LET'S TALK BUSINESS
Is My Advertising Effective?
Advertising your website isn't a simple task. It's truly a science
to run an effective ad campaign.
Obviously the most critical aspect of a campaign is reaching your
target market. One of the best ways to find websites that reach your
target market is to do a quick Google search on keyword phrases that
you feel your target market would search on. Check out the
advertising opportunities on the websites that show up fairly
consistently on each of your searches.
Before placing an ad, contact the webmaster and find out how much
traffic the website receives. Be sure that your ad placement will be
prominent on a page that gets frequent traffic.
If you are advertising with a banner ad, don't use a cheesy free ad.
Hire a graphic designer to create something visually appealing,
unique, and that effectively helps brand your website. This really
doesn't have to be an expensive undertaking. You can post a project
on a website like www.elance.com
and probably have a very good looking banner designed for $25.
If you are promoting a business opportunity it is especially
important to have a banner of your own created. Don't use the same
banner that every other member in the network is using. Chances are
your competitors in the business network are all using the same
banners. In some ways, this is good because it can build brand
recognition. However, if people are used to seeing the ad at
websites they frequent, they may block it out.
Make sure that your ad will appeal to the traffic of the website you
are advertising on. You may be promoting an advertisement about a
home business opportunity for example. If you plan to advertise on a
website geared toward women, a banner ad with a fast car or a nude
woman behind a hundred dollar bill just isn't going to motivate this
segment of your target market to click. You would do much better to
run an ad that features competent business women, or mothers with
young children.
It's equally important to consider your landing page. If possible,
try to create a unique page for each of your ad campaigns. Gear it
toward the type of traffic you will be attracting. Even consider
welcoming them directly. If they click through from a site called 'XYZ.com'
then you would say something like "Welcome XYZ.com visitors... Here
is a special deal just for you", or some other targeted message.
This is a skillful method of recognizing the visitor and also taking
advantage of the referring websites own branding and trust that they
have built with their website visitors.
If you are advertising on well known, reputable sites - the click
throughs are going to already be a warm lead for you. Try to
leverage the trust they have in the website they are coming from.
Don't limit yourself to just advertising however, consider other
methods of driving traffic to your website. For example, consider
opening a Google Adwords account. Adwords can be a very effective
way of showing up on Google's own search results and many websites
that host Google's ads.
Distributing articles to websites and article directories,
participating in forums, blogging and commenting on blogs are all
other ways of obtaining links from relevant websites. Never use
spammy techniques. Always offer valuable comments, questions or
information. Consider every blog comment or forum post as a
representation of your business.
Get involved, network and build a reputation for yourself that will
earn the trust of your perspective website visitors.
Lori Redfield is the founder of
www.freelancemom.com,
which has many more articles and resources to help you effectively
advertising and promote your business.
RECIPES
Decadent Coffee Desserts
COFFEE MALLOW
32 large marshmallows, cut in pieces
1 cup strong coffee
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream, whipped
Maraschino cherries
Combine marshmallows and coffee in a saucepan; cook over low heat,
stirring constantly until marshmallows melt. Chill just until
mixture is thickened. Stir vanilla into coffee mixture; fold in
whipped cream. Spoon into individual dessert dishes; chill. Garnish
with cherry.
Serves 6.
IRISH COFFEE PUDDING
6 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup very strong coffee
1-1/2 ounces powdered gelatin
1/3 cup Irish whiskey
10 ounces heavy whipping cream
3 ounces crushed walnuts
sweetened whipped cream
Separate the yolks from the whites of eggs. In a bowl, cream yolks
with sugar. Heat the coffee until hot but not boiling; add the
gelatin and dissolve it in the coffee. Add this mixture to the yolks
and sugar. Beat well and put the bowl over a pot of boiling water.
Continue beating until mixture begins to thicken. Remove from heat
and when the bowl has cooled a little, place it over cracked ice and
continue stirring. When the mixture is on the point of setting, whip
the cream and fold it in. Add the whiskey. Lastly, fold in the
well-beaten egg whites.
Pour into a souffl? dish that has a double thickness
of parchment paper tied around it; the paper should come up 3 inches
above the top of the souffl? dish. Oil a jar or bottle and press it
down into the center of the pudding. Leave to set. Remove the paper
collar by easing around the circumference with a knife dipped in hot
water. Remove the jar, and fill the center with sweetened whipped.
Decorate the sides of pudding with the walnuts, pressing them in
with the palm of your hand.
COFFEE LIQUEUR MOUSSE
1-1/4 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup water
2-1/4 cups milk
6 eggs, separated
1/4 cup coffee-flavored liqueur
1-1/2 tablespoons instant coffee powder
3 tablespoons boiling water
3 tablespoons unflavored gelatin
1/3 cup cold water
2 cups whipping cream, whipped
whipped cream and chocolate curls, for garnish
Combine brown sugar and water in pan, stir constantly over heat
without boiling until sugar is dissolved. Bring to a boil, boil
uncovered about 10 minutes or until mixture is dark golden brown,
then test by dropping a teaspoonful of toffee (sugar mixture) into a
glass of cold water. If it is ready, toffee will set immediately.
Remove from heat, add milk, stir until toffee is dissolved. It may
be necessary to return to low heat to dissolve toffee completely.
Stir in combined egg yolks, liqueur, and combined coffee and boiling
water. Sprinkle gelatin over cold water, dissolve over hot water,
cool 5 minutes, stir into coffee mixture.
Refrigerate until just beginning to set, stirring
occasionally. Fold in cream. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form,
fold into coffee mixture. Place in serving dish, refrigerate
overnight or for several hours until set. Decorate with extra
whipped cream and chocolate curls.
HOME DECORATING
-
Whether buying
one for the first time or replacing an existing one, installing a
new
fireplace mantel surround does not take as much work as you
think. If you don’t have a fireplace mantel, consider getting one,
as it will give your fireplace a more finished, polished look.
You can even use a mantel in areas you don’t have a fireplace, as
d?cor.
-
The grocery
store can supply a wealth of ideas. Fruits are a low-cost way to
add color and quality to a mantel. Pack empty flower vases or jugs
with lemons or limes. Complete fruit exhibits with a flower
arrangement. Another way to add some sparkle is by placing little
votive candles around the bottom of the vessels.
-
A mantel
should have its own focal point. Often, a single large painting or
mirror is used. If you decide to go this route, be sure the
picture is not hung too high. You can also just lean it against
the wall. Use two or more coordinated pieces of art to create a
grouping for a different look. If you don’t have a fireplace, and
don’t want to have one built, consider an
electric fireplace as a low-cost, portable option. You can
move them into any room of your home, as you please!
-
Try these
seasonal changes:
·
Winter – add potted evergreens, pinecones and sticks from the
backyard
·
Spring – use paper-whites, tulips, or forsythia
·
Summer – place a flower in each of four or five identical vases, or
use pots of identical orchids
·
Fall – try gourds and pumpkins
-
You can spiff
up your mantel with functional collectibles, whether it is
flowerpots, vases, or even cookie jars. Playing cards, matches,
whatever little things you may use in that room can be used to
fill the flowerpots. Fill the vases with flowers, real, silk or
dried. If you live in an apartment or condo, or a house without a
fireplace, consider a
fake fireplace. They can be inexpensive, high quality, and
open up many more decorating options for you.
-
Gourd
groupings are a cheerful way to enliven a fireplace mantel. Group
together white gourds and white pumpkins and set out a bunch of
red grapes and grape leaves in between the gourds. Then
intersperse silver and glass candlesticks in varying heights with
tall white taper candles in between the gourds and grape clusters.
-
Display a
grouping of floral plates on your mantel. Clean out the ashes in
your fireplace and fill the firebox with a large artificial fern
or a basket of colorful flowers. Place twigs in tall vases and
place on each side of the fireplace mantel. Don’t forget about
what is below the mantel! The right
glass fireplace door or screen can do wonders for your
fireplace d?cor.
Article By:
Michelle O’Connor
LANDSCAPING
Get the Best 'Around the Pool Landscaping'
It is a great idea to get your pool looking its
best by making use of around the pool landscaping. This kind of pool
landscaping can turn your boring old backyard into the backyard of
the stars. You can have a Hollywood looking backyard in n o time if
you play your cards right.
A good pool landscaping design will make your pool the focal
attraction and bring out so much more in your yard. If your yard is
large you can consider adding gorgeous brick walkways to your yard
around the pool. This kind of pool landscaping can lead to other
parts of the yard as well. You can have a larger grouping of brick
on which you can place your patio furniture, a table and chairs can
look fabulous.
Breaking up the brick in the pool landscaping will some patches of
greenery is a good touch. These bits of green will breathe life into
the whole picture and take out the hard stone look. Brick is a good
choice of stone because it is a softer looking stone. The red brick
color is warm and inviting it will not leave your yard looking cold
and unwelcoming. The green plants will only add to the beauty of the
brick as a pool landscaping tool.
You can throw in some landscaping stones around the plants and the
edges of the patio. Light colored Stones will add so much to the
entire pool landscaping design. Choose small and sharp stones and
you have just added a whole other layer of texture tot the landscape
and this on its own will make your yard look fabulous.
You can also think about putting in some colorful flowers. If you
spend a lot of time by the pool at night add some night blooming
flowers as well. This way you will be surrounded by some fabulous
blooms and scents all day (and night) long. Combined all of these
ideas will make your pool landscaping design the best ever seen.
Start looking into the way to go about this kind of pool landscaping
today. Some of it you may be able to do on your own while other
aspects you may need some professional help with. Your pool
landscaping is going to impress all of your friends when you are
done so get started today and it will be done in no time.
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