Special Thanks to Willie for turning me on to this video!

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“Wants” and “Desires” are similar, but different.  A “Want” is something that is obtainable, but must have a “Need” to fulfill it.  For instance, you “Want” to go on vacation, so you “Need” to make the money to do so.

Finally, a “Desire” is something that is long-term and may be unattainable. It cannot be aided with use of a “Need”.  You may desire to be an Olympic high-jumper, but you must face the reality that you are 42 years old and overweight.

In business, it is important to fulfill either a “Need” or a “Want”.  Typically, “Needs” are easier to sell, but “Wants” will bring in the big bucks.  But what happens on the very rare occasion that a “Need” moves over to being a “Want”?

This is happening today. Gasoline prices have now gotten so high that they have gone from the “Need” of fuel for transportation to a “Want” of being able to go somewhere.

With gasoline prices threatening to be above $4.00 and more a gallon this summer, the gas companies have over-priced a “Need” within this company and have moved it to be a “Want”.  No longer can the average person making a minimum wage salary afford to fill their automobile with gasoline.  This is a serious problem that needs to be addressed by our government.

While this is a burden on all of us, to some – it is a crisis.  For example, let us say that the analysts are correct and gasoline goes to $4.00 a gallon.  To fill a 15 gallon tank of gas will require you to put $60 worth of fuel into your gas tank.  Most people need to do this once a week.  So this means that approximately $240 a month is spent on fuel.  Now, let us take a look at the person making minimum wage.  If they work the full time of 40 hours/week at $7.25 per hour, they should bring home approximately $190.00 per week after taxes.  Sixty dollars of that is going to fill up their vehicle (assuming they only have a 15 gallon tank) leaving them with $130 a week to spend on other “Needs”.  Let us say they rent an apartment at a rate of $500 per month.  Most of you will say that this is a very low price for rent. Well, that just ate up all but $20 from their paycheck. This leaves them $20 for food or clothing – the other basic “Needs”.

A person who makes $15,080 per year working minimum wage – and this is before taxes – is NOT considered at a poverty level – yet somehow they are expected to live off of this amount.  Likewise, if it were a family of six, with two working individuals at 40 hours per week at minimum wage ($30,160) – they are just above the poverty line of $29,530.

In a time when gasoline is so important to how we move around, the gasoline companies have overpriced their product.  They have moved it from a “Need” to a “Want”.  They say that it is because of our nation’s reliance on gasoline, problems with the refineries, injuries at the refineries, or someone had a hangnail…whatever the excuse, they are making billion dollar profits.

So, you will hear of “Gas Boycott Days” on the internet – which don’t mean a thing.   The only true way of solving this problem is to find alternative fuel sources, buy vehicles that conserve gas (and these aren’t American cars unfortunately) and start carpooling the way they did it in the 1970s.  The gas companies won’t feel a crunch until we stop using their resources in the abundance we do today.  If everyone stopped driving in a car without a passenger, gas consumption would drop.  Will it make a difference?  I am not sure that it would be that significant.  I am sure there would be a fire or someone with a stubbed toe to increase the price.

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The Operating System is much better.
The easiest way to describe this is to imagine the ease of Facebook as your operating system.  Everything is customizable to what you want to do.  It’s fast, easy, and everything is at your fingertips.  On the PC, I’ve worked with everything from DOS to Windows 7 and there is no comparison between the two.  When you are done with a project, you throw it away. When you want to find something, it is a one click answer.  Also, if you don’t want to get that far away from the PC, the Mac also runs Windows – faster than Windows-based computers.  This article is a bit old, but according to PC Magazine, the fastest Window’s Vista notebook they tested was a Mac.  You can’t run Mac software on the Window’s systems.

You Almost Never Have To Reboot The Mac
Can you even say this about Windows?  With the Mac, all you have to do is close the cover and move your laptop from the office to your living room.  It opens up quickly and efficiently.  If you do that with a PC, it is like you cut an arm off as the machine goes through spasms trying to figure out what the hell just happened.  The only real need to reboot your Mac is when you have to upgrade software.

If You Have Any Doubts, Look At The Fans
A lot of people – my wife, included – joke about how pretentious Mac users can be – and I used to agree with the PC people, too.  However, it isn’t that.  They have a smaller fan base and their fans are very loyal.  It is hard to explain this because Mac users are such a small percentage of the computing world, but I will give you something interesting to think about – people who use a PC do so because they have to.  People that use Macs do so because they want to. When a PC user switches to the Mac – like I did – it is a conscious choice.  Mac users don’t switch to PCs unless the job they do forces them to do so.  That isn’t an elitist statement, it is just the truth.

My PC Was Always Under The Weather
I have gone through almost 20 PCs in as many years.  This isn’t to say I needed a new PC every year, but between personal computers and work computers, it just worked out that way.  In that time, I had to buy anti-virus software every year (about $60/year per PC) – which equates to roughly $1200 in that time, assuming I only had one PC at a time (which I didn’t).  During that, I lost precious work time with the infected viruses, trips to the computer stores to clean my system, updates, defragmentations, running of new anti-virus software and downtime.  From a business standpoint; if time is money, then the PCs cost me plenty of cash.  From what I hear from Mac users, viruses, spyware, and adware is not something you need to worry about.  That isn’t because no one has ever made a virus for Macs, but it is because it doesn’t happen very often and they have been lucky to get away virus-free.  For me, I am happy if I don’t have to spend 3-4 days uploading new software every year or so.

Macs Are Cheaper Than PCs
What?  Are you kidding me?  I can buy a PC for a third of the price as that Mac!  Yes, this is true, you can.  Of course, you aren’t comparing “Apples” to oranges, either.  The last PC laptop that I bought for work was from Dell, two years ago.  The PC cost me roughly $1300 for what I needed to run my graphics programs.  In the two years that I’ve had it, I’ve replaced two hard drives (about $400), had to have the computer “cleaned” of viruses one time ($75), backed up ($75), purchased three versions of anti-virus software ($180), and I use the thing so much, I’ve literally worn the letters off of the  keyboard.  Total cost = $2030.00  That was in two years!  My Mac friends tell me they have Macs that are 5 years old or more.  If you go by that, I would have more than doubled my costs in PCs before I bought a new Mac. Granted, I am hard on computers because I use them so much, but the initial cost can really be justified if it lives up to its potential.

This being said, I am still a PC user, as well as a Mac.  In the PC’s favor, there are definitely more options with the PC.  If you want to buy a cheap PC, then you can find one in your price range, while the Macs start at about twice the price of the cheapest PC.  However, you can also purchase PCs that are much more expensive than the choices available for the Mac.  By pricing out similar models, you will find that both are comparable in price.  When it comes down to it, you have to be comfortable with the machine you are working on.  The Mac isn’t a perfect machine, by any sense of the word, but it is runs smoothly and has a lot more design aesthetics than the PC.

Note: If you are a gamer, the Mac might not be for you.  While there are more and more games moving over to Mac support, they are behind the “game” in that category.

This article was originally posted by the author on April 20, 2010 on the web site www.myfivebest.com.

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“Jimm has helped me stay ahead of the curve in web design. The world is moving too fast and someone needs to be on the trail ahead of you, looking for the changes and opportunities. That’s Jimm. In addition his knowledge about website navigation, SEO, and Pay-Per-Click has helped clients and potential clients find and learn more about me faster than I could have accomplished on my own.”

Willie Davis,
Author and Peoplelution.biz

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One way marketers have done this in the past is to put a special code on the ad that a customer is supposed to use when they call the company in hopes of getting an additional discount.  For example, if you were running an ad for a Spring Sale, you might have customers call in and say the code: APRIL SHOWERS  to receive an additional 10% off their order. While this may prove some sales, how do you know your ad worked? You know which customers got the discount, but did they call in and have your customer service person offer them the 10% off?  What about the customers that didn’t use the code?  How about those that saved the ad and called in after the sale?  This way cannot positively give you an accurate account. 

Another way of tracking ads is the coupon.  Likewise, while you know the number of people who have used the coupon saw your ad, what about those who buy your products but didn’t use the coupon?  What if they buy something else outside of the sale item?  There is no clear way to monitor the effectiveness of your ad… …or is there?  Let us say you are going to do a direct mail campaign or rent a billboard.  You want to know how effective your money is working for you.  There is a way to do this by tracking the phone numbers and/or web address that you use in your ads.   What’s more, your ad can be monitored each day for its effectiveness.  The difficult work is done for you and you just need to worry about getting the sales!  Once you experience the power of the tracking technology by seeing the actual number of leads and hearing the actual phone calls, you will be able to track where you are most effective.  You’ll be able to see and hear where your shortcomings are.  You’ll be able to see what brings in results.

Why waste money on non-effective advertising month after month?
Quit the guessing. Be smart in your spending.  Arm yourself with the tools you need to make your advertising as valuable as possible. Think of how much money you can save by spending smart!

Here’s how it works:
ONE: You create a magazine, billboard, catalog, brochure, radio, or television ad.  We take your phone number or email address and change it slightly to record the results back to you.
TWO: Immediately, those calls or the web site address comes to you, but are recorded so that you can monitor their results.
THREE: You click on the web site each day and can actually listen to the phone calls or see the results of the web site address provided. You can see exactly who is answering the call to action from your ads! 

I am sure that you can see the benefit in this method of advertising.  The added cost (which is most likely less than 10% of your total cost of one mailing) can help you in honing your message and give you the answers to how well your advertising is working for you!

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If you want to learn more about advertising or would like to know how to advertise on the internet, take a look at my new eBook, The Little Black Book of Marketing. On Sale Now!

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Affinity Click’s new advertising model takes a look at what bloggers write about and then matches the content that they are using to promote ads.  This is all part of their predictive algorithm that takes a look at how you write, what your posts are about, and what keywords you use to match their ads with the people that read your text.  They then continue to optimize the ads so that you can get the maximum payout for your efforts.  It becomes a win-win situation for everyone; the advertisers sell more of their products, Affinity Click makes money off the advertisers and you make money through Affinity Click.

You can choose between two different types of ads that don’t appear as intrusive as other ad sellers and they actually have something to do with what you are trying to relate to your readers!  This is a great concept and I recommend you give them a try.

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At the Car Wash:
I noticed two Hummers in line at the local car wash. Behind them, waiting in line were a series of other expensive ($30,000+) vehicles waiting their turn for a chance at the power spray.   One of them had a pair of fuzzy dice hanging from the rear view mirror.
At the Super-Mega-”We’ve got everything” store:
Two adult men were having a discussion over whether the new Nintendo Wii or the Playstation3 had the better variety of games. One exclaimed that “sure the kid’s like this, but they don’t use it as much as my wife and I do!”

At my 30-something friend’s home:
A brightly colored knife block – shaped like a human being in the throes of death – with various styles of knives, from a paring knife to a bread cutter thrust into it, sitting on the kitchen counter.

This made me realize something (Other than my friend has a really dark sense of humor).   We, as adults, are just kids with an income.   While that income varies – most of us haven’t broken out of our Peter Pan syndrome and grown up the way we thought all adults were supposed to be – it follows the premise that we buy what we want, not what we need.

We like to have fun!

Market your products the way you would want them to be marketed to you.   Everyone likes to smile and be happy.   A happy person is going to be more receptive to what you are selling.   And let’s face it, we are all just big kids at heart.

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We all have email in our lives.  It is a necessary evil that we cannot live without.   It is a cousin to our other 21st century addictions:  The cell phone and DVR.  Sometimes it seems that it is taking over our lives, but the following ways can help you to put email in check and give you much more time during the day.

Only check your email two or three times a day.
Seems simple, doesn’t it?   But how many of us sit by the computer like a schoolgirl waiting for that guy from home room to call?   Just because the email lands in your inbox doesn’t mean that you have to answer it within seconds.   There is no contest to be first to answer.   By answering your emails as they arrive, your train of thought is broken and tasks take much longer to accomplish.   Set a time to answer your emails while you are at work.   A half hour after you arrive, after lunch, and before you leave for the day is plenty of time to get back to people.

Quit feeling the need to include everyone.
Why does the entire company need to be included on every joke, invite, or quip of the day?   You wouldn’t invite your entire department to a meeting unless they were all required to be there, don’t put them on every email.   And don’t “Reply All” to questions directed to solely you. There is no need to clutter the information highway even further with a “Yes or No” response.   If there is a need to include everyone -whether you desire a response or not – then put the intent in the Subject Line.

Every notice does not deserve an answer.
Just because it is said, doesn’t mean that you need to reply.   Email is not a telephone conversation or lunch meeting.   If someone writes, “Here is the information that you requested and if you have any questions, contact me.”   There is no need for a return email with the solitary word of “Thanks!”   This is email clutter and you just cost that person time out their schedule to open a meaningless message.   They know you are thankful, let them carry on their job.

Is email the right mode of communication?
The answer to this is “Not always.”   Email is fast.   Email is concise.   Email is efficient.   Email, however, is not the mode of communication to tell someone their dog just died.   Think before you send off an email and remember, you cannot include inflection of the spoken word in the inbox.   If there is a chance you can receive an inflammatory response, maybe you should consider calling or speaking with the subject in person.

Use Email Folders
When you get a lot of emails on a regular basis (and who doesn’t?), it is best if you seperate them into folders under the name of the people who send them to you. This way, when it is time to find an email you are looking for, it is easier to do so.  There are plenty of programs available, as well, to help you manage your email.  While there are too many to mention, you should Google a free email management program for your specific email service.

Email can be very time-saving and time-wasting.  Done properly, it can be a vital part of your communication process, allowing you to get your message across concise and efficiently.  Ask yourself: “How do I use my email?”  If you have any comment or suggestions, please do not hesitate to respond.   By email, of course…

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Northeast Ohio Internet Marketing Company offers help to small businesses.

Wadsworth, Ohio – (March, 2010) – myWebSource1, LLC launches the a new eBook directed at small business owners. The new book, called “The Little Black Book of Marketing” is designed to help businesses succeed on the internet by creating a source of links and online marketing information put into simple, and easy-to-use terms that anyone can understand.

Do you find yourself lost when it comes to promoting your web site?  Are you online, but nobody knows where to find you?  The Little Black Book of Marketing is designed for you! In this 41-page ebook, you will find over 200 links designed to help your business succeed. “When I wrote this ebook”, says author James Fowler, “I was looking for a way to help the local businessman who doesn’t have time to find sites online that will help promote their business. This book is laid out so anyone – whether they’ve been online for years or just beginning – to sit down and start promoting their web site in a matter of minutes.”

Within this eBook, you’ll find:

• How-to Methods to Online Success Put in Easy-To-Use Terms.
• 200+ Helpful Links Gathered From Years of Experience Scouring the Internet.
• Effective Ways of Reaching Your Customers.
• Methods on Leading Customers to You.
• Effective Ways To Promote Your Business and Brand.
• Definitions of Commonly Used Internet Terms.

The book is currently available online for an introductory rate of $19 ($20 off the MSRP) and can be found here: (http://www.mywebsource1.com/littleblackbook.html)

ABOUT myWEBSOURCE1, LLC
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myWebSource1 has been delivering web site designs and internet marketing to businesses since 2006. Comprised of web specialists from across the United States, myWebSource1 offers web sites, content management systems, search engine optimization, pay-per-click management, and social networking for a variety of different businesses.

myWebSource1, LLC
268 Baldwin Street Wadsworth, Ohio 44281
Toll Free: 866-675-6560
www.MyWebSource1.com
Twitter: @mywebsource1
Skype: DUQofURL

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