What benefit will I get out of that?

--Neko

If it isn't mutual affection -- I'm spending £££.

+++

"We have become a nation of shoppers. Our heroes? 'Sex and the City' types. Consumerism has replaced soulfulness."

--Readers' Comments at NYTimes.com Given a Shovel, Americans Dig Deeper Into Debt (The Debt Trap: A series about the surge in consumer debt and the lenders who made it possible.)

If it isn't for material convenience -- I'm saving £££.

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/film-and-tv/features/senseless-sensibility-just-another-jane-austen-adaptation-875661.html

Jane Austen = beloved author of just 6 books (some more popular than others).

Austen novels = out of copyright = moneyspinner for production companies.

Shitloads of other amazing books = out of copyright... hmm

Austen may not own the market as such but her work never seems to go out of fashion. Much like Shakespeare there will always be those who find it stuffy and dull but it will always be loved well enough to make a profit. Profit is a key word, obviously, as nothing is ever produced for the good of the people.

Making a safe profit restricts media output. At this point I get sidetracked - feel free to skip the next paragraph.

*Funnily enough indie films are gaining popularity because they don't tick the safe boxes and we've even started getting mainstream imitation indie films like Elizabethtown which I watched last night and found charming enough though slipped into stalker territory at the end (why Hollywood confuses stalking with affection I'm still not sure, but this film made an effort to have some heart and the mother's character was fantastic). *

What I find irritating is that contemporaries of the great and beloved and the great and unknown never really get a look in, while stupid adaptations and rehashes of the great and beloved (I'm looking at you, Helen Fielding) are spaffed out in abundance because they know the audience will recognise the familiar story and accept it. They are unlikely to hate it. It's sad that that is the bar they are aiming for really: to get as many people as possible to not hate it. Not to create a core of fans, not to challenge people in a 'I'm not sure how I feel about this, you watch it with me and we'll talk about it' way (what with brain-use positively discouraged and all). If anything they want to reinforce the beliefs they think we have already so that we more readily relate to the characters. This is where I come to Bridget Jones.

The book 'Bridget Jones's Diary' was not dreadful. I hated it because I had write my A-Level coursework essay comparing it to Pride and Prejudice and I had been intending never to read it. It turns out Fielding ripped off a lot more from Austen than is first apparent, from which I conclude Fielding isn't very good at writing plots/full length novels. But the book is mediocre, chick lit fodder and it's huge success is unprecedented - I believe the Austen connection carried it a long way.

I may have resented having to read the book but being an avid reader and admiring how much of Pride and Prejudice she managed to cram in there it's not actually the book I have a problem with. Bridget Jones as a character has become a benchmark, a representative of women in our culture, and she is a feeb. A total and utter feeb who can do little to nothing by herself and frequently fails spectacularly. She is obsessed by how she could possibly get men but doesn't consider that these are just two of many men on this Earth and might in fact both be shit. Or just incompatible with her feeble self. She complains feebly about her feeble self but does nothing positive. I have anti-sympathy for her plight.

If I have anti-sympathy for Bridgie you can imagine how I feel about those who compare themselves, others, or the general female population with her. Her example has made it more acceptable to be a feeb. To sit around and whine about your life failing, to be obsessively insecure to the point where you ignore all your friends and to most definitely ignore your friends if there is the possibility of making a highly unsuitable man develop and interest in your feeble self. Bridget Jones gives you the permission to be lazy, to give up caring about things that might make you happy and resign yourself to the feeling that you knew all along that you were rubbish and no one loves you.

How can this character be based on Lizzie Bennett? Bright, sparkly, proud, sharp as a tack Lizzie; the young woman who loves her friends, despairs of her parents, and won't accept the condescension of Mr Darcy - refusing him until he shows a little respect rather than humiliating herself as his feet. I expect I am just repeating what half the internet have said already but all my grated feelings came up again and I had to get them out.

Profit for the second quarter ended June 30 surged 102 per cent to $158 million US (37 cents a diluted share), compared with $78 million (19 cents) in 2007.

Three-month TSX trading in Amazon.com.

Sales jumped 41 per cent to $4.06 billion US for the quarter, compared with $2.89 billion in 2007.

Electronics and general merchandise sales grew faster than media such as books and CDs, while international sales ? from Amazon's British, German, Japanese, French and Chinese sites ? grew faster than sales in North America.

The company said it expects 2008 total sales of between $19.35 billion and $20.10 billion, up between 30 per cent and 35 per cent from 2007.

Operating profit is expected to be between $745 million and $920 million, up 14 per cent to 40 per cent.

Oil prices push Husky profit

Three-month TSX trading in Husky Oil

The first large Canadian energy company to report second-quarter results set records in revenue and profit.

Husky Energy Inc. reported that sales and operating revenue for the three months ended June 30 more than doubled to $7.20 billion from $3.16 billion in 2007. That was a record, president and CEO John C.S. Lau said in a release Wednesday.

Profit was $1.36 billion ($1.61 a diluted share), compared with $721 million (85 cents) a year earlier.

Lau said the results came in a "strong commodity price environment." Oil recently touched an all-time high of $147 US a barrel, although it closed Wednesday at $124.44.

Husky's first half profit was $2.3 billion ($2.65 a diluted share), compared with $1.4 billion ($1.61 a share) a year earlier.

Sales and operating revenues were $12.3 billion, compared with $6.4 billion.

Amazon’s Q2 profit up 102%

Becca's prompt for Write on Wednesday was a fourth p.... provoking.

What do the three P’s of writing…practice, pleasure, profit…mean in your writing life?

The day I decided the manuscript was complete, edited and re-edited… to death… I started sending out the query letters. And when I use the plural 'letters,' it is an understatement. I can’t even tell you how many incarnations that query letter went through. But I persevered. And then I wrote another novel, and the subsequent query process began again. A week ago I sent out the first query letter for that project. Just one query, to prime the pump, I told a friend. I haven’t received a response from that first letter out, but I revised the query letter and sent it out again. I received a very kind and speedy rejection (they are all kind, actually, but usually not too speedy). I told my friend I received a rejection, and that I was heading back to the drawing board. This is the conversation that ensued:

There must be some kind of shift of mind that takes hold about rejections. To work with the rejection you seem to have accepted it as an encouragement to 'back to the drawing board'. Smart gal.

One gets used to rejection quickly, in this business. I continue to try and focus on the joy of the process, rather than the reward for the result. It's the only way to survive!

I'm beginning to realize I know a true writer! What a joy.

Wow. What a compliment! I did not come up with those wise words about the joy of the process, myself. I am sure it has been said a thousand times in a thousand different ways. And I try, but I don’t always believe myself, when I say the reward for the result doesn’t matter. I would surely love to see my name on a cover at the library. I write with that dream in mind. But I also write because I love to write. I just started reading Anne Lamott’s Bird by Bird. (I don’t know why it took me so long to find this fabulous, funny book.) She says it beautifully:

Writing has so much to give, so much to teach, so many surprises. That thing you had to force yourself to do – the actual act of writing – turns out to be the best part. It’s like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony. The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.

Yes! That is it exactly. If I can hold that thought somewhere in a corner of my consciousness, I feel content in my writing.

I must admit I also have little reasons - little excuses - for why my work was rejected. Such as - there are so many people trying to be published. It is a very subjective business, and one must be approved by an agent, and then there are five or six other hoops to jump through before the top guy in the chain says, “Okay, let’s publish this book.” Those hoops have a lot to do with salability, which is a huge, huge part of convincing someone to publish your work.

The comment I received in this most recent rejection was “there's not a big market for [them] these days.” As my nephew said when he was four years old and had put all three of his pennies in the bubble gum machine, “All my pennies shot to hell and I didn't get a single green one.” Should I have decided not to write that particular book, knowing that there wasn’t a big market for it? How could I have known, when I started the book, what the market would be like today? Should I figure out what the market is going to be when I believe I can have a manuscript finished, and write whatever that is?

No, of course not. I just have to write for myself.

Writing on this blog is my practice, and I certainly don't make any profit from it. It forces me to do something that is difficult for me – I write it, post it, and someone reads it and immediately has an opinion. I don’t necessarily hear what that opinion is, but I know they have one. It doesn’t even matter to me whether their opinion is positive or not – that is not the point. The point is, I let someone into my brain, and that is difficult for me. Of course the writing part of the practice doesn’t hurt either, but I am better at writing than I am at revealing. The better I can get at that, the better my writing will become. Writer Not Reading, who says so many things so well, said, "Good writing requires passion. It also requires the part ... that makes you feel as vulnerable as a skinned cat: risk-taking." That is what I need practice at.

The p for pleasure? Sara Nelson, in So Many Books, So Little Time, says:

I’m reading along and suddenly a word or phrase or scene enlarges before my eyes and soon everything around me is just so much fuzzy background… The book – this beautiful creature in my hands! – is everything I’ve wanted; as unexpected and inevitable as love. Where did it come from? How did I live without it for so long? I have to read and read and read, all the while knowing that the more aggressively I pursue my passion, the sooner it will end and then I will be bereft.

It would be lovely if something I wrote evoked that kind of reaction in a reader some day, but I don’t write with that thought in mind. It is enough that I feel that way when I am writing it.

All writer's face some sort of pressure (maybe that is the fifth p), whether self-induced or from an outside source. I have an angel on my right shoulder who I try very hard to listen to, exclusively, and who puts no pressure on me. I also have a devil residing on my left shoulder, to whom I allow myself to say "shut up" to regularly. There is an interesting story behind an incredible manuscript written in the 13th Century. The monk who copied this manuscript had an altogther tougher devil than I.

[This monk]...attempted to expiate his guilt by writing the world’s biggest book in a single night. Realizing the task to be beyond his powers, he invoked the aid of the Devil. The Devil aided him, had his portrait painted in the book and demanded the monk’s soul as payment. The monk was rescued but lost his peace of mind, until finally he turned to the Holy Virgin, beseeching her to save him. She agreed to help but the penitent died on the very point of being absolved from his pact with the Devil.

The Codex Gigas, created at the monastery of Podlažice in Bohemia is now preserved at the National Library of Sweden in Stockholm. It is 36 inches tall and 20 inches wide, and weighs 165 pounds. It is an incredible book.

The lesson of the story is, don't listen to that devil, and just write for yourself.

Dan Lok Reveals...

"How To Super-Charge Your

Profits And Grab More

Of The Dollars Fattening The

Wallets Of Your

Competitors - Money That Could

Go Directly Into

Your Bank Account!"

Interview With The World's #1 Website Conversion Expert - Dan Lok

Dan Lok, The World's #1 Website Conversion Expert, knows what good marketing is. That's why today he's providing us with an insider look at one of the most amazing marketing courses available today, Ruthless Marketing System™. Thanks for being here Dan, tell me, why would people find this course interesting?

Dan: Who wouldn't want to get into the mind of a man who created a $70 Million company from his basement… and on a shoestring budget no less! So what is Ruthless Marketing System™ all about?

I'll tell you. There is a man from Kansas named T.J. Rohleder who, in 1988, started his first direct response marketing business. At the time he was broke… so broke he had to sell his van to gather $200 to place his first ad. And that as they say, was the beginning of a beautiful story.

The rest is history. This fellow, this guy with his $200 from the sale of his beat up van, went on within 4 years to make more than $6,600,000.00. Not too shabby.

And since then, he's made over 70 million dollars.

Sounds Exciting Dan. Tell us more…

Dan: Oh, it is. Think about it. This is a fellow who took the plunge into direct response marketing back when it was still the "dark ages" as far as the Internet goes. This fellow takes $200 and turns it into 70 million and then some. But, it isn't easy. There are certain skills, secrets this fellow used.

He used a certain 17-digit combination that everyone has to know if they want to access the millions T.J. tapped into. If you tried to do what he did without this combination, why, you'd spend an entire lifetime and probably still not get it.

But, what if you had that 17-digit combination? Well, that is what The Ruthless Marketing System™ is. It is the secret combination. This system contains all of T.J. Rohleder's cutting-edge strategies that allow anyone to instantly get more money from their market… the tips, tricks and little-known methods he provides are used to generate tens of millions of dollars.

Sounds great Dan. Now, what does something like the Ruthless Marketing System™ include? What makes this course unique?

Dan: The Ruthless Marketing System™ contains almost too much information to include. But, I'll give you a preview.

First, you get 26 audio CDs and a huge batch of support materials that teach you exactly how to dominate and own your market. All anyone has to do is pop the CDs in their player, whether driving around town or on their way to work. What these little guys teach you is how to get more money while doing less work.

Some people get the idea that because of the title "Ruthless Marketing" this course involves lying, cheating or stealing money from people. But that isn't the case. What it does do is teach people how to get aggressive when seeking out money. It teaches people how to get the money they deserve, the money they should have… money that belongs to them, not their competitors.

Ok Dan, sounds good. Can you share with us some specifics about the type of secrets offered in this course?

Dan: Of course, everyone wants to know what the secrets are. That after all, is the key to success isn't it? Well ok. The secrets provided in Ruthless Marketing System™ give customers leverage in three critical areas that ultimately will result in the greatest income opportunities for their business.

What are the three critical areas? I'll tell you. The first area is getting new customers that ultimately will want to give you their money. The next area is getting the maximum number of these customers to come back and spend with you again instead of your competitors. The last area is getting more of your customers to willingly offer you the maximum amount of money they have to offer each and every time they buy from you.

It sounds simple, but really it isn't. Do you know how much time people waste trying to figure out how to get people to fork over money to them? How is this course different? I'll tell you.

It is a no-holds-barred look at more than a decade of the world's greatest secrets, the ones that produced tens of millions of dollars for the author. These secrets remember, created more than 70 million for T.J., and they can for anyone.

Thanks Dan. So what is the real story behind Ruthless Marketing System™?

Dan: Aha! Now I tell you, that is an interesting story. You see, T.J., this guy… now here is a fellow who literally became obsessed with marketing and began spending tens of thousands of dollars every year on books, tapes, seminars and personal consulting sessions with some of the best marketers in the world.

He met with people like Dan Kennedy, Jay Abraham, Russ von Hoelscher… are these names ringing any bells? You know, people like Ted Ciuba, Don Bice… the list goes on.

So this guy T.J., he goes and spends 10 years meeting with the cream of the crop, the best of the best, to produce a program loaded with little-known ideas that have the power to transform average people into multi millionaires.

And, it started out as nothing more than a series of private journal entries T.J. wrote to help make a little extra money. Now, he never had a desire to make these journals public. In fact, even T.J. will tell you he never expected to share these ideas even with his closest friends.

Anyway, so he boiled it all down and came up with 1068 killer wealth-making secrets. He then decided to give these private journal entries as gifts to a few close friends… and one of them was yours truly, Dan Lok. Of course, being who I am, I immediately saw the value in the project. I mean after all, it was a condensation of all the best ideas from the best minds in the business.

Anyway, so one of T.J.'s other friends noticed how blunt some of these secrets were, how ruthless. That's actually how he came up with the title, Ruthless Marketing System™.

Sounds exciting Dan. Then what, what changed his mind about printing this material?

Dan: Well, next comes stage two. So T.J. gathers 13 of his closest friends and fellow marketing experts and records a program on just a few of these secrets. He records 19 hours of thoughtful, probing conversations of some of the best of the secrets. And, what everyone concluded were just a few of these little-known secrets have the potential to make anyone huge sums of money.

Now, mind you, these ideas were never intended for anyone but T.J.'s closest friends and family. These are PRIVATE journal entries, principles and formulas. There is no sugarcoating of fluff involved. What you get is brutal reality.

Ruthless Marketing System™

You get ruthless material.

Dan: (laughing). That's right! You get truly ruthless material. T.J. is someone who simply tells it like it is. Now, because of this mind you, Ruthless Marketing System™ isn't for just anyone. If you are a mild-mannered type, well this isn't for you.

So who IS this program designed for Dan?

Dan: Ruthless Marketing System™ is designed for anyone that wants to become a dominant player in his or her market. This program is loaded with "shoot-to-kill" or "take no prisoner" strategies. This program will attract a never-ending supply of eager new customers who will beat down your door and throw money at you.

Can you share with us just a few secrets?

Dan: Sure, why not? Here are just a few. Take secret #33. It will tell you how you can lose millions of dollars in a single month, yet still get super rich. Take another secret, #70. You'll learn a new way to use the "pile-on-technique" to make herds of hungry prospects beg you to take their money. Other secrets include spilling the beans on time-tested ways to create explosive profits in your business. You'll learn how to supercharge your web profits using a simple technique almost no one else is using.

Oh, really you know, there are just too many to list. There are after all, 1068 secrets. Did you know one of T.J.'s secrets is you have to be a little lazy to get super rich?

That sounds too good to be true.

Dan: Exactly. But hey, now here is a guy that makes 70 million. He knows what he is talking about.

Dan, what are some reasons our audience may want to take advantage of the strategies in Ruthless Marketing System™?

Dan: That's a no brainer really. For one, they'll discover how to work fewer hours while making more money than ever before. They'll discover a whole new way to operate their business. And, they'll get their own powerful marketing system designed to build their business in 3 proven ways.

The marketing system will instantly attract new customers; it will allow business owners to resell to the same people repeatedly and will teach business owners how to earn the maximum profits from their base of growing customers. It's that simple.

What else? Oh let's see. When you invest in Ruthless Marketing System™ you get everything you need to create and maintain an automatic marketing system. You also discover how marketing can be the most enjoyable and fulfilling activity in life. What you get you see, is a fill-in-the-blank system. There are no pieces of the puzzle to figure out. All you have to do is take advantage of this complete system, and start realizing maximum profits.

It's not hard either. In fact, it's so easy a child could understand and use it.

Dan, what would you say to someone hesitant to invest in Ruthless Marketing System™?

Dan: I'd say they are not serious about making money. Why? They'll earn back their money the first time they use even one of the secrets in the program. It's THAT good. Seriously.

The breakthroughs presented in this course have the power to set people financially free for life. You'll get all the power you need to realize maximum profits.

Now, these tactics are controversial, how do you think the system got its reputation and name. BUT, if you are serious about earning huge sums of money, then go for it! Seriously, what have you got to lose? The fact that the information contained in Ruthless Marketing System™ is controversial is a benefit… because 99% of most people will be too chicken to invest in it.

That means your competitors probably aren't using any of the secrets this system provides. That means customers have the ability to turn these revolutionary insider secrets into real cash opportunities.

It's a fast, simple and easy way to get the real inside scoop on proven marketing methods. It's not for the faint of heart.

Thanks Dan. Sounds amazing. So if you're brave, invest today. In your future.

That's right.

Thanks again Dan.

For more information about Ruthless Marketing System™ just go to:

Ruthless Marketing System™

Ruthless Marketing System - Product Review:

Ruthless Marketing System Review

If you're truthful with yourself, wouldn't you agree that in your market or niche...

There's a whole lot of money right now - that you're NOT getting!

Think of the difference it would make if not only you could make more sales, but build a larger base of customers who continue to spend money with you again and again, rather than stuff the pockets of the other competitors in your market. But is it really possible?

Yes. But you need to become a "ruthless marketer."

And that's what a new program called "Ruthless Marketing" can do for you.

"Ruthless Marketing" contains 1,068 cutting-edge secrets to instantly generate more money from your market or niche.

These tips, tricks, and little-known techniques are proven to generate tens of millions of dollars. In fact, this collection took over ten years to compile, and these ideas have earned the author over 70 million dollars. Even provided him with a few million dollar months!

So, it isn't at all surprising to know that these private files were meant for his eyes only! And now, once you listen to the 10 hours of brainstorming sessions and have access to these private files,.there's no reason you can't profit big-time by applying these secrets too. But understand this...

Don't let the title fool you... You see, "Ruthless Marketing" is not about lying, cheating, or ripping people off... No, No, No!

You know I would never recommend this to you if it was anything like that. But here's what this program is about. Being very aggressive at getting all the money that could and should be yours... and not your competitors!

The 1069 secrets in "RUTHLESS MARKETING" give you more leverage in all three of the critical areas that will make you the largest amount of money in your business:

Money- Leverage #1- Getting MORE NEW CUSTOMERS to seek you out and want to give you their money.

Money-Leverage #2- Then getting the maximum number of customers to KEEP COMING BACK to spend the largest amount of money with you! (NOT with your competitors!)

Money-Leverage #3- And get more of your customers to GLADLY GIVE YOU the maximum amount of money every time they buy from you.)

These are very aggressive ideas that will instantly transform you into a marketing attack dog!

Ruthless Marketing System™

To Get information about such other great product from Dan Lok click here

Common FAQs:

*Why You Aren't Making The Money You Want To On The Internet And What To Do About It!

Copyright © 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International,
Ltd.

Many clients come to me with problems…

The most common problem I hear from people is they
aren't making the kind of money they want to make with
their Internet business. They don't know what the
problem is and they want me to help.

I'll tell you what the problem is. Most of these
people are what I like to call opportunity seekers.
These are people that have too many sites and don't
spend any time focusing on ONE business. They may have
20 or 30 websites, with each site only breaking even
or making a few hundred dollars every month.

Most opportunity seekers are not making the money they
want or achieving their financial goals. Why?

They are making a common mistake. They have too many
sites, too many interests. This prevents them from
focusing their efforts and creating the six figure
income they dream of.

Focus Is The Key To Long-Term Success

If you want to succeed on the Internet, you are much
better-off staying focused. That means starting off
with one site or idea and perfecting it before moving
on to the next Internet adventure. Far too many people
have a get rich quick mind-set. In fact, I'd say
almost all opportunity seekers have this mind-set.

They jump from one program to another hoping one of
them will lead to success.

Opportunity seekers are always the first to jump on
the next big moneymaking bandwagon. It may be one
thing one month, another the
next month.

They may try to concentrate on affiliate marketing then
switch dramatically to e-book marketing the next.

Whatever seems to be working for others they jump into
with wild abandon, without considering their true
talents, abilities and interests.

These people are looking for some easy way to make
money. They think they can make money with Google
AdSense or just a web page, or even with a multilevel
marketing program. This is NOT how an entrepreneur
thinks! However, this is exactly how an opportunist
thinks.

They always are looking for shortcuts, and then wonder
why it isn't working.

It isn't working because you have no focus. You must
have focus. You must think like an entrepreneur. Focus
is one of the most vital aspects of your success. My
advice to these newbies is shut down 29 of your sites
and focus on one site, the one that best represents
your interests.

Optimize it. Work on refining it. Refine your sales
process and your back end on this single site and make
it successful BEFORE you move on to the next site.

Yes, I have many sites. But I am Dan Lok. You're not
there yet. Perfect your one site. THEN you can think
about moving on to other moneymaking ventures.

Horizontal Vs. Vertical Business

Many people have what I call a horizontal business. A
horizontal business has many sites in many different
niches, like hobby niches.

People who own horizontal businesses have 20 or more
separate business ventures. I recommend having a
vertical business instead. A vertical business is a
business that has depth and focus.

Having a vertical business means if you have a product
in a particular niche, like stock trading, focus on
selling products related to that and that only. Put
all your eggs in one basket and create a funnel
effect. This way you'll have one group of customers
and you can become a big fish in
a small pond.

You'll have all your eggs in one place yes… but you'll
become an expert egg layer and watch all your eggs
hatch with great success.

Make sense?

What is the problem with a horizontal business? You
aren't specialized.

It's almost impossible to make a six-figure income
with this kind of business because you don't spend
enough time on any ONE business.

When you have a vertical business, you have fine-tuned
your business so well competitors have a hard time
keeping up with you. People can't compete. You also
build a strong client base with satisfied customers.

Think Like An Entrepreneur

So, the biggest problem people have is they are
opportunity seekers.

The key is thinking like a true Internet entrepreneur.
Don't jump on the trend bandwagon. Don't ask what the
shortcuts are. An entrepreneur has a long-term vision.
You have to have a one-year, five year and ten year
vision. Find out what you want your business to look
like in the long-term.

Ask yourself, What do I want to accomplish ultimately?
Then decide whether your activities fit with your
goals. Stop jumping from one program to another. Focus
on one program, one site, and one great idea. This is
what you have to do if you want to make six figures.
It has nothing to do with your knowledge, skill set
experience etc. It has to do more with your focus.

Sit down. Think about it.

Stop jumping from one program to another and stop
getting sucked into false moneymaking schemes. Find
out what your goals are, what you want to accomplish.

This is a far superior approach. Yes, it takes a lot
of energy. But its worth it. In the long-term it's
much less tiring than diversifying your business.

Once you are an expert in your industry or niche, THEN
you can think about diversifying your business.

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself
from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a
multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most
sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as
a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title
as the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert.

Ruthless Marketing System™

* How To Get Your Customers To Fall In Love With Your Products And Services?

How To Get Your Customers To Fall In Love With Your
Products And Services

Copyright (c) 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International,
Ltd.

My hair grows so damn fast. I have to get a hair cut
every 3 weeks. Every time I need a haircut I go to
Peter in downtown, Vancouver.

You know… Peter actually worked in New York 10 years
ago. I guess you could say he earned his chops in New
York. And he's cut hair for many celebrities,
including Jim Carrey, etc.

Then he moved to Vancouver and opened his own salon.

Well, if Pete is good enough for Jim Carrey then he's
good enough for Dan Lok.

I've been going there for 8 years now.

Talk about customer loyalty!

Yeah… so I'm sure you are asking why am I so damn
loyal? Right?

What makes Pete different than the other hairdressers?
Why do I go back to him again and again?

Well I'll tell you. Pete works at it. He builds loyal
customers in each interaction and builds them into
every haircut he produces. He didn't attract the stars
simply because he cuts hair well (though he does). He
also offers exceptional customer service.

And I have to tell you, even if Pete's haircutting
ability wasn't 110%, I'd probably still go back. Why?
Customer service. Commitment. Quality.

So ask yourself, how do YOU build loyal customers?

The best way to build loyal customers is by using the
loyalty ladder concept. I want you to picture an
ordinary ladder.

Now consider each rung of the ladder. Each "rung" is a
"stage" of loyalty a customer may have. There are many
different stages of loyalty customers demonstrate at
each rung of the ladder:

*Raving Fan

* Devotee

* Member

* Customer

* Shopper

* Prospect

* Suspect

Let's describe each of these in more detail.

Suspect
The suspect is the lowest rung on your ladder, when a
customer starts out on your loyalty ladder. This is
when customer's are at the very bottom of your ladder.
These are people who may or may not want or need what
it is you sell. They may not have any money. They are
simply people who are not buying.

Prospect
Prospects are suspects who have taken some sort of
action like subscribing to your newsletter, giving you
their email addresses or those who have asked you for
some sort of free information. They are people who may
turn into active customers, but aren't there yet.

Customer
A customer is anyone who has actually spent money with
you. You have to differentiate between your prospects
and your customers. This is one of the reasons it is
so damn important you segment your lists. You don't
want to have everyone on ONE BIG list.

At the very least, you should have a prospect list and
customer list. You should treat your prospects and
customers very differently. You should always give
your customers more attention. Give them a better deal
than everyone else. Why? They are already paying you
for your products and services. Prospects are
important, but customers are even more important.

Member
A member is someone who buys from you more than once.
These are customers that now trust you. They feel they
belong with you in some way. Now listen up. Customers
who make two purchases are 10 times more likely to
make more than someone who makes only one purchase
with you. So anyone who is a member deserves special
attention, because if they buy twice, they are likely
to buy again.

Devotee
What's the difference between a devotee and a member?
A devotee is someone who not only buys from you, but
tells other people about you. They send you referrals.
They promote you actively. They are happy to be your
free sales force because they get so much value from
you.

Raving Fan
The next stage in the ladder is Raving Fans. Usually
only 1% to 5% of your customers become Raving Fans.
They're one of your most valuable assets. They pretty
much own everything you have. And, whatever new
products and service you come up with, they will buy
without blinking an eye.

The Raving Fan will stick with you for years as long
as you don't screw up in a major way.

There's a very strong trust and bond with you and the
Raving Fans. They trust you 100%. They want to see you
succeed. They want to see you do well. If a devotee is
someone who sells for you, a Raving Fan is someone who
can't STOP selling for you. Raving Fans tell everyone
about how fantastic you are. They talk about your
company. They love you.

These days it's more expensive than ever to get a new
customer. Most businesses in fact are acquiring their
customers at a loss or break-even point. That means
you have to get your customers to come back to you and
buy again and again.

Why? That customer isn't simply profitable to you.
They are your most important resource. What you want,
what you need is as many raving fans as you can get.

You will succeed when you sort your prospects from
suspects, move people up from prospects to customers,
from customers to raving fans.

You need to have a marketing system that automatically
moves people up the loyalty ladder as quickly as
humanly possible.

Very soon, it'll be like me and Pete. I am one of
Pete's Raving Fans. I send him clients. I sell FOR him
without him asking me to it. I write about him in my
article! I only go to him and nobody else. And I am
thrilled to show up every month, 12 times a year to
give him money. And I'll keep going to him unless he
retires from the business. That could be another 10 to
20 years.

You see how much a Raving Fan like me is worth to
Pete's business?

Sincerely,

Dan Lok

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself
from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a
multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most
sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as
a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title
as the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert.

Ruthless Marketing System™

* How To Use "Viral Marketing" To Generate More Traffic?

Copyright (c) 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International,
Ltd.

Have you ever visited a site, like what you see… and
then told your friends about it?

OR

Have your friends ever told you about an interesting
or useful site they've visited in the last 30 days?

I'll bet this happens almost every day, or at least
weekly. Believe it or not there is actually a method
to this madness. These seemingly random acts of
"kindness" or referral may actually dramatically
impact your business.

OK Dan, so what are you talking about, right?

I am talking about Viral Marketing. Viral marketing is
key to your business. It is a simple and effective
tool you can use to drive traffic to your site,
without spending thousands of dollars implementing
more expensive marketing tools.

How can you take advantage of viral marketing?

The easiest to make your visitors tell their friends
and relatives about your site is by implementing a
"tell-a-friend" script.

If done correctly, a "tell-a-friend" script is one of
the most powerful traffic-generation strategies you'll
ever use. And it's FREE!

Here's how it works…

You ask your visitors to enter the name and e-mail
address of friends and relatives they think will be
interested in your site. Then, the script
automatically sends a personalized e-mail promotion
your site to all their friends from the visitor.

Now how are you going to get your visitors to enter
the names of their friends and relatives that may have
an interest in your site? Simple… Give them an
incentive. Make them an offer. Tell them WHY they
should refer their friends.

You can't just expect your visitors to enter
information. Remember they are giving up some of their
free time to refer other people to you. You have to
make it worth their while. You have to sell it.

If you want to watch the way I do it, go to:
http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/tellafriend.html

Don't forget, you also have to provide your customers
with practical and useful content. You want
information on your site your visitors truly believe
will benefit their friends.

After all, they don't want to look like an idiot, and
neither do you! If you don't provide good content, in
fact if you provide anything but the best, I don't
care what "bribes" you offer… your visitors won't
refer anybody to you.

By doing this you can simply and easily virally grow
your list automatically!

Where do you find "tell a friend" scripts? You could
get some free tell a friend scripts if you do a Google
search.

This is the script I use is:

http://www.tafpro.com

And if you technical dummy like me, you can ask Paul
to install the script for you.

A simple twist to this strategy is you can have a
tell-a-friend contest as well. A protégé of mine did a
tell-a-friend contest that was extremely successful.
He increased his traffic by 5-fold in that week. How?

What he did was very simple, stating whoever referred
the most visitors to his site in that week would get a
free IPOD. Slack, eh?

Let me you another killer viral marketing strategy
that very few people use.

Giving away a free e-book is a pretty common strategy.
But what I want you to do is to create an e-book for
your AFFILIATES to give away to their lists.

Let's say you have a 20-page e-book. Instead of asking
your subscribers to pass it along (which is not very
effective) you encourage your visitors to join your
affiliate program. Then you let them customize and
brand the e-book with their own affiliate links for
your products!

Now, they're motivated to tell everyone about you. Now
they're motivated to pass it along the e-book to every
single soul they know. Why? They are getting something
out of it!

That's not all. The people who read the e-book might
also become your affiliates, they will go to your
sites, create more customized e-books and they too
will pass those e-books to more people.

Do you understand the power of this? That's viral
marketing on steroid!

If you're still a little confused, check out.
http://www.websiteconversionexpert.com/viralpdf.html

And see the various brandable e-books I offer my
affiliates.

And the people who read your e-books are much better
prospects because they're pre-sold on your materials.
So they're much more likely to buy from you when they
hit your sales page.

So what are you waiting for? Start cranking your
"viral marketing" machine today. You'll see that your
traffic and sales will grow steadily with absolutely
no work on your part.

Like the infomercial guru Ron Popiel said, "Just set
it and forget it!"

Sincerely,

Dan Lok

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself
from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a
multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most
sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as
a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title
as the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert.
To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at:

Ruthless Marketing System™

* A Sneaky Little Technique That Can Boost Your Online Profits By Up To 330%!

Copyright (c) 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International,
Ltd.

Today, I'm going to teach you an extremely powerful,
marketing "secret" that will get your profits
multiplying like rabbits.

But first... let me ask you something.

When is the last time a computer bought your product
or paid for your service?

The answer is never. No one sells to machines. And
yet, because of the net... because of the
technology... because of the automation... experienced
entrepreneurs who take their business online, forgot
that they're doing business with PEOPLE.

The fact that your "store" is a website or that your
marketing message is delivered via email rather than
snail mail doesn't change who your target is: real,
live human beings with thoughts, emotions...and
hopefully deep pockets!

Even though you're using a webpage, an autoresponder,
or an email, it's really YOU -- a person -- who's
reaching out to a customer or prospect. Success in
selling happens when a one-to-one personal connection
occurs.

Relationship is the key.

You can't sell benefits to a computer. You can't get a
computer excited about how good it will feel after
using your product or service. It's so obvious; it's
ridiculous. You're selling to a person. And if you
want that person to buy from you, you need to put
yourself out there.

So why do a lot of people act like they're criminals
and disappear when they're selling online? Are you
guilty?

Do you use the Internet itself to create walls that
hide "human side" behind technology. Do you hide
behind emails instead of making phone calls? Do you
peak out from behind your website without offering a
"hard copy" way to reach you?

And do you play a weird game of hide-and-seek with
customers using frequently asked questions and
customer service "tools" so that you never really have
to connect?

I know, I know! You're saying that automation and
technology are the biggest advantages of the Internet.
All these streamlined communications processes help
you do good business.

That's fine, if what you want is good business. But
personal communication can make your business great.

Sometimes just by adding that personal touch... that
human factor... to your site can boost your sales by
100%, 200% to as much as 330%!!!

What am I talking about? I am talking about a tangible
demonstration that your business is trustworthy
because trust is at the foundation of every sale.

So it turns out that this secret strategy is actually
a simple one, too. I'm talking about adding a phone
number to your site... and a mailing address...and a
fax number. I'm talking about giving your customer an
option contact you one-to-one.

I'm talking about talking! Just talk to your customers
and find out what they want.

Now you might say, "Dan, this won't work for me. I'm a
one-person operation and I'd get so buried by phone
calls that I wouldn't be able to do anything else."

You know how important testing is in business, don't
you? Well, why not test my theory before you reject
it. Do it my way. And see if you will actually get a
lot of calls.

I think you'll be surprised. I have a lot of clients
who add phone numbers to their sites, and they don't
really get that many phone calls.

If you're really stretched to the limits time-wise,
you could hire someone to handle it for you in-house
or outsource it... although I think outsourcing almost
defeats the purpose by putting you one step further
away from your customers.

Personally, I urge you to talk to your customers once
a while. It's time well spent...even if time is money.
You'll learn a lot from the conversation -- what
people want and how they want it.

And that, I assure you, can be worth millions
(literally) to your business.

Do you know that a lot of people actually have a fear
of picking the phone and calling a stranger? So it's
unlikely that you're going to get flooded with a lot
of Chatty Cathies and Talky Teddies you've never met
before who just want to shoot the breeze for ten
minutes.

So why will people pick up the phone and call you?
Probably for one of four important reasons that make
these valuable calls that you'll want to take.

1. They have an urgent problem, and they need a
solution now! If your product/service will solve their
problems, they'll buy from you - NOW.

2. They want to buy from you, but they might
just have a few questions and you answer them well,
they'll buy from you - NOW.

3. They might have a comment regarding of your
product or service. This could be helpful to your
business and make them more likely to buy from you in
the future.

4. They might have a problem, and they're mad.
But even if they are, you can fix it for them. Then
they'll love you, and they'll buy from you again and
again.
You may not have realized it before, but every
telephone inquiry from a customer or prospect is a
money call. And when money calls, you want to be sure
to answer. Because each one of these money calls mean
sales in one way or the other.

Personally, I love it when my phone rings. Because
it's either one of my deep-pocketed mentoring clients
who wants to run something by me OR a prospect who
wants to give me money.

Ching-Ching! How can you NOT love those calls?

And here's a special message for you if you're selling
a luxury service or a high-end product. It's tough to
sell big-ticket items offline, and even tougher
online. It's not impossible... but it's tough.

Think about it. Someone who's looking for a marketing
consultant and sees your site is probably NOT going to
plunk down $5000.00 in an electronic payment just
based on nothing more than your online sales copy.

And don't be fooled that an autoresponder series will
do the trick any better. It's tough to close a sale
for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars just
through emails. Not impossible... but tough.

But, you can easily close a $5000.00 sale via the
telephone. (If you know how to "give good phone," that
is).

A lot of copywriters don't do it the "easy way." They
avoid the telephone. They only communicate via emails.
Or they charge exorbitant "consulting fees" for phone
calls as a way to telegraph that they don't want to
speak to people.

Now, that's their personal preference. But perhaps
they should put themselves in the shoes of their
clients who say, "This means I'm going to hire a
copywriter and pay thousands of dollars to a service
provider -- an employee -- that I won't even be able
to speak to by phone? That stinks!"

Worse than annoying a prospect, lack of accessibility
makes people suspicious. They might feel like you're
hiding something... that you're not being totally
upfront.

Take the mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg.
The mayor's office has a website, but his home phone
number is listed in the telephone directory. And,
while it sounds unbelievable, he actually does pick up
the phone when he's home and talk to his constituents.

They love him for it.

Take me for example. I am actually one of the very,
very, very few experts who can be reached by phone. If
I'm not on a call already or working one-on-one with a
client in my office, I always pick up the phone.

And when I can't pick up before the machine does, I
try to return all my calls promptly. (Unless, they're
trying to sell me insurance or some crap.)

Accessibility is, in a way, my unique selling
proposition. People are actually very surprised when I
call them back. They know how busy I am. And my
prospects respect and appreciate that I prioritize
them.

Is every call a walk in the park that ends with a trip
to the bank? Well no. Sometimes I do get calls from
some jerk who just wants to "bust my balls" or waste
my time.

But really... the whackos are few and far between.
Most of my callers are good people. They're calling me
because they want me to help them with their
conversions, not because they want to BS the weather.

I'd say 95% of the people who call are very serious
and I'm happy to have the opportunity to speak with
them. As for the other 5%... once they "reveal"
themselves, I get off the phone very quickly.

So how can you use this sneak technique to beef up
conversions on your site? To borrow the old phone
company slogan: "Reach out and touch."

Add a telephone option to your site and take orders
via telephone. If you think this could be
overwhelming, you could test just taking calls within
business hours.

If you're doing huge volume, add a toll-free number.

If you're doing big business in the international
market, outsource so that you can accept phone orders
24/7.

The Internet is the Land of Opportunity, although some
online entrepreneurs think they're in Lazy Land... and
don't understand why they're not succeeding.

They want to live the ultimate Internet marketing
lifestyle dream. They want everything to be automated.
They want their ads to find the prospects, they want
their site to sell the prospect, take the money, and
forward a deposit directly into their online bank
account.

That dream can be real, but too many business people
are relying too much on the technology to do ALL the
work for them. Sometimes, it's good to go back to
old-fashion communication. Silence may be golden,
but in business... talking is pure platinum.

We'll "talk" more soon.

Dan Lok

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself
from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a
multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most
sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as
a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title
as the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert.
To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at:

Ruthless Marketing System™

* How To Master The Art And Science Of Super Salesmanship In 3 ½ Minutes Flat!

Copyright © 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International,
Ltd.

Dear Friend,

You #1 weapon in advertising will always be...

Superior Salesmanship.

I am not a born salesman.

If you know my story, I didn’t even have a word of the
English language on my lips when I first moved to
North America. (Even now, my spoken English is not all
that great and it comes with an accent that would put
Arnold Schwarzenegger or Jackie Chan to shame.)

No, I wasn't born to sell. I had to learn selling...
the HARD way: making embarrassing mistakes, blowing
deals right and left, losing clients... and going to
outrageous extremes trying to identify the world-class
salesmen who would teach me the way to do things right.

Well, it's taken a few years... quite a few years,
I'll admit, but now I've identified the "tricks of the
trade" of selling.

What Took Me Years Will Be Yours In 3 ½ Minutes Flat!

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Tricks of the Trade #1 - People don’t like to be sold

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

That's right! Although every year, trillions of
dollars worth of goods and services are bought and
sold -- billions through the mail alone -- people
actually don’t like the IDEA of being sold.

What they DO like is the idea of OWNING the product,
or taking advantage of the service that is being sold.

Look at the people in your own life -- friends,
family, or business colleagues. Many of them, no
doubt, love to buy things. (My girlfriend has a “black
belt” in shopping) But I'll bet that none of them like
to be sold.

In fact, with most people, if you try to sell them
something, they'll become resistant. It's a natural
response to perceived pressure.

In fact, selling may turn-off a prospect who was ready
to buy. So if you can't SELL, what you can do is TELL.
In order to tell you about my product or service:

* I get your attention...

* I build rapport with you...

* I explain what’s in it for you...

* I tempt you by appealing to your emotions...

* I create a verbal picture that teases your desires...

* I demonstrate how my stuff can easily solve your
problems...

* I can prove to you that there’re a lot people just
like you who have bought and are very happy with my
stuff...

* I make you an absolutely irresistible offer...

* I describe a deal where you risk nothing, and yet
stand to gain a great deal...

* I handle every single one of your objections...

This is exactly what you've gotta do when you’re
writing a sales letter. Don’t apply pressure and don’t
bully your prospect with force. Use a little finesse
instead. Don't force it -- romance the hell out of it.

If you TELL you, I don't have to SELL you... you'll
sell yourself!

(And that’s killer salesmanship, my friend!)

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

Tricks of the Trade #2 - Hit ‘Em Where It Hurts:

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

With each sales pitch you create, you must focus on
the need or desire that your product will satisfy.

If we only buy what we NEED, there’ll be No Rolex, No
BMW, No Mercedes, No Botox, and definitely NO
Starbucks coffee. We certainly don’t NEED any of that
stuff, but we WANT them!

Here’s what most people are looking for in one way or
another:

* More money

* More free time

* More respect

* Better physical health

* Better mental health

* Less stress

Remember, people buy what they WANT, not what they
NEED.

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= = = = =

Tricks of the Trade #3 - Even When They're Sold,
People Need To Satisfy Their Emotional Decisions With
Logic

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= = = = =

Even though people buy for emotional reasons, they
need to feel that their decision was backed by solid
logical reasons.

Think about TV commercials for cars. They offer a
perfect picture of "justification."

Here's how they work:

First, there's a stirring image of the car itself –
beautiful, stylish, new. (In your head: Wow! That car
looks cool...)

In the background, there’s a mountainous landscape (In
your head: Wow! That's rugged... like me!) or a
five-star hotel (In your head: Wow! That car would
give me status."

And, of course, no car commercial would be complete
without a beautiful, sexy woman. (In your head:
...let's not go there!)

Next, you see an interior shot to show how luxurious
your life will be with this car. You get to listen to
state-of-the-art sound system. (In your head: Hmm... I
can listen to my favorite music.)

Then, there’s a shot of the car driving by the ocean.
Put it all together and you have an effective
20-second movie that’s designed entirely to appeal to
emotion.

But wait, the car commercials don’t stop here.

Oh...no way. At the end, they "get down to business"
with numerous bits and pieces of information – the
size of the engine, statistics on fuel economy, speed,
weight, interior space, rankings in national survey,
financing information and customer satisfaction
reports, and so on.

It flashes by at lightening speed, usually so quickly
that you can't read it.

But Don't Worry: All This Data Isn’t Meant To Sell The
Car.

It’s included to make YOU feel good and justify the
decision you’ve already made. (I’m gonna buy that baby
now or when I got some money because it's the SMART
thing to do!)

The lesson: People CAN be convinced, when the facts
are explained, when the risk is taken away, and when
their deepest, most selfish desires have been tickled
and nurtured and seduced.

All right, time’s up! Whew... right on time. 3-½
minutes. (Hey, I don’t just always “hype” the headline
to get you to read my stuff, do I?)

Until next time...

Dan Lok

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself
from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a
multi-millionaire. Dan came to North America with
little knowledge of the English language and few contacts.
Today, Dan is one of the most sought-after business
mentors on the Web, as well as a best-selling author.
His reputation includes his title as the World's #1
Website Conversion Expert. To find out what Dan is
up to now, visit him at:

Ruthless Marketing System™

* The Ultimate Secret To Internet Success! (And It's NOT What You Think)

Copyright © 2006 Quick Turn Marketing International,
Ltd.

What I'm about to say may hurt your feelings, but it's
time someone tells you the truth:

If your website is not making money, it’s NOBODY'S
FAULT BUT YOUR OWN!

I'm warning you…this message is sharp and pointed. I
guess I'm "fighting back" after hearing so many people
bitch and moan…

"Oh Dan, my website is not working money or website is
not making the kind of money I want. But it's not my
fault…

*If only the competition wasn't so fierce…

*If only people were buying online more…

*If only I can get higher ranking on all the major
engines…

*If only my affiliate will promote my stuff harder…

*If only I can get more traffic to the site…

*If only my customers will just send me more referrals…

If only… If only… If only… What a bunch of hooey!

I am here to tell you, if your website is not making
money, the only finger you can point is at yourself.

If you're busy pointing fingers anywhere else, you're
suffering from one of the most common "sicknesses" in
business…a toxic point of view that can kill…
Passing the buck.

If you can't accept total responsibility for the
success and failure of your site, you're not in
control…you're powerless.

BUT…if you "own" your website completely…if you accept
that it will rise or fall because of you…if you're
fully accountable for it…

Then you're the power figure…and you can use your
power for good -- to improve, polish, and perfect your
website.

If you're willing to do the work and analyze the
situation AND YOURSELF, you'll find answers to key
questions like these:

***What are my problems?

***What are the true reasons why my website is not
doing well?

***What am I pretending not to know/see?

and the biggest question of all:

***What do I personally need to do or have to make
things better?

Maybe you need more knowledge, maybe you need more
skills, maybe you need more traffic, maybe you’re not
doing enough marketing…

It doesn't matter what you need. What matters is that
you identify the need and then fill it!

I have a friend who says that as a business person on
the web, you can take one of three approaches.

You can be a wiener (someone who throws money at a
failing website), a whiner (someone who complains
about throwing money at a failing website) or a winner
(someone who says, "I'm going to make this failing
website succeed.")

If your website is not getting enough traffic, do more
per-pay-click, write articles, send out some press
releases, exchange links with other sites, whatever,
do something.

If your website is not converting well, hire a
copywriter, re-write your own copy, test different
website conversion strategies, do something.

If you don’t know how to set up your site properly,
hire a web designer, learn HTML, get an auto-responder,

The key here is to stop whining, start getting mad at
the situation and then do something about it.

Do whatever you want…just do something!

Don’t sit around and hope and pray your website will
do better. Because it won’t.

What's the worst that will happen if you take action?
You'll make mistakes.

BUT…you’ll also LEARN from your mistakes. You’ll get
FEEDBACK from the marketplace so you'll know how to
MAKE CHANGES so your site will be more effective.

You don’t have to get it right, you just have to get
it going.

Stop whining and take action!

That's a Lok!

Dan Lok

= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =

A former college dropout, Dan Lok transformed himself
from a grocery bagger in a local supermarket to a
multi-millionaire. Today, Dan is one of the most
sought-after business mentors on the Web, as well as
a best-selling author. His reputation includes his title
as the World's #1 Website Conversion Expert.
To find out what Dan is up to now, visit him at:

Ruthless Marketing System™

1. They encourage entry into the market and create competition (because everyone and his company wants a piece)

Business loves profits. The public loves competition. The good news for economic matchmakers and the public alike is that the two often combine in a highly successful union. High profits encourage new businesses to enter the profitable industries, and the entrance spawns competition.

This elementary piece of common sense is also an economic law that states that high profits, in general, tend to encourage competitive entry into a market. Where profits are made, in other words, competition generally follows. This is a good thing.

But it's not always the case, of course. Our sharper readers would be thinking of oil companies, who are currently raking profits, yet we see few start-up oil companies. Here's the answer. The reason for this is that the oil market is over-regulated, from development, through production, and into retail sales. The entry costs in the oil industry are extremely high. Corrupt African dictatorships must be bribed and greased for access to precious resources, overweening regulations from the EU and the US nag your every move, Latin American nationalization threatens from Left and Right, and most notably, reactionary Arab and/or Islamist governments who happen to sit on the plurality of the world's known oil reserves. Companies who dare to enter the market under these unsavory conditions also face competitors who have successfully funnelled billions of dollars over decades to influence the lobbyists, legislators and leaders who created and maintain those high entry costs. This is why high profits for companies aren't spurring entry into the oil market - entry is just too difficult as it is.

But nearly everywhere else, the profit motive wins, and new companies jump in. And where money is made, capital then flocks. The increased competition creates more choice, better quality and lower prices for consumers. But you've all had the economics lesson before.

But even those who failed economics can get this one. Once one company makes bank, everyone else wants a piece.

2. The profitable ones can eat recessions for lunch

The ability for an economy to survive a recession is substantially reliant on the value and profitability of its companies. Example: Declining sales for a year don't hurt when you're coming off of a decade of solid profit growth. Large profit margins mean fewer sales are necessary to sustain the investment (see point 3) that the company currently makes, avoiding the necessity of nasty cost-cutting measures like downsizing. (Are you listening, Michael Moore?)

Every kindergartner knows that the opposite of profits, i.e. loss and bankruptcy, harms many people. Employees lose their jobs, businesses lose customers, and government loses revenue. Avoiding these losses, by the same principle, demonstrates how profits are beneficial.

American "blue chip" stocks are those of companies generally thought to be relatively risk-free investments nearly guaranteeing any investor sustained share gains, no matter what the economic conditions. What's the secret? Profitability secures the luxury.

3. Where do you think wages, investment and research come from? A stork?

Every expense that the public would like businesses to freely make - research and development, sustainability, wages, vacation pay, health insurance, graduate school for employees, ad infinitum - all require the surplus revenues to support them. (These revenues are called profits, for all you business students out there.)

Like all great economic principles, the socialists have implemented policies ignoring it to disastrous results. An example occured in the oil industry, of course. (The oil industry is also where socialists reinvented the American definition of "queue" by implementing price controls on gasoline to atrocious results, you'll remember.) The Crude Oil Windfall Profit Tax of 1980 was a worthless Marxist experiment not dissimilar from the 2006 prescription of the American Left: slap an extortionate tax on oil company profits. After all, as Bill O'Reilly would remind us, it's just not right.

The results were predictable. According to a study published by the Congressional Research Service, the tax discouraged investment in the American oil industry so severely that US oil production declined 3 percent to 6 percent as a result, and foreign oil imports grew 8 percent to 16 percent accordingly to fill the gap. There's a headline: "Oil Company Profits Shown to Reduce Dependence on Foreign Oil." Almost. But it does confirm what common sense implies - that companies must make money to spend money, whether it's new technologies or employee perks.

4. Don't hate, participate

Investment in a company is the easiest way for any Average Joe to enjoy a piece of corporate profits. Profitability increases the current market value of a company as well as its future expectations, which drives up the stock price of the profitable company. Why deride it, socialists, when you can make money off of it yourself?

Yes, we can see the NYSE ad campaign now: "Hey socialists, invest in the stock market. You can take a corporation's money as soon as it makes it. It's the most efficient form of simultaneous taxation and redistribution to enrich yourself that has ever been devised by the mind of man! Come and get it, comrade!"

The reality is that high profits certainly benefit investors, but it is also that anyone can be an investor and also benefit. If none of the other points in this editorial were valid (not likely), this one would remain so. No matter the social value of profits, they will always directly benefit anyone who simply invests in the company who makes them.

Let's end the class warfare and just get rich off of other people getting rich. It's the American way, after all.

In the end, we don't care much what's good for the companies. We just notice what is good for us.

So, how about you?  What do the three P’s of writing…practice, pleasure, profit…mean in your writing life?

Since I'm not a full-time Writer (meaning, since I don't write all the time... just when the mood strikes, which can be once a month, or once every 5 months, or more!), I don't know the answer to this question, really. I wasn't even going to blog about this post, today, as I didn't really feel it applies to me.

But, I do write for pleasure. I write "for my eyes only" quite often. I do it when I'm journaling, and my novel-in-progress is still "for my eyes only" -- for pleasure -- too. I haven't yet gotten it to the point where I'm ready for anyone else to see it. But, it does bring me pleasure to read my own story -- the one I've created. I've come to care for my characters.

And, I guess that any writing I do --whether it's for someone else, or for me-- is "practice". The more I do it, the better I'll get. With anything, the more you practice, the more you'll improve, right? ;)

Profit -- monetary -- isn't coming to me. But, yeah, I've had dreams that that sort of profit would be in my future, of course. I'm sure all Writers dream of having their work sell big-time! ;) As for other sorts of "profit", though, I guess I profit from my writing in that, a lot of times, it helps me grow in my knowledge of who I am, and where I'm going. I'm big on self-reflection, so my writing (usually my journaling) helps me to put things in perspective. I consider myself to be fairly "self-aware".

Dans le cas des détaillants d'essence de Saint-Jérôme, la Régie de l'énergie affirme, dans sa décision rendue le 11 juillet dernier, qu'il y a "un réel danger d'une diminution importante du nombre de détaillants indépendants à Saint-Jérôme et que cela peut, à long terme, aller à l'encontre des intérêts des consommateurs".  La requête, déposée devant la Régie, l'a été par l'Association québécoise des indépendants de pétrole (AQUIP), et l'un de ses membres, Intergaz.

Le gros de problème, c'est qu'à Saint-Jérôme, la multinationale Costco a ouvert, il y a quelques années, un poste d'essence, et les indépendants se plaignent, à toute fin pratique, de concurrence déloyale.  C'est que Costco a pris les moyens nécessaires pour réduire ses coûts d'exploitation, et que les plaignants - j'allais dire les plaignards - n'osent pas prendre des moyens semblables.  Les pétrolières, qui opèrent des stations d'essence, à Saint-Jérôme, ne se plaignent pourtant pas de la situation.

Mais ce que j'ai trouvé le plus drôle, dans cet article, c'est la toute dernière phrase, du moins dans la version publiée ce matin dans le JdeM.  Ça dit que "M. Pagé (Claude Pagé, de la pétrolière Intergaz) a fait valoir que les prix de l'essence au Québec demeuraient les moins chers en Amérique du Nord et au Canada, et que cela était dû à l'apport des détaillants indépendants."  Vous croyez à cela, vous?  À constater par sa décision, la Régie de l'énergie y a manifestement cru.  Pour ma part, je crois que ce type, Claude Pagé, devrait faire renouveler son passeport, et aller faire un tour dans les états américains limitrophes, en plus d'aller se balader dans les autres provinces canadiennes.  Il se rendrait rapidement compte que, mis à part dans les provinces maritimes, c'est au Québec que l'essence est la plus chère, à la pompe.  Aux USA, les gens doivent composer, depuis quelques temps, avec un prix de l'essence qui dépasse les 4$ du gallon américain, alors que si l'on fait la conversion, nous payons ici, malgré la baisse des derniers jours (l'essence ordinaire se détaille autour de 132,4 cents le litre, à Anjou, au moment où j'écris ce billet), autour de 5$ pour le même gallon.  C'est comme 25% de plus, ça, mon cher Claude!  Et ce sont ces mêmes indépendants du pétrole qui gueulent contre les guerres de prix qu'imposent les pétrolières, parce que ça diminue leur marge de profit.  Il est où, l'apport des détaillants indépendants?  À chaque fois qu'ils font une demande, c'est pour augmenter les prix!

La Régie de l'énergie a définitivement avalé la couleuvre de Claude Pagé, et de l'AQUIP, en acquiesçant à leur demande de hausse de prix de 3 cents le litre, à Saint-Jérôme.  C'est à croire que la Régie dort... aux gaz!

One thing to put a damper on shareholders dividends is the announcement that profits will be lower next quarter due to a 'key product transition' that undercuts rivals, due by the end of September. No details on what the new product will be, but with the Macbook, iPod Touch and Mac Mini rumoured to be expecting an update there's plenty to pick from. That's without the possibility of a Mac tablet or 'bigger than iPod Touch' PDA/handheld device. Looks like interesting times are ahead.

It will be “NO” if:

• The headhunter has no fixed costs – like SAM – we can ride out a rough ride and still make a profit.
• The headhunter isn’t focussed on narrow sectors – like SAM – if I were only serving the construction industry right now I think I would have started a new business in something easy, like knitting fog.
• The headhunter operates internationally – like SAM – operating on one single country market means you have no options.

The answer is “YES” if:

• Your building and staff costs stick with you. They can be reduced, but it’s a huge distraction from headhunting.
• Your customers are suffering and you can’t move around the markets.
• You’re convinced it’s difficult – it’s a hard mindset to escape from.

While my universe is small, I’m noticing clients and prospects still looking for skilled managers and leaders. Often they’ll see this as a great time to restructure and look for new blood for the next growth phase. They can plan for expansion while their competitors are pulling up the drawbridge.

I’m also aware that companies will look to their costs as well. It’s neat that our fixed costs are (almost) zero. So we can pass on savings and stay competitive – as we usually do in SAM.

It’s certainly not going to get easier over the coming months, but with the right business model you can still deliver a great service, make a profit, and meet customers needs on time with no cost surprises.

Stay nimble and positive – it’s the only way to be in any economic cycle.

Written by Martin Ellis: me@samheadhunting.com

Voici la vue qui s'offrait de l'A-15, en direction nord, à la hauteur du viaduc du boulevard du Grand Héron, à Saint-Jérôme.  Il faut dire que des chantiers comme celui-ci sont beaucoup moins accessibles, compte tenu de la circulation automobile, qui y est maintenue.  Je dois donc, à ce moment-là, me contenter de poses prises à partir des viaducs.

Depuis le boulevard du Grand Héron, encore une fois, il s'agit maintenant de la vue en direction sud, de ce même chantier, soit celui de la reconstruction complète, en béton, de la chaussée en direction nord.  Celle en direction sud fut reconstruite l'an dernier.

Encore le même chantier, mais cette fois depuis le viaduc de la côte Saint-Pierre, à Mirabel.  Nous regardons en direction nord, avec, au loin, la sortie vers l'A-50.

En direction sud, cette fois, toujours depuis le viaduc de la côte Saint-Pierre.

Maintenant, nous allons voir le chantier du nouvel échangeur, à la hauteur du chemin Notre-Dame, qui donnera accès au méga-complexe Lac Mirabel.

Je suis sur le chemin Notre-Dame, et voici ce qui sera probablement l'un des accès principaux vers le complexe.

Le chemin Notre-Dame, cette fois, à l'ouest de l'A-15.  On vot d'ailleurs le tout nouveau viaduc, au loin.  L'intersection de la photo précédenta est à ma gauche.

Cette image vous donnera une idée du terrassement qu'il reste à combler, sur le chemin Notre-Dame.  La couche finale d'asphalte devrait, en principe, arriver à égalité avec la grille, que l'on voit, au-dessus du réceptacle d'égout pluvial.

Ici, c'est l'approche du viaduc Notre-Dame, mais à l'est de l'A-15.

Sur cette photo, j'ai dû modifier quelques caractéristiques, car sinon, vous n'auriez rien vu; le soleil allait se coucher bientôt, le temps était nuageux, et le fait d'être pratiquement en pleine forêt n'aidaient vraiment pas, au niveau de l'éclairage.  Il s'agit du chemin Notre-Dame, qui sera probablement élargi, compte tenu du nouvel échangeur qui y sera aménagé.

Voici un avant-goût de la bretelle de sortie de l'A-15 nord, vers le chemin Notre-Dame.  Nous sommes toujours à Mirabel.

Avec la longueur du déboisement, ainsi que du chemin en construction, j'ai l'impression que la bretelle d'entrée vers l'A-15 nord sera quelque part, le long de ce qui semble être une nouvelle rue.

Déplaçons-nous encore une fois vers le sud, pour arriver à la hauteur du boulevard de la Seigneurie, à Blainville, pour des travaux de modification à l'échangeur existant.

La bretelle de sortie actuelle, en provenance de l'A-15 nord, est rétrécie, vers la gauche, de façon à laisser de la place pour le chantier.  C'est du développement, à l'ouest de l'A-15, qui amène à cette modification de l'échangeur.

La coupe des arbres, en premier plan, nous donne une idée de l'alignement de la nouvelle bretelle de sortie.  Les arbres que l'on voit au second plan seront abattus, eux aussi, pour faire place à la bretelle d'entrée vers l'A-15 nord.  Entre ces deux petits îlots boisés, on trouve le boulevard de la Seigneurie, en tranchée.  Les nouvelles bretelles seront aussi encastrées, pour aller rejoindre le boulevard, au moyen d'une intersection avec feux de circulation.

Les pluies abondantes de juin ont laissé leurs traces sur le chantier.  Le réceptacle d'égout montre la hauteur - ou devrais-je dire la profondeur - de la future bretelle de la sortie 25 de l'A-15 nord.

Bon, maintenant que ça commence à débloquer, je devrais pouvoir publier d'autres billets à photos.  La chasse aux images se poursuit ces jours-ci, mais j'ai encore en réserve les premières images de la blogue-mobile, qui prend du mieux de jour en jour, ainsi que de nouvelles photos, prises ce dimanche (20 juillet), sous la pluie et parmi les moustiques, d'un échangeur autoroutier qui s'est métamorphosé en "passe à chevreuils".

Je profite de l'occasion pour souhaiter d'excellentes vacances à tous ceux et celles qui profiteront des traditionnelles "deux dernières de juillet" typiquement québécoises, aussi connues sous le vocable de "vacances de la construction".  De mon côté, le travail se poursuit, pendant cette période, quoique de façon un peu plus relaxe.  Je prendrai une semaine de vacances du 24 au 30 août, soit juste avant la fête du travail.  Je tenterai de profiter de cette période pour faire une réserve de photos de chantiers, et de sites routiers, plus intéressants les uns que les autres, afin d'agrémenter plusieurs billets, l'automne prochain.

Building a list means collecting and maintaining a list of prospects & custom