

Check this story out on the feeder Digg:

Safety Lights

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Soccer Stars Win Vibrator Lawsuit

There is a German sex shop chain named Beate Uhse who must now pay German soccer stars Michael Ballack and Oliver Kahn $67,380 each for using their names illegally in an ad for vibrators.

Beate Uhse had advertised the sex toys, as “Michael B.” and “Olli K.,” before Germany hosted the World Cup in 2006.

Although the last names of the two German soccer stars weren’t revealed in the ads, no one ever doubted that it was the Chelsea midfielder (Michael Ballack) and the goalkeeper for Bayern Munich (Oliver Kahn).

Kahn and national team captain Ballack sued Beate Uhse in court for unauthorized use of their names and won.

“The products have been withdrawn,” the spokeswoman said. “We have to pay 50,000 euros to each of them.”

Digg this story

My Experiences In Pre-Paid Legal Land

I tried PrePaid Legal for a couple of months. It wasn’t for me.

This is not to say that Pre-Paid Legal has not nor will not make money for any of you, it just isn’t for me. There are too many meetings, trainings, PBR’s (Personal Business Reception) for me to schedule. I was beginning to lose my livelihood, or any memories of a personal life.

It takes a lot of hard work, and I do mean a lot…to become successful with this program. Your heart has to be in this business or else you will grow bored, and lose interest.

That’s what was happening to me. I lost the enthusiasm after only four months. I’m sure this isn’t customary, but I kept seeing all of those people who have made millions or hundreds of thousands and it did not motivate me one bit to promote and market PrePaid Legal anymore than what I was doing. And to be honest, I didn’t promote it that much.

PrePaid and my involvement with it proved something to me. That you can not be successful with any affiliate program if you do not believe in what you are selling. I didn’t believe in it, hardly read the support material, and gave it a two week run in my advertising program. Hardly any time to make an impact.

But, I believe as internet marketers we do this sometimes because we have become so overwhelmed with programs constantly thrown at us that we give in and give it a try. Not because we really believe in it, but because we are tired of seeing it, and being asked to join by our social networking group friend.

As far as income potential is concerned, PrePaid Legal has all the tools any sales associate (yes that is what you become) will need to be successful.

But, working this program is like a true job, you must put in lots of time to even begin to make a dent. Your competition is other associates and it is up to you to sell a program to people who can not see an immediate need for the services your program is offering.

Oh well, I am back to square one. I have begun marketing my Self Defense Products Website and my Adult Friendfinder site. I have gotten over 200 unique hits to the TBO-Tech website in a four day period.

I am into my second day of promotion for adult friend finder, so I don’t have an opinion yet. It’s looking good though. A few people have purchased memberships, but I haven’t seen any commissions yet. Maybe the payment has to clear first. I’m not sure. I will let you know when and if I make any money from the program.

TBO-Tech is still the only program that has ever paid me. I was so excited when I received that first commission check! It is certainly a product that has a niche market. The challenge is to test and re-test different markets in order to find your target market. Sorry, there is no short way around it. It’s fail-proof and will determine how much money you make with your product.

Hit the target market, and it’s like hitting the lottery. Miss it, and it feels just like that, only it happens over and over again until you find the target.

Well, that’s what I learned this time, I am going to check into Ojeez, the social networking group that makes you shareholders with each paid membership you bring in.

Contact me for the website if you are interested.

LR

Search for gas prices by US Zip Code

Stick And Move

I am forever encouraged by readers and a drive to not give up. Thank you, I appreciate your support.

Giving up is not an option for me. I don’t know how to give up. The cool thing is rising to the challenge can be exciting and stimulating. I’d like to tell you a little story of how a particular day went in an already busy life.

If you’re like me when you have an Emotional Event (EE) invade your peaceful existence, that EE can take one or another form.

Whether the EE causes a tremor or an earthquake in our lives; it’s up to us. Our reaction or lack there of, is going to determine what happens next.

Recently, I used a couple of EE’s for change. Like a movement and shifting of the tectonic plates of life, I am using some EE’s to help me gain unlimited prosperity and spiritual power.

How, do you say, can I no longer let my in-laws get on your nerves and make me act up? Oh my!

Let me share something with you. I had (two)2 EE’s yesterday with two of the closest people in my life. They were in rare form and I had to use every spiritual and educational tool I had to keep them back. They were trying ot make their life long bad habits and problems my problems.

You know, we are what we think. And if you are still thinking bad thoughts that result in bad outcomes, oh well. It’s not like you shouldn’t have learned from this the last 10 times!

Anyway, at first I was pissed off to the highest of pissivity. That lasted for a nice hot minute. Long enough to realize that these two EE’s - (oh did I mention I had 2 EE’s yesterday!) - had enough power to make me react in a negative manner.

You know what I mean, cussing someone out, stepping on their toes and kicking them in the kneecaps type of behavior. The outcome to that kind of action just wasn’t one I wanted. So…

I had a split of Cook’s Spumante and chilled. Not really a big drinker, this was enough to bring my cool points back into focus, and put the necessary spin on my two EE’s.

Hindsight is blind I know, but now I see that if I can harness some of the negative energy from the EE’s that are certain to come in my life, then there is no telling how high my star will rise. I mean, I gotta get something out of this….right?

But seriously, think about that: the next time you face an EE, take a moment to relax and ruminate on the situation. Don’t let it consume you, however, try to understand a part of it that caused you to become angry. Figure out why it made you angry, and then take that knowledge (energy) and apply it to a not so strong part of your life and watch a new type of flower grow.

It’s not easy, so don’t think I am attempting to soft shoe you. It’s difficult to focus on anything other than the anger or emotion you may be feeling at the time. That’s fine, just because there is smoke, doesn’t mean you have to get burned. Once the enemy strikes at you and misses, move in the opposite direction.

Try it. You’ll be surprised at the results.

LR

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6 Tips to Explode Your Offline or Online Business

Here is some really good marketing advice whether you have an internet business or not, this is some really valuable info. Enjoy…LaTease

6 Tips to Explode Your Offline or Online Business
by Monique Hawkins
Copyright 2005 Monique Hawkins

If you have a business either online of offline, your goal is to be successful. You want people to find out about your business and use your products or services. Did you know that the things you do from the early stages of your business will help it either succeed or fail? I know you want to be successful and that’s why I am sharing these 6 tips to help your business explode! Follow them and you can’t help but be on your way to success!

Tip #1: Start a Business that You Are Not Only Passionate About, But Also Can Have Fun With! Having a successful online or offline business should not be boring and something you hate - it should be fun! Think on this: Why did you start the business to begin with? Why did you decide to market your particular product or service? If you have done your research, are passionate about what you are doing, plus you are enjoying yourself, this can greatly impact your level of success.

Tip #2: Develop Relationships With Your Customers. View your customers as your friends. Why? Well, if your customers trust you and you have taken the time to build that trust, don’t you think they will be more open to purchase from you again if they’ve had a positive experience? Of course they will! So, work on those relationships.

Tip #3: Be Mentored. If you want to have a successful business, you need to understand the importance of mentors. A good mentor can help you in so many ways, particularly if you are new to the business world or new to the industry.
A mentor can inform you of possible risks and help you limit them. They are perfect sounding boards when it comes to processing new ideas, new approaches, and are able to give you constructive feedback. A mentor can play a huge role in the success of your online or offline business no matter what stage it is in.

Tip #4: Follow the Advice of the Planet’s Best Business Consultant. There is no question that the legendary Jay Abraham is the super business consultant. When we talk about succeeding in your business, Jay is the “go to” man. His “7 Point Worldview of Business” is something every business owner should learn more about.

You’ll not want to miss a word of what he has to say in the following 7 points:
1. Your business should be fun.
2. Your business should be easy.
3. Your business should be obscenely profitable.
4. Your business should be easier to grow geometrically than incrementally.
5. You should be able to do your business your way.
6. Your customers are your great friends.
7. If the world were a 3D movie, you would be the only one with the special glasses.
Jay has the best advice out there. Follow it and you’ll experience business in a way you never dreamed possible. Jay, by the way, does have a fast, super affordable mentoring program for any business owner who desires to take their business to the next level and watch it soar. I highly recommend you at least listen to what he has to say. You do not have to do this the hard way all on your own.

Tip #5: Don’t Hold Yourself Back. Never hold yourself back when it comes to success. Too many people out there dream of success, they dream of owning or running their own business, they dream of making their dreams come true. The problem is that they never ACT! The biggest obstacle in your path to success may be yourself. It might sound like a cliché but you need a “can do” attitude. You need to think, speak and feel successful and then you will be successful. Learn to overcome your fears and move forward.

Tip #6: Surround Yourself with Like Minded People. Let’s face it-sometimes your friends and families lack of understanding and negative attitudes related to what you are trying to accomplish can be like a weight around your neck and can be very detrimental. If you associate frequently with people who are negative, pessimistic, and generally are not supportive, then maybe it’s time to change your friends. You can’t change your family of course, but maybe your goals and aspirations can’t be shared with them because of their lack of understanding. Maybe it’s time to surround yourself with individuals who are encouraging, supportive, and who express faith in you. If you do this, you’ll be amazed at what this type of influence can do for you and your business.

To sum it all up, whether your business is online or offline, there are many things that you can do to ensure success that go beyond even these 6 tips. Remember to keep your head up, have faith in yourself and your business, and confidence that you will succeed. You will succeed!

Monique Hawkins is the owner of the online music box store, “Monique’s Music Box” located at http:www.my-music-box.com. She enjoys sharing information with business owners that will help them attain success. Visit the following link for informaton about the Jay Abraham mentoring program: http://www.abrahampublishing.net/app/?af=274476.