The Role of Advertising Agencies in the New Media Marketplace

Advertising agencies have seen themselves transformed since the early 1990s. Only a few decades ago, there were a very small number of media buying agencies that controlled the consumer advertising field. However, there were also far fewer different advertising opportunities back then, before the World Wide Web reached into nearly every home and satellite television became available to consumers. This explosive growth in the number of advertising media has leveled the playing field to a large extent and now many advertising agencies have taken on the role of media buying and media placement agencies in addition to their traditional functions.

The enormous numbers of new advertising media made available since the inception of internet advertising in the mid-1990s have forced agencies to adapt to a changing environment. They now specialize in online media buying and help publishers and advertisers to arrive at terms which work well for both parties.Any firm which hopes to make it as a media buying agency in this new media environment has to adopt a results-driven strategy. The clientele of media buying and advertising agencies are increasingly savvy about online advertising and demand detailed monitoring and tracking results. Advertising agencies who work in new media buying now make a point of tracking direct consumer response in terms of sales, brand awareness and product profile in the minds of the targeted consumers.

If your business is looking for an agency to handle your media planning, placement and buying, you'll want to evaluate the following as you weigh the merits of different agencies.

o    Does this agency have a good reputation for offering effective online advertising solutions?

o    Do they have a proven track record of success in the media advertising markets your company wants to use to reach your target markets?

o    Has this advertising agency worked with other clients trying to reach a similar consumer demographic?

o    Is their graphic design and creative work up to your standards?

o    Is this agency known as a shrewd negotiator?

Obviously, there are a lot of other pertinent questions you'll want to ask as well - these are just a few of the most important things to look for if you're considering partnering with an agency or a media buying agency to help you get your message across.

If your business wants a fuller spectrum of services, such as graphic design, branding, copywriting and public relations in addition to online advertising and media buying, seek out myadbase.com/cgi-bin/agencies.cgi advertising agencies which offers everything you need. It's a lot simpler (and usually much more cost effective) to have a single firm take care of all of these jobs than to work with a dozen different ones. The right advertising agency can offer your business solutions which drive sales, increase consumer awareness, strengthen your brand and more; all in a way which gives you a great return on investment. Choose wisely; a partnership with a talented agency which can handle everything from public relations to media buying is worth its weight in gold.

Andrew Long is an advertising sales consultant and expert in the field of generating revenues from websites and other media. He offers media companies a bespoke solution to selling advertising and making money from their websites and other media.

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What Is A Credit Score?

It seems like a mystery, a whimsical concoction of numbers that are cooked up to label a person, but what is a credit score any way? And, why would it matter?

What is a credit score is a question that many people will find is very important to them the second they make an attempt to obtain a loan or a credit card. Unless a good understanding of what is a credit score is present, it's very likely that mistakes will be made in obtaining and handling credit. This can result in a lower score, which is never good.

To answer the question of what is a credit score, let's take a look at the typical ratings. Every person who applies for credit is assigned a number that explains their likelihood of paying back a loan. What is a credit score cannot be fully answered without understanding a FICO number. This stands for Fair Isaac Company, which is an organization that researches the probability of loan repayment. The resulting number assigned to individuals is a credit score.

Those who need to know the answer to the question of what is a credit score must realize that these numbers are set based on a variety of factors. How much credit a person has, how much money has been committed, how well loans have been back in the past and how long credit has been held will all come into play. A complex formula comes into play to help the credit reporting agencies assign a FICO and determine what is a credit score that's accurate for an individual.

What is a credit score that's accurate for a person will be reported based on a scale of about 300 to 800. The higher the resulting score, the more likely a person is to be able to pay back their debts while having the willingness to do so. The lower the score, the less likely a person is to be able to obtain a loan, or they will find themselves paying higher interest rates.

Anyone who applies for a loan will find the agencies involved will ask themselves what is a credit score that's accurate for the person in question. Inasmuch, if you are interested in getting a loan with a decent rate, it behooves you to ask yourself what is a credit score and how can I make mine better.

The more you understand about what is a credit score, the more likely you are to protect yours. Take care when getting credit to only extend yourself as far as you can comfortably handle and do pay bills on time. If you don't, you might find yourself wishing you never asked what is a credit score! The more responsible you are, the better your score will likely be.

Milos Pesic is an expert in the field of Credit Repair and runs a highly popular and comprehensive credit-repair.need-to-know.net Credit Repair web site. For more articles and resources on Credit Repair related topics, Refinancing, Credit Counceling and much more visit his site at:

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The Alternative Business Option For the 21st Century

Anyone thinking about starting a traditional bricks and mortar type business or buying a franchise in the current financial climate should tread very carefully. Why put yourself and your money at risk when there are cheaper and much more effective alternatives?

The purpose of starting a business in the first place is to make money, so do some simple homework. First, decide whether you want to trade locally, nationally or globally. Next decide whether you want to buy into a ready-made business like a franchise, or whether you are prepared to start from scratch.

Is there a market for your products or services? Will customers have to come to you or can your get your products or services to them?

How much of your time will you have to devote to your business? How much is it going to cost to operate your business? Will you need to hire staff or equipment?

How will you approach your marketing? Will you develop a strategy? Will you advertise offline online or both?

The bottom line is, just how much would you expect to make from your new business and at what cost to you in both your time and your money?

Let's just pause for thought here and think about what your expenses might be if you were to start up a traditional type of business.

Business premises, which could be an office or store or even a factory or warehouse. Think about the level of rent you might have to pay. Then there's insurance, lighting, heating, security, telephones, computers, office furniture and all the everyday necessities.

If you need to employ someone then you might have to pay agency fees, employer's taxes and holiday pay, maybe some employer insurance premiums and certainly employer's liability insurance. Plus you will have to do payroll and accountancy.

And all this before you have even sold anything!

Remember! Stress is one of the biggest causes of heart attacks.

One alternative is to buy a franchise. At least you'll be able to count on some tried and tested business formula. But, at what cost?

If you really want to start a business then why not try to keep everything as simple as possible. Here's an alternative option well worth considering.

First, forget about renting premises, use a spare room at home. Next, forget about buying or renting office equipment. Use your PC and your home phone or even your cell phone. You won't need any insurance policies and if you think small, you won't need any staff either.

Think... Internet business.

Why?

* Because you can work from home on your PC.

* You can work the hours that best suit you.

* You don't need to employ anyone.

* You don't need any inventory.

* You don't need to speak or meet with anyone.

* You can deliver products electronically so there will no shipping costs.

* You can automate everything so you will have more time for yourself or your family.

If you want to really get ahead, then look for a proven money-making online plan or opportunity that is already established and takes care of everything for you. Look for a business that only needs you to promote it to make money. And a business where other people can make money for you without you having to do anything extra.

Look for a business that provides you with a website, provides you with products, provides you with sales assistants, provides backup, training and support. Look for a business that already has a marketing strategy in place and already has a network of like-minded people doing all the same thing.

Don't try to re-invent the wheel. Just do what other successful people are doing. If they are making money from it then so should you.

Most importantly, in these uncertain times, look for a business that operates within a global marketplace and is recession proof. And for that, you really don't have to look too far.

Bill Knight

money-harvest.com money-harvest.com

Bill Knight is an Internet marketer and direct response copywriter. For the past 10 years he has helped many people get started in Internet marketing and offers free advice to anyone looking to start up in business online. His latest venture can be seen in detail by clicking on his website url here: money-harvest.com money-harvest.com

Make Money Online and Work From Home

These days, you will rarely find a stay-at-home mom who is just taking care of the kids, doing household chores and buying groceries. Because of the financial constraints most Americans are facing these days, only few families are enjoying the luxury of surviving on just a single salary. This is exactly the reason why more and more moms decide to work from home and make money online.

If you are one of those moms who want to help their families in making a living, but can't spend eight to nine hours a day in an office, you better start looking for legitimate work from home opportunities. Before applying for one find out first how many hours each day you can devote for your work? If you can't afford working straight for, let us say, four or more hours daily, then choose those projects that you can sporadically spread on your free time throughout the day. Among such jobs are:

1. Building, optimizing, and monetizing your own website.

If you have basic knowledge in computer programming, why don't you build your own site? All you need is a professional-looking site and quality content and you can start optimizing it. When it is already indexed by Google, you can start earning money from it by putting in affiliate links and pay-per-click campaigns that are related to the content and theme of your site. You can also gain income from Google Adsense. You can also get paid from writing reviews and posting them to your site.

2. Sharing your passions by writing web content, blogs, and articles.

This is one of the most popular work-at-home opportunities these days because a lot of companies prefer to outsource the writing of their articles and content instead of hiring a full-time employee to do this. Doing so isn't only cost-effective for online merchants, it also enables them to shop around and select the best writer for the particular topic they need.

If you are planning to work as a freelance writer, all you have to do is to make a portfolio of your writing samples and send it out to individuals or companies who are searching for a freelance writer. You can also go to different sites wherein merchants and clients advertise their vacancies or the services they need.

3. Working as an online tutor.

Are you among those work-at-home moms who are college degree holders? Then why not become an online tutor? If you don't have direct clients, you can go to the website of some tutoring agencies and sign up as a tutor. Doing so means accepting opportunities to work one-on-one with students from different parts of the world. You can be tasked to help students write an essay or answer their homework on different subjects.

4. Writing and selling ebooks.

Find people who are in great need for information. Do an extensive research and find out the real answer to their problem. Write down the steps on how they can solve or how they can find solution to their problems. Among the most profitable e-books are those that contain how-to's and step by step guides in doing something. People who are in need for such guide and information will not hesitate to shell out few bucks to pay for your ebooks.

5. Offering SEO services.

This is ideal for people with knowledge and skills in search engine optimization. As you can see, most local businesses are now struggling to have online presence. Many of them already have websites but are not getting great results from them. This is the reason why they seek for the services of SEO specialists. If you believe you are capable of improving their website- traffic and position in the search engine results page, then apply for these merchants. They will not hesitate to pay you generously for your services.

6. Selling things on eBay.

This work-at-home opportunity won't eat up much of your time. All you need to do is to look for some stuff that you can sell, take photos of these items, and put them up for sale. Once your eBay postings are up, they can attract potential buyers even when you're sleeping or doing your day-to-day chores. On your free time, just check your account and answer the questions posted by those who are interested in the stuff you are selling. What is good about this is, the buyer will should the shipping and handling of the product so you'll not be spending even a few cents. So if you are looking to work from home, make money online by selling your excess or used stuff on eBay.

Selva Sugunendran is an expert on Internet Marketing and Social Media techniques. His desire is to help those wishing to learn, set up or optimise their own online business and advice them on zarasblog.wordpress.com making money online. In order to take advantage of the opportunities in the market place, visit now: yourinstantsitecreator.com yourinstantsitecreator.com

Do You Love to Burn Candles in Your Home? Why They're Not All Created Equal

What could define a loving home environment better than the smell of a burning scented candle? Imagine walking into your home on a cold winter's evening and being greeted by the aroma of French Vanilla or Gingerbread. It paints a warm, inviting picture; doesn't it? Would you be shocked to find out that soot particles from 98% of candles sold in the United States today contain many of the same compounds as those given off when burning diesel fuel?

I was shocked to learn that these candles introduce pollutants and sometimes even carcinogens into your home. So much for ambiance! Unfortunately, most consumers are not aware of candle ingredients and most candles, unless they're labeled to the contrary, are manufactured using paraffin wax. One reason for our ignorance regarding paraffin and its dangers is that candle makers are not required to list ingredients on their candles. Even when they are listed, they are often worded so that buyers are lead to feel as though they are purchasing healthy, aromatherapy candles when, in fact, the candle is mostly petroleum wax.

Paraffin wax is made from petroleum wastes which have been bleached. It has long been popular for candle making because it's cheap, relatively easy to work withy and has a colorless translucence that is beneficial when creating different types of candles. The ugly reality is that it also produces smoke and soot and, according to the American Environmental Protection Agency, releases carcinogens such as benzene and toluene as well as other toxic substances into your home when burned. Again, these hazards are not required to be disclosed on candle warning labels.

Can you protect your family from these dangers and still burn candles in your home? Rest assured, the answer to that question is yes. There are safe solutions available to you. One of the most popular alternatives today is soy wax. Produced from soy beans, it burns cleaner than paraffin wax, emits almost no soot and is a renewable resource. The purchase of soy wax also supports the American farmer instead of the oil conglomerates. Soy candles burn cooler and longer, and produce no known carcinogens, which make them a better value for the money when compared to similar-sized paraffin candles.

The next time you purchase candles for your family home or as a gift for another household, check the labels carefully. Please make choices that will keep the indoor air quality safe for humans and their pets. What could define a loving home environment better than the smell of a healthy burning scented candle?

Joanne Chaney is a WAHM and a candle maker. She resides in Meadow Vista, California, with her husband and two school-age children. cwsoy.ws cwsoy.ws

Free List of Foreclosed Homes For Sale

When a mortgage holder is no longer able to make the monthly payments to the funding bank or the government agency the property is foreclosed. This means that the property is taken by the bank in their possession since the loan taken by the mortgage holder is defaulted. The only way the bank can recover the losses is by selling these properties. These foreclosed properties are sold at fraction of the market price values. The sale of these is done by public auction or by real estate market. Foreclosed homes make a great deal for first time buyers and anyone hoping to buy a new home or property.

How to Get Started with Foreclosed Homes

As the economic markets seem to stumble, this time is the best for people to buy foreclosed properties. Since every stratum in the society was equally affected by the economic meltdown hence the foreclosed properties don't alone include single family homes and townhouses but also an executive homes and condos. There are many websites which now offer the latest updated foreclosure listings. These websites give detailed information, photos and virtual tours and also other information regarding the foreclosed properties in an area.

Search Online Foreclosure Listings for Free!

Most websites turn away potential home buyers by charging a fee for their services. There are some other websites which offer users a 7 day free trial membership. This trial membership allows users to access all the information that is available to any paid member. This is also a great way to test the waters if the user is new to foreclosure listings. However, care must be exercised to see that the website chosen is well managed and updated on a day to day basis. Investments are important and hence prospective buyers wouldn't want to waste time looking at properties which are already sold. These websites offer great help when it comes to getting the deal of a lifetime.

Top 3 Free Foreclosure Listings Websites - Looking for Foreclosure Listings? Visit freeonlineforeclosurelistings.com FreeOnlineForeclosureListings.com, where you can find in depth reviews of the top 3 free foreclosure search websites. freeonlineforeclosurelistings.com FREE FORECLOSURE LISTINGS Check Online Listings for Free! All three of the reviewed websites offer a free 7-day trail, so head over and see what is available in your area right now.

How to Advertise Your Property Online

Selling your home on the internet can save you thousands in commission costs, and is often faster than using a real estate agent. However, one of the key issues with advertising your property online is that your advertisement is often competing with a large number of other properties in the same general area. Consequently, your advertisement needs to stand out, in order to quickly capture the interest of potential buyers. Here are our top tips.

1. Photos

Attractive photos are the single most important item in attracting people's initial attention, encouraging them to look at the property advertisement in more detail, and perhaps encouraging them to pursue a possible purchase of the property.


Ensure that all your photos make the most of your property. When taking a photo of the outside of the house, cut the grass and clear away things lying about. When taking a photo of the inside of the house, clean and tidy it first. Pick up toys and make beds before taking photos of bedrooms. If there is something ugly in the photo, remove it or take the photo from a different angle.

Redo Photos. If you have photos of your property already, carefully look at them and decide if they really reflect the best your property can be. Most houses are at their best bathed in sunshine, with a big blue sky background. Snapshots with friends or family members in the photo are often used, but are not ideal. A photo from years ago when your house was in the middle of renovation, with a hairy-chested builder standing beside a cement mixer, will do very little to sell your house.

Property Changes. If you have redecorated or renovated the house, making it bigger or more attractive, update your photos and re-upload them to the internet site where you are advertising. It is no use saying "the old photo is good enough, they can see how nice it is when they come", because if you don't have the best photos possible you will get fewer queries and consequently fewer visits they you would otherwise.

Feature Photos. One of the purposes of photos is to demonstrate any special features of your house. If you have stone walls, wooden beams, a beautiful garden or a fantastic view, a photo is a great way to capture this. The old adage "A picture is worth a thousand words" is more than true. Describing the fantastic view from your house is nothing compared to actually providing a photo of it. With landscape photos, remember to take them under weather conditions that will make the most of the view.

Limit Photos. A common mistake is to upload the maximum number of photos possible, trying to get the best value for money. Keep in mind that the purpose of the photos is to market your house, not to provide detailed information on it. If your house has 2 stunningly attractive rooms and several ordinary ones, you are far better to provide photos of the best two than to provide a photo of each.

Sequence Photos. Put your most attractive photos first. Remember that the search facilities for most property websites will produce a list of properties and only the first photo is shown for each property on the list. If this photo does not capture the interest of the visitor, they will not click on it to see the other photos and detailed property description. Consequently, the first photo is critical and deserves special attention to make it as good as possible.

Use small photos. With digital cameras becoming increasingly powerful and cheaper, people are taking increasingly high resolution photos. However, you are usually better off resetting the camera to take a low resolution photo (e.g. 100Kb) than a high resolution photo (e.g. 6000Kb). The reason is that it takes far too long for people to look at your advertisement if you have high resolution photos. A potential buyer with a slow internet connection may take half a minute to download 10 photos at 100kb per photo, but if you have used 6000Kb photos this becomes half an hour. Very few people will wait half an hour just to look at an advertisement, they simply skip to the next advertisement. So, you either need to take the photos at low resolution, or use your computer to resize the photo file size to make it smaller. When resizing a photo, it is worth remembering that the average computer screen is only about 800 pixels wide, so if your photo is much wider (e.g. 2000 pixels or more), the visitor will only be able to see part of the photo at a time and will have to scroll to see other parts.
2.  Price

Aside from photos, the next most important item is getting the price right. When selling property, the temptation is often to place a high price. However, the reality is that the price needs to reflect not what you hope to get for the property, but what you can realistically expect buyers to pay. Setting an overly high price simply means that there will be much less interest from buyers, and you risk missing many potential buyers who do not bother contacting you due to the high price.

There are a number of ways to determine a suitable price. The best is to look at what similar properties in the same area are selling for. Keep in mind that the question is not what other houses are advertised for, but what they actually sell for.
The next step is to consider the advantages and disadvantages that your property has compared to these properties. You can then adjust the price accordingly. These advantages and disadvantages need to be considered from the perspective of potential buyers rather than yourself. For example, if you do not have school-age children, the fact that there is an good school within walking distance many not be an advantage to yourself, but it could be a major advantage to potential buyers. Likewise, if you use the property only as a summer house, the fact that it lacks central heating may not be a disadvantage to you, but it may be an important issue to potential buyers.
Finally, consider recent market changes. Property prices go up and down, so if your price is based on what properties sold for a year ago, you may need to adjust accordingly. Property prices are also affected by local events. For example, if one of the discount airlines starts up a new route to a property near you, that can substantially affect prices.
3.  Description

Your property description should bring out the key points of the property, and its attractions. Include both the technical aspects (e.g. number of rooms) and the features (e.g. high ceilings, wooden beams).

Consider not only the property, but also the surroundings. Nearby shops, beaches or schools can all be important selling points. Remember that people buying on-line may have a general knowledge of your area but lack detailed information. Consequently, you will need to point out any significant local advantages.
Remember to write with the perspective buyer in mind, rather than yourself. Your advertisement needs to discuss the property and its environment from the perspective of potential buyers, not just the aspects that happen to be important to yourself and your family.
After having included all the important information, keep in mind that conciseness is generally a virtue. An advertisement should be long enough to cover the points of interest but there is no point in making it excessively long
4. Check potential fees and charges

There are a large number of websites which will allow you to advertise your property on-line. Some charge a flat fee, others charge commission, some a combination of the two. There are a range of fees which may be charged to either the buyer or the seller, depending on the website used. It is worth checking the small print before placing an advertisement to determine what fees you are liable for (in particular, any additional fees in the case that you are successful in selling your property through the website).

 

5. Check for 'Sole Agency'

Many people advertise their property both online and with estate agents. Make sure that any agreements you enter into with an estate agent (or websites that charge commission) are not 'sole agency'. Estate agents often have you sign a sole agency contract, which means that if you are liable to pay commission to the estate agent for any buyer who has contacted you during the period in which the contract was in place. This means that if you advertise on the internet and find a buyer as a result, you may still have to pay a commission to the estate agent, even through the estate agent had no involvement in finding the buyer.

Consequently, if you are going to list your property online, make sure that any contracts you have signed with estate agents (or other websites) are not sole agency. In other words, ensure that the contract calls for commission to be paid only if the buyer was first introduced by them.

If you have a sole agency contract, ask your estate agent to change it. If they are not willing to do so, you may wish to cancel the contract with them. After all, do you want to work with an estate agent who expects to be a commission when it is actually your private advertising that sells your house?

 

6. Accuracy

Ensure that you do not provide inaccurate information, either in your advertisement, or in subsequent discussions with potential buyers. Providing inaccurate information can leave you open to being sued at a later date by a buyer for misrepresenation. Here are some tips to avoid this:


Never Guess. If you are unsure, you can offer an opinion but make it clear that you are not sure and that the buyer should verify the point himself.

Use About & Approximately. If you know the approximate answer but not the exact amount (e.g. how many square meters a room is, or how much the taxes are), preceed any statements by 'about' or 'approximately'. However, only do this if you actually know the approximate amount, not if you are unsure (see above point 'never guess').

Use a Range. Specifying a range is usually better than giving an exact figure. For example, 'between 140 and 160 square meters'. Alternatively one can use 'over' (e.g. over 140 square meters in size) or 'under' (e.g. taxes are under 1000 euros per year).

FPSI offers france-property-and-information.com French Property for Sale and has written this article based on their experience with selling French property online since 2004.