I’ve been working closely with a very successful businessman who has been teaching me quite a bit over the past few weeks.

He wrote something recently that I wanted to share with everyone and get some comments happening on what he has to say.

Here’s what Charles had to say (or write in this case).

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A regional and trade currency is developing fast. The often discussed Pacific Currency Unit (PCU) incorporating the Australian Dollar, Canadian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar and United States Dollar are moving to convergence rapidly. It is rumoured that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and central banks of Canada, New Zealand and United States are near agreement on a single currency as a synthesis of those currencies, and it will incorporate the Pacific Islands.

It has been concluded from research emanating from Stanford University over a number of years that the time is now approaching for the creation of a Pacific Currency Unit (PCU) embracing the AUD, CAD, NZD, and the USD as a regional and perhaps reserve world currency.

It is believed the PCU could assist the rest of the World to significantly release itself it depended on US currency and US Economic policy., in perhaps becoming a new world currency, could assist the rest of the world release itself from total dependency on the US currency. Research and analysis on this initiative commenced at the Stanford Business School many years ago.

This foregoing view has been a pursuit through research and value analysis conclusions of banking sector participants. The belief that the Australian dollar is clearly undervalued, compared to the US dollar and certain other currencies, is now widely held and confirmed by the purchasing power parity theory in the long term. The pending revaluation of the AUD to parity with the USD in the free foreign exchange markets is gaining pace with a view to it occurring within a very short time.

To establish a model for the PCU one must observe the evolution of the European Currency Unit (ECU). Other regional currencies have been mooted in recent times, however the dissimilarity of their monetary and fiscal policies have not allowed them to develop. This refers to the TIGER, AMIRO, and the Asian Pacific Currency Unit. However, the development of the ECU has provided the opportunity for a more efficient trading environment based on a single currency because of the consonance of critical economical variables. Its success over the last fifteen to twenty years has confirmed that the creation and development of a regional currency can benefit significantly countries of similar political, economic and social structural dimensions.

It may be said that geographic proximity may be a factor in the development of trading relations, as it is clearly more advantageous to trade with neighbouring countries. This engenders closer political associations and fosters other relations beneficial for each country. In the case of Oceania other factors outweigh this variable.

However, from a regional perspective, a pecuniary link between Pacific countries might act as a conduit for political and/or economic accountability and cooperation. The PCU is a concept that would be very attractive to financiers, traders and as well governments.

The logistics necessary for the development of the PCU are to say the least, quite significant. A foremost consideration is the ideological differences and similarities among nations and in the case of Oceania these are fundamentally minimal. The ever increasing trade volumes within the Oceania region have created the need for a common currency or monetary instrument that will facilitate transactions and minimize exposure to exchange fluctuations.

The PCU would allow hedging of currency risk and act as a widely accepted currency for trading purposes and as well represent a benchmark. With the current GFC, nations whose currencies would be represented in the basket during these challenging times would seemingly be more co-operative. Such co-operation is more feasible when facing a common challenging world economic predicament.

Currency traders love the Aussie dollar so it is recommended to buy because it is mooted to rise to parity with the US dollar soon. Apparently the same goes for the NZ dollar.

For further information please refer to http://www.TheScarfamTrust.com

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So there you have it.

What do you think?

Please leave a comment as I will be showing Charles and he is very interested in what others think.

Catch you later

Ian

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So, you have already planned an online business, built a web site, and now you are waiting for the traffic.

Don’t wait, as it may not come as fast as you would like. You need to take action now. All you need is an activity that will get people to come back and visit your site.

For sure, a lot of your customers may be looking for the type of product or service that you offer. So, how will you attract those buyers who are not yet familiar with your site and those who you want to have come back again?

How will you gain visitors and drive traffic to your site?

One answer is to run a contest. And not just an old contest. It must be crafted to keep them coming back to your site. Lots of clever people will say that running a contest will help, but they won’t give you tips on how to do it.

Benefits of holding a contest

One of the biggest benefits of running a contest is traffic. A contest can help you increase traffic to your site. Studies show that a contest, if held during a full month, can gain 500-5000 visitors and more. So, imagine that opportunity!

Your potential consumers may even tell their friends about your site and it’s also a chance to boost your sales.

Some affiliate programs online may also be curious of the number of visitors and page views you have. And one way to increase this is to run a contest.

Contests also help if you plan to sell ad space on your site.

Generally, if you write a monthly or weekly newsletter, running a contest and asking those who enter if they want to subscribe to your newsletter will usually result in about 1/3 of them signing up.

And lastly, those who have a business but don’t have a website can also benefit from a contest. The types and rules might be different, but running a contest would get you noticed and get people to come to your site again and again.

Steps to consider in holding a contest

Step 1: Determine your goal

The first thing you should do is to decide what goal you want to achieve. Choose whether your main objective is just to get people to visit your site, drive traffic to your site, get subscribers, or make a sale. Have you goal set and keep that in mind.

Step 2: The theme of the contest

Next is to decide what theme to have. The theme must be dependent on the type of business you have and the holiday seasons. All themes are good, but focus on something that will benefit visitors of all ages. Think about the types of people you want to attract to your business.

Step 3: Find Sponsors

Now with a goal and a theme, you need to find sponsors. This is said to be the hardest part of starting and running a contest.  The target sponsors are sometimes business owners. They are the ones who willingly donate the prizes.

If you belong to a business group, you can ask them if they would be interested in donating a prize to your contest in exchange for something valuable – like exposures on ads.

You must give your sponsors credit for the donation so they too can benefit from the visitors. You can also run a contest and just purchase the item yourself to give away, or use your own products.

Step 4: The Kind of Contest

You should also be thinking of what kind of contest you want to run. Be creative in choosing one. Make sure that your visitors will participate and enjoy the contest.

Do you want it to be a puzzle, or a sort of scavenger hunt?

Maybe you want them to fill out a survey and in return, their names will be raffled for a prize.

You can also run the contest and ask for feedback about your site or ask them to create a poem or an ad related to the theme. This all depends on what your goals are.

Step 5: Set up the contest on your website

Now is the time to set up the contest on your site. You or your web designer needs to make a page, design a logo if necessary, and set up the page to suit your needs and tastes.

Again, be creative in choosing the proper layout. You have to include the list of sponsors, prizes, and the set of rules.

Step 6: Promoting your contest

You need to promote the contest so people know you’re there and are offering free prizes!

Think of the many ways in which you can list your contest on the different sites.

There are many sites on the Internet that will list your contest on their contest site in exchange for placing their banner/link on your contest page. Most are free, but require a link back to their site.

If you do not know how to do this or do not have the time, then hire a company to do it for you.

Step 7: Picking a winner

One easy way to pick a winner is through random selection. You can just pick an email. Ask a representative to do the selection.

You do not have to purchase some fancy software to do it for you, as long as you are fair and honest. Don’t forget to remind the contestants that the winner/s will be randomly chosen.

Now, the contest is over. You can evaluate how far it helped in generating traffic to your site. If the contest went well, think of something that you can run in the succeeding months.

Hope this gave you some ideas.

Catch you later.

Ian

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….the easier option compared to using Photoshop.

Hey there, how is your week going so far?

I got to playing around with making covers in Photoshop yesterday and it got me to thinking about the fact that some of you might not be able to afford Photoshop, and more importantly, might have it but your not comfortable with making covers using Photoshop Ecover Action Scripts.

Well I have some good news for you

I thought I better find a solution for you guys, so I did and I found Push Button Ecovers.

Have a look at this video.  It’s on the sales pages as well but I thought I would post it here so you can get an idea before grabbing Push Button Ecovers Package.

This is hands down of the most useful software products I have seen in a while.

Get it now at $50% OFF…

What can this software do for you?

• Create 100% Original and Unique smashing eCovers within minutes!
• Increase the conversions on your website by 300%.
• Instantly DEMAND your website visitors attention.
• Save HUNDRES of dollars on graphics design.
• Killer easy interface saves you time!

Click on the link below and see the AWESOME sample graphics created using this software.

You will be blown away!

==> http://ezyas123.com/solution/PushButtonEcovers

This is truly a steal at this laughably low price. Quality product go try it risk free!

Hope this helps.

Ian

P.S.  If you think someone else could use this package be sure to use the Tell-A-Friend form below.  They will really appreciate you thinking of them

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WARNING:

You have 7 days to take advantage of the $27 special price.

On June 30, 2009 the price jumps back to $37.

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My inbox is full of nothing but crap.

Non-stop hype, bogus “systems”, and outright lies.

It seems like every day there’s another “launch” of some expensive piece of B.S. by some self-proclaimed “Guru” - and the guy probably just started last week.

It pisses me off.

So when I see a good product I review it carefully and if I believe it’s going to “really” help you improve your business, or get a significant result in your life, I recommend it.

That’s what happened this week when I got to read a “breakthrough” blog traffic manual.

Take a look for yourself:

“The $365k Blog Traffic Formula.”

You’ll get the secret traffic source of some of today’s top bloggers…

I’m talking about big names such as:

Chris Garrett
Daniel Scocco
Darren Rowse
Jack Humphrey
Jason Katzenback
Matt Garrett
Yaro Starak

Which one do you know?

Click here to read about “The $365k Blog Traffic Formula.”

Stop wating your time and money reading endless emails full of crap!

Catch you later,

Ian

PS If you knwo someone who will also benefit from this report then use the Tell A Friend form below and let them know, they’ll love you for it

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On the surface, most marketing campaigns appear alike. They mainly rely on the same advertising vehicles, involve the same types of agencies and tend to cost a fair amount of money no matter what.

Why is it then that some campaigns turn companies into near overnight successes and others just fail to make the grade?

How is it that some companies with fairly average products can become household names, but companies with better products and even pricing might not even register as a blip on consumers’ radars?

In most cases, it all comes down to the techniques that were employed in the campaign. Common techniques can and do make sales. This is why they have become common. They do not, however, break records or catapult products to the top of sales charts. These techniques are simply missing the edge that others can provide.

If you want to see your business grow, the techniques used in your marketing will matter. Go with standard, straightforward tactics and your business will likely see results. Think on a deeper, more creative level and the impact will likely blow away expectations.

Consider some of the world’s most successful companies and the products they have to offer. The biggest burger chains do not necessarily have the best burgers in the world. The greatest selling sneakers might not be the most comfortable. The hottest rock bands might hurt people’s ears. Despite these things, the products they offer sell and they sell well.

So, how do they do it? The companies that are found at the pinnacle of their own industries tend to use marketing techniques that are slightly different. While their advertisements might only seem slightly slicker than others, there is more to their strategy than that.

Companies that succeed in their marketing efforts tend to appeal to people through:

• Symbols – Their logos and advertising designs might appeal to people through symbolism. Whether it is a blatant effort or simply by chance, the right logos can reach out to people on the subconscious level. When the right message is received, people will respond.
• Inborn responses – People, just like all other animals, are born with certain things that they respond to. When marketing triggers innate programming, people take notice. They will sometimes do so whether they want to or not.
• Emotions – Appeal to people on an emotional level and they will be sold. When natural emotions are triggered through marketing efforts, people will tend to gravitate toward a product. If marketing makes people believe a product will make their family happy, provide them personal satisfaction, deliver fun, smiles, sex appeal or what have you, sales will follow.

Tried and true marketing techniques can build up your company and its product sales in a modest way. If it is time to take efforts to the next level, appealing to customers in a different way is a must. When campaigns reach out to people’s emotions, their inborn wiring or even their trust of certain symbols, the sky is often the limit.

Catch you later,

Ian

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