Issue #2558
- WEALTHY: Why the market makes good stocks look bad (Christian Hill)
- HEALTHY: The link between weight gain and your sleep habits (Kelley Herring)
- WISE: Ralph Waldo Emerson on opportunity
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- Break into a $13 billion industry that is still growing fast (Marc Charles)
- Let me tell you a little story… (Paul Lawrence)
- It’s Fun to Know… what Google’s up to now
- Add “peroration” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
Transform Your Life In Only 15 Minutes A Day!
Would you be willing to set aside 15 minutes a day if it meant you could…
- Pay off your credit card bills?
- Rebuild your financial portfolio?
- Buy or sell a house?
- Grow or start a business?
- Lose weight?
- Prepare for early retirement?
I thought so.
I’d like to show you exactly how you can dramatically increase your chances of achieving these (or other) goals in 2009.
Click here to continue…
Beware of Moving Targets
The last 12 months has been a bad time in the markets. Very few stocks have avoided the market-wide sell-off. And for a lot of stocks, as a result of their share prices being depressed, one measure of value – dividend yield – could be misleading.
The dividend yield is calculated by dividing the dividends paid per share over the course of a year by the stock’s price – and this number is of paramount importance to income investors. Oftentimes, there is a minimum yield that they are willing to accept when they invest in a stock.
And this is where the current markets could send you down the wrong path. Let’s take DuPont (DD), for example. For the past three years, DuPont has traded in a range from around $40/share to $50/share. During this period, it has paid a consistent dividend between $0.37 and $0.41. That would give investors a dividend yield between 2.9 percent and 3.7 percent.
A nice return, but perhaps too low to hit the radar screens of many income investors.
But now let’s look DuPont’s dividend yield today: 6.2 percent.
Your first assumption might be that the company has really fattened up its dividend. But that would be incorrect. What has occurred is that the stock price has fallen so much that the yield has been “artificially” driven up.
DuPont is now trading for around $26/share – about half of what it was even three months ago. This means the denominator in the equation for calculating dividend yield is much lower… and that’s why DuPont’s yield is so high.
When the market moves back up and DuPont’s share price follows, its yield will plummet back down.
[Ed. Note: Finding fundamentally strong companies is a good way to prosper despite the market's condition. But you can also make money on companies that are ready to crumble. Learn how to spot the "red flag" signals that could predict (with as much as 92 percent certainty) when a company's stock is going to tank.]
“The world is all gates, all opportunities, strings of tension waiting to be struck.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Graphic Design Riches
By Marc Charles
Today, I’m going to tell you about one of the hottest rising trends out there – and why you should get in on this opportunity now.
I’m talking about the business of graphic design.
Let me warn you. There are naysayers. A top Internet “guru” recently proclaimed that graphic artists, webmasters, and designers are obsolete. He said online graphic design and website template stores like TemplateMonster.com, BoxedArt.com, and WebsiteTemplates.com have eliminated the need for online marketers to pay someone to “tinker” with the graphic design on their websites.
But despite these “one-stop” shops, there are STILL unlimited opportunities for freelance graphic artists, designers, and webmasters. (And when you become established in this market, you might consider offering your designs to the design/template stores, too.) You can make serious money working in this industry – and I’m going to show you everything you need to get started.
It’s common for graphic designers to make $35,000, $45,000, or even $55,000 per year, working part-time. Some freelance designers and webmasters are making six figures per year! The secret to making big money in this business is to find a pool of qualified prospects and sell your services to them. Believe it or not… knowing how to do that is almost as important as the quality of your work.
Most of the graphic designers I’ve retained over the years believe the quality of their work is the only factor that generates business for them. Granted, quality workmanship and attention to detail often separates the amateurs from the pros. And no client wants sloppy work. But I’ve outsourced hundreds of graphic design and Web-development projects over the years, and I can tell you this: The graphic designers making the big bucks in this business often have marginal design skills… but exceptional marketing savvy.
What the Heck Is a Graphic Designer?
Graphic design is the art of arranging images and text to communicate a message. It may be applied in any media, including print, digital, motion pictures, animation, product decoration, packaging, and signs.
Those are just some of the hundreds of areas you could choose to specialize in. But I’m going to show you where the money and repeat business resides.
Graphic design and the World Wide Web (especially the direct-marketing side of it) are a natural fit. Business owners and direct marketers need graphic designers to develop print products like brochures, catalogs, magalogs, sales letters, multimedia presentations, and advertisements. There’s also a huge demand for graphic designers with Web-development, marketing, and e-mail marketing know-how.
How to Make Money as a Freelance Graphic Designer and Webmaster Guru
Most of the money in this business can be generated from four main markets. There are other markets and variations to the ones I’ve listed below – but, in my opinion, these are the most promising ones:
1. Small- to medium-sized businesses
According to InfoUSA.com, more than 2.5 million businesses are launched every year. Most of these start-ups need graphic design work, and especially graphic design with a Web component. They need designers to help with brochures, flyers, sales letters, posters, DVD covers, e-book covers, catalogs, landing pages, micro-sites, Web pages, etc. The average small- to medium-sized business website has about 30 pages.
You can find qualified prospects who would be interested in your services at websites like eLance.com, FreelanceDesigners, Project4Hire, Guru.com, and iFreelance.com. Business owners, entrepreneurs, and direct marketers come to these sites to find designers and webmasters.
Another way to attract qualified prospects is by purchasing targeted keyword ads on Google, Yahoo!, and MSN, and linking each ad to a powerful, persuasive website selling your services. (I also use some popular second-tier pay-per-click networks like 7Search, MIVA, Kanoodle, ABCSearch, and Mamma.com. Then, when a prospect is searching for a graphic designer/artist or freelance Web developer, your ad pops up.
Still another way to attract qualified prospects is to post your availability on freelance websites. Six of my favorite sites: Elance.com, CraigsList, Monster.com, WebmasterWorld, DICE.com, and WarriorForum.
You can reach qualified prospects through direct mail and FedEx, too. You simply secure a mailing list of names… and mail away! Three reputable mailing list brokers that can help you identify the best lists are CenturyList.com, USAData.com, and GoLeads.com.
2. Subcontracting work for ad agencies, entertainment companies, and Web-hosting companies
Advertising and direct-marketing agencies, entertainment production companies, and Web-hosting companies typically “outsource” graphic design and Web-development projects to freelancers. There are tremendous opportunities for those who are willing to do subcontract work.
- Gaming-software companies are always looking for graphic artists with programming skills.
- Ad agencies receive billions of dollars a year from clients to develop Web, direct-marketing (print and electronic), and e-mail promotions.
- Direct-marketing agencies produce billions of dollars in promotional pieces every year. They can handle only a portion of this work in-house.
- Web-hosting companies are usually not interested in graphic design and Web-development. They offer these services to their customers on a “value-added” basis. (Keep in mind that Web-hosting companies and Internet service providers are notoriously cheap.)
3. Direct-marketing companies, agencies, and related businesses
This may be the largest and most promising sector for securing graphic design and Web-development projects.
Direct-marketing companies, agencies, and related businesses (including pre-press services, printers, mail houses, and publishers) are constantly in need of graphic design and Web-development services. In fact, on HotJobs this morning, there were more than 3,500 job openings for graphic designers.
Granted, the majority of these opportunities are for in-house, on-site positions, but don’t discount those listings. Employers can often be persuaded to hire a freelancer instead (mostly because it saves them a bundle on overhead).
4. Government work
You start the process of securing government contract work by submitting your profile into the vendor network. It may take a little time to get yourself into the “inner sanctum,” but it’s worth it.
For instance, the General Services Administration (GSA) awards millions of dollars in contracts to small businesses every year. They have a new submission service called eOffer (eoffer.gsa.gov) that enables vendors of products and services to submit contract proposals via the Internet. If you have multiple disciplines (like Flash, PHP, Cold Fusion, Linux, and Java programming) in addition to Web-development and graphic design skills, you’ll be light years ahead of the pack.
How Can a NOVICE Learn Graphic Design or Web-Development Skills From the Ground Up?
My 17-year-old “whiz kid” son learned everything he knows about graphic design, Photoshop, Web development, programming, hacking, online gaming, and Flash… online! He’s read only one book on programming – the Linux Bible.
There are thousands of sites on the Internet that offer graphic design and Web-development tutorials. Three of my favorites are DesignTutorials.info, Abduzeedo.com, and grafx-design.com.
There are also several graphic design programs on the market that can get you designing on a “professional” level in no time. When your skills are up to snuff… start looking for work. Use the freelance and job websites I mentioned above or try a direct-mail campaign offering your services… and you will have your first paying gig very quickly.
[Ed. Note: As "King of Business Opportunities" Marc Charles points out, graphic design could be your key to a second income in 2009. For a weekly report on some of the hottest money-making opportunities around, sign up for Marc's Profit Center Dispatch.
Why It Doesn’t Matter If the Markets Tumble
If you’re one of the millions of people concerned by the latest turbulence in the markets, I’ve got some good news for you.
It doesn’t matter if the markets tumble.
One investor delights when the stock market lurches up and down. His name is Frederick James and you won’t see him on Larry King or in the Wall Street Journal.
That’s because he’s always preferred to remain part of an elite group of investors who extract their profits in the background while the masses of regular investors see their nest eggs vaporize.
But, now Frederick has decided it’s time to share the wealth. He has agreed to reveal his secrets to ETR readers. Get your special report right here.
A Technique That Always Works to Win Over the Crowd
Whether it's speaking to a group of peers at a company meeting, a group of potential clients, or a group of seminar attendees who are there to hear you share your knowledge, being a good public speaker can really pay off.
To be truthful, I was nervous about speaking in public when I was younger. Actually, terrified would be more accurate. However, I eventually overcame my fear and now get paid very handsomely as a featured speaker at business events.
The good news is that anyone can learn to be a good public speaker. Knowing how to capture the interest of your audience is a big part of it - and here's one very effective technique for doing that: Tell them a story.
For example, at one conference, the main point I wanted to get across to my audience - a group of small-business entrepreneurs - was the importance of not overestimating their resources. But instead of boring them by trying to prove my point with a lot of statistics, I related a news story I'd recently read in a local South Florida paper.
It seems that the mangled remains of a giant snake had been found in a swamp. The snake apparently attempted to eat an alligator... and then actually exploded (partially digested alligator chunks were mixed in with the mess), because the alligator was just too big for the snake. "The snake," I said, "had made the common - and sometimes fatal - mistake that I'm trying to keep you from making: overestimating its capacity." The story got a big laugh, made my point in a way that my audience would remember, and completely won them over.
Next time you're going to make a presentation, consider illustrating your point with a story. It's one of the most effective public speaking tools I know.
[Ed. Note: Paul Lawrence is an accomplished public speaker and a successful business author. Get information about his course on how to make money with public speaking here.]
Is Insomnia Making You Fat?
If you’re not getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis, it may be having a negative effect not only on your energy levels but also on your waistline.
In a study of more than 68,000 women over a period of 16 years, Harvard researchers found that those who got less sleep tended to gain more weight. In fact, women who slept five hours or less a night were 32 percent more likely to gain at least 33 pounds during the study period than those who slept seven to eight hours.
Here are some tips to help you get your full dose of rejuvenating (and slimming!) sleep:
• Reduce the caffeine in your diet, and don’t drink caffeinated beverages late in the afternoon or in the evening.
• Beware of excitotoxins that can rob you of sleep. Common excitotoxins include MSG and aspartame (which you should already be avoiding because of their other health-harming effects).
• Go easy on the alcohol. While booze initially makes you drowsy, it interrupts your sleep cycle later.
• Shut down. If you keep a computer and/or TV on in your bedroom, the light will keep your brain waves in the “awake” state.
• Get cozy. A relaxing cup of herbal tea with chamomile and valerian helps you ease into sleep.
• Try melatonin or L-tryptophan, natural supplements that promote deep, restful sleep.
[Ed. Note: You can get plenty of great techniques for losing weight and staying fit - for free. Just sign up for ETR's natural health newsletter, and you'll get a twice-weekly dose of healthful recipes, fat-burning strategies, and more.
The holidays may be over, but you can still enjoy your favorite holiday treats - without an ounce of guilt. Pick up nutrition expert Kelley Herring's e-book, Guilt-Free Desserts, and find 40 easy-to-make, mouthwateringly delicious, 100% healthy recipes you can make at home.]
It’s Fun to Know: Google Conquers the Flu?
When people get sick these days, they often turn to the Web, Google in particular, to figure out what’s ailing them. Google is taking advantage of that common practice to help researchers track flu epidemics. Flu Trends (google.org/flutrends/) keeps track of searches for flu-related terms (like “flu symptoms” and “the flu”). And when flu-like symptoms start appearing in a particular part of the country, searches for those terms by people who live in the area tend to spike.Researchers like Flu Trends because it’s cheap and easy to use. But they aren’t ready to throw out their other flu-detection methods just yet. Many plan to use Flu Trends in conjunction with data from drugstores, doctor’s offices, and ERs.
(Source: Slate)
== Highly Recommended ==
Are You OK With (Smaller) Online Profits That Automatically Flow Into Your Bank Account Every Month?
Seems like everyone’s going for broke and trying to earn a million their first year online. In the meantime, a handful of people are happy as clams with automatic income streams – usually a few thousand dollars – fattening up their bank accounts each month.
Of course, you can set up as many of these income streams you want. So if it’s more money you are after, then go for it! Best part: It only takes about an hour to set up and it’s easy to do. And then imagine yourself sitting back and watching the money roll in.
Sounds too easy, I know. But perhaps everyone is busy trying to make a killing online… and so they’ve overlooked this fast and easy way to make very nice (but not ridiculous) amounts of money. Why not take a peek today and see if this is right for you?
Word to the Wise: Peroration
A “peroration” – from the Latin for “to speak” – is the conclusion of an oration, especially a final summing up and re-enforcement of an argument.
Example (as used by Anthony Giardina in The New York Times): “In 2000, as president of the N.R.A., [Charlton Heston] delivered the peroration: ‘I’ll give you my gun when you take it from my cold, dead hands.’”
[Ed. Note: Become a more persuasive writer and speaker ... build your self-confidence and intellect ... increase your attractiveness to others ... just by spending 10 VERY enjoyable minutes a day with ETR's new Words to the Wise CD Library.]
Copyright ETR, LLC, 2009
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Good information.. thanks friend