Archive for January, 2009
If hearing about the recession day in and day out makes you want to skip the country and head off on a long, luxurious weekend in la-la land… but you don’t think you have the budget to do it… I have good news for you.
Numerous studies have proven the health benefits of coffee - ranging from preventing diabetes to reducing inflammation and enhancing physical endurance. Now new research shows that your cup o’ joe may play a role in protecting against one of the most prevalent cancers in women: breast cancer.
Getting cargo into space on rockets is very expensive, time-consuming, and risky. (Sometimes the rockets blow up - taking their expensive payloads with them.)
Some writers ostentatiously drop in such words to flaunt their erudition. But foreign-language words are used for good reasons. Although the English language offers us a remarkably wide choice of words, some concepts are better expressed in other languages, especially when no precise equivalent exists in English. In addition, an imported locution is often more concise and stylistically superior.
Locution
by ETR (01/31/2009)
A “locution” (loh-KYOO-shun) - from the Latin for “to speak” - is a style of verbal expression, a word or phrase that particular people use in particular situations.
When most people think of television advertising, they think about the commercials they see on network TV. Such advertising gives the advertiser an immense reach - sometimes to as many as hundreds of millions of people. But the greater the reach, the less targeted the audience. For every person who might be interested in your product, there will be a hundred or a thousand with absolutely zero interest.
Dastard
by ETR (01/30/2009)
A “dastard” (DAS-terd) is a mean, sneaky coward. The word may have been derived from “dast/dased,” Middle English for “stupid” or “dull.”
Delinquent children, misbehaving students, errant employees… all may be “read the riot act.” It’s an idiomatic expression that we use when talking about forcefully warning or reprimanding someone.
Maybe you’ve been there. You lose 10 pounds in a month, only to gain it back (plus one or two more) over the next 60 days.
Take a close look at your last water and electric bills. Are the meter readings on these bills “estimated” or “actual.” If a meter reader can’t (or won’t) read your meter, standard practice is for the utility company to use an estimated reading (based on your past usage). Many companies just don’t have the manpower to read every single meter out there every month, although they are required to do so at least once or twice a year.
The Dow dropped below 8,000 points last week. 2.6 million Americans have lost their jobs - and since “Black Monday” this week, they stand to lose 50,000 more. Home foreclosures are reaching new heights.
I’m going to share a bit of the information that I first taught at my $3,495 per person copywriting workshop. This subject is something I have not seen anyone else tackle in full. So if you are interested in making your sales copywriting (actually, any writing) work harder for you - pay attention!
Scrum
by ETR (01/29/2009)
A “scrum” (SKRUM) is a rugby play in which players from both sides line up around the ball and struggle to gain possession of it. By extension, the word is used for any disordered or confused situation involving a number of people.
Move over e-books… the bestseller lists of Japan are filled with books written (and often read) on cellphones.
You may be one of the millions of people who regularly shop on eBay. I’ve done it on occasion, and never had any trouble. Until recently. As a result of that experience, I learned a few lessons that can help you deal with two of the potential problems you might encounter.
I believe life is constantly testing us for our level of commitment, and life’s greatest rewards are reserved for those who demonstrate a never-ending commitment to act until they achieve. This level of resolve can move mountains, but it must be constant and consistent. As simplistic as this may sound, it is still the common denominator separating those who live their dreams from those who live in regret
In this troubled economy, almost everyone can use the security that a side business can bring. I’ve been involved in a low-capital side business for years, and it has been a steady source of additional income for me. It’s something you, too, should consider getting into. I’m talking about the event promotion business.
You may think you have a good idea of the number of calories you consume. But research shows that we underestimate our actual intake by approximately 200 calories per day. That equates to 10 pounds of added weight per year!
Ah, the joys of the fax machine! This surprisingly old technology (patented in 1843) is still holding its own in offices worldwide (consuming about 200 billion pieces of paper per year), despite the advent of the Internet and e-mail. So why is it still around?
New research published in the journal Annals of Neurology focused on an area of the hippocampus - the “dentate gyrus” - that is responsible for age-related memory decline. The researchers conducted brain scans on humans and animals, and found that reduced activity in this memory center was closely linked to blood sugar. What’s more, they found that it doesn’t take off-the-charts levels of blood sugar or the presence of diabetes to damage the dentate gyrus.
“If you’re like me, you get very, very bored doing cardio on the treadmill, stationary bike, or whatever your favorite piece of exercise equipment is. Five minutes can feel like hours. The gym has plenty of TVs to try to entertain you while you work out. However, the news is too depressing, watching the food channel only makes me want to eat (definitely defeats the purpose of being at the gym), and the other mindless programs bore me.
If you want your employees (and your company) to grow, you can help them excel by scheduling formal yearly performance reviews. You sit down with each employee, and take a comprehensive look at all the work they have done over the past year. You discuss how their skills have progressed, their biggest successes, where they need improvement, and their goals for the coming year.
Whatever your goals, whatever your talents, you have to give this question your full attention every day. Anything less will lead you in the wrong direction - closer to frustration and further from your goals.
So make sure you test everything - your site, your products, your store - to make sure it works as it’s meant to. Better yet, have a friend, your spouse, and your grandma test things out for you. Get them to report back on what works, what doesn’t, what’s missing, and what’s superfluous. You’ll end up with a better product/site/whatever - and your customers will have a much better experience.
American Writers and Artists Inc. (AWAI) co-founder Don Mahoney recently e-mailed me an article about the National Enquirer. In that article, Editor-in-Chief David Perel revealed the secret of the tabloid’s outrageous success:
During the winter months, your kids are at greater risk for catching a cold or the flu from their classmates. You can help keep their immune systems strong with vitamin C and cod liver oil. Unfortunately, this isn’t 100 percent effective. Kids can still get sick.
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