Advertising With Little Or No Money

This is an old post I decided to reprint here from a closed blog, it doesn't apply directly to internet advertising, however, there are lots of businesses that could still use this strategy (some are online based too) so I'm putting this out here for your information. It really shows that there are many ways to do marketing and the more creative you are the greater your rewards. So if this applies to you, then GREAT, if not, then try it anyway, you might be surprised.

GET 6,000 CIRCULARS PRINTED AND MAILED FREE

Here is a plan that will enable you to get your advertising circulars printed and mailed for FREE. It will also reduce the cost of your own mailing to nothing. It's called Co-Op advertising.

This is how it works:

First, do a little research. Check the mail order publications to see what others are getting for similar Co-Op advertising programs. You'll want to keep with market prices.

Locate an offset printer in your area, or by mail order (in one of the many mail order publications) who will print both sides of an 8 ½ X 11 sheet for, say around $25.00 per 1000.*

*All dollar amounts are for demonstration purposes only. Your actual numbers will be determined by your market. For example, in the boxes below instead of $5.00, you may have to charge $10.00 or even $20.00 if your printing & postage costs are higher.

Next, run the following ad over your name in various mail order publications:

"CO-OP PRINTING (our ad on the back side) 1,000

2 1/2 X 5 1/2, ONLY $ 5.00. SEND CAMERA-READY

COPY TO: (your name and address)."

"CIRCULARS PRINTED (our ad on the back side).

1,000 3X6, ONLY $ 5.00 SEND CAMERA-READY

COPY TO: (your name and address).”

On an 8 ½” X 11” sheet of paper, you can get six(6) - 3 X 6 circulars, received from responses to your ad. Additionally, you get six(6) - 3 X 6 circulars on the other side, (for your ad) FREE!

Have the printer cut them into six(6) 3 X 6, 1,000 each. Send 1,000 to each of your customers. You get 6,000 of your side printed – FREE, and mailed by your customers – FREE!

Six responses to your ad will give you $30.00;

• $25.00 for printing and cutting, and
• $5.00 for mailing circulars to your customers.

When printing and postage costs increase again (as they most certainly will), just adjust your pricing accordingly.

Here is another way to get your circulars mailed for FREE.

As soon as you can afford it, become a supplier of “Commission Circulars”. The easiest way to do this is to take “All Profit” offers and have circulars printed on two sides. On the one side, have your own name and address printed. On the other side, leave a space for a rubber stamp imprint.

Offer these circulars to circular mailers on a commission basis. They keep a commission from 50% to 100% on the one side and you make your profit on the other. Use the same method for any offers that you develop for yourself.

You can reach these mailers by advertising in or subscribe to several mail order trade magazines and ad sheets.

Another way to locate mailers for your literature is to notice the ads by mailers. Usually, at the bottom of their ads, they state “Commission Circulars Mailed Free”, which means they get one side and you get the other, as described above.

If you really want to get rolling using this method, take two “All Profit” offers, one on each side, and give the mailer 100% on one side. You still make your profit on the other offer.

If you are interested in obtaining additional commission circulars for yourself, include “Commission Circulars Mailed Free”, in your own ads.

Still another way to get your literature mailed FREE is to include this little note in all your advertising (at the end of the copy): “STAMP APPRECIATED”. It only costs you two words, but it could save you a great deal of postage. If you are advertising in Trade Publications or AdSheets use “S.A.S.E” (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). The savings for envelopes, addressing labor, and postage can add up fast. Many small dealers use this method exclusively. Even in large-circulation magazines, they have been using it for years as well. And why not? It still works!

To Your Success,

Christopher Gibson

P.S. I hope you find this information helpful. Thank you for reading. A Business doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or time-consuming. We can show you a better way. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

7 Tips to Improve Your Advertising

First, we will cover Personality & Tone of your advertising and content, then we will cover whether your approach is feasible, so you can determine if you should even pursue it or restructure it and present it in a different manner.

• Personality & Tone:

What attitude/ behavior/disposition/character best fits or will be the most effective stance for your ad or content? You need to decide the personality and tone your ad or content will take.

Personality refers to the make-up of the content or ad’s character. Tone refers to the undercurrent or the mood of it. Ignoring this will lead to frustration due to non-performing ads and content that fails to convert prospects to buying customers. It’s important to ensure (yet most advertisers ignore it) that when you pull all the pieces together (picture, copy, etc), the ad or content conveys a uniform message and all parts are congruent.

• Is This Approach Feasible?

Let me state, for the record, that I will always encourage free-form thinking, and at the same time, you should also be aware of approximately how long a project will take to develop and the estimated cost. This should definitely include your labour and creative input value. You contribute value to your projects so it should be a consideration in the budget even though you don't have a line on your balance sheet showing this value as an outlay from the budget. Also, when you are engaged in this activity you are distracted from other “money making” activities. It's important to reject all approaches that demand too much time, work, or money. Instead, you should concentrate on generating ads and content that showcase your talent, knowledge, and experience and not be distracted by projects requiring months of work and loads of cash.

In this second part of the 7 Tips to Improve your Advertising I will cover 2 aspects of your advertising and content creation that should help you move through it more efficiently, saving you some time and money. Which means you will not only get faster results but greater returns as well.

First I will cover some hidden resources, very close to you, that you may not be aware of, and then I'll cover a key mindset trick to increase your effective use of time and resources that will help move you to the front of your market's pack. Speaking of mindsets, you should also look at this article on 10 Habits of Highly Successful Online Marketers to get some ideas on what habits you might need to develop to be a successful online marketer.  So let's dive right in, okay?

• Use What You Already Have.

Don't spend a lot of money on photos and illustrations or software. You might just be amazed at what you already have (and don't know it) and/or what you might have just lying around that you can use in your marketing. And best of all - It’s free.

You can also Google “royalty free images”. Or, as a last resort, you can pull out your trusty cell phone (everybody has one these days, right?) and get really creative.

You will also want to check your computer for pre-installed software. Most come with audio/video recording software, image editing & creation software, maybe even video editing software.

You can find some online websites that offer free versions or trials of most any kind of marketing tasks you may need for your business. For instance, Google offers a range of free and inexpensive business services. *Also an Autoresponder is a must have for any serious online business. Click Here for more information.

• Frugality=Timely.

For the most part, a small production budget forces you to be creative and self-reliant in the utilization of resources. It also allows you to respond more quickly at introducing your ads and content to the market. This “Rule of Thumb” works because you don't have to depend on other resources or people (some of which you may not have any influence over) to get your content out into the market-place swiftly. So, free your ads from the bonds of expenses and allow them the ability to move to the market at lightning fast speed.

Also, keep in mind that when economic conditions suddenly change (as they inevitably will), you can respond more rapidly with a new ad message or content that is more congruent to the new economy. You could say, “Now more than ever, it pays to use our product.” This speed to market will once again position you as the preeminent leader in your market and leave your competitors eating your dust, especially if they’re tied to expensive ads and long production timetables.

Many times we’ve seen an enormous budget plus a bad idea or incongruent message = a huge failure. “Big budget delivers big results?” Not necessarily, right? Just as money can’t solve all social ills, big budgets don’t automatically create inventive advertising. Many times we see a small budget plus a first-rate idea and congruent message = marvellous success.

Next, I will share, not 2, but 3 more things you can use to make your advertising perform better, so you won't want to skip this final section. I have a special gift for you too. A downloadable .pdf with a cadre of valuable information to make your advertising even more productive.

In this third and final part of the 7 Tips to Improve your Advertising I will cover 3 technical aspects of your advertising and content creation that I hope will help you make your content more relevant, more compelling, and more powerful. I've certainly saved the best for last.

First I will cover some things you should avoid when composing your marketing messages. Next, I will share one technique I use to make my ads/content more relatable to my audience. And lastly, I reveal my top tip for creating powerful, pulling ads and content that prospects and customers just can't resist. I hope you find this information as valuable as I have. Let's get to it.

• Temper Your Language.

Most people don’t realize the full impact and power that language carries. One misspoken or ill-conceived phrase can be interpreted as offensive to thousands of people. Therefore, you must be vigilant in your selection of words and context, as-well-as maintaining your cultural awareness, keep up with the ever-changing and expanding lexicon, and, above all, use your best judgment.

You should never use anything that is "at the expense of" a certain group. This will only offend people. It is far better to show that you can get results from across a broad spectrum of readers and you always get a smile from every one of them.

Engage your audience by starting a conversation, never make fun of the prospect in a “we’re just kidding” kind of way. They are probably not paying close enough attention to your ad or content to catch the subtle nuances of your wit anyway – they will only see enough to be insulted, and that's a surefire way to lose business - forever.

• Make Adversity An Advantage.

Tell your story, at least part of your story. Draw upon your talents, knowledge, and experience and try to use that to help your prospects sympathize, understand, and relate to you. Use as many feelings and emotional language as space and context will allow, the more of your prospect's emotions you are able to engage, the better the response your ads/content will generate. Be sincere though, the first sign of deceitfulness will send your prospects running and you'll never see them again.

• Expand the Limits.

Demonstrate that you’re better than the space your ad or content lives in, especially if you have a small ad. Be bold, be bigger than life, you need to stand out if you intend to make an impression. Keep in mind that the prospect could care less about the size of the ad, they only care about what you can do for them.

Well there you have it, my 7 Tips to Improve Your Advertising. Follow these tips and you will be better positioned as the leader in your market-place, which means greater success for you.

I suggest you make sure you review all of your current advertising & content assets, as-well-as any new ads/content you develop in the future to make certain that it follows these protocols.

Please leave a comment below to let us know how we're doing.

Feel free to leave any suggestions for future posts or content. Or ask any questions regarding anything you don't understand or need help with, I would be happy to help in any way I can.

To Your Success,
Christopher Gibson

P.S. I hope you find this information helpful. Thank you for reading. A Business doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or time-consuming. We can show you a better way. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Activities That Promote Healthy Aging

This being another health post, I wanted 2018 to have an article for the ages (so to speak) or was that for the aged? Well, at any rate, being old enough to be a card-carrying AARP member, I thought it important to share some tips on aging gracefully, not that I have, but who's to say you can't, right?

Growing older doesn't have to mean declining health or loss of physical ability. By following just a few simple rules and guidelines it's possible to maintain & enjoy our youthful vitality well into our later years. I never let a little grey hair slow me down and you shouldn't either.

If you have followed me for any time at all, you know that I'm a tireless advocate of walking to improve health, try walking each and every day, you might be surprised by the results you experience. A word of caution: BE PATIENT. It takes time. You won't see drastic changes overnight, but you will see changes.

The benefits of walking are numerous, varied, and significant. Walking loosens the muscles, reduces stress and depression along with anxiety. And when we reduce negative factors like depression, stress, and anxiety, it helps us elevate a host of other beneficial factors such as recovering from workouts more quickly, sleeping for longer and deeper periods, and enjoying a greater sense of well-being, just to name a few. So, when we wake up in the morning we feel happier and more rested.

Exercise also promotes a good night sleep, which in turn promotes a healthy metabolism. Without the proper amount of sleep, our body is forced to slow down our metabolism which puts the body in a state of craving energy due to low bloodstream insulin levels needed to produce the energy we require. This state causes the body to gain weight through fat storage, rather than controlling weight through fat burning.

If you decide to start a walking program for yourself, kudos to you. Congratulate yourself on making a wise decision. A little tip here – Research suggests that you are more likely to stay with an exercise program if you do it with someone, so find yourself a workout partner. It's a lot more fun than doing it by yourself and it's also a lot harder to stop because you won't want to let your exercise partner down. It can be a great way to be more social with your neighbors. And who knows, you just might help a neighbor out to, who maybe doesn't get out much or doesn't know many people, or hasn’t seen or talked to anyone in a few days. Getting healthy while making new friends is a great way to live.

I'm an outdoor person, so I prefer to do my exercise at a park rather than a gym. I like to get my walking in early in the day, especially in the hot summer months. In the winter, I walk a little later to allow time for the temperature to warm up a little. An early morning walking program can help to wake you up while boosting your energy. Your joints will feel more flexible so you will move more freely. Additionally, walking will increase the number of calories and help you burn fat. You should notice a big change in how you feel the rest of the day.

Begin by walking at a slow steady pace for as far as you are comfortable. You can increase the pace a bit and walk further every day. Just remember that you want to work up to a steady brisk walk to make you sweat but not get out of breath. Try to take a short walk before meals to calm your nerves, and burn calories, it will give you energy, relieve that stress from the long day and help you sleep.

After burning through a brisk walk you need to be sure to do a cool down. By walking at a bit of a slower and relaxing pace until you’ve cooled down and your heart rate has returned to normal. When walking at a vigorous pace your heart rate will go up and it needs to come back to normal.

Here is an article on the benefits of exercise by the Harvard Medical School - Exercise 3.14

By contrast, a lack of activities can prevent you from living a healthy life. If for whatever reason, you do not enjoy activities, you may feel uncharacteristically fatigued or even find it very difficult to sleep at night. So naturally, upon waking in the morning, you'll probably continue to feel tired until you again finally fall back asleep. Research has taught us that as we age our body changes, and as a result of that change, we may have to make accommodations in our lives to make up for those changes. As we age one change we may experience is that we may tire or become exhausted more easily and/or more quickly.

A daily multivitamin can help stabilize your energy. You can't find a more complete vitamin supplement than Its Vital.

A common response when a person feels exhausted is that as they become weak, they may refrain from the very thing or things that would benefit them the greatest, for example, in this case, that would be to be engaging in and enjoying any physical activities. This often compounds things and leads to additional problems. A lack of physical activity can lead to unwanted-uncontrolled weight gain, stiff muscles & joints, painful & limited joint movement, decreased heart & lung function, weakened immune system...and many many more negative things.

Believe it or not, the best place to start is with a good night rest. Are you getting a good night sleep? Research has proven time again that a good night's sleep is necessary for maintaining proper health but just as important, the research also showed that as we age it becomes even more critical to get sufficient rest (6 hours to 8 hours every night) to support our mature mind & body. I don't suppose that applies to me though because nobody ever accused me of being mature...

A good night's sleep allows the mind to think more clearly and boosts the body's energy while at the same time giving the body what it needs for controlling your weight. Researchers have found that lack of sleep reduces the bodies production of growth hormones, without which we lose muscle mass and often this loss of muscle mass is accompanied by significant accumulations of fat to many areas of the body.

Sleeping well at night strengthens our immune system and reduces stress, which again helps to keep us healthy. Sleeping provides balance for our bodies, leading to more activities, that will then satisfy our sleep needs.

To ensure proper rest try to avoid these things if you can. Reduce your intake of caffeine, nicotine, harmful chemicals (such as over-the-counter meds that keep you awake), and alcohol. Try to avoid drinking anything but water after 8 p.m. in the evening. Hydration is very important to a healthy lifestyle. Nicotine should be avoided at all cost, however, if you must smoke try not smoking after 8 p.m. And lastly try not to work out or do any strenuous exercise within 2 to 3 hours of bedtime.

Sleep being very important overall, it actually still takes second to being active - just by participating in physical activities we are improving our health. And if you're having trouble sleeping, instead of turning on the TV to try some meditation, it's much more effective and a whole lot better for you too.

So there you have it, some activities to promote healthy aging. I hope this information is helpful.

Please leave a comment below to let us know how we're doing.

Feel free to leave any suggestions for future posts or content. Or ask any questions regarding anything you don't understand or need help with, I would be happy to help in any way I can.

BE WELL MY FRIENDS,

Christopher Gibson

P.S. Healthy aging requires strength. Strength of mind and body. Yet it’s not always possible to get all the vitamins and nutrients that our minds & bodies need for proper functioning and optimum performance from the food we consume. It’s Vital to ensure that you get your complete nutritional requirements every day.

P.S.S. Getting healthy and supporting our members is what we're all about here, get all the information HERE if you would like to be a part of our special community.

Internet and Online Marketing Secrets

Whether it's for communicating with friends & family through email or social media, or for entertainment or research, or for the purpose of just discussing with others one of the unlimited numbers of topics related to life in today's world. You're probably already very familiar with how the online world works.

Yet of all those things you can do online, there is one thing that you should definitely learn how to do. And that's MARKET AN ONLINE BUSINESS!

That's absolutely right. With the power of the internet to reach millions of people, it's definitely an awesome tool that every business should be utilizing. The simple fact that smart marketers can do advertising practically FREE makes it a powerful business building resource.

Only recently have such a great number of people finally figured out how to profit and use the ever exploding online architecture to market their business. The ability to get thousands of dollars in free publicity was practically unheard of in the business world until the advent of today's internet.

If you consider that there is positively no business in existence that could not benefit from free publicity, and if you also consider the fact that properly utilizing free advertising increases net profits to what was before thought of as unbelievable heights, then it's not difficult to see how using any or all of the major online services, could help anybody market their business online.

In the early days of the internet, America Online, for example, would allow anybody to place classified advertisements for FREE! There were a variety of classifications to choose from to better target your audience and by placing these small, innocuous little free ads, you could generate some very quality leads that you could hopefully convert into sales.

Today we have Craig's List and if you are a really good marketer you can sell something right from your free ads. Wouldn't that be something, using an actual free ad to do all of the selling? The problem is, in the internet world of the present, it has become so “noisy” that it's not as easy as it used to be.

There are hundreds, maybe even thousands of classified ad services that offer very inexpensive advertising plans. These low-cost classified ads are still a great deal considering how many people those ads can usually reach.

Keep in mind that you should always "code" your advertisements. When you place any ads, place an identifier in each individual ad that will tell you which ad generated the action or business. This allows you to determine which ads are pulling better than others, so you can concentrate on the better performing ads and discard the ones that aren't making you any money.

A simple way to code an ad would be by making the prospect request a certain "report" for more information. You could give each report a different code in each ad. For example, you might have them "ask for report #1tv", this way you would know that this request came from the ad that you ran on television.

If they order straight from an online ad, in most instances, you can have a code placed directly on the order form that allows for tracking which ad the click came from. The actual code can be anything that you want to assign to it that uniquely identifies the ad. THE MAJORITY OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ADVERTISING ONLINE ARE NOT USING TRACKING CODES TO MONITOR AD PERFORMANCE!!!

THIS IS A MAJOR MARKETING MISTAKE!!!

By failing to track exactly which ads are performing best, most marketers are wasting time and money by continually running "loser" ads. You should ALWAYS keep track of the performance of every ad you run. Make a note of what it says, as well as where and when it runs. You may be pleasantly surprised after you analyze your "ad data" and you are able to see trends, both positive and negative, as they are developing. You can then repeat the positive trends and maximize your ability to make more money!

Almost every online classified ads provider will give you the ability to focus your “list” based on different criteria such as what kind of job they have, age, geographic region where they live, hobbies, interests, or just about any other category you can possibly imagine.

You can also acquire the names of prospects by doing some "browsing" in the different topic forums. Using the example of looking for people who fish, you could look under sports until you find a discussion on fishing. You could then make note of the users' names that were participating in the discussions.

You could do the same thing on one of the many newsgroup topics that they have.

The point of this discussion is that you "test" and record the results of your marketing efforts. Then just repeat the steps that are making you money, expanding on them to reach more people, while discarding those that aren't getting you positive results.

There is an unlimited amount of information dedicated to marketing and mailing lists that can be found on the Internet.

You can also find many books on the subject of “marketing” at your local bookstore or advertised online.

I have listed a couple of services that I use daily in my business. The first one is an email list mailer and the second is a solo ads mailer.

Email Lust Mailer

Solo Ads Mailer

Next time we will be discussing how packing your ads full of information can get you better results and increase your conversions.

Please leave a comment below to let us know how we’re doing.

Feel free to leave any suggestions for future posts or content. Or ask any questions regarding anything you don’t understand or need help with, I would be happy to help in any way I can.

I hope you find this information helpful. Thank you for reading.

To Your Success,
Christopher Gibson

P.S. A Business doesn’t have to be complicated, expensive, or time-consuming. We can show you a better way. CLICK HERE TO SEE HOW.

Time Management And Staying On Task

Have you ever noticed that some days or maybe a lot of days when you get started working your business after a while you find yourself so far off task that you might-as-well have not started in the first place? Checking email, Facebooking (non-business activities like reading personal posts, posting comments, and playing games, etc. You know what I'm talking about – fun but unproductive), or surfing the web looking for a new cell phone cover.....unfortunately it is very easy to burn an entire day engaged in these kinds of wasteful activities without realizing just how much time has actually gone by.

I know that we all can become easily distracted from the tasks we know need to be done. Not necessarily because they are difficult, boring, or we hate doing them, that's not it at all. We're all very busy. And there are so many things that need to be done, along with hundreds of distractions & responsibilities from family (especially if children are part of the equation), friends, & life in general, and as we all know there are only 24 hours in a day. At one point I became so frustrated with my inability to stay focused on the task and not seeming to be able to get anything accomplished that I almost gave up on trying to do this business. But I'm no quitter and this is too important to give up on. So I decided to sit down and figure out a way to fix this issue I was having with my productivity. And after much trial and error, this is what I found works best for me. It may or may not work for you. But if you are experiencing the same difficulties staying on the task it's certainly worth a try, right?

Anyway, here it is.

• For my last business activity of the day, I review my list of tasks that need to be done. I keep a running list that I update as things change. If something new comes up I add it, so my list never gets completed. I'm constantly adding items to and subtracting items from it.
• After I review the list I prioritize each task; the most important in the top or number one position and the next important item in the second position and so on and so forth until all the tasks are ranked on the list.
• When I have finished prioritizing the list I look at each task to determine if its something I want or even can do myself. If it is something I can't or don't want to do I outsource it. Keep in mind that it will require some time to set this up and some cost, but outsourcing can allow you to accomplish much more in a shorter time frame. Virtual Assistants can be a valuable resource and are not really all that expensive if you invest the time to set it up the right way from the beginning. If you can afford to do this it can make a big difference in your business, but even if you can't afford it when you first start out you will definitely want to incorporate this into your business as-soon-as-possible. Outsourcing will make your business run more efficiently and be more profitable. This has the effect of giving you more time and freedom, which is why we do this business in the first place, right?
• Next, I estimate the amount of time each task will take or how much time I want or need to spend on it.
• Then I set a goal of which tasks I'd like to get done the next day. I shoot for 3 to 4 hours of work. I try to set a reasonable number of task to fit the allotted time, but I also like to challenge myself to accomplish more than I think I can, so I tend to put quite a bit on my list, but that's just me. You don't have to put more than 1 task on the list if that's all the time you have to spare. At least you are doing something to move your business forward.

The critical things here are:

1. don't overload yourself,
2. don't fret about NOT getting everything on your list done, as long as you are taking action then you're making progress, and you will never go wrong doing that.
3. and most importantly reward yourself for moving forward and getting something accomplished.

Sometimes if my list is really heavy I will break it up into more manageable groups and take breaks in-between groups as a reward for completing a set of tasks. But I always keep track of how much time I spend doing non-business activities and I determine beforehand how much time that will be and I remain very disciplined regarding that schedule.

Discipline is the key – you have to be disciplined to make this work.

My personal preference is to try to get my list done early in the day to avoid interruptions. It just seems easier and things flow smoother that way (from my experience). However, this is not really a hard, set in stone type rule, it's just a general guideline that seems to work best for me. Like many things in life, when applying to advise from someone else, you will need to test different schemes or modify a few things until you find what works best for you. Don't be afraid to experiment, you never know, you might discover a much more efficient way for you to get stuff accomplished, or develop a greater insight in the process that gives you an advantage, or maybe even create something new you and others will find beneficial.

We would love to hear from you regarding your experiences or comments. Your feedback is important to help us improve the information we regularly share with our readers.

To Your Success,
Christopher Gibson

P.S. For more Business-Marketing-Personal Development information & products, please visit our website CLICK HERE TO SEE IT!.

A Few Tips For Healthy Living

It's difficult to imagine how anyone could not be aware of just how many people on this planet are in poor health, the evidence is everywhere. The news speaks of it daily and all anyone really needs to do to realize the full scope of the problem is to look around as you walk down the street. There are large numbers of people that are struggling with ailments, suffering from a lack of energy, burdened by disability, overweight, and dealing with a host of other conditions. So how can you make sure you stay healthy, instead of becoming a statistic? Let’s take a look at some major factors you should be thinking about if you want to maintain or improve your health.

Most of us actively seek a Healthy Living. Those of us that do already exercise and try to eat right, and for the most part that is a fantastic start to a healthier lifestyle. Below are a few of great tips that will have you to a new level of healthy living in no time at all.

#1 Take the Time to Connect With Others

By our very nature, human beings are social creatures. We seek connections with others. We create families. We nurture our young. We identify ourselves with social groups. We form important communication, spiritual health, intimacy, and emotional connections that nurture our well being and is just as critical as eating a healthy diet when it comes to nourishing our minds, our bodies, and our spirits.

Being the social creatures we are means that we crave physical touch, we can't live without it and we cannot get that from our cyber friends. Dating back to the 1930s, a number of studies indicate that infants that are touched grow at a faster rate than babies who are just left lying in their cribs. Touch affects our brains in a profound way and helps to develop our nervous system.

Today we connected in so many different ways, especially at the technical level. Yet, that closeness, that connection we so desire with other people in our day-to-day lives has actually diminished. Many of us spend our entire days surrounded by people but we communicate very little, and many feel completely isolated. Recent studies have shown that people with large social networks tend to live longer than those who live a lonesome life. So the importance of face-to-face time with friends and family can't be understated.

#2 Take Your Supplements

Healthy eating is essential to optimal health, but our food seldom provides us with everything we need to stay healthy, therefore it just makes good sense to take a daily multivitamin. Research in the matter has proven that good quality nutritional supplements can help you in achieving optimal health.

In a recent study by Wyeth Consumer Health, they found that older adults who take a daily multivitamin had an inexpensive yet powerful way to stay healthy. That study also tested how taking a multivitamin affected five diseases: diabetes, coronary artery disease, prostate cancer, osteoporosis, and colorectal cancer. Those researchers estimated that a daily multivitamin taken by an elderly person resulted in an approximate $1.6 billion potential savings in health care cost over a five year period, as well as an approximate $2.4 billion in avoidable hospitalization for heart attacks.

You should take a multivitamin and mineral supplement every day.

#3 Eat Properly

Obesity is at epidemic levels in the United States. Estimates are that more than 60% of all Americans are overweight and, of those that are overweight, 36% weigh in as obese (even more disturbing is the fact that 32% of all adolescents are overweight as well), if that's not alarming enough, then I don't know what is. Especially considering that just a generation ago, obesity was rare. And while some of this can be attributed to genetics, clearly the vast majority of it is related to sedentary lifestyles and improper nutrition.

There has been a multitude of books written on the subject of dieting and nutrition, everything from low-fat diets to no fat diets to low carb diets, and most everything in between. Study after study has conclusively determined that the best diet in the world is to simply eat sensibly by including fresh fruits and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains, non-hydrogenated dairy products in your daily diet while avoiding sugar - especially refined sugars and excess sodium, and consuming alcohol in moderation. The best way to do this starts by avoiding prepackaged foods as much as possible. The less processing your food undergoes before it reaches your table, the better it is for your health. By properly feeding your body and cells, you'll maintain consistent energy levels to work through any tasks you encounter during the day, ensure proper sleep patterns, and optimize your immune system to prevent illness.

#4 Exercising

The next element of this approach is exercise. Once you’ve executed your balanced diet, you should now have the energy and the nutrients available to actualize an exercise program of some degree. You don't need to 'pump heavy iron' for hours every day or train to run a marathon to benefit from exercise. Recent scientific studies indicate that a moderate heart rate elevation for 20 minutes, at least 3 days per week if done consistently, yield the best results. It places less stress on the body, is less time consuming, and is much easier for the average person to maintain their motivation to do.

Keep in mind that 'calories in = calories out' is the equation to maintain your weight. This means that in order for you to reduce your weight you need to burn off calories in excess of what you eat, you must be at a caloric deficit. The most effective strategy to achieve this caloric deficit is if you walk at a steady pace for just 20 minutes/day 3 to 5 days/week (without increasing your food intake – you will burn around 300 calories/day, and that equals 900 to 1500 extra calories burned every week). If you maintain a reasonable dietary intake and modestly increase your physical activity level as described above, you could expect to see a decrease in body fat of about ½ pound to a little more than 1 pound/week. Seems like a small amount, but if maintained over the course of a year that equals approximately 25 to 50 pounds. I'd say that's a fairly good outcome for your efforts, wouldn't you?

Studies prove that a person’s metabolic rate increases during physical exercise and will remain elevated for several hours after. That means you get the benefits of that 20 minutes worth of exercise for an extended time after you actually stop exercising.

If you have been leading a sedentary life, take it slow, especially at the beginning. Start small. If you have health issues always check with your doctor first. As mentioned above, one of the easiest and most effective exercises is walking. You really don't need anything more than a good pair of walking shoes and you will reap all the benefits of exercise including calorie burn, strengthening your heart, building endurance, and improving your bone density, not to mention the boost in your self-esteem, a more positive body image, and your overall confidence.

#5 Sleep

The last element of this approach is sleep. Sleep is just as critically important to staying healthy as exercise and eating properly. Generally speaking, an adult requires an average of 6 to 8 hours of good restful sleep every night. Sleep allows the body time to recover, and your immune system gets a boost in functionality as well.

A recent study by the American Cancer Society found that those who sleep less than 6 hours or more than 9 hours/night had a 30% higher death rate. So you can see just how beneficial it is to make sure that you are getting the proper amount sleep you need every night.

These are a few simple things we all do every day, and making some small changes can have profound effects for you as long as you remain consistent and disciplined. These are great tips that many people are not aware of that can have a major role in improving your life and longevity. When it comes to your health, always think outside the box. While nutrition and exercise are two very important components to healthier living, there are many other things that can ensure you remain healthy now and for years to come.

BE WELL MY FRIENDS,
Christopher Gibson

P.S. Getting healthy and supporting our members is what we're all about here, get all the information HERE if you would like to be a part of our special community.

The Secrets Of Free Advertising

It literally boggles the mind to consider the sheer number of opportunities available for obtaining free advertising for your products and/or services. There are so many proven ways to promote and market your wares, at little or no cost, that listing all of them here would be impractical. Just know that the possibilities are only limited by your own imagination, your determination, and your energy.

Listed below are just a few of the most effective techniques I use.

One of the most powerful ways I know and use to get free advertising is to write an article relative to your particular expertise, talent, skill, knowledge, or experience and submit it to all the publications and media channels that deal in the dissemination or publishing of that related subject matter or information.

Get the word out, en mas; become a tireless self-promoter and establish yourself as the expert in your field. Plain and simple: become your own publicity and sales promotions writer.

Make certain you "tag" everything you publish with a CTA (Call to Action), in the form of a quick note or P.S. listing your address for a catalog, store/dealership/franchise opportunity; web address for your website/newsletter/blog or just to get more information.

Another great technique is to become a guest on as many radio and television talk shows or interview type programs as possible. This is actually much easier to accomplish than you might think.

Start out by writing a letter to the producer of the program(s) that serve your market, and then follow up with an in-person visit or telephone call. Make sure, in your initial contact, to emphasize that your product or service would be of interest or value to the listeners or viewers of the program – stress the benefits like perhaps that 'it may even save them time and money'.

Another way of getting free or very inexpensive exposure includes posting advertising circulars on all the free bulletin boards in your area, especially in places like the coin-operated laundries, grocery stores, and beauty and barber shops.

Consider handing out circulars to all the shoppers in busy shopping centers and malls, especially on weekends.

You can also conscript your own children (if you have any) or enlist the aid of middle school, high school, and/or even college students in your area to hand out circulars door-to-door.

You will find that many publications will offer a contract for space. In this kind of arrangement, you send your ad to the publication, and they will hold on to it until they have some unsold ad-space they need to fill. At which time, they will insert your ad (the ad-price will almost always be one third or less of the regular price for that ad-space).

Keeping with this strategy, don't forget to check in with the suburban neighborhood newspapers, they might even turn out to be a hidden customer treasure.

Make sure you check all the publications that carry the kind of advertising you need. Many mail order publications that are just getting started offer unusually low rates to first-time advertisers; or they may offer a free-of-charge insertion of your ad when you pay for an order that runs for three or more issues; you may also be able to find some special seasonal ad space at greatly reduced rates as well.

Also, there are a variety of publications that may offer a "Per Inquiry" (PI) type of ad-space arrangement. This is where all orders go directly to the publication, the publication takes a commission from each order, then forwards the orders on to you for fulfillment.

If you publish any kind of catalog or ad sheet whatsoever, then you will definitely want to get in touch will all the other publishers in your market-space and query them about possibly exchanging advertising. In exchange for you running their ads in your publication, they agree to run your ad (of comparable size) in their publication.

Probably the best strategy to get tremendous exposure at the absolute lowest relative cost is when you advertise a free offer. There's nothing else in this world that beats the "Free Offer". Everybody loves free, right?

Just run an ad offering a free report or cheat sheet, or a "list of" that would be of interest to most people, especially in your market. Have anybody interested in your offer to send you a self-addressed stamped envelope to receive the report, and depending on the appeal you are able to generate for your report and the circulation of the publication in which your ad appears, you could easily be overwhelmed with responses!

The report (a simple one-page report) could invite the reader to send money for more information or to become a member, whatever your particular business model uses.

You could also, with a full page advertisement on the backside of the report, use it to promote your book or other product.

The aim here, of course, is to convert all these responses, or at least a large percentage of them, into sales. This is done via your "Call to Action", found in the full page ad on the back of the report, and in other offers, you include with the complete package you send back to them, which tells your reader what to do to get more information.

As I stated in the opening paragraph of this article, it's just simply a matter of unleashing your imagination and energy. If you do that, you have powerful forces working for you that can help you reach your goals. 

* TIP: At the same time you are having your return address printed on your marketing mail piece envelops, you can also have promotional ads relative to your product or service printed on the front or back of your envelopes.

Although the majority of this article's methods are not specifically directed to an online application, the conversion to online is really very simple. Instead of thinking "print publishers", think "website publishers", in terms of mailings of reports, use website landing/opt-in and download fulfillment pages instead.

To Your Success,
Christopher Gibson

P.S. I hope you find this information helpful. Thank you for reading. A Business doesn't have to be complicated, expensive, or time-consuming. We can show you a better way. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE