Has Lorraine Kelly gone Gaga? Presenter undergoes daring makeover in tribute to eccentric pop star

By Daily Mail Reporter

Transformation: Lorraine Kelly underwent a Lady Gaga-style makeover, complete with peroxide hair and giant shoulderpads
'I love someone that just has fun and takes things to the extreme. She appeals to everyone and is so inspiring.


With her television show undergoing a makeover, perhaps she felt it was time to revamp her own look.

And what a revamp! Lorraine Kelly threw caution to the wind with a daring transformation into eccentric singer Lady Gaga in a mockup of the pop star's video for her single Telephone.

The 50-year-old Miss Kelly said: 'I love the Gaga! How can you take me seriously looking like this?’

'We should all dress like Gaga - the world would be a better place.'

Despite her transformation, Miss Kelly has vowed she will never have surgery or Botox to preserve her looks.


Trendsetter: Lady Gaga in the film clip for Telephone, her duet with Beyonce


She insisted: ‘God, no! After all the people I’ve interviewed where it’s all gone horribly wrong, I’ve been put off for life.


Regular style: Miss Kelly in more recognisable form


‘If someone wants to do it, that’s fine. But I would say go to someone who knows what they’re doing. Too many people look odd.

She added: ‘Why would you inject poison into yourself to ruin yourself?’
Miss Kelly has a 15-year-old daughter Rosie with her cameraman husband Steve Smith.

They live in Dundee although Miss Kelly keeps a flat in London because of her work commitments with ITV.

She has famously had a legion of male fans over the years - including university students. And despite the passing of the years, Miss Kelly revealed she remained particularly happy with her cleavage.

She has previously said: ‘They’re not bad. They’re still perky which I’m lucky for so they’re holding up quite well.’

Lady Gaga - real name Stefanie Germanotta, 24 - rose to fame last year partly as a result of her outrageous stage antics.

In November, she donned a bright red floor-length Tudor-style gown, complete with puffed sleeves and an Elizabethan ruff – accessorised with sparkly red patches round her eyes and scarlet lips - when she met the Queen at the Royal Variety Performance.


Meanwhile, Miss Kelly’s long-running programme on ITV's breakfast show GMTV is having a makeover, which includes being moved to a new studio.

She said: ‘I have a wonderful team and I’m really looking forward to it. I think I have the best job in TV.’

Miss Kelly – who was celebrating after her beloved Dundee Utd football team won the Scottish Cup on Saturday - also gave her seal of approval to Adrian Chiles, who has been lured to GMTV in a four-year £6 million deal.

She said: ‘I think Adrian will work really well. He’s a great presenter. He can do both the serious and light-hearted stuff. He’s also a football fanatic so I’m sure we’ll get on like a house on fire.’

Read the full story in this week's new! magazine - out today.


source: dailymail

Living the high life: The diary of a jobless and disillusioned author who decided to build a tree house in the woods and survive off Mother Nature

By Nick Weston

Modern day Robinson Crusoe: Nick Westonbuilding and living in a treehouse in the woods of southern England, foraging for food, in a six-month experiment to see if it was possible to live as a 21stcentury hunter-gatherer.


It's a dream many of us have cherished at one time or another - the primitive desire to escape to a simple, idealistic existence, living off the land - where Mother Nature, rather than Tesco, satisfies our stomachs.

Daydreams and adventure novels aside, most of us would never contemplate doing what author Nick Weston, a latter-day Robinson Crusoe, actually did - building and living in a treehouse in the woods of southern England, foraging for food, in a six-month experiment to see if it was possible to live as a 21stcentury hunter-gatherer.

Nick, 28, who appeared in Channel 4's Shipwrecked and is a self-styled survivalist, found himself short of work, thanks to the credit crunch, but chose to turn the situation to his advantage by seeking to fulfil a boyhood dream of living self-sufficiently in a treehouse he'd built himself near Haywards Heath, West Sussex.

'I was at a stage where I knew what I wanted to do and where I wanted to be - and that wasn't living in a rented flat in London with no money,' he says. 'I wanted to be in the countryside, and decided I would try living as self-sufficiently as I could for six months.

'I'm not an eco-warrior, a hippy or a tree-hugger, but I knew I wanted to live a low-impact lifestyle that was sustainable and self-sufficient. And, like any boy who grew up in thrall to films like The Swiss Family Robinson, I had always wanted to live in a treehouse. So, with next-to-no money, this was what I chose to do.'

Nick duly trawled the internet, public library and local DIY stores for information about how to go about building his new life - and last April embarked on his challenge. First, he set some ground rules: this was not supposed to be an exercise in all-out survival, nor was it a trial period as a hermit. Life would go on as normal, except for his diet and living arrangements - because he wanted to enjoy the experience and not feel he had to struggle through a ridiculous challenge he had set himself.

So he allowed himself 'a few staples' to enhance the fresh produce he got from hunting or from the vegetable patch he cultivated next to his treehouse. These included olive oil, salt, pepper, flour, vinegar, tea, coffee, sugar, rice and yeast. This also included spending a couple of hundred pounds on wood and equipment to make his treehouse, which Nick vowed to build using recycled and natural materials as much as possible.

He charted his progress in a blog which averaged 2,000 hits a day - and it wasn't long before his adventure captured the attention of the media. A magazine column followed - and, much to Nick's bemusement, he was even besieged by TV crews for a week in July. Nick also kept a diary of the joys and hardships of tree-top living, which have now been published as a new book.


With a budget of just £300, Nick cut and sawed the wood himself


4TH APRIL
I need to find somewhere to build my tree house. I spoke to some family friends, who own a large farm, and offered to do some odd jobs in return for permission to build a treehouse in their woods. My new landlords seem intrigued by the idea - so now it's time to begin this whole crazy adventure.

10TH APRIL
I need a wood-burning stove but can't afford one. But I've found a way of making one using a steel drum (thanks to the internet). A local garage gives me an old one - and, with the help of a jigsaw, a drill, pliers, bolts, a hinge and a few L-brackets, I convert it into a stove I've named Bertha, after the extraordinarily capable factory machine in the 1970s TV show Bertha I watched as a kid.

22ND APRIL
I spend the next couple of days digging the ground of my new vegetable patch, making my own fencing and building wigwams for my runner beans. I'm impressed and amazed at what a couple of days' hard labour can achieve.


Room with a view: Nick found isolation from others the hardest thing to deal with


24TH APRIL
The £170 of wood I ordered to build my treehouse arrived today. The enormous pile of planks is daunting - it's time to turn my kitchen table sketches into reality. I am pleased with my surroundings, but to be honest, I'm a touch anxious about living on my own in a wood. I'm wondering what will go bump in the night...

25TH APRIL
Today I start building the treehouse. In my excitement I wake at 6.30am under the tarpaulin sheeting I've erected to serve as base camp until the treehouse is ready.

It's pouring with rain - great start! A couple of mates have come to help. We size up the tree I've chosen to build my house around and decide we need to cut down some trees to make support posts. None of us has ever felled a tree before - so shouting 'timber!' for real is exciting. We build a fire pit and tuck into some supper before getting into our sleeping bags for a well-earned rest. I'm lying on the hard ground, but I think a sore back is going to be the least of my worries..

4TH MAY
It's been a horrible weekend of saying goodbyes and clearing out the London flat I shared with my girlfriend, Clare. She knew how miserable I was, and has been very supportive about my project. She's moving in with friends - but leaving her behind is the biggest wrench of all.

5TH MAY
It's my first night living alone in the woods. It's midnight and I'm listening to the crackle of the fire and the faint screech of an owl.

Today has made me realise just how much work needs to go into the opening stages of a project like this. Spending the day gathering and cutting materials, working on the treehouse and then having to hunt and gather food to eat is proving a real nightmare. There just aren't enough hours in the day and I am finding it more exhausting than I'd anticipated.

I manage to shoot a rabbit for dinner and eat it with some steamed nettles, but I hadn't realised how long the tree house would take to make. With a budget of only £ 30 0 for the bui lding project, I'm cutting down the wood myself with a saw. The only power tool I have is a drill - so it's taking a long time. Now I'm worried about how I'm going to feed myself properly and build a tree house at the same time.

6TH MAY
I've decided I can't live in the wood full-time until the treehouse is finished, though it feels a cop-out. I need to concentrate on creating my crops and home, so decide to crash out several nights a week at my parents' home nearby. Over the next weeks I will be able to devote myself to making the flooring and building a shower from a bucket and a watering can. Later in the month I splash out £10 at a demolition yard on a mahogany seat for the loo I'm building over a pit I've dug. I'm going to use sawdust and ash from Bertha as my home-made waste disposal system, but I reckon I need a decent loo seat - besides I also want to keep Clare happy on her weekend visits to the treehouse.


Meat lover: It takes Nick 15 minutes to catch a rabbit, which he cooks with lemon juice, wild garlic and herbs

21ST MAY
I've noticed a white-necked cock pheasant hanging around. He's not scared of me and, as I don't need him for the pot just yet, I decide to call him Jeff and feed him any meagre scraps.

25TH MAY
It's pouring with rain, but at last I'm putting a roof on my house. It's not a one-man job, so my long-suffering friends, Tom and Chris, help me put up the corrugated iron and tarpaulin sheet. We finish - just in time to retreat from a deluge of Biblical proportions, which sets in for the night. I offer them a bottle of my home-brewed nettle beer (which tastes more like cider) and we eat dinner. As I listen to the rhythmic drumming of the rain, it feels more like being in a rainforest than the Sussex countryside.

1ST JUNE
I'm writing this by paraffin lamp, surrounded by moths. Dusk was announced by the 'tak-tak' of the blackbird and the wood settled into silence at about 9.30pm.

Tonight, I enjoyed my first salad from the garden: lettuce, spinach topped with wild garlic, bitter cress and a handful of garden peas added to a bowl of rice cooked in stock. Looking out at a moonlit wood is a bit unnerving: the shadows form familiar shapes, but I keep waiting for movement. There is none - the wood is silent.


Hucklberry Finn: Nick's bond with the countryside has become stronger than ever and his time in the woods has given him confidence


4TH JUNE
My house now has three walls. I decide to celebrate with a dip in the river. A couple of brown furry creatures jump in too - mink. They come quite close, but are more interested in play fighting with each other than me.

10TH JUNE
I'm back in London for work reasons - and it feels very strange. Even though I lived here for years and have only been away for a month, I am immediately struck by the pent-up anger of my fellow commuters. I feel uneasy, as if my security has been stripped away.

14TH JUNE
The fishing season starts at midnight, so out I go armed with nightlines. The next morning I find I've caught an eel, which I stun, behead, gut and put into my portable smoker.

22ND JUNE
I'm a real meat-lover and I find I get extremely anxious - almost panicky - by the evening if I have no protein for the table. Usually there are plenty of rabbits and, within 15 minutes, I've bagged a medium-sized coney, which I marinate with lemon juice, wild garlic, herbs and a dash of cider vinegar before pan-frying it on Bertha along with rice, steamed hop shoots and wilted spinach from the patch.

Agreeable as this lifestyle is, it's a lot of work for one person, although manageable. I miss surprisingly few 21st-century gadgets - though I do have my iPod with a solar-powered charger and a wind-up radio. I'm purposely avoiding the doom and gloom of the news and mostly listen to Radio 4 for company.

I've now made myself a comfortable bed and, thanks to my hard work, I am well-fed, so I am pretty content. I do miss running water - fetching supplies from the nearby farm a couple of times a week is a chore. But most of all I miss Clare and the company of my friends, though many of them are coming down at weekends to escape the city now the weather is hot.


DIY: Nick's makeshift stove was made using a steel drum and a pair of pliers


6TH AUGUST
I'd like to explore a bit further afield and hit upon the idea of making a trip along the river in a coracle I'm building myself.
I think there's a Huckleberry Finn deep in every boy who wants to explore a river and sleep rough - and this little excursion is my chance to do it. Navigating the jungle-like tangle of plants along the river makes my surroundings feel more like Siam than Sussex. It's a magical few days.

19TH AUGUST
Jeff the pheasant has not been around for a long time, but now I've discovered why. I came across his body in the woods - he'd not been dead long. I was sad as he'd become a bit of a companion, so I dug a hole and buried him. I'd always thought that if push came to shove he'd end up in the pot, but Mother Nature pulled the strings not me.

19TH AUGUST
Today felt like the first proper day of autumn. I found a badger that had been run over by a car. While it's illegal to shoot one, I decided that this was my chance to try badger meat, so took it home to skin. I made badger burgers from the meat and I tried them out on plenty of people - the feedback was pretty positive.

6TH OCTOBER
The changing seasons are having a big impact on my life. The summer was a snippet of rural bliss that could have come straight out of an H.E. Bates novel, but with winter drawing in, the woods don't hold much appeal. And as my vegetable patch will only feed me until November and the wild larder only supplies 60 per cent of my food, staying here all winter is not going to be feasible. I feel I have made the most of my experience so far, but the idea was always to enjoy it. I am also craving company - I'm finding the solitary lifestyle harder to cope with than I'd thought. So it's time to plan to leave.

29TH OCTOBER
Today is my last night alone in the treehouse, and as I wander out to hunt a rabbit for supper, I think about how much the seasons have changed and how my life has been intertwined with them. Looking back over my time in the woods, I realise I have discovered something new almost every day. I have become aware of the culinary versatility of our native flora and fauna - and now consider rabbits, pigeons, hop shoots and nettles as if they were everyday ingredients.

My bond with the countryside has also become stronger than ever, but, most of all, my time in the woods has given me confidence. Carving out an existence with your bare hands is a liberating feeling. I experienced great contentment looking after myself in this way. I now know that no matter how bad or desperate times become, I can always go back - to the woods, the fields and the places where wild things roam free - and not only survive, but thrive.

Extracted from The Tree House Diaries by Nick Weston, published by Collins & Brown on 4 May at £16.99. ° 2010, Nick Weston. To order a copy for £14.99 (p&p free), tel: 0845 155 0720.


GOING UP! HOW NICK BUILT HIS TREEHOUSE

Nick's biggest single expense was the £170 he spent on lengths of new timber for the foundations of his treehouse. The longest planks were bolted onto the side of the tree at a height of 2.3m (7½ft), using five coach screws on each side, and the shorter planks were rested on top of them and also screwed into the tree. The planks were not fixed to each other so that they could flex and move on windy days.

Support posts were made by chopping down surrounding sycamore, hazel and ash trees - and these were fitted with a wooden foot to spread the load of the final tree house. These were dropped into a pit 30cm (12in) deep and covered with soil, which nick and his friends packed down with their feet. The foundations and platform took two days to build. nick's next sizeable task was to cut 119, 1.5m (5ft) lengths of hazel to use for the balcony floor.

He was determined to make his house as attractive as possible, so was delighted to hit on the idea of using dead y-shaped oak branches to add character to the balcony banisters. Nick was able to get hold of some free off-cuts of recycled plywood to use for his floor boards, covering a total area of 4.2m x 3.6m (14ft x 12ft).

Next came the roof lintel, which was fixed to the tree with coach screws and l brackets, while the other end rested in a convenient fork of the support post and was screwed into place using builders band. The rafters could then be fitted - and came from birch trees from a different part of the wood, so as not to denude the area.

Birch was also used for the ladder, which had seven rungs, split in half to ensure a tight fit in the ladder notches and a flat surface for screws. nick bought his roofing from a demolition yard - £66 for 22 sheets of corrugated iron that had originally come from an old Sussex barn.

When fitting the sheets together it was important to ensure they overlapped by at least two 'peaks and troughs' to form a weatherproof seal. nick was lucky enough to get his hands on the remains of an old shed that he used to build his walls. All the wood for the walls was recycled - coming from skips and builders' yards.

One of the firms he had once worked for donated some Perspex for the windows, which he fitted into frames he had laboriously made himself. The treehouse door came from a skip and still had the hinges and lock attached.


source: dailymail

Just 8p a day interest in the worst year for savers on record

By Becky Barrow

Running low: Savers have endured the worst year on record


Savers have suffered their worst year on record with the average account paying just 8p a day, research reveals today.

The crisis is so bad that things may not improve for up to five years, experts warn.
Millions of pensioners who rely on the income from their savings to survive are among the worst affected.

Savings have been hit by the Bank of England’s attempt to rescue the economy by slashing its base rate to 0.5 per cent, the lowest since the Bank was founded in 1694. Economists predict it could stay below 1 per cent for five years.

The research by financial information firm Moneyfacts is based on someone putting £3,500 into a savings account on January 1 last year.

This is the average amount that Britons have in a savings account, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

The low rates mean the accounts are earning almost no interest, with the average rate on an easy access savings account just 0.84 per cent – the lowest since records began in 1988.

For the whole year, it is worth a paltry £29 – or 8p a day.

But in 2007, before the recession began, the average savings rate was 3.94 per cent. This was worth £138 a year for a person with the average £3,500 in a savings account.

Michelle Slade, a financial analyst at Moneyfacts, said: ‘Savers had the worst year on record – and 2010 is not going to get any better.

‘Savers have had a dismal year as rates have fallen to record lows. People who rely on the income from their savings to supplement their income, such as pensioners, have been the hardest hit.’


The worst offenders are paying zero per cent on their savings accounts, which means their customers do not get a single penny in interest.
Many others are paying just 0.05 per cent. The Dudley Building Society pays 0 per cent on its Instant Tracker account on balances up to £500, and Cheltenham & Gloucester pays 0.05 per cent on its Direct Transfer account on balances below £10,000.
Half the country’s 11million old people rely on some income from their savings to supplement their weekly income, according to research by the National Pensioners
Convention.
Official figures also show that about 55 per cent of pensioners receive less than £10 a week from their investment.
NPC General secretary Dot Gibson said: ‘Since the recession began, pensioners have seen their income devastated by the drop in interest rates. Now they are struggling to survive the rising cost of living, and there does not appear to be any end in sight.’
Kevin Mountford, head of banking at the financial comparison website Moneysupermarket, accused banks and building societies of ‘luring’ in customers with ‘exciting’ rates which quickly fall. Firms rely on customers being too lazy to switch, he added.
Although pensions minister Angela Eagle told the House of Commons recently that the Government was ‘concerned’ about pensioners who rely on savings income, they will get just £2.40 extra a week from their basic state pension this year.


source: dailymail

How To: Throw A Thanksgiving Party - Man-Style

By Nate Steere
Lifestyle Correspondent

Thanksgiving: a time to reflect on the past year, be thankful for how good we have it and share a meal with people who mean the most to us.

Sadly, despite these worthy reasons to come together and celebrate, you’ll often find yourself unable to make it to a traditional thanksgiving dinner. Whether you can't afford to travel to be with those you care about or you’re forced to work on Thanksgiving day, you may find that a traditional Thanksgiving isn't possible this year. This doesn't, however, mean you can't take time to celebrate with those around you. If Grandma's turkey dinner isn't in the cards this year, you can host a nontraditional Thanksgiving at your place. It's easy. Read on as we run down who to invite, what to serve, how to set up your house, and activities to keep the party lively. In general, we're telling you how to throw a Thanksgiving party - man-style.

Thanksgiving is a time to celebrate community, and you can't very well do that alone. So remember the more, the merrier, and consider inviting the following folks.

who to invite
Family
You may not be able to do a sit-down family meal, but be sure to invite any family members who live nearby. Sure, it's not the same as everybody gathered around the big table, but that isn't always a bad thing; if only two or three members of your family come, the odds of holiday drama from warring factions are much lower. Besides, those straggling family members will likely enjoy your nontraditional approach to throwing a Thanksgiving party - man-style.

Friends
This one's a no-brainer: you're having a party, and you want your good friends to be there. Just remember to get the word out early so they don't make plans or worse, do Thanksgiving at home alone.

Colleagues and neighbors
This might not be as obvious as the others, but consider inviting coworkers, or the cool couple who live in the apartment above yours. If you work in an industry that requires you to work on Thanksgiving (or Friday), it's likely that some of your coworkers are in the same boat as you, and don't have plans to travel for the holiday. Your neighbors will always appreciate an invitation, even if they aren't able to attend. As you'll see, the event we're planning really isn't that much work, so invite those around you -- it sounds like a cliché, but the holiday is all about opening your home to others.

what to serve
This is meant to be a party, so keep things simple. Ask each person to bring something. For a bigger party, you can leave it at that, but for a smaller group you'll want to assign something specific to each person: one person brings football food, another brings some bottles of wine, and so on. As for you, volunteer to handle the main course. The best way to do this is to prepare a turkey and some mashed potatoes. The potatoes will take a little bit of work, but after you set up the bird and put it in the oven, you’ll have a few hours while it cooks to prepare everything else.

In terms of drinks, you're going to want beer and wine of course, but try mixing it up on the cocktails side. It's the holidays, and while it might be a bit early for eggnog, a hard cider or hot rum punch is always in good taste.

Prepping the house
You have two separate goals in getting your house ready for company; you want the house to look manly, and also to look (and stay) clean. Unless you and your girlfriend are living together, you're probably not going to go overboard on decorations. However, get a few holiday scented candles and maybe some fresh cut flowers for the center of the table. You'll have a lot of people in your space, so while you don't need to change everything around, you at least want to put your best foot forward.

Secondly, get everything cleaned up and ready for company. Make sure the guest bathroom has soap and towels, and make sure there's space in the fridge for all the incoming food. Alongside this, set it up so your house will stay clean and organized: if you have extra wastebaskets or trash cans, set them out in areas people are going to be so you don't spend the next two days picking up discarded cups and plates.

Finally, if you don't want your stuff to get screwed up, plan for that too. If you have a home theater system that has more than three remotes (good for you), get it set up and running so people don't change your settings while trying to find the game.

party ideas
While the focal point of the party is going to be pigging out on some tasty food, you should also have a general idea of some other activities for the day. After all, people who've stuffed themselves are going to want to sit and relax. So, any high-energy activities should definitely be pre-meal. Here are some ideas:

Watch (and play) football
Unless you don't enjoy football, Thanksgiving day football games are the perfect decompression activities. Your guests get to sit and digest all the good food, and you get a chance to show off your home theater setup. You can extend the football theme before the food is served by going out in the yard to toss the pigskin, or even get a game going -- if the girls join in you can switch to two-hand touch.

Gamble
Set up a little gambling for your guests, and you're sure to keep them occupied. Obviously the football games are a perfect chance for a friendly bet or two. You can even organize a game of squares to raise the stakes. Consider breaking out your poker chips and a deck of cards. A few rounds of Hold'em after dinner is just the thing to keep the evening moving along.

Have a cigar walk after dinner
A good walk after dinner can help your aching stomach begin the long road to recovery. So, pick up a few cigars and break them out after dinner for a quick stroll around the neighborhood. You and the guys can take in the view, and a quality cigar and quiet contemplation is a great way to spend a few minutes enjoying one anothers' company.

Organize a Black Friday raid
If lots of people you know are taking Friday off to roll into the weekend, why not organize a Black Friday raid? Despite the weakened economy, Black Friday is still going strong, and you can have some fun with trying to score some crazy deals. Create a battle plan -- divide your troops to attack two or more stores in the same area, come up with a list of targets based on what everybody has their eyes on buying, and have fun with getting everybody involved in how you're going to maximize your loot. Provide supplies for your soldiers: if you're waiting outside a store, or worse, camping out, bring provisions. You can turn this into a poor man's tailgate party; it's not like you won't have tons of leftover food after Thursday, so why not make some hot open-faced turkey sandwiches to bring along?

start a new tradition
Thanksgiving is (for most Americans) a four-day weekend involving football, Black Friday, family and friends in town, and killer food. Even though you can't always have the picture-perfect holiday, that doesn't mean you need to skip Thanksgiving all together. From a full-blown feast to an intimate gathering with a few good friends, Thanksgiving can be a chance to get together with the people we care about. So don't let the logistics hold you back. Formulate a plan for your gathering, whatever the size, and get ready to enjoy the best the holiday has to offer.


source: askmen.com

How To: Handle Losing Your Job

By Michael Hirsch
Lifestyle Correspondent

So you lost your job. Find us a man who hasn't lost a job in his life and we'll show you a man who works for the government. Luckily, you still have your health. Life could be worse.

Whether you were fired or laid off, your first reaction to losing your job will most likely be shock, followed by anger. You might be tempted to tell your boss where he can shove his briefcase -- but that's a bad idea. Keep your mouth shut and follow these seven steps to successfully handle losing your job.

1- Negotiate a severance package
"Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts."
-Winston Churchill

Many companies will give you at least two weeks' severance pay. Some will give you up to a year's pay, depending on whether you were fired or laid off. If possible, contact other employees who were previously let go and ask them how much they received when they left the company. This way you'll know what's fair and have a monetary value to shoot for.

Additionally, you are legally entitled to be paid for unused vacation time. If you think you're not getting a fair severance package, consult a labor attorney. You should be able to get a free consultation to find out whether or not you have a case.

2- Ask for references
"The measure of a man is the way he bears up under misfortune."
-Plutarch

Your direct boss and other company executives you worked with should be willing to provide you with a positive reference or recommendation. Unless, of course, you were caught in the copier room with the boss' girlfriend during the company Christmas party, or you stole from your company, in which case you probably deserved to lose your job.

It's in your former employer's best interest that you find another job, so you don't put a major dent in their unemployment insurance fund (and that's something that should help you handle losing your job). Once you're on the payroll at a new company, your previous company is off the hook for the payments.

Additionally, in our litigious society, everyone's afraid of being sued. So, your former employer will be reluctant to say or write anything negative about your work performance, unless you were actually charged with a crime. Make it easy on your boss, and volunteer to write a letter of recommendation yourself that he can review and sign.

3- Leave with class
"Nothing gives a person so much advantage over another as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances."
-Thomas Jefferson

You might feel like you were treated unfairly and did not deserve to be let go. But life isn't always fair, and neither are employers. So hold your head up high, and with a smile on your face thank your boss for the opportunity he gave you to work at his company. Then walk out the door, never to return, and don't look back.

Your employer will respect you for the way you've handled this difficult experience. And you'll leave him thinking about the great employee he lost. You never know when a new job opportunity with your boss might arrive at another company in the future.

4- Apply for unemployment benefits
"No great man ever complains of want of opportunity."
-Ralph Waldo Emerson

The next step to handle losing your job is to apply for unemployment benefits as soon as possible. This is no time for excessive pride and there's no shame in collecting unemployment. You might not realize that you're actually bilking your ex-employer, not the government. The company pays your benefits out of its unemployment insurance fund.

Whether you're getting severance pay or not, you're eligible for unemployment. Go to your local office of the State Department of Employment Security and apply for benefits, which are based on a percentage of your previous salary.

5- Have a little fun
"Empty pockets never held anyone back. Only empty heads and empty hearts can do that."
-Norman Vincent Peale

Before you start looking for a new job, take at least a week to relax and recharge your batteries. Commiserate with your buddies over a few drinks at your favorite bar. Take that vacation you never had time for before.

Use this free time to meet and date women, but don't tell the new girls you meet that you're unemployed. Put a positive spin on your current employment status. Depending on your career, tell the ladies you're "switching careers," an "independent contractor," a "consultant," or a "freelancer." You'll get further with them than you would by telling them you're currently jobless.

6- Hit the pavement for a new gig
"Consider the postage stamp: its usefulness consists in the ability to stick to one thing until it gets there."
-Josh Billings

Update your resume and go get a job. Aside from applying the traditional way by sending out resumes, post it on career sites like Monster.com and let employers come to you.

Once you start getting interviews, don't tell potential employers that you were fired. After all, you wouldn't tell a woman you just met that your last girlfriend dumped you. In the wake of the recent recession, potential employers are accustomed to seeing candidates who have been laid off. So, it's not the kiss of death.

Don't lie, but don't volunteer information to potential employers regarding why you left your previous job. If they ask, use one of the following phrases to explain:
"I was downsized in corporate restructuring" or "My department was shut down."
Keep in mind that your previous employer can only confirm the date when you were hired and when you left. By law, they cannot comment on whether you left or they let you go.

7- Use this time to improve yourself
"The successful warrior is the average man, with a laser-like focus."
-Bruce Lee

While you're looking for a new job, use your free time to improve yourself and improve your chances of finding a job. Avoid detrimental, time-wasting activities such as watching TV and drinking beer during the day. One of the key ways to handle losing your job is to stay focused without beating yourself up too hard.

Instead, do something productive. Learn a new language to help widen your job opportunities. Take a class on public speaking to improve your speech skills. Attend networking events in your chosen field, where you can meet people who know of job openings. Or, find an unpaid internship in a new career area you're interested in. It might lead to you being hired on in a paid position.

Volunteer at a charity to meet people, especially women. Write that novel you've always dreamed of. Focus on your health by working out and eating well.
handle losing your job like a man

Regular exercise will help you stave off depression, improve your mental clarity and enable you to focus on your job search. Upgrade your personal style and wardrobe to present a professional image for yourself. You'll feel better, look better and gain more confidence.

Now, get to work.



source: Askmen.com

Five Painless Ways to Cut Expenses

Trimming the home budget doesn't have to mean more macaroni and fewer cable channels. Here are five ways to smartly — and painlessly — cut your family's expenses

Desperate Times, Thrifty Measures
By DAN KADLEC

Since the recession began two years ago thrift has resurfaced as something of a national obsession. That's good. As a nation we had gone off the deep end in terms of debt-fueled consumption and low savings. Now, tough times are spurring a reversal. The U.S. savings rate, once around zero, has pushed upward to about 4% this year. We could do better, and plenty has been written about how to go about pinching more pennies.

You've probably seen a lot of this advice and found it either predictable, too painful to actually act on or insufficient to make much of a difference — things like shopping with coupons, buying energy-efficient windows and appliances, cutting back on your Starbucks habit, dropping the premium cable package (and maybe joining Netflix), having the house cleaner come half as often (and maybe picking up a broom), getting familiar with craigslist.com so you can buy more stuff used, going to the library, vacationing at home, quitting the health club (and jogging), turning down the thermostat (and putting on a sweater).

It's all fine advice, and if you want more ideas of this sort go to aarpfinancial.com and click on Learning Center and then Investments for a list of 101 nifty cost-cutting ideas. It would also pay for you to examine a year's worth of spending by looking at your automatic bill-pay system and credit-card records. Some line items will jump at you and practically scream for attention. Did you really spend $5,000 at restaurants last year? Yes — if you ate out once a week and spent about $100 each time.

Yet eating out is part of what makes life fun. Sure, you can cut back. But what you'd really like to do is take a restaurant-sized bite out of your expense structure, not just nibble at it, and do so without curbing your lifestyle — right? Well, you can. Here are five nearly painless ways to cut at least $1,000 from your annual budget:

See how you can cut your family's expenses:



Minimize Investing Costs

Most folks don't think much about the cost of investing because they aren't active traders, and so discount brokerages offering $7 stock trades as an alternative to much higher full-service fees don't mean much. Yet odds are you have some money, maybe even quite a bit, tucked away in one or more mutual funds in, say, your 401(k) or an IRA and that you pay no attention to the recurring fees these funds impose on you whether you buy, sell, hold or, well, just go to sleep. These fees fly under the radar because they are deducted from your balance and typically minuscule next to the gain or loss in your portfolio. But make no mistake: you pay them, and the costs can be surprisingly high.

Thankfully the costs can also be chopped down fairly easily. The key is sticking with extremely low-cost index funds, where the annual expense may be as little as 0.2% of your balance as opposed to actively managed funds where the annual expense typically runs about 1.19%. What does that mean? On an account worth $100,000, your annual cost in index funds is a mere $200 instead of $1,190 with actively managed funds. So you'd save $990 a year by switching. But that's only the start. The money you save each year stays in the fund and grows. Let's say a low-cost index fund and an average-cost actively managed fund both grow 8% a year for 20 years. Over that period, you'd end up with $75,678 more with the index fund by virtue of the additional compound returns from lower expenses; the index fund would grow to $449,133 while the actively managed fund would grow to $373,455. That's more than $3,700 a year.



Rightsize Your Cell-Phone Plan

Eight in 10 cell-phone owners either pay for service they don't use or rack up regular and excessive overage charges — and, on average, they could save 22% a month or more than $400 a year without altering their calling habits, according to Tom Pepe, CEO of Validas, which advises small businesses and individuals how to pick the right cell-phone plan. Multiply that figure by the number of people in your family plan and you could be talking about way more than $1,000 a year. "The big problem is the invoice," Pepe says. "You just can't understand it." That makes choosing the right plan difficult. Meanwhile, plans offered by Sprint, Verizon and others are constantly changing, as are your family's calling, texting and downloading habits. So cutting your cell bill is like trying to hit a moving target — frustrating and seemingly impossible. For a small fee, you can get a full checkup and recommendations at fixmycellbill.com, a Validas website.

If you want to figure this out on your own start with an unlimited plan because the cost of minutes not included in your monthly package can quickly overwhelm the additional cost of a larger package. Monitor your bill closely for three months; scale back to a cheaper plan when you have a firm grasp on the minutes and services you really need. Overage charges are the single biggest bill buster; make sure you have enough prime-time minutes. Other simple ways to cut: consider switching to a prepaid (no monthly fee) calling plan if you are an occasional user, use your land line when at home to conserve prime-time cell minutes and stop downloading games and ringtones.



Rethink Your Insurance

You'll save 10% right away by raising the deductible on your car or homeowner's policy to, say, $500 or $1,000 from the typical $250. You shouldn't make small claims anyway; they may push your premiums higher. Keep an emergency fund rather than paying for a low deductible. Make sure you buy your auto and homeowner's coverage from the same insurer to get a 15% multiline discount. You can lower premiums further by adding storm shutters, reinforcing your roof or buying stronger roofing materials, or by adding smoke detectors, dead-bolt locks and a burglar alarm or a sprinkler system. You can save on medical insurance too by raising the deductible or switching to an HMO from a more costly PPO or POS plan.

"Raising deductibles to save on premiums makes the most sense for those who are healthy and have cash reserves to pay the increased cost in the event they have more claims than expected," says Kevin J. Meehan, a financial planner with Summit Wealth Advisors in Itasca, Ill. "Many pay for benefits they just don't use." This is also true of life insurance, where you may be able to save thousands of dollars a year in premiums by avoiding whole or universal coverage and opting for a term policy with a face amount large enough to retire all your family debt immediately and leave your spouse with an income stream for life.



Give Time, Not Money

This is no time to turn a cold shoulder on charitable groups that you've supported in the past. Like virtually all organizations and individuals, charities have felt the bite of the recession. They are receiving fewer and smaller contributions, and are cutting their budgets and their activities. If you've been blessed with stable and secure income in these rocky times, by all means keep giving. But if cash is short you can still support your favorite charity as before — by donating your time instead of your money.

A volunteer's time may not pay the rent, but it has measurable value. The Independent Sector, a think tank for nonprofits, estimates that a volunteer hour is worth just over $20. So do the math. If in the past you have given, say, to your church to the tune of $2,000 a year — give 100 hours of your time instead, or maybe 50 hours plus $1,000. You'll save $1,000 or more while maintaining your commitment and feeling good about yourself. One note of caution: the value of your time is not tax deductible, though any materials or supplies you provide while volunteering can be deducted.



Avoid Fee Creep ...

... and watch for unauthorized charges. Fees are going up across the services spectrum as companies look for ways to bolster revenue in a slow economy — and the worst part is that the increases typically are done so quietly you may not figure them out for months. The banking industry has been most aggressive on this front, having raised the price of just about everything from overseas charge-card transactions, ATM withdrawals and rewards cards dues to late payments, cash advances, overdraft protection, wire transfers and even insufficient card activity. It's all disclosed — in the fine print somewhere on page 98. Good luck with that. At the same time, sneaky marketers are finding ways to hit you with small monthly charges that often go undetected by cardholders for months, and once found can be difficult to stop.

You are most at risk when you accept a free trial for any product or service (it just keeps coming and you just keep getting charged) or agree to a monthly payment for, say, access to an online game that you get tired of but can't seem to cancel. Sometimes after successfully canceling, the charges inexplicably start again a few months later. Bank fees and unauthorized (or forgotten) recurring charges can easily cost you $1,000 or more each year. Your best protection is to do a line-by-line review of your charge-card statements every month, paying attention to each charge no matter how small (indeed, especially the small ones) as well as to the interest rate and fees you are paying. Don't assume a phone call to a merchant or service provider will end unwanted charges; you have to keep monitoring your statement and complain to the card company if you are unable to cancel a recurring charge.



source: Time.com

Career Tips From Don Draper

By Nate Steere

The hit show Mad Men has added a new role model for men everywhere. Our list of influential men includes movie stars, rock legends, 00-agents, and now advertising agents. The cast and crew of Mad Men do a great job of transporting viewers to another time and place. And, as much as we love Roger Sterling, nobody embodies the manly qualities we're talking about like Don Draper. Jon Hamm's Golden Globe winning character recently finished first in our Top 49 Most Influential Men poll. So, what influence has Don had on your working style? Read on for some career tips we've gleaned from obsessing over episodes (we prefer to call it studying).

Play your position
No matter your title at work, play the position appropriately. This really boils down to knowing everything your job entails. Don always knows what deliverables his superiors, team and clients expect. As a leader, you should not consider any work to be “beneath you,” but you also need to be sure your team is doing their work, not just leaving it for you to pick up. Consider a manager whose team consistently leaves the bathroom a mess. If you were in this manager's shoes, would you talk to each member of your team, having a talk about bathroom standards that was boring and non-confrontational, but still left no doubt as to what you expected of your staff in terms of how to maintain the bathroom? If you're like most managers the answer is no; you'd simply start cleaning the bathroom yourself so you didn't have to have that uncomfortable talk with your staff. Keep the image in your mind -- some managers would rather clean up the toilets than tell an employee what to do.

Make it about the work
Do you come to work to make friends or to work? Don Draper certainly cares more about his work than he cares about the people on his team. Certainly, there is no need to be aggressive or to be a jerk, but this career tip from Don Draper highlights that friendship isn't the main reason to show up every morning. Go to work to get things accomplished and be effective. If you can be friends with those you work with (and it's almost always the case) that's even better, but never forget that it's also just a bonus. You might like the people you work with, but you don't show up at 9 a.m. every day because you like them.

Keep your mouth shut
One of the fundamental rules of knowledge as power is to never give away information when it does not benefit you. If you are in a position that affords you exclusive knowledge, the more people you give this knowledge to, the more diluted your power becomes. The rule here is simple: Keep your mouth shut -- and do it as much as you can (and the less you say the better). Your personal life, who in the office is hooking up, your boss' golf game -- all of that is valuable information in one way or another. Don't hand it out unless you have to. Don embodies all of these qualities. In fact, one of the very few times Don blows his cool is when he overhears the team dragging Freddy Rumsen's name through the mud.

This applies to everything except the work. If accounting asks for the month's numbers, send them over (a reply of “knowledge is power” would get you fired). Talk about the work as much as you like; if nothing else, it keeps you from talking about your private life or any juicy office gossip. Who do you respect more: The person who's always talking with you about the next big project at work or the person who's always telling you about their problems at home? Don Draper is a master in keeping his business private -- two words: Dick Whitman.

Respect what you do
Do you work with people who act like what they do is a joke? Not their industry, not their division, but their own individual job as a joke? You know, the guy who takes twice the smoke breaks of anyone else or who is always prowling the workplace, looking for somebody who's free to talk? Besides wasting time, this person is sending a clear message that they don't take their job too seriously. If you don't take what you do seriously, why should anybody else in the organization? You need to come to work every day convinced that you play a crucial role. Many men wonder why they don't command more respect in the workplace, yet they don't carry themselves with respect. This career tip from Don Draper teaches us the opposite: There's no need to brag about past success and no need to overstate your role, but never act as if your job is unimportant or your contributions aren't central to your team's success.

Dress the part
Don't overdress or underdress -- always dress for the occasion. Show up looking as snappy as you can while still looking like you're ready to hit the phones, not the clubs (or worse, the greens). We've covered plenty of fresh looks for men on the site, so be sure to study up if you're fashion impaired. Don't chase this month's fashion, stick with timeless looks that suit any situation -- some of the clothing on Mad Men are as current today as it was back then. Don't show up looking wrinkled and disheveled. If you work in an office where collared shirts and ties are expected, keep a spare tie that goes with most outfits in your desk drawer. That way, if you stain your tie before a big meeting, you're covered. If you really want to be on your game, keep some Shout wipes and a small bottle of wrinkle releaser on hand as well.

master the mad men model
No question, our man Don Draper always makes things look easy -- during business hours at least. However, just because he makes it all look natural doesn't mean that these techniques can't be learned. Some of the subtleties of correct workplace maneuvering have to be on you before they're in you -- you'll need to do them consciously until they become more natural, until eventually you do them automatically. Don't expect to become an expert in something as difficult as learning to keep your mouth shut overnight; these are things you'll need to work at. If you can commit the time to making these behaviors a natural part of your workplace persona, you'll be able to get more done and get more respect while you do it. And that's the surest way to get ahead.


source: askmen.com

How to make money with SEO

Here is how to make money other. I do SEO on the web with customers and penetrate 3 ways:.

1. A blog E-Commerce sales from China.
Gadget Electronic Products with keywords that are already selling products from factories to China. Selling price is sending is very profitable casual 150% -200% for these products simply by Tradekey.com, Made-In-China.com and Alibaba.com then try to go to the Browse or Search View prognostication itself. Or if want to know what products are selling well on eBay to see the product of a Bid will know now what that self-selling. Then came the web that could help save time and find more.

There is also a form that plants themselves. Receive goods from Chinese factories and then again there is much to see. Product is one that I sold. (Tell only a category one electrical) while in China, factories making these goods, but only 7 plants in Tradekey.com a seller this is a hundred, most claim that you own is a unique facility. Plus, the market better than the plant itself will forget ซะ another higher plant. Just do it yourself SEO web without investing tax free not bear costs nothing. Online trading is the best It's real e ring.

2. Advertising products to Drop Shipping worldwide.
This Web Inter from web sources for factory goods from China that go early. Do you know whether a plant variety. Ready to ship around the world to send you a price. Without that force you to order each other no more (No Minimum Order Quantity or MOQ) of the Stock is not no pay. Only customers buy products. Then you would order directly from Chinese factories that you trust to talk to you then see the web then. Call verified that reliable. But more reliable than if the plants are paying members (gold member) Web Tradekey.com, Made-In-China.com. And what they are. Ensure reliable indeed.

You may think to yourself I think that the Wii or not power is actually not money หรอก yes to Bagaga is now shopping online from home in this neighborhood as you open yourself up to the web. Enter electrical goods from factory to store your Deal, but the full Web, you just act as a store just a plant shipment from China waiting for you. Every sale. You have the difference. And the difference with the very ซะ. If you select plants that are very wholesale. The majority then it must be like to know because it is the same plant in China. Trade between race and each step is virtually dead.

3. To create a web / blog broker.
This web then you just need a little more often phone. Because it is a professional broker to goods or services. Where you will find yourself that. What a professional brokerage that provides some good money. Find out what services or products. Receiving broker or get people to do some final words Affiliate Affiliate commission is sure enough. But this time we applied to retail products or services.

How do they just take the domain names. Com, then a block with mechanical precipitation You SEO by Coast easy way to tell my WP + SEO Plugin + Unique Content provided knowledge about the keywords or a market. Then wait for Google, which ranks should not exceed 1 month if you should read the article. It is up to the first page now. The rest is sitting waiting for phone customers. Then, when customers call. You have to call your product sourcing resources to their work. Then waiting to receive money. How this additional revenue. May be the main revenue within the year.

Do not forget that they do not need SEO blogs have their own web space to a software way. Many try to use the Google search you will find yourself using SEO methods you can use the software content way. Those living a Google ranking as well as doing well without SEO, but do understand about each other. And commitments to each other. Try นึกดู know that if you leave it like SEO and link on the article. You are sure yet. You will beat the other competitors is a thousand billion easily on Google.

Note: Sorry some mistake, use language translation tool.


source: Digitalmoneylife.com

Google Adsense Tips, Tricks, and Secrets

I’ve been reading a few forums and blogs about Google Adsense tips lately, and thought it would be helpful to consolidate as many as possible in one place without the comments. I’ve also thrown in a few tips of my own. We start out with some of the basic general stuff and move to the more specific topics later on.


Build an Empire?
When you’re deciding to become a website publisher you will fall into one of two broad categories:

Publish 100 websites that each earn $1 a day profit
Publish 1 website that earns $100 a day profit

The reality of it is, most people end up somewhere in between. Having 100 websites leaves you with maintenance, management and content issues. Having one website leaves you open to all sort of fluctuations (search engines algorithm’s, market trends, etc). You can adapt your plan on the way, but you’ll have an easier time if you start out going in the direction of where you want to end up.

General or Niche
You can build your website around general topics or niche ones. Generally speaking niche websites work better with adsense. First off the ad targeting is much better. Secondly as you have a narrow focus your writing naturally becomes more expert in nature. Hopefully this makes you more authority in your field.

If this is your first try at building an adsense website, make it about something you enjoy. It will make the process much easier and less painful to accomplish. You should however make sure that your topic has enough of an ad inventory and the payout is at a level you are comfortable with. You may love medieval folk dancing, but the pool of advertisers for that subject is very small (in fact it’s currently zero).

Once you’ve gotten the hang of how Adsense works on a website, you are going to want to dabble in some high paying keywords, you may even be tempted to buy a high paying keyword list. This does come with some dangers. First off the level of fraud is much higher on the big money terms. Secondly there is a distortion of the supply and demand relationship for these terms. Everyone wants ads on their website that make $35 or more a click, however the number of advertisers who are willing to pay that much is pretty limited. Additionally the competition for that traffic is going to be stiff. So, don’t try to run with the big dogs if you can’t keep up. If you have to ask if you’re a big dog, then chances are, you’re not. I have used a high dollar keywords report from cashkeywords.com and was pleased with my results (see cash keywords free offer recap).

New Sites, Files and Maintenance
When you’re building a new site don’t put adsense on it until it’s finished. In fact I’d go even farther and say don’t put adsense on it until you have built inbound links and started getting traffic. If you put up a website with “lorem ipsum” dummy or placeholder text, your adsense ads will almost certainly be off topic. This is often true for new files on existing websites, especially if the topic is new or different. It may take days or weeks for google’s media bot to come back to your page and get the ads properly targeted. TIP: If you start getting lots of traffic from a variety of IP’s you will speed this process up dramatically.

I like to build my sites using include files. I put the header, footer and navigation in common files. It makes it much easier to maintain and manage. I also like to put my adsense code in include files. If I want/need to change my adsense code, it’s only one file I have to work with. TIP: I also use programming to turn the adsense on or off. I can change one global variable to true or false and my adsense ads will appear or disappear.

Managing URL’s and channels
Adsense channels is one area where it’s really easy to go overboard with stats. You can set up URL channels to compare how one website is doing to another. You can also set up sub channels for each URL. If you wanted to you do something channels like this:

domain1.com – 728 banner
domain1.com – 336 block
domain1.com – text link
domain2.com – 728 banner
domain2.com – image banner
domain2.com – 336 block
domain3.com – 300 block
While this is great for testing and knowing who clicks where and why, it makes your reporting a little wonky. Your total number will always be correct but when you look at your reports with a channel break down things will get displayed multiple times and not add up to correct total. Makes things pretty confusing, so decide if you really need/want that level of reporting detail. TIP: At the very least you want to know what URL is generating the income so be sure to enter distinct URL channels.

Site Design and Integration

Once you know you are going to put adsense on your website you’re going to have to consider where to put it. If this is new site it’s easier, if it’s an existing site it’s more difficult. While there are some people who will be able to do it, in most cases I’d say if you just slap the adsense code in, you’ll end up with a frankensite monster (props to Tedster of WMW for the buzzword). While every website is different, Google has published some heat maps showing the optimal locations. No surprise that the best spots are middle of the page and left hand side. Now I’ve done really well by placing it on the right, but you should know why you’re doing it that way before hand, and be prepared to change it if it doesn’t work out.

Google has also has published a list of the highest performing ad sizes:

336×280 large rectangle
300×250 inline rectangle
160×600 wide skyscraper
From the sites that I run, I do really well with the 336 rectangle and 160 skyscraper. My next best performing ad size is the 728 leaderboard, I don’t really use the 300 inline rectangle too often. So really it depends on how well you integrate these into your site. Placement can have a dramatic effect on performance. TIP: When working on a new site or new layout you may want to give each location it’s own channel for a little while until you understand the users behavior.

Another ‘trick’ that can increase your CTR is by blending your adsense into your body copy. For example if your body copy is black, remove the adsense border and make the title, text, and URL black.TIP: Try changing all of your page hyperlinks to a high contrast color (like dark red or a bold blue) then change the adsense title to the same color.

The one area where I’ve found blended ads don’t perform as well is forums, especially ones with a high volume of repeat members. Regular visitors develop banner blindness pretty quickly. One ‘trick’ to keep the ads from being ignored is to randomize the color and even the placement. As with any of the decisions about location, placement and color it’s a trade off. How much do you emphasize the ads without annoying your visitors. Remember it’s better to have a 1% CTR with 500 regular visitors as opposed to a 5% CTR with 50 visitors. TIP: For forums try placing the adsense ads directly above or below the the first forum thread.

Using Images
One of the latest ’secrets’ to make the rounds is using images placed directly above or below an adsense leaderboard. This has been used for a while but came out in a digital point forum thread where a member talked about quadrupling their CTR. Basically you set up the adsense code in a table with four images that line up directly with the ads. Whether or not this is deceptive is fuzzy and very subjective. Obviously four blinking arrows would be ‘enticing people to click’ and be against the adsense TOS. However placing pictures of 4 laptops over laptops ads isn’t, so use your best judgment here and look at it from the advertiser or Google’s perspective. If you have a question as to your implementation being ‘over the line’ write to adsense and ask them to take a look.

As far as using the images, I’ve done it and can tell you it definitely works. You get the best results when the images ‘complete the story the ads are telling’. For example if you have ads about apple pies, use pictures of freshly baked apple pies, instead of granny smith, Macintosh, pink lady, and braeburn apples. TIP: Don’t limit yourself to using images only on that size ad unit, it works just as well with the other sizes, like the 336 rectangle.

Added:
I got a little criticizm for this and rightly so, as I wasn’t specific as I could have been. Do not use very identifiable brand name or products for your images. Use generic non-specific stock images whenever possible and appropriate.

Multiple Ad Units
Another way to increase ad revenue is to use multiple ad units. According to Google’s TOS you are allowed to post up to three ad units per page. Similar to standard search results the highest paying ad units will be served first and the lowest being served last. If there is enough of an ad inventory, place all three ad units. However you should pay attention to the payouts. Current assumption is you get 60% of the revenue (on a $0.05 click you get $0.03). So if a click from the third ad unit is only paying between 3 to 5 cents you may want to omit it from your page. This is one are where giving your ad units channels does have value. If one ad unit is getting a higher percentage of click throughs you’ll want to make sure the highest paying ads are being served there. TIP:Use CSS positioning to get your highest paying ads serving in the location with the highest CTR.


Adsense in RSS
With the growth of blogs and RSS feeds you’re starting to see adsense included in the feeds now. IMHO this doesn’t work, and here’s why:

You only get to place one ad unit.
You have no control over finding the ’sweet spot’ for the ad unit.
The ads are usually poorly targeted (this is getting better).
People develop ‘banner blindness’.
I know people like being able to read full postings in their feed reader, and there are at least a dozen other reasons for full posts from pleasing your users to mobile offline computing, all of which are completely valid. However if your website depends on generating adsense revenue to survive, then bring them to the site and show them the ads there.

Affiliate Sites
Placing Adsense on affiliate sites is tricky. Are you giving up a $10, $20, or $30 sale for a $1 click? This is something you have to test on your own to figure out. If you aren’t converting now it’s definitely worth a try. I like to use adsense on my article pages. For example let’s say you had an affiliate website where you sold shoes. You’re going to need some related articles to ‘flesh out’ the site. Things like ‘getting a shoe shine’ or ‘finding a shoe repair shop’ these are excellent spots for adsense. While you won’t get rich, they will usually provide a small steady income and cover things like hosting costs.TIP: If you find you have pages getting more than 50 clicks per month add more pages about this topic, and link the pages together. Mine you logs for the search terms used.

PPC Arbitrage
This is a dicey subject so I’m going to steer clear of precise examples. Basically you bid on low volume uber niche terms at a very low cost. You set up landing page that contains high payout ads for the related general topic. You are looking for terms with a large gap between the price you are bidding on adwords and the price you are getting on Adsense. If you pay $0.10 a click and get $1.00 a click you make $0.90 each click. To get your adsense ad approved you will need to ‘add some value’ along the way. You can make a killing or get taken to the cleaners with this one, so make sure you know what you are doing before you try it.

Have any other adsense tips, tricks or secrets? Drop me an email and let me know, I’ll give you credit.

Added
728 leaderboard works very well if it is just above the end of the
“above the fold” area on what would be considered your viewers average
resolution/browser window size if there are few other enticing links
above the fold. Makes for an interesting layout but if you’re building
a site for AdSense it may be worth it. We consistently receive very
high CTRs from doing this.

Try to build sites that allow you to quickly try any and all of
those locations outlined in the heatmap guide or at least allow you a
wide degree of freedom to easily change ad/content locations.
via:nuevojefe

9 step, make money by ClickBank

Here is how to make money with Affiliate ClickBank, especially from people successfully. And can earn a living with this a long time ago. The others do not find work again. Even money with Google AdSense became additional revenue immediately. ครับ out to see that steps are what they used.

1. Select markets.

The market breadth is selected to be made first thing. Same category of product selection. You can find ideas such as eBay, Amazon Bestselling Product Marketing, etc. Do not forget that there is a thousand billion. But the market should choose the money market will be easier than other markets such as markets, health (health), market changes themselves (self improvement), DIY, such as solar power), financial (finance), tourism (travel). etc..


2. Penetrate niche (long tail, micro niche).

When the market then. Came to penetrate deep into the retail needs. Chaa or specific market that's new. What is it to be. To make markets more efficient, such as the health market. Specific sub-market can be down from it. What type of cancer. To choose food for better health (stage cancer - healthy food for old people) ...

3. Analytics keywords (Keyword Search).

Once known to penetrate markets where. Now it has come to see each other really. That such sub-markets. Time people want to find information they find each other with words or word what keywords. Using simple tools like Google Keyword Suggestion Tool, and then bring those words to create a web or writing articles.

4. Select products hit in ClickBank.

Now it's time to go see the CB Commercial, the other keywords. What products have good sales. And most interesting visit from the Market Place and then put into box and then select New to sort results by popularity and see the product not less than 50 Gravity more.

5. Find titles liking.

Own at this point will make a difference between success with failure. When the product was. Now they will see an e-book products that are selected. It's one of the problems people have. The question as I choose what best e-book about Hair Loss Now it is a new page. I need to know that when people fall I want to know how to solve this problem. He will type sentences into what Google does so well as how to prevent hair loss, hair loss prevention tips, this is what such titles as well. (Do not ever think yourself) to find the Google Keyword Suggestion Tool used by type, such as hair loss or products that you choose to sell into.

6. Create article (create article).

Now, create the article. The article must not be taken from the web free article distribution. It can be taken from hiring other people write. What is the minister or the eye can read customers believe that you are one of the industry that Zhao money with ClickBank and AdSense does not like it here, for AdSense own quality of articles is not as epic. Creating article. Most will need to create a 5-10 washing out the article at least.

7. Create Landing Page.

Landing Page turret is the last checkpoint you will put the article to customers believe. Then agree to pay to buy e-book that can be combined with Home. With a different ad. Page article that is prepared and the final text testamonial (hearsay of used goods).

8. Published article.

To make money with ClickBank many people understand this error to the spot. That must be like to do with Google AdSense to put out the article on the web and do SEO for a long time to wait days to see to Search Engine Rank in the top well. This may take a month. And the number is just an article. That I would indeed be difficult to. So what to do is to by pass SEO by removing deposits or submit articles to the web, including articles such as name and Social Bookmarking Squidoo lens that so many of them into a Web Landing Page.

9. Repeat all again.

This entire process is rough. In the money several thousand baht per day. (Not kidding) with ClickBank that if time will describe the steps detailed in the article page, write. Now I hope people would see many more images that make money with ClickBank is a step what to do. Revoir


note: Sorry some misktake, I use language translator tool.


9 ขั้นตอน รวย... ในการหาเงินกับ
ต่อไปนี้จะเป็นวิธีที่ใช้ทำเงินกับ Affiliate โดยเฉพาะ ClickBank จากคนที่ประสบความสำเร็จ และสามารถหาเลี้ยงชีพด้วยสิ่งนี้มาโดยตลอด โดยไม่ต้องหางานอย่างอื่นทำอีก แม้แต่การหาเงินกับ Google AdSense ก็กลายเป็นรายได้เสริมไปทันที มาดูกันเลยครับว่าขั้นตอนที่เขาใช้กันมีอะไรบ้าง


1. เลือกตลาด

การเลือกตลาดกว้างเป็นสิ่งที่ต้องทำเป็นสิ่งแรก เหมือนกับการเลือกหมวดหมู่ของสินค้า ที่คุณสามารถหาไอเดียต่างๆ ได้ตาม eBay, Amazon Bestselling Product ฯลฯ อย่าลืมว่าตลาดมีเป็นหมื่นเป็นพัน แต่ตลาดที่ควรเลือกคือตลาดที่จะทำเงินให้ได้ง่ายกว่าตลาดอื่นๆ อย่างเช่น ตลาดสุขภาพ (health) , ตลาดเปลี่ยนแปลงตัวเอง (self improvement), DIY เช่น solar power), การเงิน (finance), ท่องเที่ยว (travel) ฯลฯ


2. เจาะตลาดเฉพาะ (long tail, micro niche)

เมื่อเลือกตลาดได้แล้ว ก็มาเจาะให้ลึกเข้าไปถึงความต้องการย่อย หรือเจาะจงตลาดให้ชััวร์ๆ ไปว่ามันคืออะไรกันแน่ เพื่อทำให้การทำตลาดมีประสิทธิภาพมากขึ้น เช่น จากตลาดสุขภาพ ตลาดเฉพาะย่อยลงมาก็สามารถเป็นได้ตั้งแต่เรื่อง โรคมะเร็งชนิดใดชนิดหนึ่ง ไปจนถึงการเลือกกินอาหารเพื่อสุขภาพที่ดีขึ้น (stage cancer – healthy food for old people)…

3. วิเคราะห์คีย์เวิร์ด (Keyword Search)

เมื่อรู้แล้วว่าจะเจาะตลาดไหน ทีนี้ก็มาถึงการมาดูกันจริงๆ ว่าตลาดย่อยนั้นๆ เวลาคนต้องการจะหาข้อมูลเขาค้นหากันด้วยคำหรือคีย์เวิร์ดคำว่าอะไร ด้วยการใช้เครื่องมือง่ายๆ อย่าง Google Keyword Suggestion Tool แล้วนำเอาคำเหล่านั้นมาสร้างเว็บหรือเขียนบทความ

4. เลือกสินค้ายอดฮิตใน ClickBank

ทีนี้ก็ถึงเวลาเข้าไปที่ CB เพื่อดูว่าในนิชคีย์เวิร์ดนั้นๆ มีสินค้าอะไรบ้างที่ขายดิบขายดี และน่าสนใจที่สุด ดูได้จากเมนู Market Place จากนั้นใส่นิชเข้าไปแล้วเลือกให้เรียงผลลัพธ์จาก popularity และดูที่สินค้า Gravity ไม่ให้ต่ำกว่า 50 ขึ้นไป

5. ค้นพบไทเทิ้ลโดนใจ

จุดนี้เองที่จะสร้างความแตกต่างระหว่างผู้ประสบความสำเร็จกับผู้ล้มเหลว เมื่อได้สินค้าแล้ว ทีนี้ก็จะมาดูว่าสินค้าที่เป็น e-book ที่เลือกมานั้น มันแก้ปัญหาให้คนกลุ่มหนึ่งได้ จากคำถามอะไรมากที่สุด เช่นผมเลือก e-book เกี่ยวกับ ผมร่วง ทีนี้มันก็เป็นหน้าที่ๆ ผมต้องรู้ว่าเวลาคนผมร่วงอยากรู้วิธีแก้ปัญหาในเรื่องนี้ เขาจะพิมพ์ประโยคอะไรเข้าไปใน Google กันบ้าง เป็นต้น เช่น how to prevent hair loss, hair loss prevention tips อะไรทำนองนี้ ที่เป็นไทเทิ้ลอย่างดี (อย่าคิดเองเป็นอันขาด) ให้หาได้จาก Google Keyword Suggestion Tool เช่นเคย ด้วยการพิมพ์คำว่า hair loss หรือสินค้าที่คุณเลือกที่จะขายเข้าไป

6. สร้างบทความ (create article)

การสร้างบทความในทีนี้ จะต้องเป็นบทความที่ไม่ได้เอามาจากเว็บแจกบทความฟรี แต่สามารถเอามาจากการจ้างคนอื่นเขียน หรืออะไรก็ตารมที่อ่านแล้วสามารถทำให้ลูกค้าเชื่อได้ว่าคุณคือหนึ่งในจ้าวแห่งวงการนั้นๆ การหาเงินกับ ClickBank นั้นไม่เหมือนกับ AdSense ก็ตรงนี้เอง สำหรับการทำ AdSense คุณภาพของบทความไม่ใช่เรื่องใหญ่เท่า การสร้างบทความ ส่วนใหญ่จะต้องสร้างออกมาซัก 5-10 บทความอย่างต่ำ

7. สร้าง Landing Page

Landing Page คือปราการด่านสุดท้ายที่คุณจะใส่บทความเพื่อให้ลูกค้าเชื่อ แล้วยอมจ่ายเงินซื้อ e-book ต่างๆ ซึ่งอาจจะประกอบไปด้วยหน้าแรก ด้วยคำโฆษณาต่างๆ จากหน้าก็บทความต่างๆ ที่เตรียมไว้ และสุดท้ายข้อความ testamonial (คำบอกเล่าของผู้ที่เคยใช้สินค้า)

8. เผยแพร่บทความ

ในการทำเงินกับ ClickBank หลายคนเข้าใจตรงจุดนี้ผิดไป ว่าต้องเหมือนกับการทำ Google AdSense ด้วยการเอาบทความไปใส่ไว้ในเว็บแล้วทำ SEO เพื่อรอวันเวลาอันยาวนานให้ Search Engine เข้ามาเห็นเพื่อ Rank ในอันดับที่ดี ซึ่งอาจใช้เวลาเป็นเดือนๆ และจากจำนวนบทความแค่นั้นที่มี ผมว่าคงเป็นไปได้ยากแน่นอน ดังนั้นสิ่งที่ต้องทำก็คือต้อง by pass SEO ด้วยการเอาบทความไปฝากหรือ submit กับเว็บ articles ชื่อดังต่างๆ รวมทั้ง Squidoo lens และ Social Bookmarking ต่างๆ เพื่อให้ผู้คนมากมายจากเว็บเหล่านั้นเข้ามาที่ Landing Page

9. ทำซ้ำทั้งหมดอีกครั้ง

นั่นคือขั้นตอนทั้งหมดอย่างคร่าวๆ ในการทำเงินวันละหลายพันบาท (ไม่ได้ล้อเล่น) กับ ClickBank ที่ถ้ามีเวลาจะมาอธิบายขั้นตอนอย่างละเอียดในบทความหน้านะครับ ตอนนี้ผมหวังว่าหลายคนคงจะเห็นภาพกันมากขึ้นว่าการทำเงินกับ ClickBank นั้นมีขั้นตอนอะไรบ้างที่ต้องทำ แล้วพบกันใหม่ครับ


source : digitalmoneylife.com

GoogleBot วิ่งหาข้อมูล 2 แบบ

GoogleBot หรือตัวโปรแกรม Spider ของ Google มีหน้าที่ในการวิ่งหรือไต่ (Crawling) ไปตามลิงก์ที่ระโยงระยางจากเว็บหนึ่งไปสู่อีกเว็บ เพื่อเก็บข้อมูลตามเว็บเพจต่างๆ บนอินเทอร์เน็ต แล้วนำเข้ามาเก็บไว้ยังฐานข้อมูล Indexer ของ Google จากนั้นก็จะต้องมีการเปรียบเทียบองค์ประกอบของโครงสร้าง และเนื้อหาหรือคีย์เวิร์ดในแต่ละเว็บเพจ เพื่อการจัดเรียงคำสำคัญๆ ในเว็บเพจนั้น เพื่อเตรียมพร้อมให้บริการการค้นหาให้กับคุณบนเว็บ Google Searchอย่างรวดเร็ว และสอดคล้องกับการค้นหาของผู้ใช้ Google มากที่สุดเท่าที่มันจะทำได้ และเนื่องจากเว็บต่างๆ มีทั้งอัปเดทบ่อย และไม่อัปเดทกันเลยจึงทำให้ GoogleBot มี 2 ประเภท:

Google DeepBot
GoogleBot เวอร์ชัน DeepBotนี้จะเหมือนผงซักฟอกสำหรับคราบฝังลึก พูดอีกอย่างให้ไม่งงก็คือ DeepBotมีนิสัยชอบเดินไกลและเป็นนักค้นหา มันจะพยายามอย่างสุดความสามารถในการค้นหาเว็บเพจอันห่างไกลความเจริญ (เว็บที่ไม่เคยโปรโมต) ไม่ว่าจะเป็นเว็บเก่า เว็บใหม่ ด้วยการใช้ลิงก์เป็นถนนเดินทางไปทั่วอินเทอร์เน็ต เมื่อมันพบแล้ว มันก็จะดาวน์โหลดข้อมูลใหม่ๆ ที่มันเจอเก็บลงใน Index ของ Google รวมทั้งลิงก์ใหม่ๆ ก็เช่นกัน ซึ่งจะใช้เวลาประมาณหนึ่งเดือนสำหรับขบวนการทั้งหมด

พูดอีกอย่างคือ DeepBot ใช้เวลาในการทำงานครั้งละเป็นเดือน (ลองนึกภาพจำนวนเว็บทั้งหมด และยังไม่พูดถึงเว็บใหม่ๆ ที่เกิดขึ้นมาทุกวันอีก) การทำงานของ DeepBot ส่วนใหญ่จะกินเวลาอยู่ที่ประมาณ 1 เดือน ส่วนมันจะเริ่มทำงานวันไหน อันนี้ก็แล้วแต่ว่าแต่ละครั้งมันจบงานวันไหน ไม่จำเป็นต้องเป็นวันรับเงินเดือนเสมอไปนะครับถึงจะทำงานได้ ดังนั้น บางที่คุณอาจเห็นอันดับเว็บเพจต่างๆ เปลี่ยนไปมาไม่คงที่ในแต่ละเดือน (Google Dance) ส่วนหนึ่งก็เพราะการทำงานของ DeepBot ที่พบอะไรใหม่ๆ บนโลกออนไลน์ที่ต้องอัปเดทตลอดนั่นเอง


Google FreshBot
เมื่อ Google มีข้อมูลเว็บเพจและลิงก์ทั้งเก่าและใหม่มากมายจากการใช้ DeepBot ทำงานให้แล้ว ทีนี้ก็จะเหลือแต่ว่า จะทำยังไงให้ Indexer นั้นมีข้อมูลที่สดใหม่ไม่ล้าสมัยอยู่ตลอด ลองนึกภาพดูง่ายเลยว่า ถ้าเมื่อคืนเทนนิสวิมเบอร์ดันนัดชิง โรเจอ เฟดเดอเรอร์ พลาดท่า พ่ายแพ้ให้กับ นาดาล ข่าวใหม่ และข่าวใหญ่อย่างนี้ ถ้า Google ไม่สามารถนำเอามาอัปเดทได้ เสียหน้าแย่เลย

ดังนั้นมันเป็นหน้าที่ของ Google ที่จะต้องมีตัวซอฟท์แวร์ที่คอยวิ่งหาข้อมูลใหม่ๆ อัปเดทๆ เข้ามาให้ผู้ใช้ Search ได้ค้นเจอกันได้ แต่จะหาได้ที่ไหนล่ะ ก็แน่นอนว่า FreshBot ก็ต้องมุ่งไปที่เว็บที่มีการอัปเดทบ่อยครั้งทุกวัน ที่มันสามารถตรวจจับได้ ว่าเว็บใครฝุ่นจับใยแมงมุมเกาะ หรือเว็บใครมีการเช็ดปัดเงาทุกวัน และมันเกี่ยวอะไรกับเราผู้ทำเว็บล่ะ เดี๋ยวผมจะบอก

เจ้า FreshBot ที่ขยันและอินเทรนด์ตัวนี้จะชอบแวะเวียนไปตามเว็บไซต์ที่มีการอัปเดตเนื้อหาบ่อยๆ ยิ่งบ่อยเท่าไหร่มันก็จะจำได้ และยิ่งชอบแวะไปหาบ่อยเท่านั้น เพื่อเก็บเนื้อหาล่าสุดจากเว็บไซต์เหล่านั้น จะได้มาอัปเดทฐานข้อมูลของมัน (Indexer) เพื่อไม่ให้ตกข่าวใหม่ๆ

สิ่งนี้บอกได้ว่า ถ้ายิ่งเว็บคุณมีการอัปเดทและใส่เนื้อหาใหม่ๆ เข้าไปบ่อยๆ ยิ่งบ่อยเท่าไหร่ เนื้อหาที่คุณใส่เข้าไปในเว็บคุณก็จะยิ่งไปโผล่อยู่ที่ Google ได้เร็วเท่านั้น ซึ่งก็จะส่งผลดีกับคุณทันที เพราะใครๆ ก็ที่เข้ามาใน Google เพื่อหาข้อมูลที่คุณมีในเว็บก็จะพบกับเว็บคุณได้ง่ายขึ้น เพราะทันทีที่คุณใส่เนื้อหาใหม่เข้าไปบนเว็บคุณ Google ก็จะเอาไปใส่ใน Index อย่างรวดเร็วทันใจ ทำให้คุณได้ผู้ชมมากขึ้น เพียงอัปเดทเนื้อหาเป็นประจำในเนื้อหาที่เกี่ยวกับสินค้าที่คุณขาย คุณก็จะเป็นจ้าวยุทธจักรในตลาดที่คุณทำได้ไม่ยากเลย


source : digitalmoneylife.com