If you are familiar with Clickbank.com (R), or even if you are not but you want to make profits online, then you will want to check this out ASAP...
While I like Clickbank, and they are a great marketplace... they are limited to many restrictions to sell products or earn affiliate commissions...
Well, there is a GREAT NEW SERVICE now...
It is new FREE marketplaces where you can sell any product you want.
Yours OWN product...
- OR - (the best part)
You can become an INSTANT Affiliate for ANY item in their HUGE marketplace.
It is called PayDotCom.com!
Did I mention it is 100% FREE to Join!
This site is going to KILL all other marketplaces and I by now, almost EVERY SINGLE SERIOUS online marketer has an account with PayDotCom.com
So get yours now and see how much they offer...
OH! - Also, they have their won affiliate program now that pays you COLD HARD cash just for sharing the site with people like I am doing with you...
They give you cool tools like BLOG WIDGETS, and they even have an advertising program to help you get traffic to your site.
If you want an ARMY of affiliates to sell your products for you, they also allow you to have Free placement in their marketplace!
Even better... If your product becomes one of the Top 25 products in its category in the marketplace (not that hard to do)...
...then you will get Free advertising on the Blog Widget which is syndicated on THOUSANDS of sites World Wide and get Millions of impressions per month.
So, what are you waiting for...?
PayDotCom.com ROCKS!
Get your FREE account now...
http://paydotcom.net/?affiliate=645312
Thanks,
CHUKWUMA INNOCENT OGBONNA
P.S. - Make sure to get your Account NOW while it is Free to join.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Mental Retardation
Mental retardation is a condition diagnosed before age 18 that includes below-average general intellectual function, and a lack of the skills necessary for daily living.
News & Features
• The Homes Are Familiar, the Buyers Much Less So
• Blood Tests Ease Search for Down Syndrome
• Family Meal
• The Bold Bank Heist and Its Littlest Victims
Reference from A.D.A.M.
Causes
Mental retardation affects about 1 - 3% of the population. There are many causes of mental retardation, but doctors find a specific reason in only 25% of cases.
A family may suspect mental retardation if the child's motor skills, language skills, and self-help skills do not seem to be developing, or are developing at a far slower rate than the child's peers. Failure to adapt (adjust to new situations) normally and grow intellectually may become apparent early in a child's life. In the case of mild retardation, these failures may not become recognizable until school age or later.
An assessment of age-appropriate adaptive behaviors can be made using developmental screening tests. The failure to achieve developmental milestones suggests mental retardation.
The degree of impairment from mental retardation varies widely, from profoundly impaired to mild or borderline retardation. Less emphasis is now placed on the degree of retardation and more on the amount of intervention and care needed for daily life.
Risk factors are related to the causes. Causes of mental retardation can be roughly broken down into several categories:
• Infections (present at birth or occurring after birth)
o Congenital CMV
o Congenital rubella
o Congenital toxoplasmosis
o Encephalitis
o HIV infection
o Listeriosis
o Meningitis
• Chromosomal abnormalities
o Chromosome deletions (cri du chat syndrome)
o Chromosomal translocations (a gene is located in an unusual spot on a chromosome, or located on a different chromosome than usual)
o Defects in the chromosome or chromosomal inheritance (for example, fragile X syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome)
o Errors of chromosome numbers (such as Down syndrome)
• Environmental
o Deprivation syndrome
• Genetic abnormalities and inherited metabolic disorders
o Adrenoleukodystrophy
o Galactosemia
o Hunter syndrome
o Hurler syndrome
o Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
o Phenylketonuria
o Rett syndrome
o Sanfilippo syndrome
o Tay-Sachs disease
o Tuberous sclerosis
• Metabolic
o Congenital hypothyroid
o Hypoglycemia (poorly regulated diabetes mellitus)
o Reye syndrome
o Hyperbilirubinemia (very high bilirubin levels in babies)
• Nutritional
o Malnutrition
• Toxic
o Intrauterine exposure to alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, and other drugs
o Lead poisoning
o Methylmercury poisoning
• Trauma (before and after birth)
o Intracranial hemorrhage before or after birth
o Lack of oxygen to the brain before, during, or after birth
o Severe head injury
• Unexplained (this largest category is for unexplained occurrences of mental retardation)
Symptoms
• Continued infantile behavior
• Decreased learning ability
• Failure to meet intellectual developmental markers
• Inability to meet educational demands at school
• Lack of curiosity
Note: Changes to normal behaviors depend on the severity of the condition. Mild retardation may be associated with a lack of curiosity and quiet behavior. Severe mental retardation is associated with infantile behavior throughout life.
Exams and Tests
• Abnormal Denver developmental screening test
• Adaptive behavior score below average
• Development way below that of peers
• Intelligence quotient (IQ) score below 70 on a standardized IQ test
Treatment
The primary goal of treatment is to develop the person's potential to the fullest. Special education and training may begin as early as infancy. This includes social skills to help the person function as normally as possible.
It is important for a specialist to evaluate the person for other affective disorders and treat those disorders. Behavioral approaches are important for people with mental retardation.
Outlook (Prognosis)
The outcome depends on:
• Opportunities
• Other conditions
• Personal motivation
• Treatment
Many people lead productive lives and function on their own; others need a structured environment to be most successful.
Possible Complications
Complications vary. They may include:
• Inability to care for self
• Inability to interact with others appropriately
• Social isolation
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if:
• You have any concerns about your child's development
• You notice that your child's motor or language skills are not developing normally
• Your child has other disorders that need treatment
Prevention
Genetic: Prenatal screening for genetic defects and genetic counseling for families at risk for known heritable disorders can decrease the incidence of genetically caused mental retardation.
Social: Government programs to ensure adequate nutrition are available to the underprivileged in the first and most critical years of life. These programs can reduce retardation associated with malnutrition. Early intervention in situations involving abuse and deprivation will also help.
Toxic: Environmental programs to reduce exposure to lead, mercury, and other toxins will reduce toxin-associated retardation. However, the benefits may take years to become apparent. Increased public awareness of the risks of alcohol and drugs during pregnancy can help reduce the incidence of retardation.
Infectious: The prevention of congenital rubella syndrome is probably one of the best examples of a successful program to prevent one form of mental retardation. Constant vigilance, such as limiting exposure to cat litter that can cause toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, helps reduce retardation that results from this infection.
References
More Information on This Topic
• News & Features
Review Date: 11/12/2007
Reviewed By: Rachel A. Lewis, M.D., F.A.A.P., Columbia University Pediatric Faculty Practice, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).
News & Features
• The Homes Are Familiar, the Buyers Much Less So
• Blood Tests Ease Search for Down Syndrome
• Family Meal
• The Bold Bank Heist and Its Littlest Victims
Reference from A.D.A.M.
Causes
Mental retardation affects about 1 - 3% of the population. There are many causes of mental retardation, but doctors find a specific reason in only 25% of cases.
A family may suspect mental retardation if the child's motor skills, language skills, and self-help skills do not seem to be developing, or are developing at a far slower rate than the child's peers. Failure to adapt (adjust to new situations) normally and grow intellectually may become apparent early in a child's life. In the case of mild retardation, these failures may not become recognizable until school age or later.
An assessment of age-appropriate adaptive behaviors can be made using developmental screening tests. The failure to achieve developmental milestones suggests mental retardation.
The degree of impairment from mental retardation varies widely, from profoundly impaired to mild or borderline retardation. Less emphasis is now placed on the degree of retardation and more on the amount of intervention and care needed for daily life.
Risk factors are related to the causes. Causes of mental retardation can be roughly broken down into several categories:
• Infections (present at birth or occurring after birth)
o Congenital CMV
o Congenital rubella
o Congenital toxoplasmosis
o Encephalitis
o HIV infection
o Listeriosis
o Meningitis
• Chromosomal abnormalities
o Chromosome deletions (cri du chat syndrome)
o Chromosomal translocations (a gene is located in an unusual spot on a chromosome, or located on a different chromosome than usual)
o Defects in the chromosome or chromosomal inheritance (for example, fragile X syndrome, Angelman syndrome, Prader-Willi syndrome)
o Errors of chromosome numbers (such as Down syndrome)
• Environmental
o Deprivation syndrome
• Genetic abnormalities and inherited metabolic disorders
o Adrenoleukodystrophy
o Galactosemia
o Hunter syndrome
o Hurler syndrome
o Lesch-Nyhan syndrome
o Phenylketonuria
o Rett syndrome
o Sanfilippo syndrome
o Tay-Sachs disease
o Tuberous sclerosis
• Metabolic
o Congenital hypothyroid
o Hypoglycemia (poorly regulated diabetes mellitus)
o Reye syndrome
o Hyperbilirubinemia (very high bilirubin levels in babies)
• Nutritional
o Malnutrition
• Toxic
o Intrauterine exposure to alcohol, cocaine, amphetamines, and other drugs
o Lead poisoning
o Methylmercury poisoning
• Trauma (before and after birth)
o Intracranial hemorrhage before or after birth
o Lack of oxygen to the brain before, during, or after birth
o Severe head injury
• Unexplained (this largest category is for unexplained occurrences of mental retardation)
Symptoms
• Continued infantile behavior
• Decreased learning ability
• Failure to meet intellectual developmental markers
• Inability to meet educational demands at school
• Lack of curiosity
Note: Changes to normal behaviors depend on the severity of the condition. Mild retardation may be associated with a lack of curiosity and quiet behavior. Severe mental retardation is associated with infantile behavior throughout life.
Exams and Tests
• Abnormal Denver developmental screening test
• Adaptive behavior score below average
• Development way below that of peers
• Intelligence quotient (IQ) score below 70 on a standardized IQ test
Treatment
The primary goal of treatment is to develop the person's potential to the fullest. Special education and training may begin as early as infancy. This includes social skills to help the person function as normally as possible.
It is important for a specialist to evaluate the person for other affective disorders and treat those disorders. Behavioral approaches are important for people with mental retardation.
Outlook (Prognosis)
The outcome depends on:
• Opportunities
• Other conditions
• Personal motivation
• Treatment
Many people lead productive lives and function on their own; others need a structured environment to be most successful.
Possible Complications
Complications vary. They may include:
• Inability to care for self
• Inability to interact with others appropriately
• Social isolation
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if:
• You have any concerns about your child's development
• You notice that your child's motor or language skills are not developing normally
• Your child has other disorders that need treatment
Prevention
Genetic: Prenatal screening for genetic defects and genetic counseling for families at risk for known heritable disorders can decrease the incidence of genetically caused mental retardation.
Social: Government programs to ensure adequate nutrition are available to the underprivileged in the first and most critical years of life. These programs can reduce retardation associated with malnutrition. Early intervention in situations involving abuse and deprivation will also help.
Toxic: Environmental programs to reduce exposure to lead, mercury, and other toxins will reduce toxin-associated retardation. However, the benefits may take years to become apparent. Increased public awareness of the risks of alcohol and drugs during pregnancy can help reduce the incidence of retardation.
Infectious: The prevention of congenital rubella syndrome is probably one of the best examples of a successful program to prevent one form of mental retardation. Constant vigilance, such as limiting exposure to cat litter that can cause toxoplasmosis during pregnancy, helps reduce retardation that results from this infection.
References
More Information on This Topic
• News & Features
Review Date: 11/12/2007
Reviewed By: Rachel A. Lewis, M.D., F.A.A.P., Columbia University Pediatric Faculty Practice, New York, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is an independent audit to verify that A.D.A.M. follows rigorous standards of quality and accountability. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial policy, editorial process and privacy policy. A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Fat and Cholesterol
Fats provide the body’s most concentrated source of energy. They also supply
essential fatty acids required for good health and enable you to absorb certain vitamins (A, D,
E, and K). However, most of us tend to consume too much fat since it can be found in many
foods.
“Visible” fats account for half of all the fats we eat, such as butter, cream, oil and salad
dressings. The rest we cannot see—the fat in a well-marbled meat, eggs, liver, coconut, milk,
luncheon meat and cheese. These “invisible” fats are also found in our favorite goodies, such
as ice cream, cookies, pastries and crackers.
There are three basic types of fats: Monounsaturated fats, saturated fats, and
polyunsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats have little effect on blood cholesterol levels. They neither
increase or decrease it. Olive and peanut oils are high in monounsaturated fats.
Saturated fats are usually fats of animal origin and are solid at room temperature.
These fats may tend to increase blood cholesterol levels. Fats in meat and dairy fats are highly
saturated. A few vegetable sources such as coconut and coconut oil, palm oil and cocoa butter
(found in chocolate) contain high amounts of saturated fats.
Polyunsaturated fats are usually fats of plant origin and are liquid at room
temperature. These fats help decrease the cholesterol level in your blood. Vegetable oils vary
in the degree of unsaturation, with safflower oil being the highest in polyunsaturates. Other
polyunsaturated vegetable oils are sunflower, corn, cottonseed, soy and sesame seed.
Remember, not all vegetable oils are high in polyunsaturated fats: for example, olive, peanut,
coconut and palm oils are not. Hydrogenated fats are liquid oils which have been chemically
changed into more saturated solid fats, such as shortening or some margarines.
All fats and oils are equally high in calories. For healthy Americans it is recommended
that the total not exceed 30-35 percent of calories with saturated, monounsaturated and
polysaturated. That means the average individual should limit the total amount and increase
polyunsaturates.
Type of Oil or Fat Percent Poly- Percent Mono- Percent
unsaturated unsaturated Saturated
Safflower Oil 74 17 9
Sunflower Oil 64 26 10
Corn Oil 58 29 13
Average Vegetable Oil
(Soybean & Cottonseed) 40 47 13
Peanut Oil 30 51 19
Chicken Fat (Schmaltz) 26 45 29
Olive Oil 9 77 14
Average Vegetable
Shortening 20 48 32
Lard 12 48 40
Beef Fat 4 48 48
Butter 4 35 61
Palm Oil 2 17 82
Coconut Oil 2 12 86
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance manufactured naturally by the body. It is also
present in foods we eat. The main dietary sources of cholesterol are foods of animal origin
such as cream, butter, most cheese and egg yolk. A limited amount of cholesterol is important
for the regulation of certain body functions, but high levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream
may form fatty deposits in the arteries. These deposits may slow or block the flow of blood
through the body, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.
Studies indicate that cholesterol in the bloodstream can be lowered by controlling the
amounts and types of fat we eat. It is suggested that we consume 300 mg or less per day.
Scientists cannot say for sure that lowering your blood cholesterol by eating less
saturated fats and cholesterol will prevent or delay heart disease, but many believe that is does
help. Eating less total fat is a safe way to reduce calories and cholesterol consumption. And
losing weight can reduce the effects of other heart disease risk factors and improve your
overall health.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The consumption of a specific type of polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, has
recently been thought to be beneficial in preventing coronary heart disease. Fairly high levels
are found in fish. Frequent consumption of fish (two times/week) is recommended although
supplements of omega-3 fatty acids are not recommended based on current research findings.
If you want to reduce saturated fat, cholesterol and calories in your family meals, here
are some suggestions:
1. Choose lean meat, fish, poultry, dry beans and peas as your protein sources.
2. Moderate your use of eggs and organ meats (such as liver).
3. Limit your intake of butter, cream, hydrogenated margarines, shortenings, and
coconut oil, and foods made from such products.
4. Trim excess fat off meats.
5. Broil, bake or boil rather than fry in preparing foods.
6. Read labels carefully to determine both amount and types of fat contained in foods.
REFERENCE
Utah State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Robert L. Gilliland, Vice President and Director, Cooperative Extension
Service, Utah State University. (EP/05-95/DF)
http://wwww.goldenbic-conceptsltd.com
essential fatty acids required for good health and enable you to absorb certain vitamins (A, D,
E, and K). However, most of us tend to consume too much fat since it can be found in many
foods.
“Visible” fats account for half of all the fats we eat, such as butter, cream, oil and salad
dressings. The rest we cannot see—the fat in a well-marbled meat, eggs, liver, coconut, milk,
luncheon meat and cheese. These “invisible” fats are also found in our favorite goodies, such
as ice cream, cookies, pastries and crackers.
There are three basic types of fats: Monounsaturated fats, saturated fats, and
polyunsaturated fats.
Monounsaturated fats have little effect on blood cholesterol levels. They neither
increase or decrease it. Olive and peanut oils are high in monounsaturated fats.
Saturated fats are usually fats of animal origin and are solid at room temperature.
These fats may tend to increase blood cholesterol levels. Fats in meat and dairy fats are highly
saturated. A few vegetable sources such as coconut and coconut oil, palm oil and cocoa butter
(found in chocolate) contain high amounts of saturated fats.
Polyunsaturated fats are usually fats of plant origin and are liquid at room
temperature. These fats help decrease the cholesterol level in your blood. Vegetable oils vary
in the degree of unsaturation, with safflower oil being the highest in polyunsaturates. Other
polyunsaturated vegetable oils are sunflower, corn, cottonseed, soy and sesame seed.
Remember, not all vegetable oils are high in polyunsaturated fats: for example, olive, peanut,
coconut and palm oils are not. Hydrogenated fats are liquid oils which have been chemically
changed into more saturated solid fats, such as shortening or some margarines.
All fats and oils are equally high in calories. For healthy Americans it is recommended
that the total not exceed 30-35 percent of calories with saturated, monounsaturated and
polysaturated. That means the average individual should limit the total amount and increase
polyunsaturates.
Type of Oil or Fat Percent Poly- Percent Mono- Percent
unsaturated unsaturated Saturated
Safflower Oil 74 17 9
Sunflower Oil 64 26 10
Corn Oil 58 29 13
Average Vegetable Oil
(Soybean & Cottonseed) 40 47 13
Peanut Oil 30 51 19
Chicken Fat (Schmaltz) 26 45 29
Olive Oil 9 77 14
Average Vegetable
Shortening 20 48 32
Lard 12 48 40
Beef Fat 4 48 48
Butter 4 35 61
Palm Oil 2 17 82
Coconut Oil 2 12 86
Cholesterol
Cholesterol is a fat-like substance manufactured naturally by the body. It is also
present in foods we eat. The main dietary sources of cholesterol are foods of animal origin
such as cream, butter, most cheese and egg yolk. A limited amount of cholesterol is important
for the regulation of certain body functions, but high levels of cholesterol in the bloodstream
may form fatty deposits in the arteries. These deposits may slow or block the flow of blood
through the body, resulting in a heart attack or stroke.
Studies indicate that cholesterol in the bloodstream can be lowered by controlling the
amounts and types of fat we eat. It is suggested that we consume 300 mg or less per day.
Scientists cannot say for sure that lowering your blood cholesterol by eating less
saturated fats and cholesterol will prevent or delay heart disease, but many believe that is does
help. Eating less total fat is a safe way to reduce calories and cholesterol consumption. And
losing weight can reduce the effects of other heart disease risk factors and improve your
overall health.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The consumption of a specific type of polyunsaturated fat, omega-3 fatty acids, has
recently been thought to be beneficial in preventing coronary heart disease. Fairly high levels
are found in fish. Frequent consumption of fish (two times/week) is recommended although
supplements of omega-3 fatty acids are not recommended based on current research findings.
If you want to reduce saturated fat, cholesterol and calories in your family meals, here
are some suggestions:
1. Choose lean meat, fish, poultry, dry beans and peas as your protein sources.
2. Moderate your use of eggs and organ meats (such as liver).
3. Limit your intake of butter, cream, hydrogenated margarines, shortenings, and
coconut oil, and foods made from such products.
4. Trim excess fat off meats.
5. Broil, bake or boil rather than fry in preparing foods.
6. Read labels carefully to determine both amount and types of fat contained in foods.
REFERENCE
Utah State University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Institution
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Robert L. Gilliland, Vice President and Director, Cooperative Extension
Service, Utah State University. (EP/05-95/DF)
http://wwww.goldenbic-conceptsltd.com
Sunday, October 11, 2009
HIV Cure
HIV infection is a disease caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The condition gradually destroys the immune system, which makes it harder for the body to fight off infections.
This article provides a general overview. For more detailed information, see:
• AIDS
• Acute HIV infection
• Asymptomatic HIV infection
• Early symptomatic HIV infection
The first thing we want to know about a disease is whether it is going to kill us. For AIDS, we really cannot answer the question well at all.
Causes
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be spread by the following:
• Contaminated blood transfusions and blood product
• Intimate sexual contact
• The use of contaminated needles and syringes
The virus may also spread from the mother to her baby, either at birth or through breastfeeding.
People who become infected with HIV may have no symptoms for up to 10 years, but they can still pass the infection to others. After being exposed to the virus, it usually takes about 3 months for blood test results to change from HIV negative to HIV positive.
HIV has spread throughout the US. Higher concentrations of the disease are found in inner cities.
Symptoms
HIV can cause any symptoms of illness, since infections can occur throughout the body. Some symptoms related to HIV infection include:
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Frequent vaginal yeast infections
• Headache
• Mouth sores, including candidal infection
• Muscular stiffness or aching
• Rash of various types, including seborrheic dermatitis
• Sore throat
• Swollen lymph glands
Note: At the time of diagnosis with HIV infection, many people may not have experienced any symptoms.
Exams and Tests
The HIV ELISA/Western blot test detects antibodies to the HIV virus. Having these antibodies means you are infected with HIV. If the test is negative (no antibodies found) and you have risk factors for HIV infection, you should be retested in 3 months.
If the HIV ELISA/Western blot test is positive, other blood tests can be done to determine how much HIV is in your bloodstream. White blood cell differential may also show abnormalities.
A lower-than-normal CD4 cell count may be a sign that the virus is suppressing your immune system.
Treatment
Doctors often recommend drug therapy for patients who are committed to taking all their medications and have a CD4 count below 350 cells/mL (indicating their immune system is suppressed). Some people, including pregnant women and people with kidney or neurological problems related to HIV, may need treatment regardless of their CD4 count.
It is extremely important for people with HIV to take all doses of their medications; otherwise the virus will quickly become resistant to the drugs. Therapy always involves a combination of antiviral drugs.
People with HIV infection need to become educated about the disease and treatment so that they can be active partners in making decisions with their health care provider.
Outlook (Prognosis)
HIV is a chronic medical condition that can be treated, but not yet cured. There are effective ways to prevent complications and delay, but not prevent progression to AIDS.
Almost all people infected with HIV will develop AIDS if not treated. However, there is a tiny group of people who develop AIDS very slowly, or never at all. These patients are called long-term non-progressors.
Possible Complications
• Cancers
• Chronic wasting (weight loss) from HIV infection
• HIV dementia
• HIV lipodystrophy
• Opportunistic infections
o Bacillary angiomatosis
o Candidiasis
o Cytomegalovirus infection
o Cryptococcal infection
o Cryptosporidium enterocolitis (or other protozoal infections)
o Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection
o Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (also called Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia)
o Salmonella infection in the bloodstream
o Toxoplasmosis
o Tuberculosis (in the lungs or spread throughout the body)
o Viral infection of the brain (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy)
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if you have had a possible or actual exposure to AIDS or HIV infection.
Prevention
• Avoid injected (intravenous) drugs. If you use IV drugs, avoid sharing needles or syringes. Always use new needles. (Boiling or cleaning them with alcohol does not guarantee that they're sterile.)
• Avoid oral, vaginal, or anal contact with semen from HIV-infected people.
• Avoid unprotected anal intercourse, since it causes small tears in the rectal tissues, through which HIV in an infected partner's semen may enter directly into the other partner's blood.
• If you have sex with people who use IV drugs, always use protection.
• If you have sex with many people or with people who have multiple partners, always use protection.
• People with AIDS or who have had positive HIV antibody tests can pass the disease on to others. They should not donate blood, plasma, body organs, or sperm. They should not exchange genital fluids during sexual activity.
• Safer sex behaviors may reduce the risk of getting the infection. There is still a slight risk of getting the infection even if you practice "safe sex" with the use of condoms. Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent sexual transmission of the virus.
• Use protection when having sexual contact with people you know or suspect of being infected with HIV. Even better, use protection for ALL sexual contact.
http://www.goldenbic.info
References
The New York Times
Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: sect XXIV.
This article provides a general overview. For more detailed information, see:
• AIDS
• Acute HIV infection
• Asymptomatic HIV infection
• Early symptomatic HIV infection
The first thing we want to know about a disease is whether it is going to kill us. For AIDS, we really cannot answer the question well at all.
Causes
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) can be spread by the following:
• Contaminated blood transfusions and blood product
• Intimate sexual contact
• The use of contaminated needles and syringes
The virus may also spread from the mother to her baby, either at birth or through breastfeeding.
People who become infected with HIV may have no symptoms for up to 10 years, but they can still pass the infection to others. After being exposed to the virus, it usually takes about 3 months for blood test results to change from HIV negative to HIV positive.
HIV has spread throughout the US. Higher concentrations of the disease are found in inner cities.
Symptoms
HIV can cause any symptoms of illness, since infections can occur throughout the body. Some symptoms related to HIV infection include:
• Diarrhea
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Frequent vaginal yeast infections
• Headache
• Mouth sores, including candidal infection
• Muscular stiffness or aching
• Rash of various types, including seborrheic dermatitis
• Sore throat
• Swollen lymph glands
Note: At the time of diagnosis with HIV infection, many people may not have experienced any symptoms.
Exams and Tests
The HIV ELISA/Western blot test detects antibodies to the HIV virus. Having these antibodies means you are infected with HIV. If the test is negative (no antibodies found) and you have risk factors for HIV infection, you should be retested in 3 months.
If the HIV ELISA/Western blot test is positive, other blood tests can be done to determine how much HIV is in your bloodstream. White blood cell differential may also show abnormalities.
A lower-than-normal CD4 cell count may be a sign that the virus is suppressing your immune system.
Treatment
Doctors often recommend drug therapy for patients who are committed to taking all their medications and have a CD4 count below 350 cells/mL (indicating their immune system is suppressed). Some people, including pregnant women and people with kidney or neurological problems related to HIV, may need treatment regardless of their CD4 count.
It is extremely important for people with HIV to take all doses of their medications; otherwise the virus will quickly become resistant to the drugs. Therapy always involves a combination of antiviral drugs.
People with HIV infection need to become educated about the disease and treatment so that they can be active partners in making decisions with their health care provider.
Outlook (Prognosis)
HIV is a chronic medical condition that can be treated, but not yet cured. There are effective ways to prevent complications and delay, but not prevent progression to AIDS.
Almost all people infected with HIV will develop AIDS if not treated. However, there is a tiny group of people who develop AIDS very slowly, or never at all. These patients are called long-term non-progressors.
Possible Complications
• Cancers
• Chronic wasting (weight loss) from HIV infection
• HIV dementia
• HIV lipodystrophy
• Opportunistic infections
o Bacillary angiomatosis
o Candidiasis
o Cytomegalovirus infection
o Cryptococcal infection
o Cryptosporidium enterocolitis (or other protozoal infections)
o Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) infection
o Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (also called Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia)
o Salmonella infection in the bloodstream
o Toxoplasmosis
o Tuberculosis (in the lungs or spread throughout the body)
o Viral infection of the brain (progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy)
When to Contact a Medical Professional
Call your health care provider if you have had a possible or actual exposure to AIDS or HIV infection.
Prevention
• Avoid injected (intravenous) drugs. If you use IV drugs, avoid sharing needles or syringes. Always use new needles. (Boiling or cleaning them with alcohol does not guarantee that they're sterile.)
• Avoid oral, vaginal, or anal contact with semen from HIV-infected people.
• Avoid unprotected anal intercourse, since it causes small tears in the rectal tissues, through which HIV in an infected partner's semen may enter directly into the other partner's blood.
• If you have sex with people who use IV drugs, always use protection.
• If you have sex with many people or with people who have multiple partners, always use protection.
• People with AIDS or who have had positive HIV antibody tests can pass the disease on to others. They should not donate blood, plasma, body organs, or sperm. They should not exchange genital fluids during sexual activity.
• Safer sex behaviors may reduce the risk of getting the infection. There is still a slight risk of getting the infection even if you practice "safe sex" with the use of condoms. Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent sexual transmission of the virus.
• Use protection when having sexual contact with people you know or suspect of being infected with HIV. Even better, use protection for ALL sexual contact.
http://www.goldenbic.info
References
The New York Times
Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, PA: Saunders Elsevier; 2007: sect XXIV.
Secretes on how to promote your website
Secretes on how to promote your website
To run a successful business you have to learn how to advertise your website.
And because time proved that there are some very effective methods to advertise
a website with little or no cost, they are the ones that I'll talk to you about.
The down side is that they usually take time. But if you really don't have money to spend for
getting visitors and you're not in a big hurry to get them, the methods presented here are
exactly what you need!
1. An affiliate (or referral) program
Note: This method is suited for websites that sell (a product or more). If you are an affiliate
yourself, in most cases your sub affiliates
are tracked anyway.
Now lets get to the subject. There are different methods to reward your affiliates. You can
choose to "pay per click", usually well under 0.10$ for every single visitor that an affiliate
directs to your website, or to "pay per lead", which means that if the visitor subscribes to
your newsletter or registers in a certain way at your website, you'll pay the referrer a fixed
amount of money, or to "pay per sale", which means that you will pay the referrer either a
percent of the amount of the sale or a fixed amount of money (usually US dollars).
The "pay per click" method is risky and I don't recommend using it, at least until you know
exactly how much a visitor is worth for you. To come up with the real value of a visitor,
divide the profit that you have to the total number of visitors.
The "pay per lead" is a better choice because you can estimate for example, how much
revenue you could have by selling advertising space in your newsletter. Usually you can
easily get 5$ to include one ad into your newsletter for every 1000 subscribers that you have.
However, you can never be sure of your total revenue, because you don't know how many
advertisers will ask for your services. So this is still a risky method.
The "pay per sale" program is the safest program. Because you will pay for actual sales only,
the affiliates will know for sure that you have the money to pay them.
There is however a tough question: how much of your revenue should you share with your
affiliates?
If your product costs 50$ to make and you sell it for 100$ then you could offer anywhere
from 0 to 50% of your sale revenue. 0%? no
one will affiliate with you, of course. 50% what's
in it for you? 15%25%
is usually a good offer.
If you sell informational products you can sweeten the pot even more. Since the marginal
cost of the product is near zero, you can offer a lot more money to your affiliates. I don't
recommend however more than 4050%
of the sale. After all, it's your product, it seems only
fair to get most of the profits.
If you want your affiliates to convince other webmasters to join and advertise your product
then you have to use a technique a little bit more advanced. Lets say you decide to offer 20%
of the revenue to the affiliate that refers a customer. Then try to divide it like this: offer 15%
for direct sells (this is not a bad offer on it's own!) and then sweeten the pot with 5% for the
sales that the direct referrals of the affiliate make.
You could also offer to individually negotiate the share or to negotiate the structure of the
program (with your top associates).
Used the right way, an referral or affiliate program can be the only method used to promote
your site. Your affiliates will bring in more and more customers and affiliates, so your
business will keep on growing.
To start an affiliate program of your own, you'll need a CGI program that will allow you to
know who referred a particular customer.
There are software programs that you can buy (or even get for free), or you can use a third
party that already owns such a program to do the job for you. Most of these companies will
even handle the payment of the affiliates. This will increase your affiliate's trust, because
most of these third party companies already have a good name. Some of them have
thousands of affiliates registered in their database and most of these webmasters are always
looking for new opportunities.
Although there are many companies out there, I think these are the best third party affiliate
programs to choose from:
CommisionJunction.com The
best in my opinion. Expensive but very powerful in the same
time. The setup fee exceeds 1000$ and there is a yearly fee too (about 600$). If you have this
kind of money, and if you offer good products with a great referral bonus, you might never
need to change the company that handles your affiliate program ever again!
Directleads.com a
good and rather old company. Visit their site and if they sound good to
you, use them to manage your affiliate program.
Clickxchange.com it
is very popular in the area of small to medium businesses.
The other method is to buy a piece of software to do this job for you. There are advantages
and disadvantages about this particular method. One advantage is that you'll be on your own.
You will be the master of your business. Another one is that you'll pay only once for the
software, and that will be it. No recurring bills.
But there are many disadvantages. The first is that the a webmaster has no reason to trust
you. And to convince anyone to join your affiliate program you have to really gain his trust,
because there is no way to prove that you'll actually pay him. And establishing trust is
particularly difficult to achieve if you're just starting your business.
However, if you'd use one of the other options that you have to setup an affiliate program
(one that we already spoke about third
party company that handle the affiliate program for
you and
another one that we'll take care of later on), the people will have reasons to trust
your program a lot more, because of the size and the respectability of the companies that
actually handle the program.
Also, if you are on your own, you'll have to pay your partners (affiliates) by yourself. And to
take care of numerous bills every month is not an easy task. Writing the checks can take you
precious time. Thus, my recommendation is to use a respectable third party company to run
your affiliate program.
List Your Site with Overture and appear on the top of search results of leading sites like Yahoo!, Lycos and MSN
The easiest and most trustworthy method to setup an affiliate program for your
business (from an affiliate's point of view) is to use a third party payment
processing company that offers to run your affiliate program completely. You can
find a list of such companies at my "third party credit card processors" page.
An unknown affiliate program will not do you much good. You have to spread the word
about it. And you can do that in two ways. One is the 5th method to advertise your
website. The other one I'll explain now, in two simple words: Affiliate directories! If you
never heard of them by now, then be glad you found out about them now!
Please, let me explain you a little bit about them. They are kind of like a search engine
(an index actually) specialized in affiliate programs. Some are Yahoo like: they accept
your application only after they review your site and your affiliate program.
There are two methods to submit your affiliate program to these directories. The first is
to do it by hand. It may take longer, but the job will be done the way you want it to be
done. Where to submit your site? Here are the best affiliate directories that I've found.
Please note that they are not listed in the any special order, and the numbers are used
so that you can see how many they are, not how good they are.
. associateprograms.com
. associate-it.com
. affiliatesdirectory.com
. cashpile.com
. refer-it.com
. affiliatepromote.com
. becomeanaffiliate.com
. clickslink.com
. wesubmit.com
. 2-tier.com
. affiliateworld.com
. adbility.com
. affiliateguide.com
. makemoneynow.com
. associatecash.com
. affiliatefind.com
. affiliatefirst.com
. associatesearch.com
. freecoolcash.com
. free-affiliateprograms.
com
. revenuemakers.com
. startearning.com
. sponsordirectory.com
. webmaster-programs.com
. affiliateadvisor.com
. clickquick.com
The other method that I was talking about, is to use an auto submission tool. The most
popular is Affiliate-announce. Affiliate-announce will get your program listed in such
directories. They handle all the work on getting your affiliate program listed in those
directories, saving you time to concentrate on other matters. At least that's what they
say... :o)
By using their service you will also get your site listed in some special directories that
accept only affiliate-announce's submissions.
But, if what they charge is too much for you, you can always use the list from the table
above. In a few days you can submit your site to all of them. Do as you wish! However, I
would submit manually. It's the only way to be certain that the best job was done.
Always read the terms of use (or service) carefully so that your work will not be in vain.
A good thing about having your referral partner program listed in many these affiliate
directories is that you'll have links pointing to your website and this will increase your
website's popularity from a search engine's point of view. So you'll get more traffic from
the search engines too...
That's it about this method to advertise your website!
List Your Site with Overture and appear on the top
of search results of leading sites like Yahoo!, Lycos
and MSN
2. Search engines
There's a lot to say about this subject, and although I know a few things about it, I'm still far
from being an expert in this area, I will recommend you the site called selfpromotion.com.
You will find there almost all there is to know about search engines and search engine
positioning and all that for free! If used the right way, the information in that site is surely
comprehensive enough to guarantee remarkable results. That is if you want to do the job of
ranking well in the search engines all by yourself. The use of the site is free and so is the
automatic submission tool.
Another site where you can find great information about search engines is
apromotionguide.com. This site is an excellent guide to advertise your website. Take a look
and you'll surely be impressed.
Back to search engines... In my opinion, and in Robert Woodshead's (the man behind
selfpromotion.com) too, one can never keep up with the never ending changes in the searchengines world. Just create your page with the search engines in mind (focus your page on a
keyphrase) and then forget about it. Use your time to create other pages if you want more
traffic. This way you will also give your visitors reasons to come back!
But, if you really want to win the search engines war and you are ready to sacrifice
something for it, then sacrifice money. Hire a company that will get high rankings in search
engines for your website (the top 10 is usually the target, but it isn't always possible). Such a
company will tweak your pages and make sure you get what you paid for. Note however that
this method is expensive and it usually asks for money every month.
Then again, if you think you can win the search engines war all by yourself, the least you can
do is to stay informed. A Search Engine Watch Membership will get you access to invaluable
inside information about search engines. If you don't have the money to pay that
membership fee, you should still visit the site as it offers for free, lots of information. You can
also subscribe to their free newsletters.OK OK,
I know I didn't help you much with the search engines. What I can tell you though is
where you should (in my opinion) get your site listed into. I will tell you this by the number
of visitors my site gets from the search engines and directories.
Direct requests most
of my visitors are comeback visitors. I love you guys! If there's
anything you're interested in, please send me an email
at info@goldenbic-conceptsltd.com.
I will get back to you if I know the answer. If not (yes, I don't know everything :)
I will tell
you that I don't know the answer, but I will keep your question in my mind and try to find
that answer in time.
Google
MSN
Yahoo
DMOZ
AOL
Whatever you do, try to get into these search engines and directories. They (and your repeat
visitors) will most probably amount to about 90% of the traffic you'll get.
3. Pay per click search engines
I definitely recommend this promotion method as one of the best there is if you have a
business to advertise.
The PPCSEs that I can recommend as being the best are:
Yahoo! Sponsored Search. If you list your site with them, it will appear on the top of search
results of leading sites like Yahoo!, Altavista and CNN. It's not a cheap service, but for some
it's the best there is.
Google Adwords not exactly a pay per click search engine, but very similar. Your ad appears
on the result pages of the Goggle search engine. You can with only $5.
MIVA although considerably smaller than the first two it still brings considerable traffic.
Enhance Interactive A pay per click service that boasts 2 Billion monthly Searches.
You can read about this subject in a more complete manner by reading articles from the
following sites:
Selfpromotion.com The owner of the site loves this advertising method. Read what he has
to say about it and you'll love it too.
Payperclicksearchengines.com A site that aims to list and review all the pay per click
search engines that exist on the web.
PayPerClickAnalyst.com It's a great website. I think it's even better than Payperclicksearchengines.com.
Pay Per Click.info It's a nice, very informative site where you can learn how to take
advantage of powerful 'back doors' into the major search engines by listing your web site
with certain payperclick search engines.
4. Exchange links (or banners)
Note: There's a lot of work and time involved in this method to advertise your website. There
are however many advantages.
The first advantage is that it's cheap. It costs you only a few words and a link on your site or,
at most, a banner. The second advantage is that it will bring you visitors from the sites that
link to you. The third one is that the more links on the web point to your site, the higher your
site will rank in search engines.
The hard part is that you have to find the sites, contact the owner of the site that you want to
exchange links with and convince him to do this with you.
You need to search for a content related, valuable site. Link to the site and recommend the
site to your visitors. Find the name of the webmaster (or of the owner) of the other website.
After you've done that, and only then, approach the webmaster by sending an email.
Use his name in the email.
Ask kindly for an exchange of links. Be polite. Tell him the
reasons that made you choose his site. Point out his benefits. Give him something for free:
recommend a very useful site, or give him a free software or ebook.
There are lots of sites out there that offer free help in finding webmasters that want to
exchange links. On of them is LinkLeads.com. This site lets webmasters register and post a
short description of their site. The sites are divided in categories which makes it easier to
find content related sites. All the webmasters who use this service want to exchange links, so
you could be a little more selective about their sites. Try to exchange links only with the sites
that make you proud to be related with. Good content and good design are the things that
make a site great. So start learning to choose the right ones.
My advice is to ask for link exchanges only from the sites that already have lots of visitors.
Otherwise the time spent is usually not worth it unless it's a great site that could bring real value to your visitors.
Important advice: Though it might be surprising considering what I said earlier, please don't
use a service specialized in links or banners exchanges like the one that I talked to you about
(LinkLeads.com). (As you can see, I don't even link to their site). Use the most important
search engines instead (like google.com) to find content related sites. If a site is listed high in
the top search engines, it gets lots of hits for sure! So it is more likely to send you some
visitors too. From my own experience I can tell you though, that even with the best search
engines and the right keywords it's hard to find sites suited to your need. The ultimate
method to find great sites is to use directories like dmoz.org and yahoo.com. The sites listed
there are already considered as being very good. Find out some categories related to you
site's theme and visit the sites in those categories. This is the safest and fastest method to
use for finding valuable sites!
If you just started your site and you ask for a link exchange, to compensate for the lack of
visitors, your site should be filled with valuable content or, if you run a business, you should
have an affiliate program. Tell the webmaster that he can join your affiliate program and get paid too.
A small tip: create a page to list all (or only the best) websites that are affiliated with your
business. Write a short description for each website. Don't be afraid that you'll lose visitors.
You'll gain affiliates! Wouldn't you like to affiliate with a business that agrees to send you
visitors back? You'll also help your affiliates to rank higher in the search engines, and thus
bring you more traffic.
Advertise your Web site with
http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com.
Sign up and get a $25 credit into your new account. Learn more.
5. Contact webmasters and ezines owners and ask them to join your affiliate program.
Especially if you have an affiliate program that is run by a third party, this method can do
wanders because, as you might already know, people love to make money. :o)
The starting point should be, as always, the search for content related sites or newsletters, to
target your visitors properly. Before asking for a link, find out the name of the owner of the
site. Also visit the site (or join the newsletter). Praise his work in the email,
but don't over do it. You must make the webmaster feel good about his site and about himself, but there must be no desperation in your words. Also tell him about your product. You may eventually give him one for free in exchange for his service. This way he will know what to say about you product. Do this only after he joins or agrees to join though, or many will join just to get the product for free. Or do it only when contacting website owners with great potential.
Offer to negotiate the terms of the affiliation (if your third party program allows customized
referral partner programs). A custom designed affiliate program will make the webmaster
feel special and will boost your chances to close the deal. Some people will ask for a bigger
share, some for more or fewer sublevels. If you feel that the person is worth any of those (he
has a nice site filled with great content and/or a high number of monthly visitors), you may
choose to do as he wants. Make him happy and he'll say yes. :o)
Point out the benefits to join your referral partner program. Make him aware of the fact that
he can only win from this deal. His investment is zero and the earning potential is impressive.
All he has to do is to recommend your product to his website's visitors or newsletter
subscribers. If you are talking with the owner of a newsletter or ezine,
make him realize that he can get the most out of this affiliation if he sends a special email to his subscribers, to tell them that he's found a great product.
Ask him to put a personal touch to the ad that is if he really feels that he can do this without putting a stain on his reputation. If he doesn't want to personally recommend your product, he may simply send the ad in an impersonal form. He risks nothing (and neither do you), but he gets the opportunity to earn an easy extra buck (and so do you).
Many newsletter owners sell advertising space in their publications. This is not what you're
after in this case, although you can do pay for ads if you can afford it. What you want now is
to convince people to run the ad for free (in exchange for a part of the profits).
Teach him how to make those special kind of pages that I'm telling you about in the rules of
design chapter. Tell him about this idea in the form of a simple advice you
don't want to offend him by telling him how to run his site.
Again, the search engines and the directories are the best means to find the sites to get links
from. Just fill in some keywords related to your product or business area and visit the sites
that appear in the top. Check them out if they have the content that you expected them to
have (related to your product), then they are your top choices. Find out if they run a
newsletter too. Get the names of the owners fast and start the emailing campaign.
To get an idea about the traffic of a website visit alexa.com and type the website's name to to
see it's rank. You'll get a pretty good idea about it's traffic.
Search engines Google.com, Altavista.com; directories dmoz.org, Yahoo.com; pay per click
search engines Yahoo! Sponsored Search, MIVA and Enhance Interactive .
A nice tool is the Webferret freeware program from ferretsoft.com. It combines the results
from many search engines to give better results.
Wandering how to find ezine owners? These sites run lists of ezines:
ezines.com ; topica.com; Ezinestoday.com; Ezineuniverse.com; bizpromo.com/ezinetrades.htm; tile.net.
6. Write ebooks (you can build one by compiling old articles that you wrote) or articles and
give them for free in various places. Ask webmasters to give them as bonuses or to use them
to add value to their sites (by giving them for free). One condition must be imposed: the ebook
should be in it's original form, and the articles must include your signature (your name
and/or a link to you website, newsletter and ezine).
A good idea is to put all your free to publish articles in a directory to make them easy to find.
Some will even link to that directory in their own sites. Don't forget to include your name
and your website's URL in the articles!
How to make this offer more appealing? "Bribe" webmasters by offering inside the ebook
A link (or more) to their own sites. The ebook will spread fast all over the net giving that webmaster free publicity.
A personal note: I think the free article strategy is more valuable because those links to your
website will work in two ways: send people to your site and help your site rank higher in the
search engines.
7. Participate in forum discussions and establish yourself as an expert in your field. Add your
own name and a link to your website in every message posted online. These forum
discussions are listed in the search engines too. Thus, as you post more and more links to
your site, your own website will rank higher in most search engines. A very powerful method
to advertise your website!
Perhaps you're wandering how to find such discussions. It's simple. Search for them with a
search engine, or visit egroups.com and topica.com to find some faster.
8. Post banner and text ads in websites, ezines, newsletters, ebooks.
You can do so in a Joint Venture or by paying for it.
General Rule: don't mention free stuff within your ads to avoid the army of freebie hunters
coming to your site for nothing but that freebie. Also keep in mind that an ad has an average
time of only a few seconds to capture the attention of the reader, so make them catchy.
The best way to capture the attention of the surfers is by using solo ads in newsletters (or ezines).
Especially ads that the owner of the ezine
or newsletter personally recommends. If the owner agrees to make the ad sound like a special offer for his subscribers, then many those subscribers that actually read his ezine, will seize the opportunity. Although it's pretty expensive (1001000$) this method works best.
You can easily find ezine owners at bizpromo.com/ezinetrades.htm.
Track the effectiveness of every ad. If you have access to the server logs, this is rather
simple; a link like this one: http://www.yourdomain.com?a7212, where the "a7212" is the
code of that specific ad, will give you the ability to know what response rate has each ezine,
website, etc. Stop using those that are under average.
9. Setup a form that makes it easy for your visitors to recommend your site (or product) to
their friends.
10. Offer some unique services that other webmasters will find useful. Make them easy to use.
Examples: a thought of the day; free web space; cgiscript
hosting many webmasters who use free web hosting services need someone to host their cgi scripts because their host usually doesn't; if your host gives you the right to use unlimited autoresponders you may give such a thing for free; create or ask someone to create a new and very useful software to give for free. Give any of this in exchange for a link to your website.
11. Many marketing experts claim that the most effective method to get free publicity is the
press release. I've never used this, but I know some places where you can learn how to use
them properly or from where you can actually send some:
Internet News Bureau they
can send your press release to over 10,000 journalists
frugalfun.com/press.html promotionworld.com/prweb.com you can send the press release for free http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com
12. Make yourself (your name and your website's name) known. Include your signature file
along with everything you write: testimonials, messages, guest books signups,
reviews and compliments (to website owners or anyone else).
Signature file: A piece of text (that you can save as a file on your computer) that contains
information about yourself and your business: name, a short description of your personal or
business website or your company, email addresses etc. Whenever you need to post that
information, you can get it from your file without having to type it over and over again. It's a
good idea to have more versions for your signature. Track their effectiveness! And keep
them short: a headline + your name + your website's name + contact options.
Advertise your Web site with http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com
Sign up and get a $25 credit into your new account. Learn more.
13. Viral marketing. Even if it's listed way down here, this is the best general idea when it
comes to marketing on the web.It means that whatever you do, you should always keep in mind that the best way to attract
more and more traffic to your site is to make people refer your site at no cost to you. They
might talk or write about some of your articles, about your free ebooks,
about your products. Some people might hear about you and after they take the time to know you, your work and your products, start to recommend your business. For free!
So the idea is to make your name travel the web. A free ebook
can do this very well. You give it to a friend, he gives it to his friend, the friend to his friends and so on, until everybody knows you and your website.
The same goes for your multilevel affiliate program. Because the webmaster has the
opportunity to receive money for what his downline earns, he will advertise your business
for his own benefit. His referrals will advertise your site, and so on. You get the idea!
Because of the miss use of multilevel affiliate programs nowadays webmasters avoid them.
Two tier programs are the way to go.
14. Create a newsletter. Give real value to your subscribers and remember them what you have to offer. You can even advertise the newsletter separately from your website by getting it listed in the ezine directories. Use Joint Ventures to buildup your list. That means to recommend other
newsletters in exchange for them recommending yours. A perfect WinWin situation.
Make sure that you find the right newsletters. Choose those that have the content related to
your newsletter's content, and find those that have about as much subscribers as yours does.
If your publication has significantly fewer subscribers, most newsletters owners will not
agree to trade their thank you page with you and you'll waste time. If yours has more, then
you'll give more than you receive. That's not a WinWin situation anymore!
There is a solution if your ezine has fewer subscribers. Let's say that you have 1000, and the other one 2000. You could run the ad three times as much as he does and thus restore the WinWin situation.
15. Start a members only area and provide access in exchange for links to your site.
http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com
http://www.goldenbic-conceptsltd.com
http://bic4makingcash.blogspot.com
To run a successful business you have to learn how to advertise your website.
And because time proved that there are some very effective methods to advertise
a website with little or no cost, they are the ones that I'll talk to you about.
The down side is that they usually take time. But if you really don't have money to spend for
getting visitors and you're not in a big hurry to get them, the methods presented here are
exactly what you need!
1. An affiliate (or referral) program
Note: This method is suited for websites that sell (a product or more). If you are an affiliate
yourself, in most cases your sub affiliates
are tracked anyway.
Now lets get to the subject. There are different methods to reward your affiliates. You can
choose to "pay per click", usually well under 0.10$ for every single visitor that an affiliate
directs to your website, or to "pay per lead", which means that if the visitor subscribes to
your newsletter or registers in a certain way at your website, you'll pay the referrer a fixed
amount of money, or to "pay per sale", which means that you will pay the referrer either a
percent of the amount of the sale or a fixed amount of money (usually US dollars).
The "pay per click" method is risky and I don't recommend using it, at least until you know
exactly how much a visitor is worth for you. To come up with the real value of a visitor,
divide the profit that you have to the total number of visitors.
The "pay per lead" is a better choice because you can estimate for example, how much
revenue you could have by selling advertising space in your newsletter. Usually you can
easily get 5$ to include one ad into your newsletter for every 1000 subscribers that you have.
However, you can never be sure of your total revenue, because you don't know how many
advertisers will ask for your services. So this is still a risky method.
The "pay per sale" program is the safest program. Because you will pay for actual sales only,
the affiliates will know for sure that you have the money to pay them.
There is however a tough question: how much of your revenue should you share with your
affiliates?
If your product costs 50$ to make and you sell it for 100$ then you could offer anywhere
from 0 to 50% of your sale revenue. 0%? no
one will affiliate with you, of course. 50% what's
in it for you? 15%25%
is usually a good offer.
If you sell informational products you can sweeten the pot even more. Since the marginal
cost of the product is near zero, you can offer a lot more money to your affiliates. I don't
recommend however more than 4050%
of the sale. After all, it's your product, it seems only
fair to get most of the profits.
If you want your affiliates to convince other webmasters to join and advertise your product
then you have to use a technique a little bit more advanced. Lets say you decide to offer 20%
of the revenue to the affiliate that refers a customer. Then try to divide it like this: offer 15%
for direct sells (this is not a bad offer on it's own!) and then sweeten the pot with 5% for the
sales that the direct referrals of the affiliate make.
You could also offer to individually negotiate the share or to negotiate the structure of the
program (with your top associates).
Used the right way, an referral or affiliate program can be the only method used to promote
your site. Your affiliates will bring in more and more customers and affiliates, so your
business will keep on growing.
To start an affiliate program of your own, you'll need a CGI program that will allow you to
know who referred a particular customer.
There are software programs that you can buy (or even get for free), or you can use a third
party that already owns such a program to do the job for you. Most of these companies will
even handle the payment of the affiliates. This will increase your affiliate's trust, because
most of these third party companies already have a good name. Some of them have
thousands of affiliates registered in their database and most of these webmasters are always
looking for new opportunities.
Although there are many companies out there, I think these are the best third party affiliate
programs to choose from:
CommisionJunction.com The
best in my opinion. Expensive but very powerful in the same
time. The setup fee exceeds 1000$ and there is a yearly fee too (about 600$). If you have this
kind of money, and if you offer good products with a great referral bonus, you might never
need to change the company that handles your affiliate program ever again!
Directleads.com a
good and rather old company. Visit their site and if they sound good to
you, use them to manage your affiliate program.
Clickxchange.com it
is very popular in the area of small to medium businesses.
The other method is to buy a piece of software to do this job for you. There are advantages
and disadvantages about this particular method. One advantage is that you'll be on your own.
You will be the master of your business. Another one is that you'll pay only once for the
software, and that will be it. No recurring bills.
But there are many disadvantages. The first is that the a webmaster has no reason to trust
you. And to convince anyone to join your affiliate program you have to really gain his trust,
because there is no way to prove that you'll actually pay him. And establishing trust is
particularly difficult to achieve if you're just starting your business.
However, if you'd use one of the other options that you have to setup an affiliate program
(one that we already spoke about third
party company that handle the affiliate program for
you and
another one that we'll take care of later on), the people will have reasons to trust
your program a lot more, because of the size and the respectability of the companies that
actually handle the program.
Also, if you are on your own, you'll have to pay your partners (affiliates) by yourself. And to
take care of numerous bills every month is not an easy task. Writing the checks can take you
precious time. Thus, my recommendation is to use a respectable third party company to run
your affiliate program.
List Your Site with Overture and appear on the top of search results of leading sites like Yahoo!, Lycos and MSN
The easiest and most trustworthy method to setup an affiliate program for your
business (from an affiliate's point of view) is to use a third party payment
processing company that offers to run your affiliate program completely. You can
find a list of such companies at my "third party credit card processors" page.
An unknown affiliate program will not do you much good. You have to spread the word
about it. And you can do that in two ways. One is the 5th method to advertise your
website. The other one I'll explain now, in two simple words: Affiliate directories! If you
never heard of them by now, then be glad you found out about them now!
Please, let me explain you a little bit about them. They are kind of like a search engine
(an index actually) specialized in affiliate programs. Some are Yahoo like: they accept
your application only after they review your site and your affiliate program.
There are two methods to submit your affiliate program to these directories. The first is
to do it by hand. It may take longer, but the job will be done the way you want it to be
done. Where to submit your site? Here are the best affiliate directories that I've found.
Please note that they are not listed in the any special order, and the numbers are used
so that you can see how many they are, not how good they are.
. associateprograms.com
. associate-it.com
. affiliatesdirectory.com
. cashpile.com
. refer-it.com
. affiliatepromote.com
. becomeanaffiliate.com
. clickslink.com
. wesubmit.com
. 2-tier.com
. affiliateworld.com
. adbility.com
. affiliateguide.com
. makemoneynow.com
. associatecash.com
. affiliatefind.com
. affiliatefirst.com
. associatesearch.com
. freecoolcash.com
. free-affiliateprograms.
com
. revenuemakers.com
. startearning.com
. sponsordirectory.com
. webmaster-programs.com
. affiliateadvisor.com
. clickquick.com
The other method that I was talking about, is to use an auto submission tool. The most
popular is Affiliate-announce. Affiliate-announce will get your program listed in such
directories. They handle all the work on getting your affiliate program listed in those
directories, saving you time to concentrate on other matters. At least that's what they
say... :o)
By using their service you will also get your site listed in some special directories that
accept only affiliate-announce's submissions.
But, if what they charge is too much for you, you can always use the list from the table
above. In a few days you can submit your site to all of them. Do as you wish! However, I
would submit manually. It's the only way to be certain that the best job was done.
Always read the terms of use (or service) carefully so that your work will not be in vain.
A good thing about having your referral partner program listed in many these affiliate
directories is that you'll have links pointing to your website and this will increase your
website's popularity from a search engine's point of view. So you'll get more traffic from
the search engines too...
That's it about this method to advertise your website!
List Your Site with Overture and appear on the top
of search results of leading sites like Yahoo!, Lycos
and MSN
2. Search engines
There's a lot to say about this subject, and although I know a few things about it, I'm still far
from being an expert in this area, I will recommend you the site called selfpromotion.com.
You will find there almost all there is to know about search engines and search engine
positioning and all that for free! If used the right way, the information in that site is surely
comprehensive enough to guarantee remarkable results. That is if you want to do the job of
ranking well in the search engines all by yourself. The use of the site is free and so is the
automatic submission tool.
Another site where you can find great information about search engines is
apromotionguide.com. This site is an excellent guide to advertise your website. Take a look
and you'll surely be impressed.
Back to search engines... In my opinion, and in Robert Woodshead's (the man behind
selfpromotion.com) too, one can never keep up with the never ending changes in the searchengines world. Just create your page with the search engines in mind (focus your page on a
keyphrase) and then forget about it. Use your time to create other pages if you want more
traffic. This way you will also give your visitors reasons to come back!
But, if you really want to win the search engines war and you are ready to sacrifice
something for it, then sacrifice money. Hire a company that will get high rankings in search
engines for your website (the top 10 is usually the target, but it isn't always possible). Such a
company will tweak your pages and make sure you get what you paid for. Note however that
this method is expensive and it usually asks for money every month.
Then again, if you think you can win the search engines war all by yourself, the least you can
do is to stay informed. A Search Engine Watch Membership will get you access to invaluable
inside information about search engines. If you don't have the money to pay that
membership fee, you should still visit the site as it offers for free, lots of information. You can
also subscribe to their free newsletters.OK OK,
I know I didn't help you much with the search engines. What I can tell you though is
where you should (in my opinion) get your site listed into. I will tell you this by the number
of visitors my site gets from the search engines and directories.
Direct requests most
of my visitors are comeback visitors. I love you guys! If there's
anything you're interested in, please send me an email
at info@goldenbic-conceptsltd.com.
I will get back to you if I know the answer. If not (yes, I don't know everything :)
I will tell
you that I don't know the answer, but I will keep your question in my mind and try to find
that answer in time.
MSN
Yahoo
DMOZ
AOL
Whatever you do, try to get into these search engines and directories. They (and your repeat
visitors) will most probably amount to about 90% of the traffic you'll get.
3. Pay per click search engines
I definitely recommend this promotion method as one of the best there is if you have a
business to advertise.
The PPCSEs that I can recommend as being the best are:
Yahoo! Sponsored Search. If you list your site with them, it will appear on the top of search
results of leading sites like Yahoo!, Altavista and CNN. It's not a cheap service, but for some
it's the best there is.
Google Adwords not exactly a pay per click search engine, but very similar. Your ad appears
on the result pages of the Goggle search engine. You can with only $5.
MIVA although considerably smaller than the first two it still brings considerable traffic.
Enhance Interactive A pay per click service that boasts 2 Billion monthly Searches.
You can read about this subject in a more complete manner by reading articles from the
following sites:
Selfpromotion.com The owner of the site loves this advertising method. Read what he has
to say about it and you'll love it too.
Payperclicksearchengines.com A site that aims to list and review all the pay per click
search engines that exist on the web.
PayPerClickAnalyst.com It's a great website. I think it's even better than Payperclicksearchengines.com.
Pay Per Click.info It's a nice, very informative site where you can learn how to take
advantage of powerful 'back doors' into the major search engines by listing your web site
with certain payperclick search engines.
4. Exchange links (or banners)
Note: There's a lot of work and time involved in this method to advertise your website. There
are however many advantages.
The first advantage is that it's cheap. It costs you only a few words and a link on your site or,
at most, a banner. The second advantage is that it will bring you visitors from the sites that
link to you. The third one is that the more links on the web point to your site, the higher your
site will rank in search engines.
The hard part is that you have to find the sites, contact the owner of the site that you want to
exchange links with and convince him to do this with you.
You need to search for a content related, valuable site. Link to the site and recommend the
site to your visitors. Find the name of the webmaster (or of the owner) of the other website.
After you've done that, and only then, approach the webmaster by sending an email.
Use his name in the email.
Ask kindly for an exchange of links. Be polite. Tell him the
reasons that made you choose his site. Point out his benefits. Give him something for free:
recommend a very useful site, or give him a free software or ebook.
There are lots of sites out there that offer free help in finding webmasters that want to
exchange links. On of them is LinkLeads.com. This site lets webmasters register and post a
short description of their site. The sites are divided in categories which makes it easier to
find content related sites. All the webmasters who use this service want to exchange links, so
you could be a little more selective about their sites. Try to exchange links only with the sites
that make you proud to be related with. Good content and good design are the things that
make a site great. So start learning to choose the right ones.
My advice is to ask for link exchanges only from the sites that already have lots of visitors.
Otherwise the time spent is usually not worth it unless it's a great site that could bring real value to your visitors.
Important advice: Though it might be surprising considering what I said earlier, please don't
use a service specialized in links or banners exchanges like the one that I talked to you about
(LinkLeads.com). (As you can see, I don't even link to their site). Use the most important
search engines instead (like google.com) to find content related sites. If a site is listed high in
the top search engines, it gets lots of hits for sure! So it is more likely to send you some
visitors too. From my own experience I can tell you though, that even with the best search
engines and the right keywords it's hard to find sites suited to your need. The ultimate
method to find great sites is to use directories like dmoz.org and yahoo.com. The sites listed
there are already considered as being very good. Find out some categories related to you
site's theme and visit the sites in those categories. This is the safest and fastest method to
use for finding valuable sites!
If you just started your site and you ask for a link exchange, to compensate for the lack of
visitors, your site should be filled with valuable content or, if you run a business, you should
have an affiliate program. Tell the webmaster that he can join your affiliate program and get paid too.
A small tip: create a page to list all (or only the best) websites that are affiliated with your
business. Write a short description for each website. Don't be afraid that you'll lose visitors.
You'll gain affiliates! Wouldn't you like to affiliate with a business that agrees to send you
visitors back? You'll also help your affiliates to rank higher in the search engines, and thus
bring you more traffic.
Advertise your Web site with
http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com.
Sign up and get a $25 credit into your new account. Learn more.
5. Contact webmasters and ezines owners and ask them to join your affiliate program.
Especially if you have an affiliate program that is run by a third party, this method can do
wanders because, as you might already know, people love to make money. :o)
The starting point should be, as always, the search for content related sites or newsletters, to
target your visitors properly. Before asking for a link, find out the name of the owner of the
site. Also visit the site (or join the newsletter). Praise his work in the email,
but don't over do it. You must make the webmaster feel good about his site and about himself, but there must be no desperation in your words. Also tell him about your product. You may eventually give him one for free in exchange for his service. This way he will know what to say about you product. Do this only after he joins or agrees to join though, or many will join just to get the product for free. Or do it only when contacting website owners with great potential.
Offer to negotiate the terms of the affiliation (if your third party program allows customized
referral partner programs). A custom designed affiliate program will make the webmaster
feel special and will boost your chances to close the deal. Some people will ask for a bigger
share, some for more or fewer sublevels. If you feel that the person is worth any of those (he
has a nice site filled with great content and/or a high number of monthly visitors), you may
choose to do as he wants. Make him happy and he'll say yes. :o)
Point out the benefits to join your referral partner program. Make him aware of the fact that
he can only win from this deal. His investment is zero and the earning potential is impressive.
All he has to do is to recommend your product to his website's visitors or newsletter
subscribers. If you are talking with the owner of a newsletter or ezine,
make him realize that he can get the most out of this affiliation if he sends a special email to his subscribers, to tell them that he's found a great product.
Ask him to put a personal touch to the ad that is if he really feels that he can do this without putting a stain on his reputation. If he doesn't want to personally recommend your product, he may simply send the ad in an impersonal form. He risks nothing (and neither do you), but he gets the opportunity to earn an easy extra buck (and so do you).
Many newsletter owners sell advertising space in their publications. This is not what you're
after in this case, although you can do pay for ads if you can afford it. What you want now is
to convince people to run the ad for free (in exchange for a part of the profits).
Teach him how to make those special kind of pages that I'm telling you about in the rules of
design chapter. Tell him about this idea in the form of a simple advice you
don't want to offend him by telling him how to run his site.
Again, the search engines and the directories are the best means to find the sites to get links
from. Just fill in some keywords related to your product or business area and visit the sites
that appear in the top. Check them out if they have the content that you expected them to
have (related to your product), then they are your top choices. Find out if they run a
newsletter too. Get the names of the owners fast and start the emailing campaign.
To get an idea about the traffic of a website visit alexa.com and type the website's name to to
see it's rank. You'll get a pretty good idea about it's traffic.
Search engines Google.com, Altavista.com; directories dmoz.org, Yahoo.com; pay per click
search engines Yahoo! Sponsored Search, MIVA and Enhance Interactive .
A nice tool is the Webferret freeware program from ferretsoft.com. It combines the results
from many search engines to give better results.
Wandering how to find ezine owners? These sites run lists of ezines:
ezines.com ; topica.com; Ezinestoday.com; Ezineuniverse.com; bizpromo.com/ezinetrades.htm; tile.net.
6. Write ebooks (you can build one by compiling old articles that you wrote) or articles and
give them for free in various places. Ask webmasters to give them as bonuses or to use them
to add value to their sites (by giving them for free). One condition must be imposed: the ebook
should be in it's original form, and the articles must include your signature (your name
and/or a link to you website, newsletter and ezine).
A good idea is to put all your free to publish articles in a directory to make them easy to find.
Some will even link to that directory in their own sites. Don't forget to include your name
and your website's URL in the articles!
How to make this offer more appealing? "Bribe" webmasters by offering inside the ebook
A link (or more) to their own sites. The ebook will spread fast all over the net giving that webmaster free publicity.
A personal note: I think the free article strategy is more valuable because those links to your
website will work in two ways: send people to your site and help your site rank higher in the
search engines.
7. Participate in forum discussions and establish yourself as an expert in your field. Add your
own name and a link to your website in every message posted online. These forum
discussions are listed in the search engines too. Thus, as you post more and more links to
your site, your own website will rank higher in most search engines. A very powerful method
to advertise your website!
Perhaps you're wandering how to find such discussions. It's simple. Search for them with a
search engine, or visit egroups.com and topica.com to find some faster.
8. Post banner and text ads in websites, ezines, newsletters, ebooks.
You can do so in a Joint Venture or by paying for it.
General Rule: don't mention free stuff within your ads to avoid the army of freebie hunters
coming to your site for nothing but that freebie. Also keep in mind that an ad has an average
time of only a few seconds to capture the attention of the reader, so make them catchy.
The best way to capture the attention of the surfers is by using solo ads in newsletters (or ezines).
Especially ads that the owner of the ezine
or newsletter personally recommends. If the owner agrees to make the ad sound like a special offer for his subscribers, then many those subscribers that actually read his ezine, will seize the opportunity. Although it's pretty expensive (1001000$) this method works best.
You can easily find ezine owners at bizpromo.com/ezinetrades.htm.
Track the effectiveness of every ad. If you have access to the server logs, this is rather
simple; a link like this one: http://www.yourdomain.com?a7212, where the "a7212" is the
code of that specific ad, will give you the ability to know what response rate has each ezine,
website, etc. Stop using those that are under average.
9. Setup a form that makes it easy for your visitors to recommend your site (or product) to
their friends.
10. Offer some unique services that other webmasters will find useful. Make them easy to use.
Examples: a thought of the day; free web space; cgiscript
hosting many webmasters who use free web hosting services need someone to host their cgi scripts because their host usually doesn't; if your host gives you the right to use unlimited autoresponders you may give such a thing for free; create or ask someone to create a new and very useful software to give for free. Give any of this in exchange for a link to your website.
11. Many marketing experts claim that the most effective method to get free publicity is the
press release. I've never used this, but I know some places where you can learn how to use
them properly or from where you can actually send some:
Internet News Bureau they
can send your press release to over 10,000 journalists
frugalfun.com/press.html promotionworld.com/prweb.com you can send the press release for free http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com
12. Make yourself (your name and your website's name) known. Include your signature file
along with everything you write: testimonials, messages, guest books signups,
reviews and compliments (to website owners or anyone else).
Signature file: A piece of text (that you can save as a file on your computer) that contains
information about yourself and your business: name, a short description of your personal or
business website or your company, email addresses etc. Whenever you need to post that
information, you can get it from your file without having to type it over and over again. It's a
good idea to have more versions for your signature. Track their effectiveness! And keep
them short: a headline + your name + your website's name + contact options.
Advertise your Web site with http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com
Sign up and get a $25 credit into your new account. Learn more.
13. Viral marketing. Even if it's listed way down here, this is the best general idea when it
comes to marketing on the web.It means that whatever you do, you should always keep in mind that the best way to attract
more and more traffic to your site is to make people refer your site at no cost to you. They
might talk or write about some of your articles, about your free ebooks,
about your products. Some people might hear about you and after they take the time to know you, your work and your products, start to recommend your business. For free!
So the idea is to make your name travel the web. A free ebook
can do this very well. You give it to a friend, he gives it to his friend, the friend to his friends and so on, until everybody knows you and your website.
The same goes for your multilevel affiliate program. Because the webmaster has the
opportunity to receive money for what his downline earns, he will advertise your business
for his own benefit. His referrals will advertise your site, and so on. You get the idea!
Because of the miss use of multilevel affiliate programs nowadays webmasters avoid them.
Two tier programs are the way to go.
14. Create a newsletter. Give real value to your subscribers and remember them what you have to offer. You can even advertise the newsletter separately from your website by getting it listed in the ezine directories. Use Joint Ventures to buildup your list. That means to recommend other
newsletters in exchange for them recommending yours. A perfect WinWin situation.
Make sure that you find the right newsletters. Choose those that have the content related to
your newsletter's content, and find those that have about as much subscribers as yours does.
If your publication has significantly fewer subscribers, most newsletters owners will not
agree to trade their thank you page with you and you'll waste time. If yours has more, then
you'll give more than you receive. That's not a WinWin situation anymore!
There is a solution if your ezine has fewer subscribers. Let's say that you have 1000, and the other one 2000. You could run the ad three times as much as he does and thus restore the WinWin situation.
15. Start a members only area and provide access in exchange for links to your site.
http://www.goldenbic-emarket.com
http://www.goldenbic-conceptsltd.com
http://bic4makingcash.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)