• WEALTHY: A case for 401(k) diversification
• HEALTHY: Good health scents
• WISE: Henry Ford on competition

ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:

• How to write customer-grabbing Internet ads (Patrick Coffey)
• A good way to spend some time today (Michael Masterson)
• Add "inveigle" to your vocabulary

== Highly Recommended==

How Much Money Can YOU Make By Copying This "Mistake"?

How did Vicki Smith accidentally ‘hotwire’ the Internet and turn it into the goose that laid the golden egg?

Well, imagine a huge fortress with steep, heavily defended walls and a great big, drawbridge to get through. Inside that fortress is the huge pile of wealth there is to be made on the Internet. Now imagine trying to scale those walls with no equipment and never having done anything like it before. That is what many people try to do…

But what did Vicki do? By mistake, she got ‘lost’ and wandered around the back of that fortress and found a ‘hidden’ door which lead straight in. A solid gold door which opened up a gateway to riches…

It’s an opportunity which really does work, that anyone can follow and put into practice quickly in just an hour of your spare time from home.

Read about Vicki’s good fortune…

- Patrick Coffey

Never Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

By Andrew M. Gordon

The only thing more depressing than people not using their 401(k) plans is people who misuse them. This ain’t Monopoly money. It’s your hard-earned savings. Yet 19 percent of 401(k) participants put all their funds into stocks, according to a recent survey by Vanguard Group. Another 13 percent put all their funds into bonds.

At least those hooked on stocks can argue that, over time, the stock market beats bonds. They’re right. But they’re still doing the wrong thing.

Case in point: The stock market has made an impressive comeback since the crash of 2000 through 2002. The Dow is actually hitting new highs. Yet today, market investors are still $1.6 trillion poorer than they were before it all went bad more than six years ago. During this time, the Nasdaq still hasn’t reached the halfway mark to its previous peak.

It’s going to take quite a while longer for investors to catch up to where they were half a dozen years ago. And when they do, it will be as if they had stuffed their money under the mattress. Despite the passage of so much time, they will have absolutely nothing to show for their investments.

It makes much more sense to diversify into both stocks and bonds. How much into each? Take your age and subtract it from 100. That number is the percentage that goes into stocks. The rest goes into bonds. When the stock market falls off the cliff again (and, sooner or later, it will), at least your fall will be cushioned.

[Ed. Note: Andrew Gordon, ETR's financial expert, is the editor of our new investment service, Income . Each month, he uncovers specific stocks that promise safety (first and foremost), along with much higher-than-average profit potential.]

"Competition is the keen cutting edge of business, always shaving away at costs."

Henry Ford

Mastering Google AdWords in 3 Easy Steps

By Patrick Coffey, ETR’s Internet Marketing Manager

"I know I need to be in Google … but that can be expensive if you don’t know what you’re doing."

I hear comments like this all the time from Internet entrepreneurs and e-business owners just like you.

Getting your website listed on Google using AdWords is a way to drive targeted traffic to your website instantly. With AdWords, you choose keywords for your ad – and when people perform Google searches using those keywords, your ad will show up on the right-hand side of their search results.

But choosing the right keywords can be tricky.

There are thousands of Internet articles, forums, blogs, and e-books devoted to "mastering Google AdWords" – some better than others. But I’m going to show you how to do it in three easy steps.

There are more than 387,000 Google AdWords advertisers, and new people are jumping on the program in droves. I think it’s fair to say that most of them are unsuccessful – meaning they end up spending more on their Google AdWords than they generate in sales.

That’s because most new advertisers shoot for the moon – and try to secure the top keywords at a premium. You see, Google AdWords are offered in an auction format. The most sought after keywords (like "loan," "mortgage," "hosting," "ring tones") are placed up for auction, and the highest bidder receives the TOP spot on the right-hand side of the search results pages.

Click-through costs for top positions in Google can be as high as $100 per click. So if your advertising cap is $300 per month, your account would close after a measly three clicks. You can see why most AdWords advertisers walk away shell-shocked.

But you can get listed on Google AdWords without breaking the bank. Here’s how:

Easy Step #1 for Mastering Google AdWords: The Money Is in the Middle

Instead of trying to secure the top spot and paying a premium for it … shoot for the middle.

Sure, most of the people searching Google (or any engine, for that matter) rarely look deeper than two or three pages. Which means if your AdWords ad is on page 4, 5, 6, or 70 of the search results, you’ll probably receive very little action. (Not many potential customers will click through to your page.)

What’s more, most of the advertisers "at or near the bottom" of the AdWords ladder typically stay there or drop out. And guess what? Advertisers "near the top" of the AdWords ladder usually drop out too – because it’s just too costly.

That’s why you need to aim for the middle of the cost-per-click range.

When you place bids for keywords in the middle range, the chances are very good that your ad will move up the totem pole (without any added expense) when advertisers near the top drop out. And many times your ad will be featured on the FIRST search results page, right next to the Big Spenders.

Easy Step #2 for Mastering Google AdWords: Getting Rich From Research

Most people don’t have the time to research keywords. They develop a list of words off the top of their head, or they receive help from people who have no Internet, search engine marketing, or direct-response expertise.

If you want to separate yourself from the 387,000+ Google AdWords advertisers, you’ll need to do some basic research on the keywords that you want to purchase. But fear not. There’s an easy way to do it – and it can even be a lot of fun.

There are hundreds of keyword research tools and applications on the Internet. Two of the better ones are Wordtracker and Keywords Analyzer.

I like Google’s Zeitgeist. This tool will show you the most popular Google keyword searches in several categories.

Another tool I like is Overture’s Keyword Selection Tool. (Overture has been bought out by Yahoo. However their keyword selection tool is still active.) This is not perfect. It’s only a gauge of popular keyword search terms for the previous month. But when you combine it with Google’s Zeitgeist, it’s pretty powerful.

You’ll want to select keywords that already have huge search traffic – not words that you think will have huge search traffic. That’s where your research comes in. Once you’ve studied which words are drawing the most traffic, you’ll have a better idea of which keywords you need to use.

For example, let’s say you’re selling watches – and, by the way, the word "watch" received more than 529,287 searches in November. How do you tie your keyword ads to current popular search traffic?

Let’s take a look at the top 10 keyword searches in Google. For the week ending December 9, they were:

1. James Kim
2. Pearl Harbor
3. NASA
4. Randy Newman
5. Alessandra Ambrosio
6. Taco Bell
7. Pirates of the Caribbean
8. minimum wage
9. Rich Rodriquez
10. America’s next top model

You might be able to work with some of these top-ranking keywords for your product. For instance:

• Pearl Harbor watches
• NASA watches
• Pirates of the Caribbean watches
• America’s next top model watches

Keep in mind that straight keyword ads work too (watches, designer watches, cheap watches, specific watch brands, etc.).

After you’ve selected your keywords, you’ll need a headline for your ad that stands out from the masses. The objective is to drive traffic to your site and close the sale.

That brings me to writing headlines.

Easy Step #3 for Mastering Google AdWords: Headlines Make ALL the Difference

Google AdWords allows space for three lines of text – a headline, the body, and your URL.

The URL should describe your product: GreatWatches.com, DesignerWatches.com, DesignerWatchesCheap.com … or something like that. People won’t always bother clicking your ad – they’ll type the URL right into their browser.

The body should offer an immediate benefit, like "Look the Part" or "Lowest Watch Prices."

There are thousands of approaches to writing Google AdWords headlines. Enter a few of the top keywords listed above into Google and you’ll see what I mean. Just make sure your headline grabs your prospect’s attention – and doesn’t let go until he clicks on your ad.

Ask yourself which headlines are working for your competitors. Which headlines do you see repeated week after week after week? The reason most AdWords advertisers continue running the same ad is because it works.

If you can make it work for your product or service, come up with an unusual or newsworthy headline that will stand out from all the other possibilities staring at your prospect. (Do a search on Google news for ideas.)

For instance, you could try these Google AdWords headlines to sell your watches:

• Avoid Designer Fraud
• Watch Huckster Arrested
• Designer Watch Ripoffs

Once you’ve mastered Google AdWords, you’ll get plenty of prospects clicking through to your website. Then it’s up to your site to make the sale. Make sure your website copy flows naturally with your Google AdWords ad … and you’ll enjoy huge profits.

[Ed. Note: Why not make starting your own Internet business one of your goals for 2007? With ETR's special End-of-the-Year Biz Op Bundle, you'll have everything you need to get it off the ground - and make it hugely profitable.Order now. This special deal won't last long.]

== Highly Recommended==

5 Big Winners Set to Soar as Wall Street Catches URANIUM FEVER!

• Three Fundamental Forces Lined up to Spike Uranium Prices by Double … Triple … or Even More …
• How a “Bullet-Proof” Uranium Fund Can Help Protect Your Portfolio from Market Volatility …
• PLUS, Five Small- to Mid-Cap Mining Companies That Are Grossly Undervalued and on the Launch Pad Right Now!

Millions of investors have no idea of the enormous profit potential. They are going to miss the boat entirely. But not you: Not if you read this exclusive “must read” report, Uranium Fever: White-Hot Metal and Cold Hard Cash.

Click here NOW for details …

Cinnamon: The Health Benefits of a Favorite Holiday Spice

By Jon Herring

There is nothing like the warm smell of holiday spices to put me in the spirit of the season. But those spices have a lot more to offer than a pleasing taste and nostalgic aroma. They also offer a wealth of health benefits.

Take cinnamon, for example. Dr. Richard Anderson, Ph.D., with the USDA, has studied the effects of cinnamon for 20 years. He has shown that cinnamon not only imitates insulin in the body, it can also enhance the hormone’s effect.

In a USDA study, 60 Type-II diabetics were given either one, three, or six grams of cinnamon per day, and were then compared to control subjects who received a placebo. The placebo group’s blood sugar levels didn’t change. But the researchers found that the cinnamon group’s blood sugar dropped 18 to 29 percent, their triglycerides fell 23 to 30 percent, their LDL cholesterol decreased 7 to 27 percent, and their total cholesterol fell by 12 to 26 percent. Even the lowest amount of cinnamon (less than half a teaspoon) was shown to reduce blood sugar by 20 percent.

This is a great reason to keep some cinnamon around. Sprinkle it in your tea or coffee, over oatmeal or a sweet potato. Not only will it add a flavorful kick, it will improve your health.

Taking Stock

By Michael Masterson

It’s almost time to make our annual ETR New Year’s resolutions. Meanwhile, this is a good day to start thinking about what kind of year 2006 was for you and what 2007 could be. Here’s what I recommend:

• Review your journal entries for 2006. Read them all. Pay attention to all the fun you had. Take note of any promises and/or commitments you made but haven’t kept. Try to get a general feeling for how you’ve been spending your time (relative to your priorities), and take note of any good or bad habits you might have developed over the year.
• Review your Rolodex and business card file in order to remind yourself of the people you’ve met this year. Make a list of any new (potentially useful) contacts that you haven’t yet followed up with.
• Review your yearly, monthly, and weekly goals for 2006. Take note of your accomplishments and your failures … the good you’ve done and the harm you’ve caused … the objectives you met and the ones you missed … the wealth you created and the wealth you squandered … the opportunities you seized and those you let go of.
• Make a mental list of those who helped you succeed this year. Make another list of people you helped.
• Ask yourself what you’d most like to accomplish in 2007. You don’t need to come to a definitive answer today. You are just trying to get your subconscious mind working on it.
• If you have the opportunity, spend some time talking to friends and colleagues about their accomplishments and goals. This will give you good ideas … and may even deepen your relationships a bit.

== Highly Recommended==

The Early to Rise 2006 End-of-Year Blowout Sale

What are your resolutions for 2007?

To increase your salary by $15,000? To finally start your own profitable online side-business? To locate an incredible real estate deal?

If so, ETR is here to help!

As 2006 comes to a close, we’ve compiled a dozen of our best programs into blowout year-end sale with our lowest prices ever… so there’s no better time for you to start making your dreams come true in 2007 than right now.

This offer ends when the New Year begins, so don’t put it off and risk paying more a few days from now. Act today and you’ll get the best deal we’ve ever offered, guaranteed.

Stop by our ETR 2006 End-of-Year Blowout Sale now.

- MaryEllen Tribby

Word to the Wise: Inveigle

To "inveigle" (in-VAY-gul) – from the French for "to lead astray as if blind" – is to persuade/obtain by ingenuity or flattery.

Example (as used by Rachel Cusk in Saving Agnes): "Once a soft touch for these ragged moralists who inveigled her into sparing them her change, Agnes began to cross the road, begging for some change in her circumstances."

Michael Masterson
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2006

Similar Articles:

• Mastering Google AdWords in 3 Easy Steps – "I know I need to be in Google … but that can be expensive if you don’t know what you’re doin…
• It’s Good to Know: The Google Way to Promote Your Non-Profit – If you run a non-profit organization, you may be eligible for a new Google AdWords program called Go…
• Reader Feedback: “I took your advice, and have been enjoying a 30% increase in my sales ever since.” – “Thank you for such a great e-mail newsletter. “The article ‘How a Google AdWords Campaign Can Help …
• How a Google AdWords Campaign Can Help You Rev Up Your Sales – You’d been hearing all about how great Google AdWords is for driving traffic to a business’s website…
• How to Get a New CPC Instantly – Minimum Cost Per Click (CPC) is one of the crucial metrics you should know when you begin a Google A…
• Where Do You Get Search Satisfaction? – If you aren’t already targeting Google with your search engine marketing efforts, now’s the time to …
• Google’s Duplicate Content Penalty – Google doesn’t like twins much. That is to say, Google penalizes Web pages that it deems to be near-…

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 23rd, 2006 at 7:00 am and is filed under Daily Issues .

Similar Articles:

None Found

This entry was posted on Saturday, December 23rd, 2006 at 5:00 am and is filed under Daily Issues .