Splitting a Brand Design Project Between Two Design Firms by Erin Ferree

I’m often asked if I could just do either the print side or the website side of a brand design project. And while that’s certainly possible, I don’t recommend it.

Splitting a branding project typically results in a lack of consistency between pieces in your marketing kit. All of your brand materials should have similar design elements. When a project is split among different design firms, often those firms don’t have a similar style, and you can wind up with print collateral, for example, that looks dramatically different from your website. In this case, when potential customers receive your business card and then go to your website, it might take them a moment to realize that they’re in the right place… and that moment can affect the level of trust that you build with them. Since trust is one of the most important factors in the buyer/seller relationship, breaking this trust can have a poor effect on your sales.

Projects are typically split up for a few reasons:

* Lack of full-service design capabilities. If the firm you choose has strengths primarily in just print design or just web design, then that firm will probably not be the best choice to execute both projects. Many firms do offer both print and web services these days, though, so you might look around for a firm that can fill both needs.

* Short timeline. If you’re looking to launch your business or product quickly, you might find that one firm can’t offer you the turnaround time that you need to get to market fast. If this is the case, and you split the project in half so that the halves can be developed simultaneously, you might actually harm your brand: there will be no opportunity to create consistent graphics between the two projects. You might have better results if you design a minimum number of materials and a shorter, less complicated website for the launch, and then continue to expand your suite of materials after your company or product is up and running.

* Lack of budget. Developing a full brand collateral suite can be an expensive undertaking. However, you’re often better served by having fewer materials that are consistent and of a high quality than having more materials that have been pieced out to different firms at a lower initial cost. Good, matching marketing materials will add a lot to your credibility and should last quite some time; great materials can last for the life of your business!

* Hesitancy to decide between firms. If you’ve requested proposals from several firms, and you really want to work with each of them because they’re all so great, resist that temptation. This strategy won’t have the best result for your brand, and your brand is one of the most important tools in your business’s toolkit.

If you must split the project between two firms, you can get a better result if you insist on:

* Communication between the two firms. If the two firms both talk about your Brand Foundation, then that ensures that your marketing pieces will all be on track in terms of their design’s messages about who you are, what you do, and what makes you different.

* The creation and use of a Visual Vocabulary and Brand Rules document. Make sure that one firm-typically the one that designs your logo-also will create and deliver a Visual Vocabulary and Brand Rules tailored to your business. These two elements are not always a guaranteed deliverable, so you might have to request that they be created. Your Visual Vocabulary is made up of all of the graphics that supplement your logo to form the graphic “face” of your business and anchor your brand identity. This can include design elements such as: – Font styles – Colors – Shapes – Layout conventions – Backgrounds – Photographs – Special textual treatments – Paper type

Your Brand Rules document will detail the use of each of these elements, as well as the specifics of your logo and the “do’s” and “don’ts” that surround the use of your logo design.

* Completion of the logo, Visual Vocabulary, and Brand Rules before the rest of the project begins. Or, you can have one of the final design deliverables-or sets of deliverables-completed before the design on the next one begins, and have the next one designed to match.

* See if the two firms will collaborate on the two projects. If the two firms are agreeable to it, and your budget allows for a few extra hours, have the two firms meet to offer feedback and suggestions to each other on their designs. Some firms might not agree to this, though.

Splitting up a project haphazardly can be detrimental to your brand, but if you find that it’s necessary, and you manage the process carefully, you can still create a strong brand that will create beneficial bottom-line results for your business.

Write Articles For Publicity and Profit – Writing Articles Is Easier Than You Think by Lynne Lee

If you think writing articles is difficult, think again.

I used to think I couldn’t write articles and I discovered that it’s not true. Writing articles is much easier than you think. Like everything else, it’s easy when you know how.

The hardest thing you’ll do is actually start and keep on going.

For years I’ve let the perfectionist monster stop me. If I couldn’t do it perfectly, I didn’t do it. Recently I’ve given myself permission to let something be ‘good enough’. Now, after years of dreaming about writing, I’m actually doing it. I have articles in article directories and on other people’s blogs and web sites.

Yesterday, eleven of my articles were picked up and used by other people. And I was approached by an article directory and asked to submit to their directory.

I’m not telling you this to boast. I’m telling you to encourage you to believe that you can do it too.

How did I do it?

I began by looking to see what other people were doing. I read articles on writing articles, and writing titles and resource boxes that work. Then I listened to some free teleseminars. Now there’s no stopping me. Last week I wrote two articles. This week it will be four.

When I started, it took me all day to craft an article. Now, I can write and submit an article in less than 3 hours. I’m aiming to get that down to just an hour.

You get faster with each article you write. The key is not to spend too long thinking. Let the words flow, don’t edit as you write. Editing comes later, once you’ve written your first draft.

Action steps

Set yourself goals, be specific.

Write your goals down and keep them where you’ll see them.

Create a step by step plan to get yourself started.

What do you need to know? What skills do you need to learn? Where will you find the information? When will you do it?

I encourage you to seriously consider learning how to use articles to promote your business and bring free targeted visitors to your web site or blog. It really is easier than you think.

Write Articles For Publicity and Profit – Writing Articles Is Easier Than You Think by Lynne Lee

If you think writing articles is difficult, think again.

I used to think I couldn’t write articles and I discovered that it’s not true. Writing articles is much easier than you think. Like everything else, it’s easy when you know how.

The hardest thing you’ll do is actually start and keep on going.

For years I’ve let the perfectionist monster stop me. If I couldn’t do it perfectly, I didn’t do it. Recently I’ve given myself permission to let something be ‘good enough’. Now, after years of dreaming about writing, I’m actually doing it. I have articles in article directories and on other people’s blogs and web sites.

Yesterday, eleven of my articles were picked up and used by other people. And I was approached by an article directory and asked to submit to their directory.

I’m not telling you this to boast. I’m telling you to encourage you to believe that you can do it too.

How did I do it?

I began by looking to see what other people were doing. I read articles on writing articles, and writing titles and resource boxes that work. Then I listened to some free teleseminars. Now there’s no stopping me. Last week I wrote two articles. This week it will be four.

When I started, it took me all day to craft an article. Now, I can write and submit an article in less than 3 hours. I’m aiming to get that down to just an hour.

You get faster with each article you write. The key is not to spend too long thinking. Let the words flow, don’t edit as you write. Editing comes later, once you’ve written your first draft.

Action steps

Set yourself goals, be specific.

Write your goals down and keep them where you’ll see them.

Create a step by step plan to get yourself started.

What do you need to know? What skills do you need to learn? Where will you find the information? When will you do it?

I encourage you to seriously consider learning how to use articles to promote your business and bring free targeted visitors to your web site or blog. It really is easier than you think.

Internet Marketing Business 7-Step Guide To Success by Ba Kiwanuka

1. Internet Marketing: Is It worth Your While?

As of March 2007, 16.9% of the world’s 6.5 billion population was using the internet which roughly translates into 1.2 billion people! Asia boasts more than 50% of the world’s population and of that Asian populous only 10.7% is currently online as compared to almost 70% of the North American population!

Pros: The internet is one vast marketing arena that grows bigger and bigger every year. Put another way, in the year of 2006, online advertising racked up revenue in excess of $16.7 billion dollars and is expected to reach $45 billion in the next five years.

Cons: That many people online means that the competition is bound to be fierce; but the opposite holds true as well. That many people online means there should be enough market share to go around.

Bottom Line: An internet business is a great way to generate a second income or a primary money generating system that once set up is completely automated. However if you are starting out now be aware that you have millions of already established internet marketing businesses to compete with.

2. Do Your Research First

Before deciding on what your internet business is going to be make sure that there is a large enough target audience to make it worth your while. There’s no point marketing something that nobody is interested in.

Pros: Countless opportunities abound online and also there’re several websites such as digitalpoint.com which offer excellent free marketing research tools.

Cons: Excellent as a lot of these free tools are, they cannot compete with some fee-based tools as far as in-depth analytics go.

Bottom Line: Plenty of novice internet marketers doom themselves right from the get-go because they don’t bother doing any prior research which is tantamount to firing first before readying yourself, aiming then finally firing!

3. Getting Your Web Presence

The internet has come of age. A few years back getting a credible web presence usually translated into having to shell out exorbitant hosting fees. That has since changed!

These days you can get luxury-level, premium loaded web hosting for less than $4/month. Even better yet you can conduct an online business without ever having to pay web hosting fees. All you have to do is use a blog!

Pros: Starting an online business today need not cost you a single cent upfront!

Cons: Just starting out means that you’ve got your work cut out to distinguish your internet business from the rest of the crowd; a very big crowd!

Bottom Line: You really no longer have an excuse for not getting a web presence. The old oh-I-cannot-afford-hosting-fees excuse no longer cuts it! As previously mentioned it is now possible to conduct internet marketing without putting down a single cent. And as for not knowing HTML (web coding language)! That excuse too is dead and buried.; knowing html or other web coding language is a thing of the past, these days you can make do quite nicely without.

4. What Is The Fastest/Easiest Way To Make Money Online?

Hands down the cheapest, easiest and quickest way to make money online is through affiliate marketing.

And what is affiliate marketing?

Affiliate marketing is simply a partnership between an affiliate (you) and a merchant (the merchant being the owner of the product). Affiliate marketing may also be referred to as affiliate programs, referral programs and associate programs. Here’s how affiliate marketing works–You (the affiliate) promote or advertise a product on your site that belongs to somebody else (the merchant).

Basically, the merchant supplies you with a variety of text links, banners or graphics embedded with your own affiliate code. You then strategically insert any number of those coded links or graphics onto your website (or blog) with the purpose of referring your visitors to the merchant’s site.

When one of your site’s visitors clicks on any one of those code-imbedded links they are transferred to the merchant’s site. If that visitor then purchases something from that merchant you get paid. It’s as simple as that.

Pros: You don’t have to spend a cent to be an affiliate marketer. The best affiliate programs furnish you with all the necessary tools to conduct a successful promotional campaign of their products. Best of all, there are more than enough well-established and trustworthy affiliate program directories from which you can choose almost any product to promote!

Cons: You need to make sure that the products that you promote actually achieve what the claim to do (which in some cases entails trying them out beforehand). Also you are going to be faced with the issue of being just another affiliate marketer promoting the same products as thousands of other internet marketers.

Bottom Line: Affiliate marketing is the cheapest way to start out. However bear in mind that the internet marketers who make the big bucks do so through selling their own products. So in essence you should promote other people’s stuff up until you’ve become internet marketing savvy enough to sell your own product, be it digital goods (downloadable stuff) or whatever.

5. Internet Traffic: The Pot Of Gold At The End Of Every Internet Marketing Rainbow

In the online world once you’ve got lots of internet traffic you’re made, without it, you’re dead! Internet traffic is the true engine that drives any successful internet business. Those websites or blogs that are raking it in do so for one reason and one reason alone; they get tons of online traffic!

So how do you get traffic? There’re a variety of ways to get traffic, some of them free and others not so.

A. Use Web 2.0 techniques: Web 2.0 is the newest phase or 2nd generation of web based services which include social networking sites such as myspace.com and youtube.com to name but a few. A well organized and interesting blog is a good platform with which to gain web 2.0 based internet traffic.

B. Write Articles: Cheap and highly effective method to attract quick relevant traffic to your website or blog. It does require a certain amount of effort on your part (in other words conveying useful information) to make sure that your article attracts a ton of visitors to your site. The best bit about article writing is that you have literally thousands of article directories where you can submit your articles to.

C. Posting In Forums: Most people trawl forums to find answers that resolve their problems. You can capitalize on this by checking out forums relevant to your market and posting replies to current or recent questions to which you know the answers. If you post a genuinely useful and helpful reply you could end up with several grateful customers.

How?

Well, it’s very probable those people whose problem you just solved will click on your signature link to see what further useful information they can get from your site. Most forums enable you to promote your site by allowing you to paste a link pointing to your site at the end of your posting (different forums have different guidelines so it’s good to read them up).

D. Pay-Per-Click Advertising of which perhaps the most famous (or infamous depending on your perspective) is Google Adwords. Paying to get internet traffic through advertising is what is commonly known as PPC or pay-per-click. At its most basic, pay per-click marketing involves you composing an ad and bidding for a relevant searched-for keyword. Your ad will then be listed on the relevant search engine index pages for that same keyword you bid.

E. Internet Traffic From The Search Engines: This is the best traffic to draw to your website because it is the most qualified and targeted type of online traffic. What do I mean when I say the most qualified type of internet traffic?

I am talking about people who actively typed in a search term/phrase (keyword) into any search engine online. Such a person is more likely to purchase, subscribe or do whatever you most desire your visitors to do when they get to your site.

Getting this kind of traffic requires search engine optimization (seo) of your website or blog.

Pros: There’re multiple avenues to draw internet traffic to your website/blog these days, all of which involve a certain amount of effort, some more so than others. A well written article costs you no more than the whirring of your brain and the tip tap of your fingers on the keyboard, yet the traffic generated from that one article could quite easily tanslate into big sales.

Cons: Online traffic is what everybody with a web presence desires, only problem is that it happens to be rather challenging to get a significant amount of it unless your website has been around for quite a while.

Bottom Line: Internet traffic is the lifeblood of any online business and if you intend to be an internet marketer then you cannot do without it.

6. Play Not Follow The Leader!

Masura Ibuka, a co-founder of Sony once said “You never succeed in technology, business or anything else by following others!” That quote is equally applicable today in the internet marketing arena as it was when he said it. If you insist on playing follow-the-leader, then by proxy you’ll always be playing catch-up which is not the best marketing strategy.

Pros: Being the leader in whatever marketing endeavor you pursue automatically makes your brand instantly recognizable to the public which translates into more profit because people will always think of you first for that particular niche market. After all don’t forget your ultimate internet marketing goal should be selling your own products.

Cons: Being in the forefront by its very nature means that you’re going to have to put in a little more time and effort at the beginning to attain that lead than if you were just joining the ranks of followers.

7. Avoid The Minefield Of Online Scams.

I’m sure you don’t need to be told that the internet is awash with scams. A good rule of thumb to abide by is: If it seems too good to be true then it is precisely that! Most people get scammed because they are looking for the easiest path to riches and hence ignore that little squeaky voice in their head that is telling them “there’s no such thing as an overnight success!”

Pros: A lot of internet marketers who had been operating smoothly behind a facade of respectability have since been exposed together with their scams. Still the onus is on you to keep your wits and common sense and not get duped!

Cons: It is easy to be swept off your senses by good copywriting and visions of all that money you’re apparently going to make overnight!

If you ever do start getting that giddy feeling ascribed to gonna-be-rich-overnight syndrome, remember what world-famous hairstylist Vidal Sassoon had to say about success: “The only place where success comes before work is in the dictionary!”

Internet Marketing Online

5 Easy Ways To Improve Your Website Conversion Rates by Fabian Tan

Improving your website’s ability to do what you want it to do (capture a subscriber or get a sale) is one of the most important skills you’ll possess. If you ask me, having this skill has the possibility to increase your profits by 200% to 300%. Traffic still remains a the number one key factor, but imagine if you drive 100 visitors to your website everyday, and one buys. If you can make two people buy instead, you have just doubled your profit. It is a simple concept, but implementing it can be a slightly different story. In this article I’m going to discuss 5 easy ways to skyrocket your website conversion rates.

Adding a guarantee

This is one of the number one rules of a web page if you are selling something, especially if it is a high-ticket item. You want to give your customer an element of safety when he purchases. This is especially so on the web where the consumer can’t see or feel the product for himself! Adding a guarantee tells the customer that you have confidence in your product. Sure, some customers will rip you off, but you’ll make far more sales with a guarantee.

Having an attention-grabbing headline

The headline is the first, and sometimes the only thing, your visitor will read. If you can grab your visitor’s emotions with your headline, it is more likely he will stay to read the rest of your website’s copy. The more your visitor reads, the more likely he or she is to take your desired action, be it a sale or an opt-in.

Using testimonials and endorsements

Having testimonials from satisfied customers is a proven way to increase conversion rates. It gives your website ’social proof’ and the visitor will think that if others have experienced positive results with your product, then it possible for them to do so as well. You can also ask experts to endorse your product, further adding credibility to your business.

Ease the sales process

Your website should have one or two objectives only, whether to get the sale or/and opt-in. If you provide too many options, your visitor may get confused and live your website. Don’t add too many links or Adsense advertisements to your website. If you make it easy and tell your visitor what to do, it is likely he’ll follow your instructions. People actually like being told what to do! Albeit subconsciously.

Emphasize benefits in your sales copy

This may sound obvious, but a lot of marketers still do not adhere to do this. Benefits are more emotional-based and will pull more sales because ultimately, emotions are what make people buy!

There you have it, five tips to instantly increase your website’s conversion rate. Start using them today, and instantly see an increase in your bottomline!

Citi Platinum Select Card For College Students by Richard Gilliland

Citibank offers a wide range of credit cards to meet the financial as well as various personal requirements of its clients. Thus, there are business cards, entertainment cards, frequent flyer cards, professional cards, reward cards, so on and so forth. College students too have been equipped with credit cards to deal with their financial problems.

The Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students is one among the very best student credit cards issued by Citibank. Better known as Citi Student Credit Card, the Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students is quintessentially designed for students with a good credit history. The platinum level benefits, at the same time, pave the way towards building a sound credit history, which ultimately helps one in every sphere of life. Unique Attributes

The Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students has some quality features that are rare with other college students’ card. Have a look at the following features:

§ For the Citi Platinum Select Card, you never need to show a minimum income or even a co-signer.

§ With this card, you are entitled to receive 25% off and free shipping at Peterson’s (considered the leader in education information and career opportunities).

§ The card allows you to buy clothing, textbooks, even rent cars and buy/rent other items or services that you may need as a college student.

§ This card is also favored for its coverage, as it accepted at many locations.

§ The Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students allows you to make a single monthly payment for the most of your expenses, each month.

Key Features

The features of Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students are designed to suit the needs of college students. Go through the particulars below to get a clear idea:

§ The card offers you a commendable introductory APR of 0% for 6 months on cash advances, purchases, and balance transfers, until you default under any agreement of the card

§ The extra advantage of card is that you do not even have an annual fee

Extra Benefits

Citi Platinum Select Card for College Students comes with several innovative security measures, theft solution programs and several other benefits as mentioned below:

§ You can place your photo on your credit card in order to minimize the chances of in-store theft using your card. With Citibank’s strict adherence to the privacy policy, your personal information is always secure.

§ You are covered under a zero liability program so that you are not held responsible for any purchases you do not make.

§ There are other services like lost luggage assistance, emergency transportation coverage, etc.

§ Your also receive the assistance of medical and legal referrals while traveling in the US or abroad.

§ A $1 million automatic travel accident insurance protects you and your family members (all dependent members).

§ You will be able to ask for replacement card or additional cards. You are free to talk to a customer service representative any time to receive cash advances.

§ The access to online facilities lets you view past statements, pay your bill, check unbilled activity, receive email updates when your bill is due.

§ Any purchases you make with your credit card remain protected for up to thirty days.

Online Communication Tools by Jack Doran

Thomson Financial, an operating unit of The Thomson Corporation (TSX: TOC, NYSE: TOC) and leading provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community,announced the launch of Thomson BoardLink™, a secure online communications tool designed to streamline the task of communicating with geographically disparate board members, ease the difficulty of scheduling board and committee meetings, and securely distribute proprietary corporate information. In addition, Thomson BoardLink provides a rich reference library of third-party resources, including Sarbanes-Oxley and industry best practices as well as information from Thomson Financial data sources.

In the Sarbanes-Oxley era, boards of directors and the professionals who serve them are under increasing pressure to improve the governance processes of their companies. As a result, directors are being held more accountable for the actions of their company, and corporate secretaries must increasingly prioritize board communication and work harder to improve governance processes. A recent study completed by Thomson Financial indicates that corporate officers spend an average of 30 hours per month sending information to or interacting with the board.

Thomson BoardLink, a proprietary solution built by Thomson Financial, is designed to ease the burden on corporate secretaries while meeting the communication and information needs of directors. Combining a powerful secure online collaboration tool with seamless access to business and financial information, Thomson BoardLink addresses the needs for board members and corporate secretaries to communicate quickly and efficiently, while keeping sensitive corporate data secure.

“Effective corporate governance relies fundamentally on providing directors with relevant, timely, and independent information,” said Greg Radner, senior vice president of Corporate Executive Services at Thomson Financial. “Thomson BoardLink gives corporate board members and officers the ability to better leverage electronic means for sharing secure information in order to manage their communications more effectively.”

Using the BoardLink workflow tools, corporate secretaries can easily distribute relevant company information, real-time business information, and reference materials in a highly secure environment. BoardLink’s valuable third-party information and best practices resources also help directors stay more informed and save them time and effort in board and committee work.

Thomson BoardLink features a number of unique capabilities designed specifically for corporate boards of directors and corporate secretaries.

For Corporate Secretaries, the service includes:

• State-of-the-art security to protect critical board information, featuring two-factor login authentication via an RSA SecurID token from RSA Security.
• Secure document storage on an encrypted database server with document retention and storage rules.
• Board Book Builder tool for compiling and distributing board books and other important board documents.
• Workflow tools to assist in scheduling and conducting meetings, creating meeting agendas and invitations, and communicating with remote members of the board.
• E-mail alert capability that notifies users when new information has been posted to the system for their review.

For Board Members, the service includes:

• Ability to access board information online anytime, anywhere using a username/password and rotating security key code powered by RSA Security. Directors belonging to other boards using BoardLink can toggle easily between different board sites without having to log off and log back in.
• Simple, easy-to-read user interface so directors can quickly navigate the site and find the critical information they need.
• Access to award-winning Thomson Financial data allowing board members to review market-moving information regarding their company and peers.
• A reference library containing a fully searchable catalog of hundreds of pre-screened articles, studies, Web training sessions, and seminars to help boards stay informed about the latest regulations and best practices.

About Thomson Financial
Thomson Financial is a US$1.73 billion provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to more than 20 million business and professional customers in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate e-learning and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$8.10 billion, The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC.)

IN: NYC Card American Express Gives You Better Life In New York City by Richard Gilliland

American Express designed the IN: NYC Card specifically for those people who have creditable credit history and are either living in New York or frequently visit the City. The card will enable them reap great benefits and services.

IN: NYC Card American Express provides you with the means for a fulfilling life in New York City. The ultimate feature of the IN: NYC Card American Express, “Inside Rewards Points” presents you with every opportunity for enjoying life.

Be it tasting the delectable menus at the famous NYC food-stations or taking pleasure in the celebrity treatment at the famous NYC Art fashion shows or going on a shopping spree in the city, you will enjoy life every bit with IN: NYC card. You can avail these rewards from over 70 IN NYC partners.

Inside Rewards Points

Every time you spend a dollar using the IN:NYC Card American Express, you get one Inside Rewards Point. Again, you will receive an additional bonus of 2 Inside reward points for every dollar spent on Newspaper & Magazine subscriptions, Movies, Dining, Cell Phone, Cable, and Dial-up ISP subscriptions, and Gym Memberships etc. Your rewards start from as low as 2000 points.

You need not worry about date of expiration or about the number of points you can earn. Moreover, you are allowed to share the points with your friends or family by transferring points to another IN NYC account.

The choice is all yours with IN: NYC card from American Express. You can also cash in your Inside rewards points on restaurants or Broadway show tickets, fitness memberships or retail shopping establishments. Since your points are redeemable in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, you can use them on vacationing in Chicago or LA as much in NYC.

Special Features

One of the most impressive features about the program is the Tuesdays IN: NYC program. What you need to do is use your card at selected participating merchants like Oasis Day Spa, Nickel, Zabar’s, Jean Paul Gautier and J&R Music Computer World on Tuesdays. You will get 10% off on whatever you purchase. With IN NYC Card American Express, you will also be eligible for membership discounts and priority access to select venues.

In contrast to the traditional American Express cards, the IN: NYC card American Express does not obligate full balance payment each month. This option can be feasibly exercised to hold a balance from one month to the next when considered necessary. This program allows you to make larger purchases and helps you earn greater cash back rewards.

Essential Features Of IN: NYC Card Program

§ There is no annual fee. § The introductory rate on purchases as well as balance transfers for the first six months is 0%. § The regular APR is 12.24%, which is good for a reward card.

Standard Benefits

The additional benefits of IN: NYC Card (is comparable to other cards by American Express) and include auto rental insurance, travel accident insurance, purchase protection, various travel and emergency assistance services.

The IN: NYC Card American Express will be ideal for you and work in your favor only if you can manage to pay in full each month after the introductory rate expires without defaulting (for evading finance charges). This is the surest way to accrue great rewards and enjoy life in New York (or maybe in LA or Chicago) with family and friends.

Articles Directories & Portals – Writing & Sharing Made Easy!! by Jay

“Writing”!! Who doesn’t own this hobby? Hardly! We write in different ways with multiple reasons & objectives. Business writing, resume writing, essay writing, technical writing, letter writing, creative writing, freelance writing, paid writing, travel writing, writing a research paper, articles writing, story writing etc. We have a passion of writing and always look for its place to get printed.

When writing is hobby; it also brings name & fame with your words. Your expertise, thoughts, experiences, suggestions or analysis by writing reach to readers eyes. And we always love to be appreciated by them. But which are the ways to reach them? Everyone of cannot afford personal website. Even if we own website; is it so easy and possible to make so favorite that it gets placed in top in search queries by readers? Answer is “No”.

Then what options do we have? Look for articles directory services that will help us to print out thoughts, analysis, research and articles. Great!! We got one very good point – Articles Directory or Articles Portals.

The articles directory and portals enables writer to post their write up as well as great source of good articles. Articles would be categorized under multiple sections and categories as per reading habit. These include mainly art, business, computers, internet, health, astrology, movies, fashion, society, nature, sports, legal, science, finance etc.

Now question arises is – who are such service providers and which are such directories? If I search; I found multiples. But which one should I pick up? Is there any list of such articles directories that can help me guide and suggest the one or more? Well, I found a good article on Brain Bubbles - Best Articles Directories that lists out nearly top 100+ articles & news directory & portals services, their analysis, URL / Websites to reach, features & ranking based on popularity and traffic.

Let me quickly list out some of such good articles directory & portals. Go Articles, EzineArticles, Uncover the net, article dashboard, ezilon, Buzzle.com, searchwrap, articles base, article city, articles factory, article 99 etc.

How would that help you?

* First of all you can add your articles to such directory. That means you get place to submit your valuable articles. * Further you can gain knowledge of similar topics by other articles printed by authors like you in these directories. So you share and add knowledge values.

* These articles directories have subscribed readers whom they send articles by interest. They will read your articles and thus a golden chance of name and fame. * Such directories also provide facilities like RSS by which readers can get to know about your articles and thus those who are not subscribed also notice your article from such RSS reading. * These directories are highly crawled by search engines which will help your article to get top position in search results. So more readers again!! * Few of such directories also pay you for your articles.

So all the best and start writing and publishing articles in these directories!!

Real Estate Opportunities in Panama by Smythe Bradley

Panama is fast becoming the prime target for international real estate investment. The natural beauty of the serene beaches and towering mountains provide the ideal background for great architectural ambitions. Construction projects of massive dimensions are already in progress, and according to experts, there will be a tremendous boom in panama real estate within the next few years.

The reason why Panama is attracting so many real estate investors is because of the vision of one man. Donald Trump discovered the potential for real estate in Panama about three years ago when he visited the country to witness the Miss Universe pageant held there. He was at once captivated by the beautiful surroundings and purposed himself to develop the land into a major tourist destination with the most up-to-date facilities. A 65-story hotel cum condominium complex is being planned for construction in a trendy neighborhood in Panama City. When this complex is completed in the year 2009, it will also include a world-class casino and marina.

The far-sightedness of Donald Trump also convinced other real estate investors that Panama is indeed a place of true potential. As a result, many new developments are taking place, including a 100 plus-story Ice Tower which will stand as South America?s tallest building and the ninth tallest in the world by the date of its completion. In the next few years, when all the major projects are completed, Panama City will be a world-class city of breathtaking architecture and most advanced facilities. It will surely be a far cry from its humble days as a remote town of little renown.

In fact, Panama is a place with all the right conditions for economical development. The low crime rate and political stability make the country a safe place for vacationing or living. There is also no threat from natural disasters which is quite uncommon for a South American country. However, the major attraction of Panama is truly the low cost of living. Everything from food to housing to medical services is very inexpensive. The prices of products are low because Panama is a free trade zone and the center of distribution in South America.

Panama is destined to be a major tourist or retirement destination for Americans. Its proximity to the United States makes it a most convenient location for travel, with frequent airlines to the major cities. Panama City is also the point of transition for airlines traveling to and from countries in South America. The locals there are also able to speak English considerably well. At present, much is being done in the United States to promote Panama as an ideal travel location for the Americans and retirees are also encouraged to make it their second home.

Ever since it became evident that Panama will be a real estate interest of great potential, investors and brokers are rushing to get their share of the big pie. Investing in real estate in Panama is no longer considered a risk worth taking; it is only the smart thing to do.