Issue #2567
- WEALTHY: An important investing lesson learned from the financial mess (Rick Pendergraft)
- HEALTHY: The worst thing you can do after a workout (Jonny Bowden)
- WISE: Will Rogers on popularity
ALSO IN THIS ISSUE:
- The “juicy” search engine marketing strategy with a strange name (Edwin Huertas)
- What a simple question mark can do for your career (Jason Holland)
- It’s Good to Know… about backing up your computer files
- Add “unfledged” to your vocabulary
== Highly Recommended ==
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.
How Elastic Are Your Trade Indicators?
Thank goodness it is 2009! The fourth quarter of 2008 was crazy for the market. The wild swings and incredible volatility were maddening. Most investors don’t want to be reminded of how bad it was, but it was apparent in their monthly statements. The good news is that it is over.
But there is a lesson to be learned from every rough patch. One of the lessons I learned from the crazy market of fourth-quarter 2008 has to do with the elasticity of indicators.
Here’s what I mean by “elasticity.” A number of indicators – including most of the overbought/oversold indicators – are calculated based on the most recent trading activity. In the fourth quarter, these indicators were stretched out like an elastic waistband, thanks to big moves in both directions.
The Relative Strength Index, for example, uses volume and price change in its calculations. When a stock goes up 4 or 5 percent two days in a row – and then drops 4 or 5 percent the next day – the RSI is getting stretched out. When the market calms down and that same stock is moving less than 1 percent per day, the overbought and oversold levels are harder to reach because the RSI is stretched out from the 4 and 5 percent moves. As a result, you get fewer trading signals from this indicator.
With the market settling down a little, the overbought/oversold indicators are starting to look normal again.
If you use these indicators in making your trading decisions, they probably lost some of their usefulness in the fourth quarter. Now that they are moving back to a more normal state, they should become more useful.
I personally cut back on my trading because I wasn’t getting enough signals from the indicators I use. Now that the calendar has rolled over to January, I am starting to see more opportunities.
[Ed. Note: You may be cautious with your investments right now... but you have to be ready to take action when the moment strikes. There are going to be some incredible opportunities out there, and market analyst Rick Pendergraft has put together an educational program that lays out the simple steps you need to take advantage of them. Not only do you get three months of Rick's best recommendations, you also learn how to make good investment choices yourself. Get the details here.]
“Popularity is the easiest thing in the world to gain and it is the hardest thing to hold.”
Will Rogers
Make Your Site More Popular With “Link Juice” Power
You already know how powerful links can be when it comes to your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts. As Alexis Siemon pointed out in her article “Become a Killer Link Builder“: “A link is a shortcut to quickly get you from one website to another. If you can harness the power of the link, you can make your website a force to be reckoned with. That means higher search engine rankings, more traffic to your site, and, eventually, more customers and more money in your pocket.”
But though more and more online marketers are learning about SEO and how it can help deliver lots of quality traffic to their sites, the powerful little link is still a mystery to many. One question I frequently get is about “link juice.”
What is link juice? It is the key to your popularity with the search engines. The more you have, the higher you can rank in the search engines’ results.
To understand link juice, you first need to understand another SEO term: Link Popularity.
Link Popularity is a metric that most search engines use to gauge the “popularity” of a Web page based on how many other Web pages link to it. You could think of it this way: Each link to a Web page that a search engine finds on the Internet counts as a vote for the page it’s linking to. The more links that are pointing to one of your Web pages, the more “popular” a search engine will consider that page to be.
Search engines consider popular pages to be highly relevant. Since they are interested in presenting the most relevant search results to their users, they’ll give popular pages a high ranking. And this will improve your SEO, put your website in front of more search engine users, and ultimately result in more traffic and more potential sales.
But that doesn’t mean you should ask all your friends to link to your site. You don’t want a link from just anybody. You want links from sites with lots of link juice.
Link juice is a way to describe the “weight” a specific link might carry. A link with more weight is going to be more important to the search engines.
Here’s an example of what I mean. Let’s say you’re trying to get a job. Your potential employer is going to be more impressed by recommendations from your boss at your previous company than she will by recommendations from your mailman or your dentist. You could have 100 letters of recommendation from your college buddies, but one powerful letter from the CEO of a business you used to work for will do a lot more to convince her to hire you.
It’s the same with the search engines. Each Web page has a certain amount of clout – or link juice – that it can pass to another page. How much is not really something you can accurately measure, but you can get an idea of how good a link is (how much link juice it has) by looking at a few variables:
1. How many links are pointing to the page? If a page has hundreds or thousands of links pointing to it, chances are the links on that page have good link juice that can be passed on to outside pages (like your page).
Let’s say MortgageBroker.com has a ton of link juice. If you are in the mortgage brokerage business and get this site to link to you, it could pass on a lot of link juice. (It’s like getting a job recommendation from the top dog in your industry.)
2. How many outgoing links does that page have? Pages with too many outgoing links (20 or more) usually have less link juice than pages with 10 or fewer outgoing links. That’s because sites with too many links to outside sites aren’t as choosy.
Think about it this way: If a food critic rates every restaurant she visits as “5-star,” you might not believe she’s got a very discerning palate. But if she gives her top recommendation only to a few restaurants, you would be more inclined to try them out. After all, they are the only restaurants she likes out of thousands.
If a page has lots of links pointing to it and a small number of links pointing out, it’s probably a good page with plenty of link juice. A link on that site pointing to your site would be beneficial to you.
3. Is the page that links to you in a similar niche? It’s important to build up links to your site, but you must make sure those links come from sites that complement yours. In other words, don’t request links from sites that are about mortgages if your business is about sporting goods.
4. How much real content does the page have? Pages that have very little content and are mostly made up of outgoing links have less link juice to offer. The best links are usually from pages that have lots of “real” content and a small number of incoming links.
Once you’ve found a site that has a lot of link juice, request a link from it. You can learn more about how to get a site to link to your site by re-reading Alexis’s article on becoming a killer link builder.
Remember, the more link juice you can get, the higher you will rank with the search engines.
[Ed. Note: Running a successful online business takes more than just throwing up a website - but it doesn't have to be complicated or confusing. Get a step-by-step guide to link building, search engine optimization, and more as a member of ETR's Internet Money Club. Spaces are limited, so find out now if there are any spots left for the "Class" of 2009.
If you feel that your website is in the same category as ETR's, we may want to exchange links with you. Contact us via http://www.earlytorise.com/resources/ with your link exchange request. If your site qualifies as a good link partner, we would be happy to link to your page from our website in exchange for a link-back from your website.]
When It Comes to Your Money, There Is Only One Person You Can Trust
If we’ve learned one thing from the current economic mess it’s that:
- You can’t rely on your Employer…
- You can’t rely on Wall Street and Banking…
- And you SURE AS HECK can’t rely on Uncle Sam.
So who does that leave? YOU! You and only you.
Self-reliance is the new job. Self-reliance is the new 401(k). Self-reliance is what guarantees your kids’ college educations and pays the mortgage.
When other investments are tanking, self-reliance means investing in yourself. And with your own Internet business you could be making $100,000 to $25 million a year.
Are You Asking Enough Questions?
How do you find out what you need to know? By asking questions, of course.
But in a business environment, that simple practice all too often goes out the window.
Whether you’re intimidated by your boss, afraid to look dumb in front of a coworker, or embarrassed by your lack of knowledge, not asking questions can have serious consequences: failed plans, miscommunication, and stalled innovation.
Suppose, for example, you get assigned a new project by your superior. What you shouldn’t do: Spend three days trying to figure out what she meant by “Look at the 2005 results” when you have no idea what happened in 2005. What you should do: Go back down to her office the next day with a specific list of items you need clarified.
Or imagine you receive an e-mail with an attachment you can’t download. What you shouldn’t do: Spend hours trying to figure out the problem on your own. What you should do: Consult the IT department or ask the person to send you the file in another format.
I’m not advocating that you ask people in your company to hold your hand 24/7. You do have to figure things out on your own and do your own research. But don’t assume you know everything. And don’t be afraid to ask questions – “big picture” or very specific – when you know you don’t understand.
[Ed. Note: Have you ever been in a situation where you should have asked more questions, but didn't... and suffered the consequences? Let us know right here.]
Nix the Nosh
By Jonny Bowden
Ever wonder why some trainers still tell their clients to eat six small meals a day, have a high-carb snack after working out (”to refuel the muscles”), and carb-load every time they go for a run? It’s because these trainers were steeped in the bodybuilding-gym culture of the ’60s, and learned from the training manuals of competitive athletes. But unless you’re training for a marathon or an Iron Man competition, that advice is 100 percent wrong – especially if you’re looking to lose weight.
In a recent study, volunteers were given a high-carb mini-meal immediately after exercising on a treadmill for an hour. The result: Insulin efficiency – the ability to clear sugar from the bloodstream – was completely wiped out.
A separate study tested high-carb mini-meals against low-carb mini-meals, and found that the low-carb meals did the least damage. “If people are going to exercise to benefit their health, they should not be eating back the calories immediately or within a couple of hours of finishing,” says Barry Braun, PhD, Director of the Energy Metabolism Lab at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Don’t gorge on carbs after you exercise. If you tend to get hungry after a workout, take this preventive measure: Eat a light snack containing proteins, carbs, and fat beforehand. It should hold you for a few hours.
[Ed. Note: Sugar and carbs can devastate your weight-loss plans. So following health expert Jonny Bowden's suggestions to steer clear of these diet-defeaters could help you slim down. For more easy-to-follow health enhancers, check out Jonny's book The Most Effective Natural Cures on Earth.
And for more simple methods that can help you feel better and live longer, read all about our Healing Prescription service.]
It’s Good to Know: If Found, Please Return to…
Flash (or thumb) drives give you a cheap and easy way to transport large amounts of computer data, like videos, music files, documents, and more. But their small size makes them easy to lose… along with anything important you have uploaded.
Of course, you should always have a backup for any data you load on a flash drive. Still, there is something you can do to increase your chances of retrieving one if it’s lost. Simply add a text file, clearly named something like “If Found Please Return to…” In the file, include your contact information – phone number, address, e-mail, etc.
With any luck, a Good Samaritan will pick it up and return it to you.
(Source: Lifehacker)
== Highly Recommended ==
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Word to the Wise: Unfledged
“Unfledged” (un-FLEJD) – from the Middle English – means lacking the feathers necessary for flight. We use the word to mean immature or not fully developed.
Example (as used by Helen Mondloch in an issue of World and I): “Some also charge the leaders with sheltering unfledged youth from the real world or, as one public education official quoted in the Washington Post put it, ‘prolonging a cocoon existence.’”
[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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A friend who is a Master Sergeant in the Marines says “The only stupid question is the one you don’t ask – it can cost you your life”.
When I was in high school between sophomore and junior yr I got a job with a brick mason.We went to a job where he had built a chimney.He ask me do you know how to take down a scaffold?Of course I said.He left me saying he would be back in a couple of hours. I had no idea how to start but I was willing.At the bottom of the scaffold I started to take off the diagonal braces.By the time I got to the top the scaffold was very wobbly and the last brace did not want to come off.Got the big hammer.Wham and off it went, and The whole thing came apart and we both fell. I survived. Stacking up the scaffold was a breeze and looked at my watch,twenty minutes.Fast but was it worth dying over?Just ask the questions stupid!
I was taught early in my career as a union structural ironworker in NYC (in apprentice school, actually) that the only stupid question is the one that’s never asked. 99Bonk is correct. In a dangerous situation, not asking can cost you your life. Ironwork is dangerous job, working aloft. I’m not comparing it to being a Marine in wartime, but learning that lesson early will do you well no matter what business, trade, or school you’re in. Remember that and you’re career, as well as your life will sail smoother.