There are TWO KEY CONCEPTS to memorizing a long list of items:

1) Converting each item into an IMAGE as RIDICULOUS and STRIKING as possible.

2) LINKING those images to one another through ACTIONS as RIDICULOUS and STRIKING as possible.

For example, tonight after I returned from work I intended to write 10 more ezine articles.

However, I needed to get out and do my run as well. So I didn’t have the time to sit down with a pen in hand and meditate on the list.

I used this very same method to make up a list while I ran. By the time I got back home I had a nice 10-item list of all the articles I wanted to write tonight and there was no way I was going to forget it due to the strength of the embedded images.

This is how I did it:

First of all I wanted to write an article on running and especially on how to find the TIME to run in this busy world of ours. So my first image was of MYSELF RUNNING out of the house in such GREAT HASTE that I was leaving behind a trail of flames and a foul-smelling smoke! That corresponded to article number 1.

Secondly, I wanted to write an article on my LOVE OF BOOKS, especially on the JOY of collecting AUTOGRAPHED BOOKS (I do have modest collection of them).

Now I conjured up the image of an OPEN BOOK as BIG as the road I was running on. I imagined the pages of the book started to burn because of the TRAIL OF FIRE and SMOKE that I left behind when I ran out of my house in a hurry, remember?

Thus the first two images connected nicely, reminding me the first two items on my list (running, collecting books). That took care of the article number 2 as well.

A third topic was RESTORING OLD CRUMBLING BOOKS. So in my imagination, I’ve jumped from the first burning book to a SECOND BOOK CRUMBLING all over. I was having difficulty running on this book because the book needed RESTORATION, see? That was article number 3. That connected the first three images and list items.

Then the page collapsed like a house collapsing in fire and in my imagination I went right through it and fell on a fluffy white hair-like stuff.

Actually, yes, IT WAS GRAY HAIR! I fell into the hair of TAYLOR HICKS, the fifth winner of American Idol. Now this was great because the next article I wanted to write was about how GRAY HAIR is in as a fashion statement. That was article number 4.

Then I saw Taylor Hicks wearing a brown hooded monk robe and fingering his prayer beads because my next article would be on HOW INCONVENIENT SPIRITUAL TRUTHS CAN BE. That’s article number 5.

The visual connection to article number six was a piece of cake. I saw the monk in brown hooded dress get fried by a blue bolt of electric current. He was in great agony and could not stop the DIVINE ELECTRICITY surging through his body. Perfect. Because I wanted to write about the power and danger of the mysterious KUNDALINI as article number 6.

Kundalini is always represented by a COILED SERPENT. In my imagination the coil transformed into CONCENTRIC CIRCLES and the aisles of a supermarket organized as CONCENTRIC CIRCLES, which brought me to article number 7 – a BETTER WAY to organize the existing SUPERMARKET FLOOR PLANS.

The same concentric circles, when looked from above, also resemble a HUMAN BRAIN. I saw numbers and words swimming in the brain which brought me to article number 8 – how to memorize a long list of things (which is THIS article you are reading right now!).

Then I saw the brain gunning down and shooting forward at a great speed like a VOLKSWAGEN (the VW Beetle’s profile resembles a brain, doesn’t it? Well, I’m taking a lot of poetic license of course).

Which brought me to CARS and the BLACK BUICK I saw earlier today. Yes, I wanted to write something about Buicks and the way Buicks are modeled these days. Article number 9.

Finally, I remembered where I saw the BUICK – at a parking lot in STERLING, Virginia. Yes, I also wanted to write an essay about STERLING, VIRGINIA and that concluded my list of ten articles.

Even three hours after I finished my run I still remember the “List of 10” very vividly and there is no way I’m going to forget them any time soon until I replace this list in my mind with another equally RIDICULOUS list — or equally ridiculous gallery of images.

As you can see, “memorizing” long lists can be a lot of FUN because of all the stupid images that you have to come up with and link to one another.

Try it today and you’ll be surprised how easily you can keep in your mind long shopping lists and other lists that you had difficulty with remembering before.

THINK RIDICULOUS and LINK IMAGES. It’s as simple as that.

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases, movie reviews and hi-tech documentation. He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.

In addition to being an Ezine Articles Expert Author, he is also a Senior Member of the Society for Technical Communication (STC), and a Member of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI).

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs.

You are most welcomed to visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com for more information on his multidisciplinary background, writing career, and client testimonials. While at it, you might also want to check the latest book he has edited: http://www.lulu.com/content/263630

Creating written documents reveals so much about you and your business skills. Your writing tells the reader about your educational background, pride in your work and business expertise. The emergence of the paperless office, e-mail, the internet and web pages only increases the power of the written word. Any company with employees who can write clearly and concisely has a competitive edge over others who are still struggling to communicate.

Is your correspondence free of any errors? In this day of computers with spell and grammar check, it is so easy to let your writing skills lapse. The computer scans the correct spelling of a word, but it is a homonym with the wrong meaning for your sentence. This error shows the reader that either you don’t know the difference or you’re too lazy to check and edit.

Is your writing full of words that people don’t understand? Many times, you are so rushed to compose a business document that you use easy methods to get it done. The result is business documents are often filled with buzzwords, cryptic dialogue and outdated phrases. Readers won’t say that they don’t understand what you are writing, but will note not to use your business services. Keep your writing simple and current. Writing styles are like fashion and have indeed changed over the years. You must keep up with today’s business practices and expectations, but beware of certain crutches such as buzzwords, industry jargon and cliches. Buzzwords are trendy terms and expressions that sometimes mean nothing, but seem impressive. “Like fertilizer, buzzwords are spread generously over documents in hope that brilliant ideas will miraculously take root. Unfortunately, ideas don’t grow in manure,” describes Will Stockdell, a professional Internet writer. You want to make sure that everyone understands your written ideas.

The last thing you want to do is to give the impression that your writing is too formal or outdated. A more direct way of writing has replaced some standard business phrases. Examples of this are “As per your request” now becomes “As you requested” or “Enclosed please find ” now becomes “I am enclosing.” Also, the previous impersonal style of business writing that avoided the use of “I” has been changed to use a limited amount of “I” to give directness and warmth.

How often have you typed away what you wanted to say, rather than what you needed to write? Slipping into abbreviated dialogue is so easy to do instead of expressing complete thoughts in a sentence. Perhaps, because we are a telephone-oriented society, the keyboard simply becomes an extension of our phone voice and frequently incomplete phrases dominate a message. Readers may think that this writing also indicates your incomplete logic and business services.

Do you use correct English? As far as incorrect punctuation, awkward sentences and bad grammar, you need to examine your writing skills and take these steps to improve them:

1. Audit your business writing yourself and try to learn from your mistakes. Use your computer grammar tools, but double-check with a dictionary or grammar book.

2. Find someone who can edit your material.

3. Hire employees for writing skills. In this way, you will have someone around to edit or write material for you.

4. Read. Reading will improve your writing skills. Keep on hand business documents that you admire.

5. Practice. Don’t just pick up the phone to communicate; get in the habit of expressing your ideas in letters or e-mail.

6. Seek professional resources. Consult books like Gloria Pincu’s Bull’s Eye Business Writing: 10 Easy Guides for Getting to Your Writing Target. Search the Internet. Seek training courses.

See my web site for information about my online courses at: www.basic-learning.com)

Gloria Pincu is founder of Basic Learning Systems, Inc., a management training and consulting organization. As a consultant/trainer, Ms. Pincu has drawn heavily on her own business experience as well as from the academic world. She has been an entrepreneur, a sales manager, a computer salesperson, a teacher of writing, communication skills and English, and a consultant /training specialist to corporations, hospitals, government, and educational organizations.

Since founding Basic Learning Systems, Inc., a Certified Minority Business Enterprise, in 1980, Gloria has facilitated many hundreds of training programs. She has designed and conducted programs on topics covering customer service, total quality management, supervisory skills, business and technical writing, managing change, interpersonal skills, team building, creative thinking, stress management, and professional secretary techniques for numerous organizations including Pratt & Whitney Aircraft, IBM Corporation, American Express, National Council on Compensation Insurance, Ryder Truck Rental, Inc., the Florida Department o

Maybe it’s a prank caller who’s been pestering you lately – or maybe it’s a mysterious number that keeps on appearing on your spouse’s cellular phone (recent caller) history. Either way, you want to find out who’s been calling – but without being “duped” by one of the countless scams out there that promise instant results, but deliver only a simple set of links to other sites that you could’ve found on your own for free…

So let me explain how to do your own reverse cellular phone number lookup. There’s two ways to do it – one is free, and other will cost anywhere from $29 – $99 dollars – which is well worth it if this caller is threatening your safety, well-being, or your relationship with someone you love.

1. The Free Way to Find Pull Up Owner Information For a Cellular Phone Number

Cell phone numbers, unlike a regular phone number, aren’t listed in public directories – such as WhitePages.com or AnyWho.com, or your local phone book.

And although you can put a block on the number in question through your phone company, they likely won’t provide you with the offending caller’s information.

But you want to know exactly who’s been calling – don’t you?

So here’s how to do it on the internet, for free…

Head on over to Google.com and enter the cellular number in question, in the following format:

“123-444-5555”

And

“1234445555”

If Google doesn’t find anything, try taking out the area code. As well, try running the search both with quotation marks surrounding the number, and without.

Repeat the process with Yahoo.com and MSN.com also, simply to make sure. (These sites are the 3 biggest search engines online, and between the three of them, they’ll search practically every web-page, website and otherwise content that exists on the public internet).

Doing a search like this will often pull up a profile page or an account page of some kind that will disclose more details – such as their name and address – or an “avatar” (username) or other info like that, that can be cross-referenced and searched in a similar fashion to uncover more information, if available.

It might even pull up the suspect’s personal webpage or weblog.

But if doing a search like this does not produce any results – don’t worry – you can still find out who’s been calling, and here’s how…

2. How to Pay For Real Results When You Need to do a Reverse Search on a Cell Phone Number

As I mentioned previously, there are a number of services out there that claim to deliver “instant results”, complete with owner name, address history, carrier details, connection status, credit history and so on – but most are complete scams.

The good ones will usually cost more, but there are a few decent services that charge less than $50 per search.

Here’s what you need to look for, before you pull out your credit card:

– A solid refund policy. Let’s face it – even the best investigator or search product might not be able to find your specific number. So look for companies that offer a guarantee of their results, so that you can place a refund if they can’t deliver the owner details for the cellular number.

– A sample search. Many services that actually provide real results have a “partial lookup” search function, which shows that they have the capability to provide accurate results.

Again, only purchase from companies that offer a no-questions-asked refund policy, regardless of how fancy their sample search results may be.

That’s how you find out who’s been calling – and possibly even where they live.

Happy searching!

Chris Rempel recommends using Reverse Cellular Phone Search if you need to find out who belongs to a cell phone number.

They offer a 56-day guarantee on their results, and you can easily find out if the number you’re looking for is available by doing a sample search for free. Try them out first.

Charm is the power to please or attract others to one’s self. Charming people are considered as smarter and they are treated better at department stores and other places. They also receive promotions faster than people who do not have a charming personality. Charming people are happier, more socially acceptable, achieve social and business success, liked by others, listen to, popular, and people with outgoing personality. The trait of a charming person is that they make others feel important by focusing their attention, thoughts, and actions on them.

If you do not consider yourself as a charming person and you want to become one, you need to change your personality. Once you make a few personality changes the magic will start to happen. You can make plans to become more charming by reading books, listening to tapes, keeping a journal, becoming aware of your thoughts, changing your thoughts from negative to positive, visualizing yourself talking to people saying good things about you and good things about others. The following are seven tips on what you can do to become a charming person:

1. Make Changes to the way you dress by wearing the right colors, clothes and cosmetics
[Know what to wear and how to wear it].

2. Make Changes to the way you stand by standing straight and tall with straight shoulders and tummy tuck [avoid crossing hands].

3. Make Changes to the way you walk and do not shuffle but keep your head up as you make eye contact with the person [develop a beautiful walk].

4. Make Changes to the way you talk and practice having a pleasing voice by breathing from the diaphragm rather than chest [develop a good speaking voice].

5. Make Changes to your appearance and choose best fashion and style for yourself. Get a manicure treatment [by yourself or professionally].

6. Make Changes to your appearance and choose best hair style for yourself. Get your hair done and styled [by yourself or professionally].

7. Make certain you have a firm handshake when you greet someone. A handshake is an expression of friendliness. It tells the other person you are glad to see him. It is an expression of your personality.

Are you interested in my online courses to start a business?

To the new and experienced entrepreneurs, getting help with your small business is very crucial to your success. Getting the right help will cause you to avoid costly mistakes, and it can also help you to save a lot of time, money and energy. You will need to get the right help to form the legal structure of the business, financial, management, procurement/certification, marketing, pricing products, preparing a business plan, and more. If you are a business owner who is wondering if you can take your business to new heights, contact Dr. Waters at tina.waters@waienterprises.com

Are you looking to super charge your business? Did you know that you can start a legitimate business with little or no money? Sign up for Dr. Mary E. Waters’ free “Easy Business” bi-monthly ezine at http://www.drmewaters.com It has many tips and techniques to help make your dream of becoming a successful business owner to become a reality. Plus, each month one lucky subscriber receives a free 30 minute on demand business consulting session!
Dr. Mary E. Waters is an author, speaker, business consultant. She is the author of “Easy Business for Women with Little or No Money.” She strives on helping people to start their own business with little or no money. For many years, she has been helping people make their dreams of becoming a successful business owner come true!

Sign up for FREE online Self Publishing Guide. FREE courses and FREE tips at
Business URL: http://www.waienterprises.com
Personal URL: http://www.drmewaters.com

To be successful, the needs of your target group have to be your #1 Priority. Your desire to earn income comes second.

Use great content to create an open-to buy/hire mindset in your visitor. Deliver strong, appropriate editorial content that PREsells. PREsold visitors convert more easily and more frequently into paying customers –higher Conversion Rates (CR) – which is exactly the result that your online business has to achieve in order to flourish.

Bottom line?

There is no such thing as “passerby traffic” on the Net. You have to build and attract warm, willing-to-buy traffic on an ongoing basis. A great content site helps you achieve that goal. It increases targeted traffic, which produces more sales, which in turn produces more income. In other words, the key is to develop great content that leads to the money-making click…Make Your Word Sell !

Valuable Content = Credible Recommendation = Turned ON customer = High CR.

Don’t push your visitors to the click, make them want to click through. It makes all the difference if your visitors feel that it’s their idea to deliver your Most Wanted Response (MWR) — in other words, what you most want your visitor to do on your site. Your MWR is to get your visitors to click through to your order page (or your particular income generation source) so that you can make the sale!

And it all begins with effective PREselling…

Site Build It! makes it a snap to identify profitable keywords for your theme (i.e., keywords that many people are searching for but that very few sites provide information about). Just click on a button, and SBI! does the research for you! Hours of tedious research reduced to minutes. And all you have to do is wait for the results!

For example, your page about concrete statues explains all about how to make and repair striking statues for the home and garden. You could even expand it into an entire “Statue Section,” with a page on the history of concrete statues and another one about how to market and sell the statues that the visitor makes.

The main point, though, is that you create truly excellent, high-value content that delivers what your reader sought at the Search Engines. See! It happened again! By writing about a niche that you know and love, the content is easy.

OK, a second “concrete” example that comes at you from a different angle…John A. Smith is a passionate lover of all things concrete, and owner of “Smith’s Concrete Repair Service.” Mr. Smith’s company repairs foundations, retaining walls, driveways, statues, swimming pools — heck, if it’s concrete and it’s busted, he’ll fix it! The first thing of note is this…Smith’s “Concrete Repair Service” is a locally-based service, but Mr. Smith has great vision.

He builds a Web site that appeals to both local and global interests. Here’s how…

1) His well-written concrete-related articles provide a valuable information resource for all visitors, regardless of their geographic location.

2) Local visitors (who are not currently clients) come to trust Mr. Smith as he demonstrates over and over again through his articles, and his e-zine, two very appealing attributes — his unwavering commitment to the “putting-the-needs-of-thecustomer- first” philosophy and the breadth of his knowledge pertaining to all things concrete.

Before long, Mr. Smith becomes established in his visitors’ minds as “The Concrete Man.” When these local prospects need a concrete repairman, guess who they’re going to call?

3) Local visitors come to recognize Mr. Smith as more than “some guy with a concrete repair service.” Thanks to the bio (About Us) page, they learn he’s a dedicated father, an active member of the community, and a little league coach, as well as being the owner of a company. This information adds to his credibility.

4) Global visitors produce a secondary income stream for him. Mr. Smith can refer these surfers to merchant-partners (and their products) that he represents (ex., books about landscape design, a retailer of concrete statues, a garden supplier for concrete molds, trowels, etc.,). And, of course, he could also sell his own e-book, consulting services, Google’s AdSense, .

Mr. Smith’s warm-and-willing-to-buy visitors trust his knowledgeable advice. His PREselling efforts make it easier for him to convert these visitors into customers.

Bottom line?

PREsell effectively… to sell effectively. It’s as simple as that! And this means…The needs of your target group must be your #1 priority, the reason behind every action you take. always comes second.

So keep your visitors in constant focus and…

1) PREsell… don’t sell! Use great content to create an “open-to-buy/hire” mindset in your customer. Warm up your visitors first.

2) Maximize profit by maximizing your traffic (by delivering lots of topical content) and Conversion Rate (CR).

3) Your CR depends upon what you do and how you do it. You will achieve higher
Conversion Rates if you…

4) Reach targeted traffic in a reputable fashion (ex., visitors find you via the Search
Engines).

5) Deliver valuable, appropriate editorial content that PREsells.

6) Recommend visitors to your income-generating source (ex., your sales/order page,
the site of the merchant-partners that you represent, your online store, etc.) after they come to respect and like you.

OK, let’s build on this extremely important foundation. We introduced the term “Most Wanted Response” earlier. Now it’s time to go into more depth about this concept…and take the “Get to the Point Test”.

It’s a powerful demo of just how badly off their business is, traffic-wise, and how much better they could be doing.
http://traffic.sitesell.com/focusonsmart.html

You can now truly realize the potential of the Net. All you have to do is… BYOBAM! (Bring Your Own Brain and Motivation!) Let We supplies the rest . “Why build JUST a Web site…when you COULD build a Web BUSINESS?”

http://www.sitesell.com/focusonsmart.html

If you are traveling overseas and don’t want to pay a ton of money for your cell calls, this column is for you. I got started down this path because of some upcoming speaking engagements in Australia in the new year, and I wanted to be prepared and be in touch. Soon, it turned into A Project, and now I share the results with you, my gentle readers, for your own benefit should you find yourself in similar straights.

You have the following alternatives

— Buy a phone calling card once you get to your destination and use it from payphones or your hotel,

— Don’t do anything and use your existing US phone,

— Buy a new SIM module for your existing phone, or

— Buy a new SIM module and a new phone.

Why bother? If you have ever taken your cell to Canada (or even further a field), you know why: the per-minute cost for calls is ginormous. And while it is nice to be in touch when you travel around the world, there are lower-cost ways to do it. The calling card is a decent option, depending on where you are going and what your hotel charges for both toll-free and local calls. Some are still back in the profiteering stone ages and charge almost as much as the cell providers on a per-minute basis, even to make a local call or to connect to the calling card provider. You should know that some calling cards may not work with some pay phones, according to Dan Dern. He also reminds me that you might want to invest in a DMTF tone generator if you need to call back to a stateside answering machine – some foreign phones don’t generate the correct touch tones.

The other options will only work if you have at least a tri-band phone on either T-Mobile or AT&T/Cingular networks. If you are using Verizon or Sprint, you need a new phone. Most of the world’s cell phones (except in Japan and a few other places), work on what is called the GSM networks that operate at either 900 MHz or 1800 MHz. The US and Canada GSM networks operate at 850 MHz and 1900 MHz. So if you have a phone that can work on at least three of the four bands, you should be set to roam abroad. So we arrive at the last options, and here is where things get interesting.

Before I get any further, let me explain that your cell phone has two important pieces: one is the phone itself, and this makes a difference with the number of radio bands that it works on. But the second piece is the SIM card that is inside the phone, and if you are like most normal people you probably haven’t given this little thing much thought – until now. This SIM card is what is used by the phone to store your address book and also gives your phone your inbound number and identity on the cell network. It is about the size of a microSD memory card. If you replace the SIM card that came with your phone with a card that works in the country you are visiting, you get several benefits.

First, you don’t pay roaming charges for local in-country calls, although if you are calling back to the States, you will pay international long distance charges. Second, if people in-country are trying to reach you, they don’t pay for the international calls either. (Some of the networks overseas have the more enlightened method of calling party pays, but we won’t go there for now.) You also don’t use any minutes on your American cell accounts, which can be good if you have a limited number of minutes – when you travel, you don’t think about all the time you are on calls.

The trouble is if you are going to several different countries, then you need different SIMs and have to keep track of the numbers too. That gets onerous. So there is another solution: buy a SIM card from Maxroam.com. This Irish vendor offers a universal SIM that will work across the globe, and has lower per-minute rates no matter where you are. Plus, like the VOIP services, you can set up your number to automatically forward to a series of numbers, so that you can be more easily reached as you travel. You don’t have to sign a contract, the SIMs are inexpensive (about $43), and you can add more minutes to your account easily over the Web and charge your credit card. It took me a few minutes to setup and activate the SIM online: you pick a US-based number for your phone, and pay for another number in the country or countries that you are visiting.

They have a wide selection. Each additional number is just a few dollars per month to maintain. There is just one catch. Chances are, your cell phone is locked to your carrier that you are currently using. This means if you try to take out your SIM card and replace it with this Maxroam card, your phone won’t work. You might be able to receive calls, but not make outgoing calls. So how do you get your phone unlocked? You can pay for a special code that you enter and here is where things get dicey. Until recently, American cellular carriers claimed that unlocking was illegal. The laws are changing, but still many of the companies that provide this service have the feeling of going to the seedy side of town where goods are bought in cash through an open car window, not that I conduct my business in this fashion, you should know.

There are a number of unlocking providers, here are just a few and what they charge per phone to unlock:

Uniquephones.com $15

Gsmliberty.com $25

Cellularunlockcodes.com $20

Unlockexperts.co.uk $13

Cellularlocksmith.com $20

Cellphonerepair.org $25 I

have tried a few of these, and haven’t had good experiences. All of them work by first charging your credit card the fee, and then sending you the code via email. Sometimes they take their sweet time in sending this code. Uniquephones “lost” my order, and only when I emailed their executives and spoke to them personally (they are based in the UK), did I get my code delivered. There are other services that have downloadable software, but that seems even more trouble. Once I got my code, it took seconds to enter it on my AT&T phone, and it was running on T-Mobile’s network with my new number from the Maxroam folks. Sweet. You can also try calling AT&T or T-Mobile and seeing if they will give you the unlock code — if you have had your phones or been a customer for a few years, this might work.

If you are reluctant to do business in this fashion, then you have another option, and that is to still buy the Maxroam SIM card but get a new phone that comes unlocked. If you are a Verizon or Sprint user, this is really your only option. There are many Web sites that offer to sell you unlocked models. The least expensive phones that I could find (that were at least a tri-band GSM model) were on TigerDirect.com – they were selling a Motorola V180 for $50. And Amazon.com has a Motorola V220 for $70. Neither of these phones are going to win any design awards, but they will do the job. Plan on taking a few weeks to negotiate all of these options, so don’t do this a few days before you have to leave the country. And you might want to bring along your current SIM card, just in case.

David Strom is a noted speaker, author, podcaster and consultant who has written two books and thousands of magazine articles for dozens of IT publications such as Computerworld, eWeek, Information Week and Network Computing. His blog can be found at http://strominator.com, and he can be reached at david@strom.com

Will you read a sales letter 147 pages long?

Would you mail your customers a sales letter that
makes them page through 124 case studies before
you describe what you’re selling?

Will you read a sales letter that contains 56,938
words, enough to fill a 253-page paperback book?

Some online marketers think you will. I’m talking
about the ones who write what they call “long-copy
online sales letters.” These websites usually contain
just one page. There is no navigation scheme except
the page down button on your keyboard. You are
expected to start at the top and keep reading and keep
scrolling until you surrender by placing your
order.

You’ll find an example of the long-copy, one-page
online sales letter at www.trafficsecrets.com.

I hate these sales letters with a passion. For one
thing, they are not sales letters at all. “Online sales
letter’ is an oxymoron. “One-page” online sales letter
is another oxymoron. There are no pages online. If
your pitch is online it’s not a letter. It’s a screen with
words and pictures on it.

And there’s the difference. The web is an interactive
medium. A letter is not. You read a sales letter. You
interact with a website.

The whole beauty of the web is that you are not
constrained to present your pitch in a linear fashion
from page 1 to the postscript. Just compare the
Land’s End print catalog with www.landsend.com.
Online, everything is a few clicks away. Only
online can you search for shirts by gender, size, price,
style and type of collar opening.

You can’t do that with their print catalog. Print is linear.
Which is why a 56,938-word, 147-page “sales letter”
is so ridiculous.
Online shoppers aren’t linear. They don’t want to read
from top to bottom. They don’t want to scroll through
124 case studies to find your guarantee.

Online shoppers want to navigate to the pages that
interest them. They want to easily find information
about gift cards, weekly specials, your return policy
and plenty more.

Your goal as a direct marketer with a website is to
help your visitors find what they want quickly. And
make buying easy. So don’t give your sales pitch on
one page. And don’t put over 400 exclamation marks
in one letter either, OK?

—-
About the author
Alan Sharpe is a direct mail copywriter who helps business owners and marketing managers generate leads, close sales and retain customers using direct mail and email marketing. Learn more about his creative direct mail writing services and sign up for free weekly tips like this at http://www.sharpecopy.com.

© 2007 Sharpe Copy Inc. You may reprint this article online and in print provided the links remain live and the content remains unaltered (including the “About the author” message).

Do you dream of making it big in the fashion world someday?

I have good news for you! Your dream is now just a click away – may it be to become a fashion designer, a web fashion designer, an image consultant, a fashion magazine stylist, a TV program stylist, an event stylist, a fashion journalist, or a personal shopper – with the Milan Fashion Campus Online Fashion Design Course.

The Creator

Angelo Russica, a seasoned fashion guru who has more or less 20 years of experience in the fashion world, created the course with his aim of not only coming up with an Internet-based fashion design school that will teach the history, aesthetics, and skills required of Italy’s fashion, but extending the Italian fashion sense to the world as well.

With more than 15 years of collaborative experience as a creative assistant to different companies the world over, like Versace, Gruppo Max Mara, Marzotto, Miroglio Vestebene in Italy; Induyco and El Corte Ingles in Spain; and Fujii, Chori, King Company, and World Company in Japan, Russica was able to talk to numerous young students from an array of famous fashion design schools who complain about having spent lots of money on more or less three years of study, only to find out in the end, that it is hard to find a job and almost impossible to make a name. This is also one reason why Russica developed the first online fashion design school in Italy – he wants Milan Fashion Campus to give many aspiring fashion students a chance to learn about the wonders of Italian fashion without having to spend so much.

The Course

This one of a kind fashion design course provides students with the opportunity to be professionally in touch with Italy’s Fashion Design Learning Method. The intensive online fashion design course of Milan Fashion Campus also serves as a venue for the realization of dreams – may it be to become a professional figure or the famous designer of the future.

The lessons are sequenced in such a way that the students can easily follow them. The course requires active student participation since lessons are geared toward teaching learners how to do market analysis, how to locate valuable sources of information, and how to discover inspiration. Students of Milan Fashion Course will also learn the tricks of the trade, just like what professional fashion designers do: examining the streets, examining fashion stories, examining the music world, and examining the opinion of fashion leaders.

The Milan Fashion Campus Online Fashion Design Course, which can be downloaded through www.fashioncampus.it, has seven sections, 27 chapters, almost 200 pages, and more than 170 exercises that will serve as guidance for students from their first sketch to their first fashion show. The course also gives a chance to students to specialize on different areas, like celebrity and men fashion design, handbag design, color and rendering technique, and fashion figure template.

One may buy the course chapter per chapter, too, especially if you just want to try out the course first.

The course is in English and downloadable once you have paid the amount stated in www.fashioncampus.it, may it be through Paypal or money transfer. This also means that you may start with the course anytime you want.

For more information regarding fees and FAQ’s, just visit www.fashioncampus.it.

You will not only improve your fashion taste and sensibility, but also open opportunities for a wonderful career in fashion.

Tim Yu
http://online-fashion-sch.blogspot.com