Special Deals on Rugs this Christmas

Free underpad when you buy a Persian or Oriental rug
This offer ends on 7th Dec 2008
Christmas Sale

Save $100
Minimum purchase price $1250 - Discount $100
"Not Valid on Consignment, Custom Items, Sale, or ebay merchandise.
This offer ends 10/01/09."
Use Coupon Code - ASAS10a

Coupon Codes and Deals

$15 off discounted magazine subscriptions at SurplusMags.com

$15 off minimum order of $100
Coupon Code - Surplus100

$8 off discounted magazine subscriptions at SurplusMags.com

$8 off - Minimum order of $75 at SurplusMags.com
Coupon Code - Surplus75

Escape to the country in Scotland

I've just spotted a lovely house for sale near Forfar - it's brand new, has four bedrooms and seems to have a fantastic view over the Angus countryside. Unfortunately, I can't move there - but maybe you know someone who's looking to return to Scotland to live - or who needs to find a lovely family home near Dundee or Aberdeen??

Full details of the house - it's vacant - ready for you to move in!

Insider Secrets to Marketing your Business on the Internet

Derek Gehl's Insider Secrets to Marketing your Business on the Internet course has long been on my wish list; it has received rave reviews from many people whose opinion I respect very much indeed.


Here’s the 2008 Course Outline:

Step #1. Find Your Niche Market
Step #2. Set Up Your Business To Sell The Right Solution
Step #3. Write Compelling Salescopy That Turns Visitors Into Buyers
Step #4. Design A Website That Compels Visitors To Take Action
Step #5. Use An Opt-In Form To Collect Leads And Build Customer Relationships
Step #6. Drive Visitors To Your Website And Start Making Sales
Step #7. Use Pay-Per-Click Advertising To Get Traffic Fast
Step #8. Attract Free Traffic By Optimizing For The Major Search Engines
Step #9. Use Email Marketing To Build Customer Relationships And Make More Sales
Step #10. Harness The Power Of Affiliate Programs For More Traffic And Sales
Step #11. Test, Track, And Optimize Your Marketing For Maximum Results
Step #12. Add New Revenue Streams To Grow Your Profits
Bonus Book - Use New Media And "Web 2.0" To Make Your Online Business Social
DISC 1: Video - Find a Profitable Niche Market
DISC 2: Video - Write Salescopy that Compels Visitors to Take Action
DISC 3: Create a Winning Pay-Per-Click Ad Campaign
DISC 4: Video - Optimize Your Website for Top Search Engine Results
DISC 5: Rolodex and Swipe Files
DISC 6: 7 Case Studies and 3 Website Reviews/Makeovers

Derek has some special offers online now - and I'm probably going to dip my toes in the water later on today. HOWEVER, I must confess that I didn't expect to find second-hand copies of the Internet Marketing Center course material and handbooks on the eBay auction site. There aren't a whole lot of them available, but as they are "Buy it now" items, they still look like great value for money. Either way, if you are keen to learn about Internet Marketing for your Business, these options sound like great value for money.

It would be great for you to explore these options to start earning your way out of the country's current financial meltdown. Here they are again, just so that you can take your time to check them out.

1. Derek Gehl's Insider Secrets to Marketing your Business on the Internet

2. Derek Gehl's 2008 Course Outline

Link Directories - Bidding for Links

Here's a list of some very search-engine friendly linkbid directories. I'll update this list shortly.

http://directory.phplinkbid.com/

http://www.ptcreations.com/

http://www.directorygrow.com/

http://www.bidverve.com

http://www.xirby.com/

http://www.nervedirectories.com/

http://www.0go.net/

http://www.kytoo.com/

http://www.linkjuicedirectory.com/

http://directory.intavant.com/

http://www.linkbidguide.com

http://www.bidfu.com

http://www.linkbidnow.com/

http://www.epicbids.com

http://www.affiliatefrog.com

http://www.nervedirectory.com

http://www.teknowledgery.com

http://www.w3point.com

http://www.1buckbid.com

http://www.1buckonly.com

http://linkdigg.com

http://www.linkbid.tv/

http://www.musicvideos411.com

http://meatylink.com

http://coolfinancial.com/dir

http://www.LinkFrequency.com

http://fightingtopsites.com

http://www.euro-lister.com/

http://zdravzivotzr.com

http://directoriesbidding.com

http://db9.biz/

http://bidforposition.co.uk

http://www.premointer.com

http://www.computingandinternet.net

http://www.societyandculture.org

http://www.shoppinglinks.nu

http://linkbidblog.com

http://healthdirectory.nu

http://eshopindex.com

http://www.linkbid.name

http://meanlinks.com

http://addyourlink.name

http://www.TopBidLink.com

http://www.bid-directory-uk.co.uk

http://jie.cc

http://www.mastertop.net/

http://www.dealsinvestment.com/

http://www.bountyworld.com

http://linkstarz.com

http://emarketinglinks.com

http://linksalad.com

http://bidforpr.com

http://www.worldlinksbid.com

http://www.webydirectory.com/

http://www.biduplinks.co.uk

http://www.smarturl.co.uk

http://www.topwebsiteslist.com

http://www.fruitydirectory.com/phplinkbid

http://www.link4rank.com

http://www.eurolistings.net

http://www.uppername.com

http://www.candomultimedia.com/

http://www.bidlink.eu

http://www.primalima.com

http://www.webpix.eu

http://www.portachi.net/

http://biddirectory1.com

http://www.mySEOlink.com

http://www.bidforposition.us

http://linkscan.us

http://www.sublimedirectory1.com

http://doughmainz.com/domainlinkbids/index.php

http://www.linkbid24.de/

http://bid-for-links.com

http://www.everbestlinks.com

http://www.patentsonline.com.au/bidforlink/

http://www.linkdirectory.cc

http://www.scriptcopy.com

http://www.topbidwebdirectory.com

http://www.englishfair.com

http://www.tookle.com

http://www.blacpac.com

http://www.npx01.com

http://www.directorydub.com

http://www.bidpreneur.com

http://www.licytacjalinkow.pl

http://www.najlepszapozycja.net

http://www.multi-directory.com/

http://www.prowebdir.com/

http://www.smartlinklp.com/

http://www.textlinkindex.com/

http://www.textlinkbid.com/

http://www.webshopdirectory.com/

http://photographersbank.com

http://xoccy.com

http://www.bidrankdirectory.com/

http://www.empowerlink.com/

http://www.ses-its.com/

http://www.spmdb.com/

http://www.ibaud.org/

http://www.bidmylink.com/

http://www.linkprague.com/

http://www.linkanchor.com/

http://www.nvrenshow.net/

http://www.powernetworkingseries.com/

http://www.propylaean.org/

http://www.bigbangworkshops.com/

http://www.brigandu.com/

http://www.westgei.com/

http://www.asaconcordia.com/

http://www.positionstrength.com/

http://www.bid-link.org/

http://www.bidding-directory.org/

http://www.coinaf.org/

http://www.tomscreekint.com/

http://www.woodkerne.com/

http://www.podsim.org/

Knock, Knock

I love old houses; so, when my sister decided to purchase a Victorian terrace house near Derby, my interest was piqued.

Last week, I took the time to visit her - and she showed me her purchase. The house is in a distressed state as she's renovating; but the quality of the build is shining through.

One of the items which took me straight back to my childhood is the amazing Victorian door knocker - featuring a lion's mask. It is just like the one which was on the back door at our aunt's house. My sister has re-painted it into a crisp black - and it is looking beautiful.

M

Bankaholic.com - $15m Price Tag

What happens when you create a web site which provides useful, fresh and up-to-date information for a hungry market?? Well, if you're like Johns Wu at Bankaholic.com, you get an offer for your web site which is impossible to refuse.

.... so, get your creative juices running and find a hot market which you can be passionate about - and you, too, could end up with $15m in your bank balance.

M

Social Bookmarking?

I've just started a new experiment with social bookmarking sites - these ones apparently don't assign thd "no-follow" tag to your bookmarks - in other words, they can be spidered.

Backflip
Bibsonomy
Blinklist
Bookmarktracker
Connectedy
Folked
Furl
Jumptags
Linkagogo
MyLinkVault
MyVMarks
Spotback
Spurl

I am hoping that by adding my sites into the bookmarks here, we will get better search engine results for our key phrases.

.... I'll let you know how this goes.

M

Maybe the stockbrokers need some spice in their lives?

Weird and wacky magnets - in the form of a nipples must be among the most wacky items we've seen on eBay - I would have thought that eBay would have pulled this auction - but obviously not.

Meantime, even in these troubled times, Breast Painting Artist Kira Ayn Varszegi is still selling lots of original art work - good on her!

The same mistakes over and over again. PHPLinkBid Directory Owners Beware!

I own and run a PHPLinkBid Directory site - fortunately, I know enough about scripts to install it myself and get it configured to run properly. (OK, I've made a note to myself to buy some add-ons and find a prettier template - but these things are cosmetic.)

These link bid sites are a good way of getting backlinks for your web site - especially the ones such as PHPLinkBid which have RSS feeds for categories. There are many other directory scripts published which offer similar RSS feeds.

Link Directory scripts generally cost money - some a few dollars, others many hundreds of dollars. So you would think that someone spending money with a view to making a return on their investment would take the time to make sure that the directory is working correctly. As I surf the net looking for other places to buy links, it amazes me completely that the configuration of the directory has been ignored.

For instance, I have come across several directories where the owners obviously have forgotten to find the section where they put in their paypal address - so someone wanting to buy a link ends up sending money to a duff paypal address. This is hopeless - and very frustrating.

PLEASE - if you run a PHPLinkBid site, check to see that your PayPal address details are correct.

... my other beef with directories is that people are unrealistic about the prices they can get when they are starting up their directories. My recommendation, especially for the first few months, is to start cheap - $1 per listing to start with is great - that way, your directory gets populated with links. The whole purpose of a link bid directory is to encourage people to pay more to be on the front page of your site - so you need at least ten purchased links to encourage the competition to pay to be top of your link directory.

Oh, and don't forget to promote your own directory - because the more popular and visible it is, the better your results are going to be.

With that in mind, please don't forget to check out my own directory and place a bid - I am actively promoting it too - and as I do so, you will get the benefit of my efforts in bringing traffic to the site. :)

Cubist Vase of Flowers on Table by Francoise Gilot - for sale on eBay

Cubist Vase of Flowers on Table

Original Artist's Crayon Drawing bby Francoise Gilot

"Picasso's Beloved Muse"

Dimensions: 5 inches by 6.5 inches

Signed and Dated 1946. The Original label and sales information is on the back of the picture.

This artwork is still in its original picture frame.

This artwork is registered in the Francoise Gilot Archives.

The artwork was purchased from Francoise Gilot at a show by Riggs Gallery in San Diego, California in 1988. Ms. Gilot attended the show with her husband, Dr. Jonas Salk. During the sale, Ms. Gilot stated how hard it had been to get paper after the war. Ms. Gilot did this drawing while she was living with Pablo Picasso.

This artwork is very vibrant and colorful with strong strokes and good definition.

About the Gallery where the drawing was purchased - Riggs Gallery was a prominent gallery in San Diego and Mary Riggs, the owner, was Francoise Gilot's representative on the West Coast. Dorothea Elkon was her East Coast representative. Since Ms. Gilot and Dr. Salk lived in San Diego.

Francoise Gilot is a French Painter, born in 1921. From 1946 to 1953 she worked with Pablo Picasso, learning, teaching and sharing the wealth of his tremendous talent. During this time she also worked with Henri Matisse, developing a strong friendship with the elderly painter. She lived with Picasso and had two children with him.

Ms. Gilot has acted as a visiting professor of the Department of Painting, Drawing and Etching at the University of California at Idyllwild. She also maintains a studio in New York City.

Cubist Vase of Flowers on Table

Jane Austen would love the internet - or maybe not??

Over the years, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was one of my favorite books - this gentle, romantic social comedy is perhaps not quite so gentle as it seemed to me on my first reading it as a young teenager. In fact, the book pulls no punches as it explores the customs and foibles of the top echelons of society - so it worked well then as a critique of the society of the day. How much - or how little - has changed today?? Perhaps less than we like to admit. I am sure Jane Austen would be amazed at the quick, effective global reach of the internet. I like to imagine that she would have belonged to Facebook and Blogger - maybe also selling her works as eBooks on Clickbank .

I love the BBC's adaptations of Jane Austen's works. Because these adaptations are mostly faithful to the original writings, they make a great way to study the sharpness of Austen's social commentary and to compare it to society today.

Movie trailer - collectible

Just a quick note to say that movie trailers are also quite collectible - you could easily set up a BANS store using this as a niche - maybe even make smaller niche stores out of it. For example, here's one auction for a Marilyn Monroe movie trailer .... one way to own a little bit of movie history without shelling out a whole lot of money for a complete movie.

Save fuel - convert your car to run on water???

Can you believe that your car might run on water instead of gas?

Whether you're trying to save money on gas or just help the environment by cleaning your vehicle's emissions, converting your car to run on hydrogen (as a supplement to gasoline) provides the lowest-cost, safest, and most rewarding solution. The technology to run cars on HHO (derived from water) is proven, but the information to do so is usually expensive and hard to find. Plus, it's difficult to know which information to trust!

Well you have just found the best guide on the net! That's right we are really Water Hybrid Drivers & Owners so we know our product inside and out!

Get the MOST COMPLETE Guide Here

It's a Wonderful Life - Movie with James Stewart

I keep being stunned at the stuff I find on eBay

I was just checking on the progress of the auction for a copy of the film "The Wizard of Oz" - it sold for $1,000 - when I came across a copy of the famous "It's a Wonderful Life" which starred

• James Stewart,
  
• Donna Reed,
  
• Lionel Barrymore,
  
• Thomas Mitchell,
  
• Henry Travers,
  
• Beulah Bondi,
  
• Frank Faylen,
  
• Ward Bond,
  
• Gloria Grahame, and
  
• Todd Karns

It's A Wonderful Life

1946

B&W Film

16mm

So far, this auction has reached $260 - I wonder where it will end up??

Wizard of Oz

Aargh - I guess I'm a collector at heart - here, up for sale, is an original film version of the Wizard of Oz

We're off to see the Wizard!!! Yes, it is true. Up for auction here is a beautiful print of the original, 1939 timeless MGM classic: THE WIZARD OF OZ. This print seems to be straight from the studio, with all original leaders, heads, and tails intact. The color is almost perfect, as is the black and white, except for the color part of Reel 3 which has begun to fade. There are few scratches, and nothing is missing from this film.

.... I'd just love to own this. I'm a real Judy Garland fan - I love her voice. ......

Stained glass - bargain??

This piece of stained glass is apparently Victorian - it was recovered from a mausoleum - and has an inscription on it "In Memory of Donald Ferguson" - which may restrict its resale value. However, what I like about it is the richness of the colors in the glass used - and, having lived in a house which had stained glass panels beside the front door, I can just imagine this piece (or some of the others for sale) embellishing a home. It seems like great value for money, considering the cost of having something similar commissioned today.

I love homes with personality - and stained glass certainly adds that.

I live about 6 miles from the Loch Lomond Golf Championship Course

This Fordson Tractor (being auctioned just now on eBay.co.uk) is just what will be needed today for anyone parking to see the Loch Lomond Scottish Open Golf Championship. The weather is truly testing - wild winds, overnight torrential downpour - and, although slightly better at the moment, it looks as if there's more rain due anytime. The car parking for the match is going to be ... er, soft!

Mind you, the tractor featured needs a little more work before it's going to be fit to pull anything out of a bog.

I'm a farmer's daughter - and, although it's 30 years since our farm was sold, I get really nostalgic for the sight, sound and smell of a tractor at work. This shot of an old Fergusson in a farm yard is reminiscent of work at home when Dad would come in weary after a day's ploughing.

The auction itself shows how not to sell on eBay - the seller has put a poor title on the auction, which will probably not be found if searching for Fergusson tractors, the description could be much better as well - so, at present, the tractor looks like a bargain to me. I hope he does well.

I could live with this one

I amn't sure I could live with the picture of Abraham Lincoln which I featured in my previous post. However, I could happily live with this one - a landscape signed by Birger Sandzen. I love the earthy tones.

My quirky nature, though, means that I just love this pen and ink drawing by Ervine Metzl

It needs no words to make me smile - and I could look at this for a long time without becoming weary.

Happy 4th July, folks

This picture of Abraham Lincoln is being sold, right now, on eBay - it's not overly expensive either.

Anyway, I thought it was worth a mention, especially as today's July 4th. Most appropriate.

Hope you folks have a great day.

---

P.S. On a completely different topic, I came across a handbook for an Avro Lancaster Bomber on eBay UK - wow, that is slightly surreal - imagine having enough of them left around to make it worth while publishing a repair manual.

Jack Vettriano Original - The White Basque

I just love it - I can't afford to own it, but this auction for a Jack Vettriano original -

JACK VETTRIANO- 'THE WHITE BASQUE'- 1994, OIL on CANVAS

Stunning, sexy, and utterly classic - early mature-period Jack Vettriano from 1994.

Jack's evocative style at its best.... the cinematic narrative...the

eternal sexual tension between men and women.

has me drooling! The current owner bought the Vettriano from an art gallery in Dunkeld, Perthshire when Vettriano was beginning to come to public notice. I am already jealous of the new owner of this amazing pic - the auction has several days yet to run, but the picture could be yours for £32,000 - and could be an amazing investment.

Jack Vettriano

Vettriano's Biography states:

Born in Fife, Scotland in 1951, Jack Vettriano left school at sixteen to become a mining engineer. For his twenty-first birthday, a girlfriend gave him a set of watercolour paints and, from then on, he spent much of his spare time teaching himself to paint.

In 1989, he submitted two paintings to the Royal Scottish Academy's annual exhibition; both were accepted and sold on the first day. The following year, an equally enthusiastic reaction greeted the three paintings, which he entered for the prestigious Summer Exhibition at London's Royal Academy and his new life as an artist began from that point on.

Over the last twenty years, interest in Vettriano's work has grown consistently. There have been sell-out solo exhibitions in Edinburgh, London, Hong Kong and New York.

Although he is a controversial figure, Vettriano is still favoured by the establishment - his portrait of Zara Phillips, daughter of HRH The Princess Royal, was commissioned for a charity auction in aid of Sport Relief.





..

Golf with Morgan Freeman

Here's an auction which is raising money for a good cause - the winner gets to play golf with the actor Morgan Freeman. The mission of PLAN!T NOW (the organization formerly known as the Grenada Relief Fund) is to be an advocate for the power of preparedness, focused on empowering people to develop their own solutions. But, the challenge is not only to create tools and resources for public preparedness, it's creating a sense of urgency for preparedness itself. Simply put, our mission is to give people the power to save their own lives. 100% of the money raised in this auction is going to the Grenada Relief Fund.

The auction winner will also receive -

You will also receive a set of clubs, courtesy of Callaway Golf! This set of clubs includes the latest in golf technology from top-selling Big Bertha brand. The Big Bertha 460 Driver boasts a 460cc head design with a shallower face, flatter crown and the highest Moment of Inertia ever in a Callaway Golf all-titanium head – resulting in longer and straighter off-center shots. The set also includes a 52 degree X-Forged Wedge is constructed from soft 1020 carbon steel for incredible feel with a tighter heel-toe radius that provides increased versatility from anywhere around the green. The Odyssey White Hot XG #3 putter is a rounded heel-toe weighted blade with a half-shaft offset. All of these clubs come ready to play with the industry’s #1 selling model Warbird Hot Stand Bag.

Don't forget your fantastic golf rain suit! The Dunhill rain outfit consists of an XL vinyl waterproof jacket and cream color sweater.

Don't forget to bookmark the auction. Morgan Freeman is waiting!

The Presidential Bus

I just love it when a piece of history comes up for sale. Of course, some pieces are more interesting and valuable than others - but the point of collecting historical artefacts is that they chart some moment of change in the way things are done. Take this Presidential Bus for instance.

According to the owners,

This coach has quite the history. It was originally constructed in 1995 for my wife and me; we intended to use it to go live in Alaska for a while. Well, this did not happen, and one day a good friend suggested that if I was not going to go to Alaska right away, why not use the bus to help Congressman Bill Zeliff campaign for New Hampshire Governor? So I did, and we spent the summer of 1995 driving around New Hampshire, doing parades and other events. Bill lost, but the bus was well received, so I decided to help with Phil Gramm's 1996 run for President.

The bus has been in politics ever since. Governor Bush used the bus as his campaign headquarters from July 1999 through the New Hampshire primary. Throughout this time, George Bush, Sr, Barbara Bush, Laura Bush, Jeb Bush, George P. Bush, and other members of the Bush family all rode on the bus. Many others rode on the bus, too: Elizabeth Dole, Judd Gregg, Jack Kemp, and Congressman Charles Bass. After the primary the bus supported the campaigning efforts of various Federal and state candidates, taking them throughout the state of New Hampshire in their bid for elected office. The last political event of the 2000 election the bus attended was President Bush's inaugural parade, and the presidential bus was born.

After the 2000 election the bus rested snuggly in its climate controlled garage until the start of the 2002 political season. Every candidate supported in 2002 won political office: Senator John Sununu, Representative Charles Bass, Representative Jeb Bradley, and Governor Craig Benson.

In 2004 the bus again campaigned for President Bush, and in 2006 it also campaigned throughout New Hampshire. Many well-known politicians, including Senator John McCain, campaign on the bus during this time.

Rudy Giuliani used the bus in 2007 and 2008 as his New Hampshire mobile campaign headquarters.

Throughout all of this the bus has been meticulously maintained. All the maintenance was done in house by me or under my immediate supervision. I just recently retired and sold my trucking business, so now its time to sell this great bus.

What an amazing opportunity to own a well documented piece of presidential and electoral history - it could be used as a miniature tourist attraction in its own right.

Painting by Breast??

I sometimes surf through eBay's Weird and Wonderful section - and today, I came across this amazing painting which you could actually hang in your lounge. The artist, Kira Ayn Varszegi, said

The paint is applied directly to my breasts, which are then pressed onto the canvas. This process is repeated several times, using different color combinations, until I like the final composition. This series is intended to be intimate, whimsical, and fun (and an interesting conversation piece). This is a 100% original creation that was painted entirely with my (real) breasts.

More art by Kira Ayn Varszegi is available for sale.

More aeroplanes, anyone?

I am absolutely amazed. After I found the Harrier Jump Jet earlier on today, I took some time out this evening to look through other plane auctions - here there are

• 3 BAC 1-11 Airliners on sale for a cool US $4,995,000.00
  
• A lovely Cessna - described as "A Classic 1959 Cessna 310C Full IFR, Ready-To-Fly"
  
• A 1968 Cessna 421 - the description reads "Stryair Inc. has owned this aircraft N1421U s/n 0046 for over 4 years (I have the paperwork to prove this). The retail N.A.A.A. value is 174,400 U.S dollars, with the wholesale value at 140,000 U.S. dollars. Stryair would love to keep this bird, but it is necessary to let her go."
  

Wow. I am astonished that transactions like this occur on eBay.

Harrier Jump Jet, anyone?

Don't you just love the concept of a bargain - especially when the current price for this Harrier Jump Jet on eBay is just £4,100 (price correct at the time of going to press).

The auction details say that

This is a decommissioned ex Royal Navy Sea Harrier FA2 Fighter/Attack aircraft which has served between 1987 and 1997 with all 3 of the Fleet Air Arm Harrier squadrons (800, 801 and 899 NAS).



The aircraft is externally complete to Static display/museum standards and would make a truly stunning garden feature or museum exhibit.



Complete with wing pylons and belly AMRAAM pylons. Replica engine nozzles (cast from the real thing) are fitted to give the impression an engine is installed.



Complete with photos of the aircraft in service and its full history.



This is the aircraft featured by Airfix as the 1:48 scale model of the FRS1 Sea Harrier in the 899NAS 50th Anniversary colour scheme. This colour scheme was applied to this aircraft in February 1993 prior to it's conversion to FA2 spec.



This is a Rare opportunity. You will not find a Static display Harrier this complete for sale anywhere else in the world!

More items from this seller can be seen below:

A quick update

I've been really busy - getting a couple more web sites online - Vera Bradley Handbags and Get me the Tickets

For the Coldplay enthusiasts amongst you, there are some tickets on there for some of the Coldplay events in the US and Canada

Right - I'm off to do some more work to build this great empire ..... er, revenue stream - so that I can announce my new project in September.

M

ps, just remembered, I added to the Compost Heap

£150,000 Challenge

Plodding onwards :) .... what have I done today??

Well, after publishing an article (it has yet to be reviewed and accepted), I updated another blog and then decided it was time to get aggressive with some PPC advertising.

I don't often spend money on online advertising, but I do find that there are some benefits in taking the time on a couple of the advertising networks to get some well targeted keyword phrases. For instance, I use 7Search.com because they have a fantastic keyword tool. Also, it is much easier when using their interface to see what bids are on specific keywords and to decide for myself what amount I am prepared to pay per click.

I mini-challenge myself - £150,000

Well, there you go - I have said it.

I have a project in mind and, putting a little planning in place, I realise that I need to raise a huge amount of money before the beginning of October this year.

£150,000.

It seems an insurmountable amount.

Of course, if you listen to the gurus, this is easily achievable. However, I find it difficult doing the full internet marketing bit and selling ebooks and motivational codswallop. Not that there isn't a whole lot of useful information around - it's just that I can't do it! .... or at least, not that well.

So, what can I do? Or better yet, what have I been doing??

Well, I have been building affiliate web sites which sell products because that's something I really understand. For the last twenty years I have been running a small shop - and so I do know how to sell products and gifts. The web sites are bringing in income - but I have yet to strike gold and find one where the commission is £150,000 - LOL.

My latest web site is about Vera Bradley Handbags. This is still a work in progress - and I will be working on this later today.

So, how else am I whipping myself into a frenzy to earn this £150,000?

Well, because people talk about the power of visualization, I have made a custom screen theme for my pc - which just says £150,000 - I haven't tried doing this before, but this is going to greet me every time I switch the pc on and off.

I'll be posting more about my quest for £150,000 over the next few months!

Wish me luck
M

eBay's Troubled Affiliate Program

Well, I hate the thought of provoking an ebay revolt - for my modest amount of traffic, I am getting a few sales (nothing like what I did with CJ.)

However, those who are actively promoting the ebay affiliate program by ppc, etc, who have contributed to ebay success in the past and who know their stats like the back of their hand - they are the core of eBay traffic now. eBay is saving itself an absolute fortune in google advertising. Just think - how many times when you made a search for a product a year ago did eBay advertising pop up - quite often in the top three google results. How often does that happen now?

.... I hope that eBay is paying attention to the problems that the affiliates are reporting. If it was just one rogue complaint and everyone else was happy, I could believe there isn't a problem. However, on the net, people make a living promoting products. If eBay affiliate program stops paying out well, then affiliates are going to replace this lost income by promoting something else. .....

M

ps... I also belong to other affiliate programs where the merchants (eg eBay) get absolutely slated if they put third-party advertising on their site. The argument is that the merchants are effectively stealing from their affiliates by earning money on traffic sent to them and not passing on any reward.

Gallows Humor

The apocryphal story of the condemned man being led into the execution chamber. The condemned prisoner points to the electric chair and asks the prison warden:

"Are you quite sure this thing's safe?"

From William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, Act 3, Scene 1:

Mercutio is stabbed in a swordfight by Tybalt, Juliet's cousin:

Romeo: "Courage, man; the hurt cannot be much."
Mercutio: "No, 'tis not so deep as a well, nor so wide as a church-door; but 'tis enough, 'twill serve: ask for me to-morrow, and you shall find me a grave man."

As Sir Thomas More climbed a rickety scaffold where he would be executed, he said to his executioner:

I pray you, Mr. Lieutenant, see me safe up; and for my coming down, let me shift for myself.

Immediately after the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, but before the wars that secured independence, Benjamin Franklin is known to have said the following in danger of being accused of high treason to his fellow, often fractious delegates:

We must all hang together or, assuredly, we shall all hang separately.

After her career had declined and she had started aging, actress Tallulah Bankhead would answer the question "Are you Tallulah Bankhead?" with

No, darling, I'm what's left of her.

Author and playwright Oscar Wilde was destitute and living in a cheap boarding house when he found himself on his deathbed. There are variations on what the sentence exactly was, but his reputed last words were

My wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death; one or the other of us has got to go.

Perhaps one of the best examples of gallows humour in recent times is the conclusion to Monty Python's Life of Brian, in which a group of crucified criminals joyfully sings "Always look on the bright side of life".

Spotted recently in Largs

Horse pucky!

I love signposts!

Grand Theft Auto IV

You know you're becoming a sedate, stuffy old fool when you can't understand the excitement about the latest release of Grand Theft Auto IV - and that probably describes me! But, thinking back to my youth and childhood (quite a feat, I can assure you, LOL), I know that I would have given my eye teeth to have the latest gadgets and gizmos. We grew up at a time when the consumer boom was just about to break loose and, although we were comfortable, our farming lifestyle meant that cash was needed to improve the business rather than to buy the latest "must have" - in those days, transistor radios and record players.

Mind you, there was always a point at which my folks gave in and bought into the new technology - and we always had wee Saturday jobs of one kind or another to earn the extra cash to buy things for ourselves. .... Where there's a will, there's a way!

For those of you buying the Grand Theft Auto game today - enjoy!

Medical Transcription, eBay and Life in General!

What a day. I had it all planned out to perfection. Silly me!

My plan was to set up a small blog about training to be a medical transcription secretary - I used to work in a hospital and for the first few weeks was completely at sea when it came to the medical terminology. So, it makes great sense to me to take a dedicated training course to learn the ins and outs of the business. .... and that's just in the UK. Knowing that other countries have many layers of requirements for medical and insurance claims, I suspect that getting a good training in the business of medical secretarial work is absolutely essential.

Have I written this blog yet?? Well no - because I then got involved in my sister's problems with eBay. Not a problem, really, because she successfully bought a kitchen
- and needed to pay for it. That's when she ran into the PayPal obstacle course. It's just that the paypal monthly/annual payment limited were exceeded by the amount she paid for the kitchen - so she instantly had to learn about getting her paypal account verified. It's all done now, but boy did it take some effort. Why so - well, clever as she is, my sister gets excited and flustered when hitting a problem like this; her recourse is to phone me and get me to talk her through the process. Fine, not a problem, I'm keen to help. It just takes time!

Anyway, we're making progress and all I have to do now is get my life on track :) - bake some cookies (Empire Biscuits, if you really want to know!), write another blog post, take a picture of the beautiful cherry blossom in Helensburgh - oh, and I should really put on a washing, hang up a washing - and more!

ps, thanks to http://www.sxc.hu for the image .... great site with some amazing pics.

Exceeding expectations

I just bought something from eBay - and decided to pay for regular delivery instead of opting for a more expensive solution. Imagine my delight when the parcel arrived within 24 hours of paying for the goods.

What a great example of fantastic customer service - my hats off to them.

From now on, I am redoubling my efforts to exceed expectations.

M

ps - I don't know what my expectations are from the new site Qassia - I was made aware of it recently on a forum and decided that good backlinks to my sites were well worth having. I have yet to update my profile page and I only have a little time to review articles. If you are more dedicated than me, you can probably get much more out of it than I have. Best wishes.
M

Old sewing patterns

For entertainment, I sometimes surf around craigslist to see what’s on offer and, occasionally, to find out what people are searching for. I did the latter today, had a look to see what was wanted.

How shocked was I to spot that someone was looking for old sewing patterns from the 60s. (My era!) Now, all I gotta do is head into the old boxes and see if I have any left. Who would have thought that someone would be looking for miniskirts and split skirt patterns. Amazing. I did find some - and let the person know, but I’m still slightly bemused by it all.

Still, it goes to show that you can use all sorts of web sites to do research.

M

This is one of the most watched sewing machine auctions on eBay

Dreamweaver or bust!

Creative Suite 3 Design Premium. Deliver innovative ideas in print, web, and mobile design! Order Now!

It's about time I got a grip. I've been putting off getting this for some time now - and today's the day. I enjoy being creative most of the time - and there are usually ways round different problems. However, I haven't found a quick way to modify dreamweaver templates without the dreamweaver suite. .... so, today's the day!

M