AMVA - Amanda Moore Virtual Assistant

Submitting to Carnivals can be time consuming, but if you set up a system, you can do it all in just a few minutes. Here’s my system for Quick and Dirty blog carnival submissions:

1. Go to the Blog Carnival website and look at their list of available Carnivals. You’ll notice that there are dozens of Carnivals to choose from. You could theoretically submit to them all, but that would be a waste of time so instead you…
2. Sort the list by Latest Edition. This will tell you which Carnivals are actually active. Then, you want to scan down the list for Carnivals that are appropriate for the specific post you’re submitting. If you are submitting a post about SEO and How to Increase Page Rank, you don’t want to submit to the Canine Carnival. That’s just a waste of everyone’s time.
3. Open the Carnivals that look like they’re appropriate for your post. The best way to do this is just hold the Ctrl button and click on the link. This will open the page in a new tab. Do this for all of the Carnivals that look interesting and have been published in the last 2 months.
4. Re-sort the list by Next Edition. This will catch the carnivals that only publish on a quarterly (or longer) basis. Repeat step 3 above.
5. Read the Carnival Summary. This is important. Sometimes, from the name, you’ll think the Carnival is about one thing when it’s really about something completely different. If it’s not appropriate to your post, don’t submit your article.
6. Submit your post to the first Carnival only. If you’ve read the summary and you think that your post is appropriate for the Carnival, go ahead and click on the Submit An Article button on the left side. Now here’s the important part: before you submit any posts, bookmark the submission page. This will make it much easier in the future when you want to submit again. Fill in the information with the appropriate permalink and your contact information and hit submit. Don’t forget to include strong remarks as that’s what will get many people to read your post before others.
7. Submit your post to all of the other Carnivals. By completing the entire submission process with the first Carnival, you’ve just decreased your work because now certain information will pre-populate, based on what you posted in the first carnival. Now, to save time, instead of completing each Carnival one at a time, do the following:
   • paste your permalink into each carnival and hit tab, then move on to the next submission form. When you’ve placed your permalink into all of the Carnivals, go back to the first and you’ll see the info that has auto populated.
   • fill in the missing information but before you hit submit, copy each piece of information and paste it into the appropriate field on each Carnival submission page. Do this with all of the fields and after you’ve filled in the Remarks box on each, hit submit. Doing this cutting and pasting will save you a lot of time rather than re-typing the same information for each Carnival.

Once you’ve gotten your regular Carnival submissions bookmarked as outlined above, any time you want to submit to a Carnival all you have to do is check the site once a week for new Carnivals. Just repeat steps 1-4 above and look for the “new” icon. Be aware that Carnivals are listed as new for a while so make sure it’s not one you already submit to and then just follow the rest of the steps.

By following this process, I can submit to about a dozen different Carnivals in 10 minutes or less. I just go to my bookmarks page and right click on the “Carnivals” folder. Then I click “Open all in Tabs” and the Carnivals automatically go to the submission page. Then I just follow steps 6-7 above.

Blog Carnivals can be an excellent way to gain rank, authority and readers, just don’t expect it all to happen in one day.

I recently received the following question on my post Call For Blog Carnival Posts from Paul at The Business Coaching Blog.

Do you have much success with Blog Carnivals?
I tried it at the start of the year and submitted some of my best articles but never received enough traffic back to justify the time and effort.

The answer is, it depends on how you define success. You can’t just look at traffic because there’s a lot more involved which is actually more important than the traffic you receive.

Participating in Blog Carnivals can offer other things besides traffic.

1. By getting listed in a Blog Carnival you’re getting a keyword laden (assuming you use good titles) deep link to a page on your blog. Google *loves* that. It shows that people like specific things you’re saying, not just your blog in general.
2. The link from the Carnival gives you a touch more Technorati Authority, which Google is also a fan of.
3. Many participants in Carnivals will link back to the Carnival and make a comment about their favorite post(s) which could give you yet another link for #1 and 2 above.
4. When your submission is posted, you can go comment on the post to get your name in front of people again. If the host happens to be using do-follow and particularly comment or keyword luv, you’ve just gotten another link-back.
5. Your name and blog will get in front of many people who might never have found you otherwise which could result in a new loyal reader or two.

So you see, it’s not all about the traffic. You have to look at the big picture. Traffic is just a small bonus to the big payoff which is page rank and authority. About the traffic though, it’s my experience that even when it’s not a ton, it trickles in forever. On another blog I run, I have an article I posted to a Carnival 2 years ago that I still get hits on.

For tips on how to easily submit your posts to a Carnival, read my Down and Dirty Blog Submission Technique and don’t forget to submit your posts to my Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival.

by David Tanguay

Astonishingly, Americans generally spend $1600 or more a year on their utility bills. Not only is much of this wasted energy, but more carbon dioxide is emitted into the air from one home than two average cars.

The following tips will help you save energy costs both at home and in the car.

• Set your thermostat comfortably low in the winter and comfortably high in the summer. Install a programmable thermostat that is compatible with your heating and cooling system.
• Use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
• Air dry dishes instead of using your dishwasher’s drying cycle.
• Turn off your computer and monitor when not in use.
• Plug home electronics, such as TVs and DVD players, into power strips; turn the power strips off when the equipment is not in use (TVs and DVDs in standby mode still use several watts of power).
• Lower the thermostat on your hot water heater to 120 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Take short showers instead of baths.
• Wash only full loads of dishes and clothes.
• Drive sensibly. Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gasoline.
• Look for the ENERGY STAR label on home appliances and products. ENERGY STAR products meet strict efficiency guidelines set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the United States Department of Energy.

Energy Auditing Tips

• Check the insulation levels in your attic, exterior and basement walls, ceilings, floors, and crawl spaces.
• Check for holes or cracks around your walls, ceilings, windows, doors, light and plumbing fixtures, switches, and electrical outlets that can leak air into or out of your home.
• Check for open fireplace dampers.
• Make sure your appliances and heating and cooling systems are properly maintained. Check your owner’s manual for the recommended maintenance.
• Study your family’s lighting needs and use patterns, paying special attention to high-use areas such as the living room, kitchen, and outside lighting. Look for ways to use lighting controls - like occupancy sensors, dimmers, or timers - to reduce lighting energy use, and replace standard light bulbs and fixtures with compact or standard fluorescent lamps.

Insulation Tips

• Consider factors such as your climate, building design, and budget when selecting insulation R-values for your home.
• Use higher density insulation, such as rigid foam boards, in cathedral ceilings and on exterior walls.
• Ventilation plays a large role in providing moisture control and reducing summer cooling bills. Attic vents can be installed along the entire ceiling cavity to help ensure proper airflow.
• Recessed light fixtures can be a major source of heat loss, but you need to be careful how close you place insulation next to a fixture unless it is marked IC.

These tips, and more, are provided to you in a larger PDF file by the US Department of Energy.

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David Tanguay is dedicated to providing research, reviews & helpful information to consumers and businesses. For more information related to Green Energy and Renewable Energy please visit http://greenenergyonline.org

By: Juhani Tontti

They look so simple, that I often ask, what special they have and how they have become so successful in the tough internet home business market? It seems that the simpler and the more user friendly the site is, the better chances it has to create big sales.

Very clearly one big success factor is that the fine tuning work should concentrate to take away all the unnecessary elements and non-selling links.

1 - Winning Element: Attention Grabbing Title.

The title is absolutely the most important element of the site. It should contain the promise and to describe the content of the site. The job of the title is to persuade the visitor to continue and to find the things that are useful for him.

The headline should be written well and it should stand out from the rest of the copy. It also should be the first element, which catches the visitor attention in seconds, because if it does not do that, the visitor continues the surfing.

2 - Winning Element: Well Written Copy.

The Internet is the information highway, so the role of the copy is very important, this is the world of the words. The copy should draw the readers attention immediately to the benefits your offer give to him.

The style is important and the target is to build up the trust from the first contact. The copy should make the reader enthusiastic about the benefits but it should not use hype style over promises, because they will destroy the trust.

3 - Winning Element: Easy Site Navigation.

This is the technical must, because nothing drives the visitors away faster than the bad navigation. The site structure should be clear and logical, so that the visitor knows all the time, where he is and to where he could go from here.

The menu should be the same on every page and clearly accessible and also easy to understand. The terms should be clear, despite of the fact that you may want to use internet home business key phrases.

4 - Winning Element: Call To Action.

After the copy has presented the main benefits it is the time to call the reader into action. Yes to tell him directly what to do and not to leave him guessing, how should I go on? Action is everything and we have to call the reader to do that.

One good way is to lower the bar, i.e. to offer a cheap or free trial opportunity for some weeks, before the reader will buy the product. The efficiency is the better, the more often you call the reader into action.

5 - Winning Element: Images.

One picture tells more than thousand words. You should include photos of every product you sell, because they make the products more real, than the copy alone.

If you have lots of products for sale, you can use thumbnails that link to larger images. This speed up the page loadings.

6 - Winning Element: Opt in Form.

Most of the internet home business visitors needs at least five contacts before they will buy. However if they are interested about what you offer, it is important to get their name and email address through an opt in form on the visible place of the site.

In this process you have to give them a gift, an email course, a free e-book or something like that, which again will sell your offer later on. Now you can send them messages during a long period of time, which clearly makes the process more productive.

7 - Winning Element: About Us Section.

The idea of every internet home business site is to build trust over a long period of time. This requires that you tell enough about yourself and give your contact information for further questions. An effective way is to use a picture about yourself and some information in the form of a story and underline your expertise as a marketer in this area.

This shows people that there is a real people behind the business.

8 - Winning Element: Site Freshness.

People and search engines love unique, fresh information. That is why you should update the content very often and change those parts that do not work anymore and add some elements which show right away that something new is available. It is useful to look the competing sites in your internet home business niche, because they are a great source of new ideas. Another idea is to make sure your site can stand out from the crowd.

The marketing is very important but the key is still the quality of your internet home business site. It makes the people to come back and it is the real place, where they can reach you and your offers.

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Author Resource:-> Juhani Tontti, B.Sc., Marketing. Finetune Your Site And It Will Work For You Day And Night Automatically. Find More Information From My Internet Business- Site.

Article From Niche Article Directory

Welcome to the 2nd issue of the Virtual Assistant/Home Business Blog Carnival. Last week was a rousing success and this week is even better. There are 16 great posts below which I’m sure you’ll enjoy. Please feel free to spread the word!

• Terry Dean of Integrity Business Blog provides of list of 21 Free Software Resources.

• Cindy King provides a book review of Letting Go Of The Words - Writing Web Content That Works By Janice Redish.

• Kathleen Gage of Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions wonders Internet marketing is all about luck….or is it?.

• Anya of Gavin Ingham presents The Sales Apprentice 2008: Sales training & business development tips from the hit TV show, part VIII.

• Stefan Töpfer of THE SMALL BUSINESS BLOG presents Small Business Lists – Start-Up on a Shoestring.

• Timothy Yordy of I’m Not A Rat talks about the Perseverance of the Enslaved.

• Liz at Nitro Marketing Blog asks Are Higher Gas Prices Driving People to Cheat on Their Partners?

• Colleen Johnson of CMJ Office presents Ten tips for blog writing.

• Heather Johnson gives 6 Steps to Keep Employee Complaints from Escalating.

• Janet Barclay presents Highlights from the 3rd Annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention.

• Cindy King talks about Buying Logos For International Websites.

• Keiron of Full Time Blogger wonders A Virtual Assistant - Do I need one?. (See my response to his challenge here. Make sure you read the comments on both.)

• Amanda Moore (me) gives 4 Tips on Responding to RFPs.

• Edith of Edith Yeung.Com talks about Happy Hour Marketing

• Shari Sultana of Modern Marketing Support tells you to Hire a VA: Build More Time, Freedom and Money into Your Business.

• Monique Terrell of Virtually Speaking gives you 15 Tips to making the Transition from Employee to Business Owner.

If you would like to participate in future VA/HB Blog Carnivals, please feel free to submit your article using the following link: http://blogcarnival.com/bc/submit_4185.html. If your submission is not received in time for the current week’s carnival it will automatically be included in the next one - so submit whenever you would like.

by Harjeet Kaur

Creating a viral ebook marketing campaign can be one of the easiest and most effective ways to promote your product or website. Before you begin writing your viral ebook, you need to know the 5 most common mistakes that can cost you time and potential income.

1) Never Link Directly to Content You Do Not Control

You should always use redirect links placed on your own server instead of direct links to affiliate programs.

You never know when the program you are promoting will change the way its affiliate links work or go out of business. Using redirect links allows you to quickly replace the affiliate links with the new version or redirect to a similar product.

I cannot stress enough how important this step is to you. Once you launch your viral eBook, you cannot get it back to make changes to it. Using redirect links will prevent dead links and lost profit.

2) Avoid Using Dated Information By Providing Too Specific Details.

Do not talk about free trials or time specific discounts.

The affiliate program you are promoting may not always be offering the trials or discounts. You will anger your readers if they cannot get the bargains you promised.

You should also avoid statements like “Just Released” or “Just Launched!”. The program you are talking about may have been around for years by the time your reader gets your ebook.

3) Never Include Information You Do Not Want All Over The World.

Because of the viral nature of your ebook, it will eventually spread to every corner of the world.

If you include personal information like your home phone or your cell phone number, you may be unpleasantly awakened at all hours of the night. The person in England or Japan, may not be aware you live in United States.

It is best to provide only an email address or autoresponder for the initial contact.

4) Do Not Brand the Ebook Yourself

Putting yourself in the position of having to manually brand and send each copy of the ebook is a sure way to turn your campaign into NIGHTMARE.

You may be thinking, “What’s the BIG DEAL?”

Let imagine for a moment that your ebook starts out slowly and only 10 people request a branded version the first week. It takes you about 6 minutes per ebook to brand it and send it to the user. You have just given up an hour of your life.

Now those 10 people each give it away to 10 people that also request branded versions. You now have 100 new requests at 6 minutes each. Now we are talking 60 hours.

As you can see with each passing generation, you will quickly become unable or unwilling to fulfill requests.

The solution is to give your carriers the ability and instructions to rebrand the ebooks themselves. This will take you out of the loop and allow your virus to grow exponentially unattended.

5) Do Not Forget To Launch a New Window for External Links

When linking to any information not found directly in your ebook, you should always open a new window. Many sales processes use javascript that could cause compatibly problems if viewed within your ebook.

It would be terrible if a viewer where ready to buy a product based on your recommendation but was unable to, because you failed to include this simple step.

Avoiding these 5 simple viral ebook marketing mistakes will greatly increase the profitability of your campaign while avoiding the pitfalls.

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Did you find this article useful? For more useful tips, hints, points to ponder and keep in mind, do please browse for more information at our websites.

Recently I issued an RFP for logo design, webpage design and business card design. I received many great responses but there were some trends that I saw in a few of them so I thought I’d post here about some things to watch out for when you’re responding to a RFP.

1 – When presenting your quote, don’t forget to indicate what currency you’re using. There are US Dollars, Canadian Dollars and Australian Dollars – all of which have a different value. In addition, if you are submitting a bid to someone outside of your country, the quote should be in their currency, not yours, so they don’t have to do the calculations. The more work they have to do to figure out your RFP, the less likely it is they’ll give you the work.

Additionally, if you have any special taxes or anything you have to charge that are specific to your country, make sure you indicate why you are charging them. There is some sort of Aussie tax that appeared on a few of my bids and I have zero idea what it’s for, just that it adds several hundred dollars to the cost of my project. My suggestion would be that if you are responding to someone outside of your country, it might be better to just quote the total price since most people don’t much care what part is going to you and what part is going to taxes.

Alternatively, if you are unsure of the location of the person accepting the bid, you could break out the charges and taxes and just put a note next to the taxes that they apply to businesses in X country only.

2 – If the issuer requests special information or a breakdown of your bid - provide it. In my case, I asked for a comprehensive bid as well as costs for each individual element, should I decide to not do the entire project at one time. This is a great time to point out if you are giving them some sort of bulk discount. However, ignoring the request for the breakdown just means your proposal is probably going to be trashed before it’s ever really read because a) you didn’t follow the instructions and b) most people look at the bottom line first.

3 – If the issuer provides samples of what they’re thinking of for the project, review them and comment on the fact that you reviewed them so that the issuer knows. Give your opinion. That will show that you went the extra mile to look at all of the information provided. If you don’t comment it may be assumed that you didn’t look at them at all which would indicate you’re not too committed to the details of what the issuer wants.

4 – If the issuer asks for a timeline for start and completion, provide it. You can caveat it by mentioning that it is based on current availability, which may change, but provide something so we know whether you can start in 2 days or 2 months and whether it’s going to take 2 weeks or 2 years to finish.

Responding to an RFP can be a challenge but hopefully with these tips you’ll be one step ahead of your competition.