The theme of Expo 2010 is “Better City, Better Life,” representing the common wish of the whole humankind for a better living in future urban environments. This theme represents a central concern of the international community for future policy making, urban strategies and sustainable development. In 1800, 2% of the global population lived in cities. In 1950, the figure raised to 29%, in 2000, almost half the world population moved into cities, and by 2010, as estimated by the United Nations, the urban population will account for 55% of the total human population. Read More...
So you’ve got an online business and you’ve been told that to make the big money you need a list. A list of hungry and passionate buyers that ravage your offer when you send it out.
But you’ve probably found out that it’s not as simple as you first thought to create that list of buyers. First there is the squeeze page where you get people to opt in to your list. That page has to be finally tuned to ensure people are bribed and satisfied that you are not about to send them a whole lot of spam.
Then there is the double opt in part where you lose people because they don’t remember opting in to your list. And then the email messages in your autoresponder need to be mini sales letters mixed with great content to keep your list subscribed. Oh, and then you want to send the messages at the right time intervals so your subscribers don’t forget who you are, or worse, get upset because you are emailing them too often.
It’s a finally tuned science to get it right and sometimes requires a lot of testing and measuring to get right. It all takes time but is well worth it in the end.
Here are 3 absolutely essential rules to set you off on the right path:
Rule No.1 Always wrap your lines at 65 characters or less
Remember most people get a lot of email every day. So eye fatigue becomes an issue. The last thing your readers want to be doing is reading the text from one side of the screen to the other. No matter how good your content is, if it is fatiguing to read, they will read a few lines and then hit the dreaded delete.
Short lines of 65 characters are much easier to read.
I bet you’re asking the question “So how do I measure 65 characters?”
Easy, just type 65 asterisks or dashes across the top and then measure your text returns against this. Outlook Express, NoteTab and other software programs allow you to set the line wrap to any character width you require. That means not having to hit enter when you think you need to.
Another issue to consider is that some email programs force line wrapping at 60 to 65 characters on emails received. So if you send an email wrapped at 100 characters your reader will receive an email that looks chopped up. This makes it look unprofessional.
Rule No. 2 Never use ALL CAPS
Using all caps is bad email etiquette. All caps in an email is like a blaring ad on the TV or someone shouting at you. Nobody likes to be shouted at and if you are trying to sell at the same time, well let’s say that you won’t make any sales.
Too much hype, too many caps, too many exclamation points, underlining and bolding can give a desperate image. Consider what email messages you have read from start to finish. How were they formatted?
Some caps, underlining and bolding is required but DON’T overdo it!
Remember what makes you buy. Usually it’s from a source that you trust. An email all in caps would destroy this credibility very quickly. Read More...
One of the first steps to acquiring land either for personal use of for your own land business, is to learn as much as you can from
someone who has “been there!” Read More...
ermont State Agency that oversees the collection and reporting of State income taxes deducted from payroll checks is:Department of Taxes109 State StreetMontpelier, VT 05609-1401(802) 828-2551http://vermont.gov/Vermont allows you to use the “W-4VT, Vermont Employee Withholding Allowance Certificate” form to calculate state income tax withholding or federal W4 form.Not all states allow salary reductions made under Section 125 cafeteria plans or 401(k) to be treated in the same manner as the IRS code allows.In Vermont cafeteria plans are not taxable for income tax calculation; taxable for unemployment insurance purposes. 401(k) plan deferrals are not taxable for income taxes; taxable for unemployment purposes.In Vermont supplemental wages are taxed at a 7.2% flat rate.Magnetic media reporting of W-2s is not allowed in Vermont. The Vermont State Unemployment Insurance Agency is:Department of Employment and Training5 Green Mountain Dr.P.O. Box 488Montpelier, VT 05601-0488(802) 828-4344(877) 214-3331www.det.state.vt.us/The State of Vermont taxable wage base for unemployment purposes is wages up to $8000.00. Vermont has optional reporting of quarterly wages on magnetic media.Unemployment records must be retained in Vermont for a minimum period of six years.This information generally includes: name; social security number; dates of hire, rehire and termination; wages by period; payroll pay periods and pay dates; date and circumstances of termination.The Vermont State Agency charged with enforcing the state wage and hour laws is:Department of Labor and IndustryWage and Hour DivisionNational Life Bldg., Drawer 20Montpelier, VT 05620-3401(802) 828-2157http://www.labor.vermont.gov/The minimum wage in Vermont is $7.00 per hour.The general provision in Vermont concerning paying overtime in a non-FLSA covered employer is one and one half times regular rate after 40-hour week. Vermont State new hire reporting requirements are that every employer must report every new hire and rehire.The employer must report the federally required elements of:Employee’s nameEmployee’s addressEmployee’s social security numberEmployer’s nameEmployers addressEmployer’s Federal Employer Identification Number(EIN) This information must be reported within 20 days of the hiring or rehiring.The information can be sent as a W4 or equivalent by mail, fax or electronically.There is a $500 penalty for conspiracy in Vermont.The Vermont new hire-reporting agency can be reached at 800-786-3214 or 802-241-2194 or on the web at http://jobs.utah.gov/newhire/Vermont does not allow compulsory direct deposit Vermont requires the following information on an employee’s pay stub:Gross and Net Earningsstraight time and overtime payhours workeditemized deductionsVermont requires that employee be paid no less often than weekly; biweekly or semimonthly if employer gives notice.Vermont requires that the lag time between the end of the pay period and the payment of wages to the employee not exceed six days; 13 under union contract.Vermont payroll law requires that involuntarily terminated employees must be paid their final pay with in 3 working days and that voluntarily terminated employees must be paid their final pay by the next regular payday; if there is none, next Friday. There is no provision in Vermont law concerning paying deceased employees.Escheat laws in Vermont require that unclaimed wages be paid over to the state after two years.There is no provision in Vermont law concerning record retention of abandoned wage records.Vermont payroll law mandates no more than $3.35 may be used as a tip credit.In Vermont the payroll laws covering mandatory rest or meal breaks are only that all employees be given a reasonable opportunity to eat and use toilet facilities.There is no provision in Vermont law concerning record retention of wage and hour records therefor it is probably wise to follow FLSA guidelines.The Vermont agency charged with enforcing Child Support Orders and laws is: Office of Child SupportAgency of Human Services103 S. Main St.Waterbury, VT 05671-1901(800) 786-3214www.ocs.state.vt.us/Vermont has the following provisions for child support deductions:When to start Withholding?10 days after receipt of order or next payday.When to send Payment?Within 7 days of Payday.When to send Termination Notice?Within 10 days of termination.Maximum Administrative Fee?$5 per month.Withholding Limits?Federal Rules under CCPA.Please note that this article is not updated for changes that can and will happen from time to time. Read More...
Photo to oil painting
The world of painting can be complex to the uneducated eye as there are numerous terms and practices taht can confuse you. To help understand you must learn what the various terminology stands for. This is crucial in defining the genre that your artwork falls into.
There are different genres in painting such as landscape, portrait and still life. Portraits are creating a painting of a life model, landscape is the painting of the environment and the last genre is still life which will be discussed in this article. http://www.photo2all.com Read More...
Call centers were once seen as an extremely cost-heavy and commitment-engaging endeavor for businesses. One company set out to change all that. Freedom TeleWork created a virtual call center with all the bellsand whistles of a traditional call center; including predictive and progressive dialing, chat, IVR, skills-based routing and click to call but they added a very key element to their solution, manpower. What makes FT so unique is having created the first international community of TeleWorkers. These are people who provide inbound and outbound support, technical and sales inquiries, which allows for a customer to take advantage of favorable labor rates. Companies like JetBlue, Virgin and Staples who recently paved the way using home-based workers for their call center needs, Freedom TeleWork has created the first online international community of these workers.Workers like American expatriates, stay at home moms, and handicapped individuals are now able to service companies sales and customer service needs from Manhattan to Mongolia. Read More...
Like many old school call centers, TeleWorkers are required to sit in brick and mortar facilities, in cubicles, in neon lighting and for perhaps a dozen hours at a time. The Wall Street Journal reported a few months ago, the average call center employee duration is 90 days. It is reportedly one of the most dissatisfying jobs, with a supervisor leaning over your shoulder and taking note of your bathroom breaks, with performance pressure and so much of the same. Read More...
Anytime you call 1-800 anything you are calling a call center. Your call might be directed to Salt Lake City, to the Philippines or to India, but it is likely going to a brick and mortar facility at a great expense to the company at hand. A call center is any sort of telephony operation handling sales, customer service, inbound or outbound needs of a company. When a company forms and realizes it needs these services fulfilled, up until recently it had very few options. Read More...
It was once, many moons ago, back in the 90s, that the web was a place of simple content. Filled with stale information like directories and dictionaries, the world wide web was largely a home of facts and content. Over the last dozen or so years, the Web 2.0 Generation has changed all of that, bringing the Internet to be truly inter-operable and inter-active and certainly a lot more inter-esting. MySpace and YouTube gave new meaning to individuality, blogging gave everyone the ability to be their own author and publisher, and Google of course has allowed us to cruise through the Internet as if the whole web was created just for us. Read More...
Infiniti is one name in the car market that signifies comfort, style and perfect driving experience. Everyone strives to drive in some or the other car that give smooth driving. What would you look in the car that you are going to buy? First of all, it would be the looks of the car and its make. Both of these things have to be attractive enough to convince you to buy it. Every model in Infiniti series of car looks extremely attractive and since it has been manufactured by Nissan, there can be no doubt about its quality. Infiniti has a variety of showrooms in many parts of US, such as Manhattan, Bronx, Suffolk, New York and many other places. Read More...
