Submitted by: Diana Barnum

3 Easy Steps to Successful Internet Marketing With Your Own Virtual Assistant & SEO Services

The power of the Internet is incredible, but if you don’t learn how to use it the right way you could be wasting valuable time and marketing efforts and dollars. How do you make sure you are getting the most out of your marketing plans? Here are three steps to help you build a successful marketing plan using your own virtual assistant and search engine optimization AKA SEO services like HubPages and Squidoo linking work.

Step 1: Picking your virtual assistant

The biggest benefit to a good virtual assistant is that they are well versed in all things technical. This means that they know how to communicate using all types of technology from social networking sites to public blogs and other forums. Getting a good virtual assistant in place will free up more of your time so you can focus on other important areas and tasks pertaining to your business.

Step 2: Web promotion

Now that you have your virtual assistant dedicated to your business, it’s time to work on promoting your business and web site. Have your assistant do a full analysis of your website. From that analysis, you will be able to determine what is working for your site and what should be taken off. Next, your assistant should manage what is going on the site and even be able to call on some powerful SEO services like HubPages and Squidoo publishing to get even more traffic to your site. If you are not familiar with HubPages or Squidoo, they are networks of web pages that allow users to create their own free pages about specific topics. The information is submitted by users in the form of articles that can have links, images, videos and other content within, attracting search engines and human visitors to your linked sites.

Step 3: Start blogging

This seems like a very simple thing, but what most people do not realize is that blogs are all about strategy. Most people look at blogs as something to read and entertain themselves with, but what is really happening is very careful placement of SEO services. Your virtual assistant will be publishing entries that are using researched key words that will bring even more traffic to your site.

One thing to remember is that successful business doesn’t just happen over night. It takes time and a lot of hard work, but hopefully these three steps will be helpful in building a successful marketing plan for your business.

Top 10 Niche Markets For 2011

Finding the right niche can be a challenge. Before you decide to write a series of blogs or build a website based on a particular product, it’s best to know what your niche focus will be. Some niches are obviously going to be more popular than others. Either way, if you choose a popular niche, you’re bound to run into tons (literally) of competition. Fortunately, there are enough web users who are likely to find your page, giving you some much needed business.

To help with your business success, predictions for the top 10 niche markets for 2011 are listed below based upon popular research sites’ reports.

Self-Development – Self-development is a very intriguing topic for a variety of reasons. People want to know how to make their lives better. They also want to read, listen and hear materials focused on this topic because in order to be inspired and enlightened

Saving Money – Many people around the globe want to know how to save money. Providing helpful tips along with a few useful help guides may be all you need to spice up your page, boost clicks and increase sales.

Relationships – There will always be someone looking for a way to fix their relationship. People make up and break up all the time. Products about getting back together with an ex as well as products that offer advice on making a good relationship even better are the most popular. Helpful tips and advice in article form are also highly useful.

Weight Loss – Weight loss will be increasingly popular this year. There are a lot of new products on the market, and obviously, a lot of people interested in losing weight quickly and easily.

Shopping – Can you offer some helpful tips? How about a list of the best websites for coupons? You may also use this niche to promote clothing, beauty supplies, shoes and more.

Arts and Crafts – People love a creative idea. Use this niche to promote your business and advertise your own arts and crafts.

Life Solutions – Have a quick solution to a common problem? Let the world know about it. Just about everyone keys in what’s bothering them into “Google” at some point or another. Look at it as a way of lending a hand while gaining exposure.

Food – Recipes, cookbooks, 30-minute dinner ideas, party dinner ideas, and the like are greatly appreciated by the online community.

Careers/Degrees – As long as there are lay-offs, college grads, and people who simply desire more out of life, a product guide on what career path to take along with information on various jobs will always be in high demand.

Baby – What isn’t to like about baby products? If you haven’t noticed, the world has went into “baby boom” mode over the last few years. With all these births comes the need for tips on a safe pregnancy, advice on how to decorate baby’s room, and what to do when baby gets their first cold, and much, much more. In relation to products, the sky is the limit. There are car seats, strollers, car seat covers, bouncers – you get the idea.

These are, by far, predicted to be the most popular niche markets for 2011. Choose one or choose all ten for your business focus. Either way, you can experience a great deal of success by helping those in need along the way.

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APD can affect people of any age. It usually begins in childhood, but some people get it later in life. It affects between 2% and 7% of children, with boys being more likely than girls to have it. Because the disease can cause academic difficulties, children with it may require more support in school.

APD isn’t the same as hearing loss or a learning disability. It means that your brain does not “hear” noises in the way it normally does. It’s not a matter of comprehending the meaning. A person with APD, for example, may have difficulty distinguishing between the sounds of a bat and a cat. In some cases, most words can also be scrambled when heard, making the person unable to exactly comprehend and process the words.

Other things that elicit similar symptoms could be associated with APD. In fact, it could be one of the causes of dyslexia in some people. Furthermore, some specialists believe that youngsters may be classified as having ADHD when they actually have APD.

APD can influence your child’s ability to read, write, and spell, as well as the way they talk. They might omit word endings or mix up similar sounds. It can also be difficult for them to communicate with others. They might not be capable of processing what others are saying quickly enough to respond.

It is unknown what causes APD. However, the issues affect people of all ages and in various ways. Common symptoms include failing to pay attention to what people are saying, not recognizing the source of a sound, being unable to listen to music, and comprehending what people are saying when engaged in a conversation. So, if they don’t understand, they could respond in unexpected ways.

The reason for APD in children is frequently unknown. Children with head trauma, lead poisoning, seizure disorder, or recurrent ear infections are thought to be at a higher risk. There may be multiple causes in some cases. APD is a contentious topic. Experts disagree about whether it is a disorder in and of itself, and there are several definitions. However, the phrase is still in use, and the challenges are very real.

The first step in determining whether or not you have APD is to rule out hearing loss. Professionals in the medical field are usually capable of doing so. Audiologists, on the other hand, conduct APD testing. The audiologist will conduct a series of sophisticated listening tests in which your child will be exposed to a variety of sounds and respond accordingly. They could, for example, repeat them or press a button. The doctor may also place non-painful electrodes in your child’s ears and head to assess how their brain responds to sound, and, accordingly, prescribehearing aids in Sri Lanka.

Speech therapy is the most common treatment for APD. If the child has a language issue, the school may provide free therapy. However, speech-language therapists in clinics or in medical clinics are also available. The earlier you begin treatment, the better. There is no cure for APD, and treatment is tailored to the individual. However, it usually concentrates on certain areas, such as alterations to the physical surroundings to improve the listening environment, individualized treatments, and help for non-listening symptoms that are managed by other professionals. Many places provide services for hearing aids in Maharagama, and the hearing aid price in Sri Lankais guaranteed to be affordable.

Individualized therapy is a key aid in the development of a child’s auditory pathway. The audiologist would typically recommend them based on the findings of a child’s exams and concerns, and sometimes prescribe hearing aids for better assistance. Children with APD can benefit from a variety of computer-assisted programs. They primarily help the brain process sounds in a noisy environment. These programs are available at some schools. If your child has APD, check with the school to see what choices are accessible, and use the hearing aid service online in Sri Lanka to get the best of the options available.

Submitted by: Nati Roberts

You start the day finishing typing your one hundred-page school thesis in your computer. After about two weeks of typing, and editing your thesis, you finally finished it and it is all ready for printing.

You then decided that you could print your school thesis later after you surf the internet and finish checking your email.

You opened your internet browser and start typing to log in to your email address. You noticed that there are several messages in your inbox. You opened the inbox and noticed that the emails came from several of your friends and family.

You noticed one particular email address that does not seem familiar to you and the subject says that it is urgent that you download the file attached. You opened and started to read the email and started to download the file.

After you downloaded the file, your computer suddenly acted strange and that you saw that the hard drive was completely being erased of all data stored.

Not knowing what to do, you turned of the computer and thought for a moment what happened. Your thesis suddenly came into your mind and you forgot to create a back up of it. You then turned on your computer but it did not load completely.

It says that the data files in your operating system is corrupted and will not be able to continue loading. You then removed your hard drive and went to your local computer shop to know what happened and hoping that your one hundred-page thesis can still be recovered.

After hooking up your hard drive to the computer shop s computer, the employee turned it on and determined what the cause of the problem was. The employee said your computer was infected with a virus and all the data and files stored in your hard drive were completely erased.

You tried to talk to the employee nervously if he or she can still recover the one hundred-page thesis you just finished. The employee gave a negative reply and further explained that the hard drive needs to be reformatted to get rid of the virus.

You suddenly felt frustrated and angry that your thesis was lost. The due date for submission was on the next day. You ask the employee about software or program you can install to prevent this from happening again. The employee recommended that you install an anti virus and a firewall to protect your computer against malicious programs.

Anti virus works by preventing viruses from entering your computer and scans your computer to get rid of any malicious programs. A form of computer security you can acquire, install and use easily.

Most anti viruses today can be bought online and is readily available for download, with a little payment.

Another form of computer security is the firewall. This particular firewall can be beneficial if you have internet and a network. It works as a packet filter by deciding what packet or data can pass the firewall depending on the rules imposed by the user or administrator.

It can effectively prevent any program or data that is trying to enter your computer by automatically denying access or you can also configure it first to ask you first before rejecting the entry of the packet.

Firewalls can also effectively prevent unwanted traffic to enter your computer. It can also prevent some programs to automatically install itself in your computer. It also has an IP filter where it can prevent known malicious IP addresses to access your computers.

All computer and internet users must protect their computer and privacy from malicious programs. They should implement these kinds of computer security. A great investment can work with you for a long time.

About the Author: Nati Roberts is the editor of Top Data 20. Find out everything you need to know about computer viruses and data recovery.

topdata20.info

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Submitted by: Yogi Chetan Mahesh Ji

What is Meditation?

Tarta Pratyaya ekatanata dhyanam (2nd sutra of vibhuti pada). Tatra, the place of meditation; Pratyaya, going towards, firm conviction; Ekatanata, continuous, uninterrupted flow of awareness; Dhyanam, meditation, profound contemplation. In other words a stead continuous flow of attention directed towards the same point or region. The stream does not change, alter, slow down it remains stable, like oil flowing from a vessel. This is meditation. The sea of tranquillity which has no ripples. The mind, the body, and consciousness are one with the soul. There are no attachments or any aversions. All the impurities of body and mind are washed a way leaving only wisdom. During meditation we go from 3 dimensions into 1 dimension. From many different thoughts flowing through the mind to the concentration on one single thought. Finally reaching the expansion of one single thought or sensation. Apart from that meditation is an experience that can hardly be described, it needs to be experienced. It is like explaining colours to a person who is blind. What does the colour red look like?

Physiology of meditation:- It has a very good influence on the whole body. It slows down the heart rate; It decreases the oxygen consumption. It makes you relax your muscles more than sleep and leads to a deeper level of relaxation. It is very good for people who have anxiety attacks; It is good for people with high blood pressure; It helps with allergies, asthma and other chronic diseases. Overall it boost the immune system.

Inner light meditation:- It is based on Jyotir dhayana described in the Gherenda samhita. For this meditation you should focus on your inner light, the Anjna Chakra, or third eye. This meditation is used to connect with your inner Spirit. It is a very simple meditation but potentially very deep and powerful. For this meditation you should sit comfortably in a cross-legged position. Lotus pose would be the best position, if comfortable and possible to hold for at least a few hours. If you have a weak back, it is best to sit against the wall. Put your hands on your knees. Make sure that the back of your head is in line with the spine and keep your back straight. Relax your body and relax your breath. With eyes closed look at the light of your 3rd eye. Gently focus on the light. If your thoughts are drifting away, just focus back on the light.

Association for yoga and meditation is supported by the Yogi Chetan Mahesh. he’s the born within the Vedic family, Vedic family is that the family within which singing of Vedic mantras and yoga exercises command daily. In kid hood he learns yoga from his father and his elder brother letter on he visited completely different institutes and different lecturers to be told yoga. Once learning yoga and he refer to FRG by govt. of Bharat to show Yoga once coming from FRG he unfold yoga in several countries. Once spreading yoga in several countries in determined to open his own yoga college then he searches the placement in Bharat and determined to open his college in Rishikesh by the name Association for yoga and meditation (AYM) and additionally registered by the Yoga Alliance USA.

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It is difficult to choose between purchasing and renting. It necessitates extensive financial and emotional planning. Some individuals take pleasure in their home ownership, whilst others prefer to live in leased housing to avoid long-term financial obligations. Buying property was difficult in previous decades, therefore individuals opted to rent.

The most essential question is now: what is the correct decision? Should you buy or rent a home? This choice is influenced by several things. Here are some factors to consider based on your financial objectives.

Make your dream house a reality.

When you own your own house, you have unlimited creative freedom – you may rebuild the bathroom in a jungle theme or paint the walls in vivid colors without worrying about losing your bond. Home upgrades may boost the value of a property, so if you sell, you will receive every dollar that your home has gained in value.

Location selection

Depending on your area, the number of rental property alternatives is typically restricted, you will find very less house and land packages in Melbourne eastern suburbs that will fulfill your requirement. If this is the case in your region, your options for where to reside are generally restricted. Buying and owning a home allows you greater freedom to choose where you wish to live. Home location is one of the essential aspects for many purchasers.

Creating equity

The difference between what you can sell the house for and what you owe is your equity. As you pay down your mortgage, your equity rises. Over time, more of your monthly payments will be applied to the loan balance rather than the interest, resulting in more equity.

Bringing up a family

A rental property is most likely not the ideal choice for growing a family with children. You may have to move from one rental property to another for a variety of reasons that may disrupt your family, children’s schooling, and others. Owning a property will help you in the long run. Your family will not have to relocate from one rental house to another. Your children can make their neighbors lifelong pals.

Simple financing alternatives

With the availability of simple financing alternatives, owning your dream house has never been easier. You don’t have to wait until your 40s or 50s to save for your dream home. You may purchase it in your twenties and be the happy owner of a paid-off house by the age of 50, if not sooner. You must pick a house loan lender wisely who can provide you with flexibility in managing your home loan payments by adapting your home loan EMI to your current and future earning patterns.

Conclusion

Purchasing a home may be an excellent investment. You might be able to accumulate equity. However, like with any investment, the performance of your investment is determined by a variety of circumstances. When it comes to real estate, elements such as location, economics, upkeep, and environmental issues can all have an impact on the total value. Remember that nothing is ever static, thus everything might change.

By Cesar Lua

Pasadena, CA- Cesar Lua of Novis Shoes, a shoe lift company, observes that hip replacement surgery frequently causes length problems. Often, this discrepancy needs to be addressed by shoe lifts or other orthotic footwear.

Patients usually need hip replacement surgery to address the pain and loss of function caused by osteoarthritis in the hip joint or a hip fracture. Surgery for total hip replacement substitutes the joint with an artificial version that is attached to the existing bone. The femur is capped with a metal ball and a metal shell and plastic liner is used to resurface the hip socket.

Following surgery, you will likely require a walker, crutches or cane to get around initially. You will stay in the hospital a couple of days to a week. You must begin physical therapy immediately to prevent problems caused by scar tissue and avoid losing strength in the joint and leg. The physical therapist will help you get accustomed to the new joint. Sometimes they will restrict certain movements – such as bending at the waist or crossing your legs – in the early weeks. Complete recovery can take anywhere from six months to a year depending on the patient’s health.

“Unfortunately, many patients do experience leg length discrepancies after hip replacement surgery – even in cases where the legs were equal length before the surgery,” explains Lua, a certified pedorthist whose business specializes in shoe lifts and arch supports for shoes. The most common issue is that the leg that has the artificial hip is longer – although sometimes it’s shorter. After hip replacement surgery, 72 percent of patients have a lengthening of at least 10 millimeters while 22 percent find that one leg is up to 10 millimeters longer. A discrepancy of 1.5 centimeters or more can lead to many issues, including lower back, knee, and hip pain. Hip surgery causes leg length discrepancy when the doctor uses a prosthetic hip that is too large.

The simplest and most effective method of treating this leg length discrepancy is using a shoe lift or shoe insole which gives extra height to the shorter leg. Patients who would like a shoe lift can send their orthopedic shoe to Novis Shoes free of charge. They will mail the shoe back with its new lift three days after receiving it. “Our customers are pleased that there’s such simple way to alleviate their pain,” says Lua, whose business also offers elevator shoes. “They start walking with the lift in place and soon they feel a lot better. We provide excellent customer service – which is why our clients return to us again and again.”

Learn More

Learn more about Novis Shoes and Cesar Lua at their website http://novisshoes.com/ or call (626) 796-4971 or fax at (626) 796-9128.

About Novis Shoes

Novis Shoes has been providing orthopedic shoes since 1982. Cesar Lua, the company’s owner and Certified Pedorthist, has been making shoe lifts, orthotic shoes, arch support shoes, custom-made shoes, and other products for 28 years. They are committed to putting their customers first and giving them the best possible products and service at the best possible price.

2011 Novis Shoes and Master Google. Authorization to post is granted, with the stipulation that Novis Shoes and Master Google (a search engine optimization program) are credited as sole source. Linking to other sites from this document is strictly prohibited, with the exception of herein imbedded links.

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shoe lifts

and

elevator shoes

or you want to know more about

shoe insole

please call at: (626) 796-4971.

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GPS Tracking Mysteries: What Is Latitude?

by

Roseli

GPS technology makes it possible to keep an eye on any person, asset anywhere in the world.

One piece of data that is collected is the latitude.Latitude is measured from the equator in units called degrees. It’s often written as a positive number of degrees in the northern hemisphere and a negative number of degrees in the southern hemisphere. Latitude starts at to 0 degrees at the equator, down to -90 degrees at the South Pole, and up to +90 degrees at the North PoleAs interesting as this technology is, however, its usefulness is determined not by data itself but how the data is collected and used. For this reason, GPS tracking and recording solutions read and take advantage of GPS data like never before.GPS tracking devices usually splits in to two categoriesa.Active tracking devicesb.Passive tracking devices (Data loggers)Active tracking units constantly collect data and send data to central tracking system (such as computer). Active devices are more expensive and consume more power. Passive tracking devices, on the other hand, simply store positioning data on a build in memory chip. Once the tracking device is recovered, data can be downloaded to some device for further analysis. One of the examples of passive tracking devices are data loggers. Technically speaking, a data logger is any device that can be used to store data.. GPS Data Logger will record your track, time and location for viewing on application such as Google Earth. Applications include tracking vehicles, children and elderly, geo tagging pictures, recording travel/hiking routes etcData can be exported in standard HTML, EXCEL, Google Earth KML, and RTF file formats. The data records the following parameters – Date, Time, Latitude, Longitude, Altitude, Speed. You can write latitude correctly in a couple of different ways. For example: Las Vegas, Nevada is at +36 degrees latitude; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is at -22 degrees latitude. The same example can be written specifying North or South instead of using positive and negative. Las Vegas, Nevada is at 36 degrees North; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is at 22 degrees South. GPS technology takes tracking/navigation to next level. If you have important assets to track to or simply Gadget lover GPS receivers surely promise to impress.

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}

Choosing The Best Car

by

mikethomsun

Those who visit the online showrooms of car for sale San Diego can have an exciting experience of browsing vast collections of cars. Those who want to buy old cars can select the best car for them from the grand collection of used cars for sale. Those who want to have a look of the car can fix an appointment and make a personal visit to the respective show room. There are a few other websites for resale of cars that are meant for cars manufactured by a particular company only. Customers who are in search of a particular model car can easily find out their favorite model from such websites since they will have in their stock all models of that particular manufacturer. In case the particular model is not available at the time of visit of the customer he can place a requisition with the dealers requesting them to inform him when they receive that model in their stock. Customers can also have test drive of their favorite car after fixing online the date and time for test drive. All information regarding loans for purchase of cars is also available at these showrooms.

The well trained staffs at these showrooms are highly professional. They are very cordial with the customers and ensure prompt customer care at all times. At these showrooms one can buy very new cars of the latest models also. The customers can avail all technical services from their car repair centres at various locations. Highly experienced technical staffs are employed at these repair centres and they detect the defects of the car immediately and repair it quickly and perfectly. At the showrooms of car for sale San Diego more cars are added to the inventory continuously so that those who browse the websites of these dealers regularly can have the update list of cars that are available at these showrooms. The finance department of the showroom provides all assistance to the customers to avail car loans in the easiest way.

These used cars for sale showrooms are the ideal place for those who plan to buy new cars in good condition at competitive prices. These dealers offer cars of excellent condition at highly competitive prices. These dealers conduct thorough inspection of each car before it is offered for sale. They get each vehicle certified by experienced technicians. The customers who buy cars from them are entitled for all kind of technical services by their technicians. The wide selection of cars is another advantage at these showrooms.

This content has been taken from: http://www.ideamarketers.com/?articleid=3557365&CFID=237044710&CFTOKEN=72573501

All the cars are not easily affordable for common man and as a result most of them are looking out for

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By Joshua Feinberg

Starting a new business is difficult. Customers don’t typically come calling on you right away. Everyone starts somewhere and not all of your first clients will be long term, sweet spot clients.

Starting a new business means you don’t have your business foundation completed yet. At first you need to get clients – any clients. These are called stepping-stone clients. They are what will bring in your early revenue. You also need to start acquiring positive business testimonials. Again, you need steppingstone clients for this.

Six months after starting a new business is when you can start to get more selective. Earlier than that your accounts will typically be smaller than you would like. That’s ok because you need to be confident that when you are starting a new business these smaller clients will eventually be replaced by your ideal, sweet-spot clients.

Types of work to expect when starting a new business include:

LAN audits

MCSC tutoring

Training seminars

Small peer to peer jobs

Upgrades

PC tune-ups

Light web site design

Optimization and troubleshooting

When you’re starting a new business your personal and business network are critical. These contacts will be the ones who will refer you to small jobs. As you complete these small jobs word will spread about your services. Not long after starting a new business and finishing these types jobs, more referral business will start flowing in.

Bottom Line on Starting A New Business

You can’t afford to ignore any business when starting a new business. You also can’t get discouraged. Starting a new business is an exercise in patience and diligence. You never know where one of your small jobs might lead you. There is lots of time to be selective with your clients – starting a new business is not the time.

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By Katie Sternberg

Every dollar you spend on marketing means one less dollar dedicated to the awesome programs and services you provide. That means each precious marketing dollar put toward web sites, brochures, logos, DVD’s, development materials and other marketing tools better count! Unfortunately, planning for all that activity too often takes a back seat. Marketing plans are in short supply.

We bet you like the idea of a marketing plan – but you don’t have the time and energy for planning in the rush of managing time-consuming day-to-day operations. Too bad. The cold, hard truth is you can’t afford not to have a plan. The good news: strategic marketing planning can – and should – be straightforward, results-oriented and easy to manage.

What’s in a Plan

Your marketing plan determines how your clients and donors see you. It helps prioritize your target audiences (such as clients, donors and internal stakeholders). It details where your clients come from, how to get to the gate-keepers that refer your clients, how you describe your services, how you talk to donors and how you make critical budget decisions. It takes a look at your competition (and yes, you are competing for those hard-earned donor dollars.) A well-designed marketing plan provides a timeline of specific tactics, coordinated with other internal and external events (program launches, changing legal environments, etc.), to help your organization reach its overall objectives. If it’s a good plan, it also clearly outlines your budget and how those valuable marketing dollars will be allocated. If that sounds complicated, keep reading to learn how to break it down into manageable steps.

Any solid marketing plan needs to include a few key elements:

Situation Analysis

Start with a review of where your nonprofit organization is right now. These are things you likely already know, but putting them front and center in your plan serves a couple of purposes. First, it gives you a benchmark of where you are. Second, it lets you build a plan that addresses the basic organization and environmental realties you face.

— Nonprofit Organization Mission and Vision: What are the key values and goals of your organization?

— Product or Service Review: Describe your basic products and services

— Client/User Drivers: What factors affect the environment in which you operate?

— Core Competencies: What do you do well? What do your clients /users rely on you for? Why do donors contribute to your cause?

— Competitive Review: Who are your key competitors? How is the competitive landscape changing?

Measurable Objectives or Outcomes

What do you want to accomplish this year? And how will you measure the results? Measurable goals allow you to formulate strategies and tactics that will get you there. Basic, but many people don’t think through a set of realistic objectives.

We can’t tell you how many times we have heard from nonprofit executives that their number one goal is to ‘raise awareness of our cause in the general community.’ Sorry, that’s not a measurable objective. So let’s make it work: Launch a comprehensive communications campaign within service area in order to increase number of clients we serve by 35% over the course of the next three years (2009). Wow! Now you know what you need to accomplish, where, in what time frame and by how much! What a difference.

Audiences

Make a list of your key audiences. You have more target audiences than you think – the people you serve day in and day out, your volunteers, your stakeholders (board of directors), staff members, donors and major donors – and we bet there are more! When defining your target audiences, consider demographics as well as psychographics. That is not only where they live and how old they are, but also how each audience thinks and feels.

For example, we know that our average planned giving donor is male, 65 years of age – or older, is married, is a home owner, has a house hold income of more than $200,000 per year, is married, has grown children, is registered as a Republican, is concerned about the war, healthcare and education. We also know that he has a connection to cancer; either he or someone in his family has been affected by cancer.

The goal here is to really understand the people you are talking to. One tip: once you know your demographics and psychographics, write stories around them. It will help you better identify you audiences’ needs. So take those same demographics and psychographics, but this time let’s tell a story.

Dan Kennedy is 65 years old. He is a successful entrepreneur. He and his wife Tess have consistently contributed to Cancer Services campaign since 1995. Mr. Kennedy’s mother died of cancer and in 1995 Tess underwent surgery and radiation following a diagnosis of breast cancer. Mr. Kennedy and his family have never needed our services, but he is passionate about the idea that all people deserve quality care and the education to make decisions related to their health.

Now imagine this organization is ready to kick off an endowment campaign. They have a powerful tool they can use to train the development staff and volunteers, perfect donor pitches and fine-tune marketing efforts.

How do you get to know your audience members mindsets, hopes and fears? Research! It doesn’t need to be complicated. Simple surveys provide a tremendous amount of good data. You can also take a look back at your database and review current donors, volunteers and other stakeholders. And you probably already know a lot about each of your audiences from your experience working with them.

Messages

What is the core of what you need to say? In their brilliant book, Made to Stick, Chip Heath and Dan Heath write ‘The more we reduce the amount of information in an idea, the stickier it will be.’ In other words, pare down your messages to the absolute core so yor your audience will remember them.

Example: Project Sunshine is a successful nonprofit organization which offers free social, educational and recreational programming for children and families with medical challenges. Their mission: We bring sunshine to a cloudy day.sm That’s brilliant! Why? Because you, and Project Sunshine’s employees, donors and clients, know exactly what that means; sunshine physically makes us feel better, conjures images of kids, sprinklers, swimming pools and health and overall makes us feel happy and healthy.

Channels and Tools

How will you send your message to your target audiences? Channels are groups/people through whom and places where you will distribute your message; tools are the materials you employ.

Examples:

Channels: Regional hospitals, social workers, oncology offices

Tools: t shirts, informational dvd, website

Strategy

Strategies are broad approaches to communicating that are linked to your measurable objectives. These are the big-picture approaches you take to communication and positioning your organization. You should look at each objective and come up with the strategies you need to accomplish it.

Examples:

— Recruit and hire a Chief Development Officer who will oversee all development activities including campaigns and events.

— Hire an advertising agency to oversee and manage all organization advertising and creative. Agency should have experience in nonprofit sector and be willing to donate a percentage of their time.

Tactics

The tactics are the specific tasks and activities needed to accomplish your strategies. These should be very specific.

Example:

— Develop comprehensive job description for Chief Development Officer

Timeline by Tactic

Prioritize your tactics, and then develop specific deadlines for each one. You’ll also want to note which staff members or outside resources will be used to complete the tactics.

Here’s an Example:

Develop comprehensive job for Chief Development Officer

Responsibility Katie Sternberg

Due 3/5/2007

Status

Evaluation

Your evaluation methods may be formal, like a research study or survey. But they might also be more informal, like reports on funding increases, feedback from clients or input from staff. The most important idea here is to do some kind of measurement so you know if your strategies are working. Your objectives and strategies should be so specific that you should be able to measure each and every one.

Examples:

— Percent increase in referrals from clinics over last year for the months May – August.

— Percent increase in number of hits on web site increased since re-launch

Budget

The marketing budget shouldn’t be whatever is left over at the end of the month or quarter. And it shouldn’t be unlimited, either. Go back through your strategies and tactics and assign some general budget amounts to each one. Is the number you come up with realistic? If not, go back and review your tactics and determine where you can make changes. You need to allocate money to achieve your key objectives. If you spend too much on one strategy, you won’t have enough to accomplish the others.

Still Skeptical About Planning?

You may be getting short-term results with a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants approach. But there is a downside. This kind of makeshift marketing often does nothing to further the strategic goals of the company and frequently fails to look to the future. And that is a very dangerous place to be. Even a little planning can help you decrease your marketing risk and improve your results.

About the Author: KATIE R. STERNBERG has over 16 years of marketing experience in the nonprofit sector, healthcare, small business, service, manufacturing and retail industries. She is a principal of The Marketing Source and

fixyourmarketing.com

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Source:

isnare.com

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