Tips for More Web Sales

Mommy's Helper - Mom's Market Ezine
Issue #114
Wednesday, January 25th, 2006
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Editor's Rambling:
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Note from Anita

I’ve spent the last few days (even weekend days) catching up on everything I was behind from my “work experience” last week. Can I say I don’t want to do that again? It might have helped had I had a little more time to prepare but it didn’t quite work out that way.

Once I got myself pretty much caught up I started working on other projects that are finally going to be showing up within the next couple of weeks. I can’t share yet because I don’t want to spoil the surprise but I so can’t wait for the reveal! I’ve also been working closely with our Mommy’s Helper Helper Lauren who will be launching today’s very first issue of Mommy’s Helper Clipboard – a monthly review of what’s happening around the boards. Those of you who are members of the boards – keep an eye on your inbox today!

Till next week...
~Anita DeFrank
Mommy's Helper


Note from Kara

Here it is the 2nd month of 2006 already. How are you doing on your 2006 goals? Have you kept up with them or let them go? I'll admit, I've let mine slide just a bit, but for the most part I'm keeping up. It's just a matter of making more plans to move me further into the year.

Part of my new plans for this month is to jump into affiliate marketing. I've dusted off the Super Affiliate Handbook and will be diving into this week. It's been awhile since I've gotten fully involved in affiliate marketing, but it's something I've always enjoyed.

There's not much else to say this week, other than keep your eye on DirectSalesHelpers.com. It's too early to announce what's going on, but I will say this - keep watch! Big things are happening!

See you next week!

~Kara Kelso~
Mom's Market

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Article
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Tips for More Web Sales

Internet marketing is becoming more and more common. For this reason, we have compiled some tips to help you increase your web sales. One of the biggest reasons why someone will buy online is for convenience. You must be sure that your business and/or website are as user friendly as possible. If not, you will be missing out on sales.

Having a website is one of the most important ways to tell the world what you have to offer. Bearing this in mind, you need to make sure that your website is doing your company the justice that it deserves. Keep text and graphics simple. There is nothing worse than having distracting features that are slow to load and do nothing to enhance your customers' experience.

Your site should also have really great and informative copy. You can take all the right methods to bring traffic to your site but if you don't have anything good to offer them when they get there, they will not stay and they will not recommend other people to you. Text needs to provide information in a clear and not overly technical way. Big words and hard to grasp explanations are not going to help increase your web sales.

The information that you include should be information about your company or product, surveys, links and facts whatever your customers want to know. The more information you can provide, the better it will be as long as you provide it in a way that is easy to find and read and not overly cluttered.

One of the main reasons that you want to keep people on your site is so that they buy something. To encourage people to buy you need to make the process easy.

Many companies choose to link their websites with others so that more people will visit their site. This method is a cheap and easy way to get more visitors and potentially more sales. By keeping your site simple and easy to use you are more likely to increase your online sales and to attract repeat customers.

Of course, for all of this to work, you need to get your customers to visit your site in the first place. Consider linking to other websites and making sure that you get placed highly in search engines, with the use of keywords. Get online and increase your sales!

Scott F. Geld is the Lead Supervisor of Marketing Blaster, a Pay-Per-Click traffic source that repeatedly beats the major search engines in Conversion and ROI Ratios. Visit us online and see for yourself at: www.marketingblaster.com

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Childcare
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My Son's Teacher was a Bully

When my son was in sixth grade, he came home with a rip in his new sneakers. He told me the gym teacher did it during a sneaker check. It sounded like a fib, or at best, an accident on the teacher's part, but I needed to clarify things.
"You mean he tugged on your sneaker and it ripped?" I asked.

"No, he said. It ripped when he threw it across the floor and it hit the doorway."

"He threw it across the floor?" I tried to keep my voice guarded.

"Yeah, if your sneaker comes off, he throws it. My sneaker ripped when it hit the doorway and flew into the hall. Then I had to go get it."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing, but I struggled to keep my emotions to myself. If this teacher was so concerned about safety, how does he explain forcing a child to run across the slippery gym floor in bare socks to fetch his sneakers? What about the embarrassment and humiliation? Isn't that a form of bullying? I thought my son was exaggerating. But what if he wasn't?

I had a hard time accepting my son's explanation, but I couldn't let it go. Either he wasn't telling the truth, or this teacher was way out of line. Both scenarios needed to be addressed. I made an appointment to talk with the principal the next morning.

The principal met my concerns with doubt. When she tired to dismiss me, I told her I wanted to speak to the gym teacher in person.

The minute this man walked into her office, I could tell there was a problem. I knew my son had told the truth. The gym teacher barely said hello. He didn't reach out to shake my hand, nor did he return my smile. He had a cocky attitude, but he didn't even know why I was there yet.

I bit my tongue, complementing him on his concern for safety. He shrugged his shoulders in response. Then I told him that my son came home with a rip in his new sneakers. Another shrug. Diplomacy wasn't working, so I asked him if he threw my son's sneaker across the room. "Yeah, so?" was his reply.

"Yeah, so?" My emotions kicked in. "Who do you think you are? This isn't boot camp and my son is not a Marine. He is a sixth grade student. You mean to tell me you whipped his sneaker across the gym, and then made him fetch it like a dog?"

"Hey, they weren't tied," was all he said.

"Don't you ever, I mean ever as much as touch my son again. If his sneakers aren't tied, make his sit out of class, give him demerits, or call me, but if you touch him again, I'll come into that gym and throw you across the room. Got it?"

"Hey, whatever," he said. "I have rules. His sneakers weren't tied."

For a brief moment, I floundered. The principal's silence made me uncomfortable and the gym teacher's attitude was intimidating. I gathered my thoughts, took a deep breath and said, "Don't you realize how damaging your actions are?

"Is that all?" he said, directing his question to the principal. Then he left the room.

Two weeks later, the gym teacher was gone. I'm not certain what happened, but I believe his attitude aided in his demise. I wasn't looking for his dismissal, just common courtesy and respect for my son and his classmates. I guess that was more than he could offer.

Teachers have a very difficult job. As a whole, I commend their efforts and dedication. However, as with any profession, there are good and there are bad. If my son didn't have physical proof of this teacher's bullying behavior, I would never have known what was going on.

Even as an adult, it can be intimidating to walk into a principal's office. But I am a parent who believes my son's physical and emotional safety are paramount. I am able to set aside my own issues to make sure my son is safe.

It's difficult enough to deal with a classroom bully, but when the bully is your child's teacher, it's usually even more difficult to correct the problem. Most times, the school administration will view a parent's complaint as arrogance on the part of a parent of an unruly child or revenge for a poor grade. Proof is difficult to come by. Yet there are times when a teacher is in fact, a bully.

Lack of safety is one of the top concerns of young people, and bullying is a real and constant threat. A child's emotional development is just as important, if not more so, than academic development. In fact, a safe, healthy emotional environment is essential to academic growth and success.

Humiliation, fear, anxiety and depression are the constant companions of a child that is bullied. It can lead to harmful, shocking and unexpected behavior from an otherwise shy or timid child.

Victims feel ashamed and tend to view themselves as failures. They are more prone to stress related illnesses such as headaches and stomachaches. In extreme cases, the victim of a bully can experience sever depression and entertain thoughts of suicide.

What Do You Do When the Teacher is a Bully?

Stand up for your child. Don't diminish their concerns over a teacher's attitude or behavior. You have the right to question school authorities, and you owe it to your child to do so.

• If you suspect a teacher is bullying your child, request a meeting.

• Before your meeting, get as many details as possible from your child.

• Speak to other parents to see if their child has voiced any complaints or observed mistreatment of your child.

• Take notes and prepare yourself. When you speak to the teacher or administrator, try to keep calm, but make sure you get answers.

• If your concerns are dismissed without resolution, take it a step further.

Document your efforts, meet with the superintendent, write an article for the newspaper, or attend a PTO or school board meeting to voice your concerns.

Our children have enough to deal with; a bully for a teacher shouldn't be one of their problems.

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Patricia Gatto and John De Angelis are the authors of MILTON'S DILEMMA, the tale of a lonely boy's magical journey to friendship and self-acceptance. As advocates for literacy and children's rights, the authors speak at schools and community events to foster awareness and provide children with a safe and healthy learning environment. For more information, please visit Joyful Productions at http://www.joyfulproductions.com

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Coffee Break
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The Purr-fect Weight-loss Plan

It takes a bit of effort to commit one’s self to a diet. I do well when my meals are planned out. I know just what to eat and when. The trouble is, I don’t stop eating when I should.

So I asked my husband to serve me dinner. I thought, if I didn’t serve myself, I couldn’t overeat. I was also thinking of my cats, who vary in weight. We set out one dish of food and they converge on it. After so many minutes, we nudge the fatties aside and let the skinnies keep on eating. I naively thought that this same type of principle, when applied to me, would work. If my husband served my meal and that’s all I got, I wouldn’t be able to overeat.

But unlike the cats, I have an opposable digit so I can open up the pantry immediately after dinner.

“What are you doing?” my husband asks.

“Looking.”

“You’ve already had your meal.”

“I’m just looking!” Next follows something else I can do that the cats can’t. I can whine. “But I’m HUNGRY!”

At this point my husband washes his hands of me. If I’m not going to cooperate with the plan then he’s not going to participate.

Aw, foo. Now, I don’t know whether or not the cats are emotional eaters, but I am. So, obviously, the next step is assuaging my guilt with a little baked goodie—out of sight of my husband…on a low step stool behind the counter in the kitchen. Now the cats are staring at me and calling me on my fall off the wagon. Is nothing sacred?!

I recall a time in my life when I could eat anything at any time in any quantity and never have to justify my reason for eating it. Now the cats are holding me accountable.

So I’m sticking to my diet because I have nine pairs of feline eyes trained on me. I guess the fatties figure if they can’t eat all they desire, than neither can I. Of course, once I started sharing with them, they became my partners in crime. You know, those bacon flavored cat treats aren’t really so bad.

But if you really want some fun, try sampling catnip. At first my husband thought I’d have to be hospitalized for being a loony because I raced around the house and then tore up the furniture. But by the time I was dangling from the chandelier with his favorite dress socks clenched in my teeth, he realized the exercise was good for me.

I’ve lost twenty pounds so far.

Yet I’ll be darned if I know how to politely cough up a hairball. But who cares? I’ve found the purr-fect diet.

--------------------------------------------------- Jelly Mom™ is written by Lisa Barker, author of "Just Because Your Kids Drive You Insane...Doesn't Mean You Are A Bad Parent!" and syndicated through Martin-Ola Press/Parent To Parent. To publish Jelly Mom, buy the book or leave comments, please visit http://www.jellymom.com.

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Recipes
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CAMP STEW

* 1 can bar-b-que beef
* 1 can bar-b-que chicken
* 1 can bar-b-que pork
* 1 can stewed tomatoes
* 1 can corn
* 3 c. cubed potatoes
* 1 onion, chopped

Cube potatoes, chopped onion. Cook until partly tender. Place in slow cooker/Crock Pot. Open all cans and add to slow cooker/Crock Pot, stir. Cook for at least an hour. Serve with corn sticks or bread sticks.

Do you have a favorite recipe to share?
Post them at Mommy's Helper Community (www.MommysHelperOnline.com/phpBB2)! Note: Recipes must be quick, easy, healthy, and original. Nothing from a cookbook or a box please.

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