Business

Creating a Fabulous Email Newsletter

Call them what you will: email newsletters, electronic newsletters, ezines. Whatever their name, we’ve all witnessed their routine arrival in our email boxes. Sometimes they appear because we’ve subscribed to them, but often they arrive unbidden. Some are helpful or interesting, but many are not. The primary (though not only) reason such newsletters abound is simple: they increase traffic to, and perhaps sales on, the sender’s website. Take a look at these survey statistics, which were compiled by EmailStatCenter: 89%…
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Finance

Tips for Making Money with Website Ads

Last week, over a business lunch, I listened with amazement as a website owner confided to me that—at certain times of the year—he clears about $15,000 per month from advertisements on his site. During “bad” months his ad income shrinks to an average $5,000. His website’s focus is tied to the up-and-down nature of business and leisure travel, accounting for the rise and fall of ad income. The site’s purpose is to provide a fee-based service, but the income…
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Lifestyle

The Pivotal Importance of Knowing What You Want

At the crossroads of a new year and a new decade, are you certain of your direction? Once again you may be wondering where to put your energy. For a moment, picture yourself twelve months from now exclaiming to your best friend, “2010 was the most phenomenal year.”  What details will you launch into with an ear-to-ear smile? What happened to make the year an upward spiral of joy, happiness and abundance? Having this kind of mental agility to get to…
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Marketing

An SEO twist: Optimizing Search Engines

Recently I realized that I’ve been in a search-engine rut. Chances are that you might be, too. For years now it’s been Google, Google, Google when I want to search the Internet. In large part that’s because I use Google as my browser’s Home page. After all, I return Home dozens of times throughout an average work day; when I do, I don’t want to be distracted by the latest news, lots of bling and flash, crawl lines, etc.…
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Technology

Expert Tips for Creating a Strong Password

Is your password really secure enough? I thought so too, until I happened upon a fascinating analysis by data security company Imperva. Remember the hacker attack at RockYou last December?  A publisher/developer of social network applications, RockYou’s widgets are wildly popular on Facebook, MyFace, and other social networks. The attack breached the RockYou database to the tune of 32 million usernames and passwords. Soon after, the breached password list was posted for a short time on a public website, available to anyone…and…
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Workplace

Where the jobs are…and aren’t

Last month the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released a 10-year projection for job growth and job loss in specific industries (2008-2018). Total employment is expected to increase by 15.3 million (10.1%) during this period, with growth concentrated in the service-providing sector. This growth in the service sector marks the continuation of a long-term trend, with the U. S. economy shifting away from the production of goods. As has as always been true of goods-producing industries, growth in the service…
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