-------------------------- eGroups Sponsor -------------------------~-~> eGroups eLerts It's Easy. It's Fun. Best of All, it's Free! http://click.egroups.com/1/9698/2/_/10996/_/973373927/ ---------------------------------------------------------------------_-> ================================================================= A Better Life: ItsYourFuture! Be Happy Be Healthy, Live Long and Prosper ================================================================= Vol. 2, No. 21 November 1st., 2000 ISSN 1442-5211 CONTENTS IN THIS ISSUE ---------------------- 1. Our Sponsor 2. Welcome - From the Publisher 3. Our Motto 4. BE HAPPY: the MIND-ATTITUDE Inspiration: Coats For Kids Humor: An Ugly Story Romance: Home Romantic Home 5. BE HEALTHY, LIVE LONG: the BODY-HEALTH/FITNESS/NUTRITION Get a Whiff of This! Peppermint Pumps You Up Men's Health Magazine 'Belly Off' Club's Weekly Tips Glen's "Food Fit for the Fit" Recipe: Chips Ahoy Slice 6. PROSPER: MONEY-CAREER/BUSINESS/INVESTING/HOME BUSINESS Small Business Owner Launches Affiliate Program 7. Our Companion Ezine 8. Classified Ads. 9. Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Copyright Notice 10. Contact Information ================================================================= 1. Our Sponsor: ================================================================= Tried self-help books, tapes and seminars but didn't get what you wanted? FREE five lesson class reveals why and shows you how to improve the results you produce. Visit: http://www.lifechangetips.com/t.cgi/101892 WARNING: don't click on the link unless you're open-minded and are willing to innovative! ================================================================= 2. Welcome from the Publisher ================================================================= Hi all! The Web is a fascinating place. Many times, it seems to bring out the worst in people. Spam, scams, flames and more than a little BS are the contribution many make to this most wonderful of communications advances- the greatest of our history. And yet, I have my faith in human nature restored on a regular basis. What you often see, is the Web being used as a means of projecting people's better ideas, aspirations and ideals. I'm delighted that our readers are assisting a growing number of people in Uganda set up small businesses to support their families. I'm glad to see that fellow Aussie Phil Wiley is using his Web marketing ezine to raise funds for cancer research. The help we can give does not have to be international; it doesn't need an organisation. It can be as simple as collecting a few old coats to keep kids in need keep warm in the Winter. Read the beautiful story Coats For Kids by Terri McPherson. I hope it inspires you to action- whatever form it takes. Best wishes, John ================================================================= 3. Our Motto ================================================================= Our Motto is- "Be Happy, Be Healthy, Live Long and Prosper." >From this Motto, we can define the three areas in which we intend to assist our readers. ================================================================= 4. BE HAPPY: the MIND-ATTITUDE ================================================================= Quote: "Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant." - Robert Louis Stevenson Inspiration: Coats For Kids --------------------------- How many times have you heard a sad plight and thought, "Oh that's sad," then went on about your business? The nippy frost and progressively cold mornings of fall, remind me of an announcement I heard on the radio a few years back. I was driving along a country road, enjoying the changing fall landscape, when the news reported, "Coats for Kids has run out of coats". The program, which distributes donated winter coats to kids in need, was turning away families who'd brought their children in for coats that day. The news of the shortage tore through my heart. I pulled my car over to the side of the road and cried. Our local paper had featured a picture of two brother's wearing the 'new' coats they'd received from 'Coats for Kids'. Their beaming smiles lit up the page. The memory of their merry faces created a stark contrast to the faces I imagined on the children who were being turned away. Children, in my own backyard, would be wearing threadbare or too-small coats throughout the winter, and there wasn't enough extra money in my bank account to buy the coats they needed; there wasn't much money in there at all. I felt overwhelmed and helpless. It wasn't a comfortable place to dwell. Instead of letting the sadness immobilize me, I used it to motivate myself. My bank account held enough money to buy one coat. I couldn't help all the children, but I could buy a winter coat for one child. And I did. Over the next few weeks, I told everyone how hard I cried when I heard about the shortage of coats. Some people were indifferent to the news, others dug through their closets and came up with coats to donate. I haven't had to buy a coat since. Not only does my daughter donate my granddaughter's coats, someone remembers my story every fall and gives me a coat to donate to the program. This year, I've already brought in three coats that were given to me and I just received two more. It's impossible to make a difference everywhere, every time, and in every circumstance. What is possible and important is, we make a difference everywhere, every time, and in every circumstance that we can. ================================================================= -- Living in love and loving life, Terri McPherson WiseHearts... Weaving Small Wisdoms Through The Fabric Of Life http://www.mnsi.net/~tmcphers/index.htm ================================================================= Humor: An Ugly Story -------------------- Jake, Johnny, and Billy Bob went to the rodeo. Unfortunately, a big bull jumped the fence into the spectators and they were trampled to death. Being good God-fearing men, they ascended to Heaven where they were met at the Pearly Gates by St. Peter. He said, "Welcome to heaven, gentlemen. I'm sure you'll be quite comfortable here, but I must warn you that we do have our rules in Heaven. If you break them, you'll be punished. One rule is, never step on a duck. If you stepon a duck, the duck quacks, then they all quack, and it just goes on and on." That sounded simple enough. They passed through the Pearly Gates and were surprised to find there were ducks everywhere! In no time at all, Jake stepped on one. The duck quacked, then they all quacked, they made a terrible racket and it just went on and on. Pretty soon along came St. Peter with a terribly homely woman in tow. "I warned you that if you broke the duck rule you'd be punished." He chained the homely woman to Jake and said, "You will be together forever," and walked away. Sometime later, despite his best efforts, Johnny accidentally stepped on a duck. The duck quacked, then they all quacked and made a terrible commotion that just went on and on. Sure enough, along came St. Peter with an even homelier woman. "I warned you that if you broke the duck rule you'd be punished." With that, he chained the woman to Johnny and said, "The two of you will be together for all eternity," and walked away. Well, Billy Bob was very careful not to step on a duck. One day St. Peter came along with a drop dead gorgeous blonde. He chained her to Billy Bob and said, "You will be together now and forever more," and walked away. Billy Bob exclaimed, "Wow, I wonder what I did to deserve this?" "I don't know about you," said the beautiful woman, "But I stepped on a duck..." Romance: Home Romantic Home --------------------------- If asked to describe what would be a typical romantic occasion, the majority of people would probably give details of a full moon, deserted beach, mountain chalet or other beautiful place where two people could spend some time alone. It just shows how important the atmosphere or 'setting' is to romance. Likewise, many people have the opinion that they have to go away to those sort of places in order to have a romantic evening or weekend. That's simply not practical most of the time. Since we spend more time at home than anywhere else, it would reason that we might want to make more of an effort in making our own homes more "romance friendly." Does your home have a fireplace? How often do you use it? Most fireplaces aren't extremely efficient but they sure do look great. People use fireplaces in their homes now for atmosphere- and not just in the winter. You never know when you'll need a romantic get-away so always have some firewood around and pine cones on hand to throw in so the fire has a lot of romantic "crackle." Is there a good supply of candles handy? Turn off the lights, light the candles and presto! you have a romantic setting. Aladdin's Genie couldn't have transformed the room any quicker. Also, you might want to consider putting a dimmer on the lights in the dining room. For less than $10you can transform blinding lights into a soft romantic glow. Nothing creates a mood quite like music can. You can be in a taxi in the middle of New York City and shut your eyes, put on some soothing music and instantly it can take your blood pressure down a few notches. So whatis "romantic" music? How about a CD or tape of thunder and rain? There are other nature sounds on tape like waves crashing, birds singing, jungle noises and crickets chirping. They're a nice alternative to the traditional classical music we're accustomed to. Put one of those on and instantly the mood in the room will change. Invest a little money into making your own home a romantic getaway. It sure beats the expense of going away every weekend ust to put a little romance back into your life. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Michael Webb is author of The RoMANtic's Guide: Hundreds of Creative Tips for a Lifetime of Love, available from Amazon.com http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0786884347/itsyourfuture For more of Michael's FREE tips, visit http://www.TheRomantic.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================= 5. BE HEALTHY, LIVE LONG: the BODY-HEALTH/FITNESS/NUTRITION ================================================================= Quote: "Middle age is that difficult period between adolescence and retirement when you have to take care of yourself" -Unknown Get a Whiff of This! Peppermint Pumps You Up -------------------------------------------- This summer, landmark research on scent has proven that peppermint has more "pep" than anyone knew. Apparently, simply smelling this "power herb" makes us more alert, enhances our endurance and — get this — actually increases our athletic performance. Why peppermint? For a start, "it's sharp, clean, and tingly," says Dr. Avery Gilbert, scientific affairs director of the Olfactory Research Fund in New York. "People get connotations of a light, kind of invigorating sharpness or cleanness, which, in the context of exercise, has the effect of making time fly by and making exertion seem less." Scientists have already proven aromatherapy can be mood altering, explains Dr. Bryan Raudenbush, the psychologist who directed the new study at Wheeling Jesuit University in West Virginia. "But we wanted to know if (peppermint) would lend any effect to other things, like athletic performance or the amount of effort you're willing to expend." So Raudenbush rounded up dozens of young athletes and put them on the treadmill, where they had to run for 15 minutes on four different occasions — each time under a different "odorant c ondition:" Jasmine, dimethyl sulfide (an unpleasant "old sock" kind of smell), non-odorized (i.e. plain old oxygen) and, finally, peppermint. Invariably, after running with peppermint streaming up their nostrils (via an oxygen-delivery device used in hospitals called the cannula), the participants felt less strained, less frustrated and not as tired. Even though physiological measures such as pulse and blood pressure remained unchanged, most actually felt that the peppermint workout was "slower paced." Armed with this knowledge, Raudenbush narrowed his focus, zeroing in on peppermint alone. The next question: If peppermint can make you feel like you have more energy, can it actually push you to do more? As it turns out, the answer is a definitive "yes." While smelling peppermint (this time in the form of oil under their noses), participants were actually able to run further around a track, grip a handgrip harder and do more push-ups. They could even endure more pain: pulling their arms out of a bucket of ice water up to a minute later than when smelling oxygen alone. "In an age where athletic events are won by mere 100ths of seconds," explains Raudenbush, "peppermint could give that extra edge." That's all well and good for Olympic athletes, but what about the rest of us? Could simply sniffing a concentrated form of the mint while jogging or working out at the gym help us stay fit? Dr. Daniel Kurtz, a psychologist with the Smell and Taste Disorders Clinic at SUNY's Upstate Medical University, is currently studying peppermint's effects on baby boomers as they walk around a track. Although his results are still pending, Kurtz believes his older participants will "walk faster, burn more calories and get more benefits from their exercise" — all because of this stimulating whiff. So what are you waiting for? Grab some peppermint oil and spring into action. The difference may be subtle, but any edge helps. And besides, as the Olfactory Research Fund's Gilbert points out, "Wouldn't you rather pedal to peppermint than old gym socks?" -Source: http://www.foxnews.com/health/090300/mint_buzz.sml Men's Health Magazine 'Belly Off' Club's Weekly Tips ---------------------------------------------------- DO 2 MINUTES OF PUSHUPS EVERY MORNING It's tough to do as soon as you roll out of bed, but you can burn off 21 calories a day--2 1/2 pounds over the course of a year. Then drink a glass of skim milk. Some quick protein before you even step into the shower will raise your blood-sugar level, ending morning cravings for Egg McMuffins and pastry. MAKE FRIENDS WITH FRUITS Add a fruit to each meal, and a vegetable to lunch and dinner. You'll feel fuller, and thus eat less at your next snack or meal. MORE REST BURNS MORE FAT - Take longer breaks to lose pounds! You'd think that taking only short rests between weight-lifting sets would fry more fat. The harder you work, the more you must burn. But here's where logic takes an unexpected twist. A recent study found that men burned 14 percent more calories when they took 60-second rests instead of 20-second rests between sets. Researchers say the extra burn happens after the workout because your body uses more energy trying to recover from longer bouts of exercise. -Source: Mens Health Magazine http://www.menshealth.com Glens Food Fit for the Fit Recipe: Chips Ahoy Slice --------------------------------------------------- with Glen Esse 1/3 cup Butter 3/4 cup Brown Sugar 250g (1/2 pound) Sultanas 1 teaspooon Cinnamon 1 Egg 2 tabs. Lemon Juice 100g. (3 ozs.) Potato Chips 2 cups coconut Place butter, sugar, sultanas and cinnamon into a saucepan. Cook over a low heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Cool slightly, then add egg, lemon juice, finely crushed potato chips and the coconut. Mix thoroughly. Place onto foil and form into a log. Roll in some extra coconut. Wrap in foil and chill until firm. Cut into slices, and serve with drinks. A bit of common sense: "Remember, 'no answer' is also an answer." ================================================================= 6. PROSPER: MONEY-CAREER/BUSINESS/INVESTING/HOME BUSINESS ================================================================= Quote: "Our plans miscarry because they have no aim. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind is the right wind." - Marcus Annaeus Seneca Small Business Owner Launches Affiliate Program That Results In More Than A 1900% Return On Investment (ROI) ------------------------------------------------------------ A Case Study by Matt Hockin As a publicity practitioner and consultant I am always searching for most effective ways to "get the word out." In the past this meant getting articles and news published in the media such as newspapers, magazines and electronic media (radio/TV). Now, we have the Internet, which has changed everything for the better! The Internet allows ANYONE to communicate their message DIRECTLY to their potential customers WITHOUT having to use the media. The most powerful way to use Internet publicity to "get the word out" and sell your products is with an affiliate program. An affiliate program allows you to recruit others to endorse and sell your product for a portion of the profits. For example, an online merchant named Yanik Silver was able to launch a tremendously successful affiliate program in just a month's time. After spending only $650 dollars on affiliate program software and auxiliary materials, Yanik had recruited over 700 affiliates, achieved a return on investment (ROI) of 1900% and made impressive profits just 6 months after launching his affiliate program. Yanik owns InstantSalesLetters.com, a website where practically any business owner can dramatically increase sales by creating compelling and effective sales letters using easy, fill-in-the- blank templates - right from their computers. Link: http://www.websitesthatsell.com/yanik.html After announcing his new product to his database of customers, Yanik wanted to bring it to the market and increase his sales. He decided that an affiliate program would be the most efficient way to sell his product. "Affiliate programs are powerful since they allow an online merchant like me to pay only for results... actual sales. People are commissioned to endorse and sell my products. In return they receive a percentage of the profits for each sale they bring me. I only pay for sales with this powerful marketing tool," said Yanik. SET-UP: Yanik set-up his affiliate program inexpensively and quickly by purchasing AffiliateZone.com's "Affiliate Link" software. This software allows merchants to start their own affiliate programs with real-time commission reporting for their affiliates at an affordable price of only $450. "AffiliateZone.com's Affiliate Link was easy, you don't have to be a programmer because they did most the work for me. They installed the software on my server and then gave me simple instructions on how to use Affiliate Link. That's it! It cost me just $450 plus I added about $200 for tools that my affiliates use to increase their sales," said Yanik. RESULTS: Yanik's affiliate program has been tremendously successful. In the first month after launching, Yanik's affiliates produced approximately $2900 in sales. Yanik payed out $1400 or approximately 48% commission for each sale his affiliates produced. He also made a nice profit on his $650 investment with a $900 profit, which calculates to a 138% return on his investment (ROI) in the first month. 6 months later, Yanik's affiliate program has provided a 1900% ROI, supplies 40% of his website's traffic, 50% of sales, and will continue to pay off for many years to come. LAUNCH CAMPAIGN: I asked Yanik to share the elements that made his affiliate program so successful. Yanik replied, "InstantSalesLetters.com is a unique product - it's more of a tool and has a high pay out in commissions for affiliates who sell it. I pay 45% for the first tier affiliates, and 5% to the second tier. I announced it to about 20-30 affiliate program directories such as Allan Gardyne's AssociatePrograms.com and Refer-It.com. I also announced it to my valued customers and received 56 new affiliates within a week. Another critical element is that my website sells. To have a successful affiliate program, your website MUST sell, or you will not convert the traffic that the affiliates send you into sales. This will discourage your affiliates from sending you anymore traffic. My conversion rate is 3-4 percent, which is very good! 3-4% of my affiliates came from referrals from influential people or "heavy hitters" who announced it in their e-mail newsletters (e-zines). I talked to Allan Gardyne and impressed him with my 3-4% conversion rate. Allan then announced it in his AssociatePrograms.com e-zine which resulted in many new affiliates. Others like Kim Skinner, and Marty Foley announced my affiliate program to their e-zine subscribers as well. TIPS: I asked Yanik if he had any tips on how to get an affiliate program to sell more products. Here are his tips... 1) Educate your affiliates and build relationships 2) Think like your affiliates 3) Most people are lazy - give them the tools they need 4) You need a site that sells - good conversion rate is a MUST 5) Test your website's conversation rate with your own traffic to make sure your site sells or you will BOMB with your affiliates - they'll be mad. 6) Offer a newsletter for your affiliates with tips on selling 7) Give them "cookies" for 2-years (not the kind you eat!) 8) Many affiliate URL's are to long to fit in an e-zine, so I show people how to do a "URL re-direct" in my affiliate toolbox COMMENTS: Yanik also noted, "Affiliate programs are also an excellent tool for tracking advertisements anywhere - e-zines, banners, website links, etc. Simply make an affiliate link for each ad, and you can track the effectiveness. They're great for joint ventures as well." Affiliate Link is a good program that is inexpensive and easy to set-up, but it is missing some things that the more expensive programs offer: 1) No confirmation e-mail to an affiliate when they make a sale. 2) No export capabilities - doesn't export into QuickBooks The good news is that AffiliateZone.com will announce an upgrade soon that should perform these duties. LINKS: Instant Sales Letters: http://www.instantsalesletters.com/al/affiliates.cgi?959 AffiliateZone.com: http://www.affiliatezone.com/ ---------------------------------------------------------------- Article by Matt Hockin. For helpful marketing and publicity tips, subscribe to my WebSitesThatSell.com E-Zine by sending a blank message to: mailto:websitesthatsell-subscribe@topica.com Or contact me at: mailto:matthockin@home.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================= 7. Our Companion Ezine: ================================================================= ===================== WEB MARKETING EZINE ===================== Let us help YOU succeed on the Web with Tips, Tools, News & Views on Web Marketing and E-Commerce, from a street-smart Marketer. Subscribe FREE at: http://www.itsyourfuture.net/ezines.shtml Or mailto:webmarketing-subscribe@itsyourfuture.net =============== THE HUMAN FACE OF WEB MARKETING =============== ================================================================= 8. Classified Advertisements: ================================================================= ----------------------------------------------------------------- The Most Important Letter You'll Read This Year If you don't have much money to spend promoting your business or if you're sick and tired of wasting time and money on gimmicks that don't work (like bulk email, free-for-all link sites, classified ads and so forth), then this will be the most important letter you read this year. Read about your business's future at: http://www.ezinemoney.net/sgx/d.cgi?2742 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Store Your Files Online For Free with X:drive. X:drive gives YOU up to 100MB of FREE Anytime-Anywhere File Access! X:drive offers members a unique desktop application that looks and functions just like any other drive on your computer. Using this X:drive feature you can drag, drop, and edit files using the standard Windows Explorer or the My Computer interface. Get Your FREE Internet Hard Drive Today! Click Here: http://www.onresponse.com/onR_Ads2.asp?a=11168&d=798 ----------------------------------------------------------------- TO SUCCEED ON THE WEB YOU NEED A PRODUCT- YOUR OWN PRODUCT! Take the FREE InfoProduct Masters course... It's an intensive 5-Day e-mail course on creating, producing and online-selling your very own infoproduct. Take your first step to independence. Just send a blank e-mail to timsitsyourfuture@sitesell.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Article Announce - Writer & Publisher Connection - Designed to get writers published and assist e-zine publishers in finding the articles they need. A complete listing of available articles for publication delivered to your email address. Subscribe: mailto:article_announce-subscribe@egroups.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- WOMEN! THIS LIST IS FOR YOU! THE BALANCED WOMAN! Parenting tips, household hints, ideas for pampering yourself, articles on subjects such as time management, money management and more. Subscribe to The balanced Woman. It's easy and it's FREE. Just send a blank email to; TheBalancedWoman-SUBSCRIBE@egroups.com ----------------------------------------------------------------- Click here and send a blank e-mail to receive The Affiliate Masters course... It's an intensive 5-Day e-mail course on becoming a high-earning affiliate champion. Its Your Future! mailto:tamsitsyourfuture@sitesell.net ----------------------------------------------------------------- Tired Of Filling Out Forms? Tired Of Forgetting Passwords? ---------------------------------------------------------- You need Gator! Gator is free software that does the typing for you. Gator eliminates frustrating web chores like filling out forms and remembering passwords. Best of all, it's polite: When you hit a web page with a form or account name & password, Gator surfaces to provide the exact information with no typing! It takes only 3 minutes to download at 56K! Gator also comes with $50 FREE COUPONS! Click Here: http://www.onResponse.com/onr_ads.asp?a=11168&d=13 ----------------------------------------------------------------- Want to win Free Cash every day? Try the newest Freebie site on the Internet today, FreebieClub.com. Of course it's loaded with free loot: great vacations, magazines and samples galore! Check it out and pass it on-it's worth it! The more people you tell, the more chances YOU get for cash. Get Free Stuff Today! Just Click http://www.freebieclub.com/FC_myFreebies.asp?a=11168 ----------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================= 9. Privacy Policy, Disclaimer and Copyright Notice ================================================================= PRIVACY POLICY: Your privacy is important to us. We will not, under any circumstances, divulge your details to a third party, without your approval. DISCLAIMER: A Better Life:ItsYourFuture! Ezine is intended to increase your knowledge of the opinions and options in the fields that we cover. Its contents should not be used to replace professional advice. If you use this information without the approval of a qualified professional, no responsibility can be taken. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of A Better Life:ItsYourFuture! A Better Life:ItsYourFuture! may only be redistributed in its unedited form. You are welcome to forward it to as many people as you wish, with our thanks. Written permission must be obtained to reprint or quote original material published in the Ezine. ================================================================= 10. Subscription and Contact Information ================================================================= TO SUBSCRIBE: mailto: ItsYourFuture-subscribe@itsyourfuture.net TO UNSUBSCRIBE: mailto:ItsYourFuture-unsubscribe@egroups.com SEND A MESSAGE: ItsYourFuture@egroups.com ARCHIVE: http://www.egroups.com/list/ItsYourFuture ================================================================= This ezine is a member of Ezine PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION. Join Free At: http://www.EzinePublisher.org ================================================================= ================================================================= ItsYourFuture is published By John Payne AAMI AIMM At October 15th, 2000- 1410 subscribers, 48 countries =================================================================