Pay for Article

I was driving to brunch this afternoon, stuck in a little traffic, when the words popped into mind: “I’m ready for miracles!”

Of course, I don’t experience this sort of thunderbolt on a daily basis.

When I do, I recognize it as something unusual, and I pay special attention.

Anyway, I am up for some inspired things to come into my life, and happily, this means I’ve had it up to here with the mundane.

I don’t think miracles just happen, and by miracles I mean significant events, moments, insights, appreciations, people, and opportunities.

Like special guests at a holiday meal, miracles need to be wanted, you have to open the door to them, listening for their sometimes very faint knocking.

Let me tell you about the first time in which I had this, something special is going to happen, feeling.

It was when I tried out for Little League. I had practiced a lot before the big day with a school chum a year older than me, and an amazing ballplayer in his own right.

When I was called to the outfield I took some deep breaths and felt that miraculous feeling. The coach hit a rocket high into the air and impossibly far behind me. And the second it left his bat, he yelled, “Forget it!”

By that time, it was too late. I was tracking it like a Patriot missile, and at just the right second I leaped in the air over my right shoulder and snared it in my glove, tumbled, and held on as I rolled to my feet.

Cheers rose from the crowd!

Truly, it was a miraculous catch; everyone said so, and I knew it, too.

So, I’m ready for more of those moments.

Where’s my glove?

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of www.Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone®, You Can Sell Anything By Telephone! and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations in the United States and abroad. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com

Many people doing marketing online have tried out promotional articles based on vague tips that they have read somewhere and have ended up disappointed.

I know for sure because I have come across quite a number who will swear that articles marketing does not work, whatever tips from whichever expert or guru one would care to consider or use. This is really sad because as they stubbornly hold on to this belief and refuse to look at any more tips, there are others online making a tidy sum using articles as their only marketing tool. That includes the writer of this article.

There is still yet another piece of evidence to prove that articles marketing are so big that most people have only seen a tip of the iceberg. And that is the fact that you have found this article and are hungrily reading the contents.

So what marketing article tips make the difference? They’re actually just two main ones. These are the two things that are most responsible for failure. Firstly writing articles that are not keyword rich and secondly not distributing enough articles to make an impact. There are various techniques that can be used to generate dozens of quality articles quickly, which I will deal with in another article.

The most important tip for now is that articles marketing not only works but is extremely effective.

Get more information now to help you grow your traffic overnight using articles. See my articles marketing blog or get my high value email newsletter on the same subject, send a blank Email Now to get it Free. This is a limited time offer.

If you own, or work for a credit repair business and you are looking to add some clients to your book of business, buying credit repair leads may not be a bad place to start.

Credit repair leads may not be a bad choice because these potential customers have committed to having their credit repaired by a professional such as yourself.

People looking for credit repair are not just surfing the web looking for information, they are serious about it and are waiting on a phone call.

Where can you find credit repair leads?

Credit repair lead companies are out there and are very easy to find by using just about any search engine available over the internet.

Look for credit repair companies that obtain their own leads through sites they own and operate them selves. This way you can be sure that the lead is of good quality.

Steer clear of companies that buy their leads from third party vendors and than sell them to credit repair companies at a profit.

This type of credit repair lead is better known as a recycled lead, or better put, plain old junk.

So, when buying credit repair leads, research the companies you are considering doing business with very carefully.

You work hard for your money, so make sure you get what you pay for.

Jay Conners is the owner of two mortgage related lead sites where he obtains leads from people looking for credit repair. Please visit his sites at http://www.callprospect.com/credit_repair_leads.html And http://www.callprospect.com

We all live by faith. The question is, in what?

In most conversations about faith, we generally mean that “everything will work out for the good.” In a religious setting, it usually means to have faith “in God” or perhaps faith “in the teachings” of the religion. With a marriage partner, it generally means to have faith “in the partner’s fidelity.”

As we give our attention to the various aspects of our life, we have the opportunity to consider in what we put our faith. Here are some aspects of life you might view and consider the following questions.

Health. Do you put your faith in your body’s well-being or do you put your faith in drugs or other remedies? Do you have more faith in the body’s wisdom or a physician’s wisdom?

Economy. Do you put your faith in a higher power to meet your needs or do you put your faith in money? Do you put your faith in financial freedom or do you put your faith in scarcity?

Relationships. Do you put your faith in honesty or do you put your faith in secrecy? Do you put your faith in your own perceptions or do you put your faith in others’ perceptions?

Career. Do you put your faith in your own competence or do you put your faith in the opinions of others about your competence? Do you put your faith in today or yesterday or tomorrow?

Yourself. Do you put your faith in what you know about yourself or do you put your faith in what others say about you? Do you put your faith in the inner or the outer?

When people talk about someone “losing faith,” I do not see it as lost, not even misplaced. I see it as having faith in despair or depression or loneliness or scarcity, rather than faith in hope or joy or life itself.

I do not doubt that people have faith. I feel it is a part of the human condition. My question is, faith in what?!

Copyright © 2006 Marshall House Jeanie Marshall, Empowerment Consultant and Coach with Marshall House, produces Guided Meditations on CD albums and MP3 downloads and writes extensively on subjects related to personal development and empowerment.
Voice of Jeanie Marshall, http://www.jmvoice.com

While free ‘junk’ advertising has always been around, most internet marketers and webmasters have evolved and matured to focus on methods which are ethical, proven and effective both in the present and long-term. As new ideas and strategies come to the surface, others slowly die off and the cycle of life online starts all over again.

There are some methods that have remained constant though, and while people rush to jump on the latest craze, it’s easy to overlook some of the simplest ways of generating traffic that have proven themselves for years.

Such is the case with submitting to software directories. Most people wouldn’t see this as an obvious source of targeted traffic. After all, they’re for notepad clones and anti-virus programs right? Wrong. Many will accept other kinds of files and you don’t even have to know how to write a line code.

What does this mean to you?

- Interest in your website and products

- Reliable links to your website

- Reaching a greater audience

- More exposure for affiliate programs and Adsense

- Almost immediate, long-term traffic which brings wide distribution

- Often very high page ranks for pages you submit

- People will create more links for you as they recommend your site in forums, on blogs, etc.

- More pages on your website for the products you submit means more pages being indexed by search engines

- Existing visitors will come back more often and your chances of getting bookmarked by new users are increased

- Depending on the type of content you submitted, you may have CD publishers wanting to include your products on their CDs

- Submitting to most software directories is free!

This is the same strategy I used to get listed in literally 1000’s of software and freeware directories over a period of just 1 year with another site I own. There are actually over 12,000 links referencing the site, but to sort out the actual number of software directories would be impossible. I can estimate though that about 70% of them are software sites. The more freebies I created, the more listings and unique pages pointing to my website. Originally I had only submitted to about 50 directories, but a few things happened to cause the massive growth - these freebies caught a lot of attention, being talked about in forums, newsletters, blogs, and appearing in other directories which picked up the links and indexed them. Other sites too wanted to give copies away from their own website. If that wasn’t enough, magazine publishers included my work on their cover-mounted cds and a university used my content as part of one of their courses. As you can imagine - traffic galore!

You might be wondering about regular free stuff sites. I have found that getting listed in general free stuff directories is difficult, takes too long, most demand a reciprocal link and they don’t seem interested 90% of the time. Why? Because most of the ‘freebies’ listed on their site are connected to affiliate programs - and that’s all they care about. Yes, software directories usually promote affiliate programs too, but generally they want as much software as possible in their directory, and the layout is different too, so that visitors can find freeware much easier.

Here are some ideas for different types of products you can easily create so you can get your foot in the door to this huge traffic source:

1. Screensavers

An easy way to not only get listed in multiple software directories, but to get your products & links right on people’s desktops. Sure, the world is full of screensavers - so you either have to make a really cool screensaver, or focus on a niche.

You can find some free screensaver software at:
http://www.zeallsoft.com/

2. eBooks

This is the easiest option for most and doesn’t have to be very complex. A simple eBook of resources is good, such as one I published years ago called ‘The Webmaster Freeware Guide’. With ebooks, you want to make sure you include plenty of links within them back to your website.

A good free ebook creation program can be found here:
http://www.spadixbd.com/wsz/

3. Fonts, Icons, Photos, Graphics & Templates

Success with these kinds of digital freebies depend on your knowledge and skills. The idea is to create a collection of 50, 100 or even 500 files and then zip them up into a bundle. I won’t go into details about creating these products because there would far too much information to cover and there are so many different kinds of products to be covered.

One very popular free graphics editor is TheGimp:
http://www.gimp.org/

If you’re looking for an incredible free webpage editor, I recommend Nvu:
http://www.nvu.com/

4. ‘Faux’ Software

Faux software isn’t really software in terms of writing code. Basically, you are using simple scripts within ebook software to give the illusion of software. While not every ebook creation software supports this, you can easily add javascript to html documents (which will be part of the ebook) or host php scripts on your website (where the ebook auto-redirects to the page on your website within the ebook software provided the ebook creation software supports it) There are plenty of free scripts on the web which you can use, so don’t worry about having to create them yourself.

My favorite script haunt is Hotscripts:
http://www.hotscripts.com/

5. Sticky Content

Sticky content is content which you outsource to other websites such as news feeds, a script, images, and other content. Compared to a simple link or banner, It is a great way to get visibility on other people’s websites because they usually put the content in higher traffic areas, claims more page space, and is considered a feature rather than an ad for something. Creating a bundle of 10 sticky content units and bundle them into a collection.

To get started with sticky content, here’s a great freeware tool:
http://ygetup.com/scw/

An additional benefit to creating all these digital freebies and submitting them to software directories is the ability to have traffic go in two distinct directions on your website. Most listings allow you to a link to your homepage as well as the download page. My download page listed all the items I was giving away with quick download links, but also included affiliate links and Adsense ads.

How To Get Started:

The first step is to sit down with good old fashioned pen & paper and do some brainstorming. You want to think about the content and theme of your website and then consider products which compliment it.

Example A: If you run a health theme site, you could create some relaxing screensavers ‘that have been shown to help people ease their stress throughout the day’… ok, so maybe that’s a little bit of marketing bull - but a little hype never hurts!

Example B: If you run a template site, you can bundle up a collection of free templates that each contain a link back to your website. As a rule, people using the templates must include the link back.

Example C: If you are an affiliate marketer for software such as anti-virus programs, you could create an ebook like ‘50 anti-virus tips’ or ‘How to protect your computer from viruses’. Obviously, you’ll want to include affiliate links.

The possibilities are endless and you’ll be surprised at the exposure you get compared to other kinds of directories. The more digital freebies you create, the more exposure, listings, search engine traffic boosts and page views you’ll get.

Tips For Getting More From This System:

- Encourage visitors to give away copies from their own website

- Include a ‘readme’ file in html which introduces your website, affiliate links, etc.

- Create a master download page and perhaps individual download pages for each product which include affiliate and Adsense ads.

- Don’t submit your products to these directories as if they were ads - because they’re not! Use keyword-rich titles and informative descriptions because often these directories make the filename for the page the same as the title you enter. This gives you a huge advantage in the search engines.

- If you want to update the content of the ebook on a regular basis, you can create a link within the ebook which will auto-redirect to page on your server. The page will be displayed within the ebook - so nobody is the wiser. The only problem here is if the ebook creation software you’re using doesn’t support it. You’ll only know this through trial and error.

Now the question is … where are these software directories? Oh, please don’t ask me that because I certainly couldn’t list them all. Your best approach is to Google it. Use keyphrases like ‘free software’, ‘free software directory’, ‘free software search’, ‘freeware’, ‘freeware search’, ‘freeware directory’, etc. You get the idea, right?

Before you do submit your products, check around first to see if there is a matching category and read their policies (if any) on submitting programs and files. There has been an ever-increasing demand from software publishers to submit .xml data on their products, so look for that too.

Good luck!

Carole Nickerson has been a web developer and internet marketer since 1998. Visit http://www.thenetter.com for more free articles, tips and software.

Nursing home neglect and abuse is frequently in the news these days. Although most nursing home facilities try hard to provide a good experience for their residents, the quality of care differs greatly between nursing homes.

When the time comes to choose a nursing home for a member of your family, it is wise to perform extensive research about local nursing home facilities to be sure your loved one receives the best care and respect available. This effort will take considerable time and effort on your part but your extensive planning is the least you can do for your loved one.

Obviously, you will want to visit the nursing homes, talk with the administrators and thoroughly do a visual inspection of the facility. Do not be easily impressed by fancy furniture and smooth talking nursing home administrators. Their job is to fill the rooms. Your job is to protect your loved one.

Try to visit with a resident of each nursing home you consider. Does the resident seem happy and positive? Do they wear a smile or a frown? Talk with the residents who are wheelchair bound. Are they well groomed? Are most of the people in the halls able to communicate with you? If their demeanor is slow and foggy you might wonder if they are over-medicated.

Ask many questions of the people in charge. Find out exactly what is offered by the nursing home facility. Is the nursing home staff experienced? What is the longevity of the staff? Are the residents encouraged to leave their rooms and get regular exercise? Who makes decisions if a resident’s health declines? What hospital would be used for an emergency?

Visit the nursing homes at different times of the day. Observe what the residents are served at meals. Does the staff treat all residents with respect?

Is the nursing home clean? Remember that a beautiful lawn and a sharp looking building does not necessarily reflect the quality of indoor housekeeping.

Ask your family doctor to recommend a nursing home or to refer you to someone he or she knows who has experience with a nursing home.

Do you have friends who have a parent already in a nursing home? This simple idea could be your best bet.

Use the internet. Do a search for “nursing home ratings” and you will turn up a wealth of good information. For example, ElderWeb.com, http://www.elderweb.com , has done extensive research to help the elderly.

Check with your local hospital discharge representatives. Their jobs often involve contact with nursing homes. Be sure to obtain the inspection reports from your state agency.

After you choose a nursing home for your loved one you will enjoy a feeling of great satisfaction that you did your best to help your loved one.

Greg Cryns is the founder of Wahm Search Engine, http://www.wahmsearchengine.com Nursing Programs Online, http://www.nursingprogramsonline.com/ - a website for nursing students also providing information about nursing homes.

People who are already working in the finance industry or people who are looking to get in, will consider the Series 66 exam very closely. The benefit is that it is a combined license. Passing the Series 66 is the equivalent of passing the Series 65 and 63. The Series 63 is a state law exam. The 65 is the RIA exam.

The 66 exam is more of a rules test than the Series 65. It is comprised of 100 multiple choice questions. A grade of 71% is considered passing. If the examination is failed, you must wait 30 days before you can sit for the Series 66 again.

The topics covered include:

Registration and Licensing for Agents

Securities Registration

Business Practices

Securities Evaluation

Rules and Regulations

The NASD authorized this exam some years ago so that Series 7 representatives could become investment advisors without having to sit for the Series 65. The 65 is a larger exam and it covers a wider array of securities concepts. Since someone who already has the Series 7 license does not need to re-learn much of the basic covered in the 65, the NASD allows those people to take the combined test.

Do I need to have a Series 7 before I take the Series 66?

No. You can take the Series 66 first. However, the license can not be registered and effective without a Series 7. Most will take the Series 7 first, because of that fact, but it is not a requirement to sit for one before the other.

Do I need to be sponsored by a broker dealer to take the Series 66?

No. The exam can be self registered by filling out the U-10 form. The U-10 is a simple 3-4 page form that allows a person to register for the exam as an independent to the NASD. Once passed, the license must be placed at a brokerage firm or other regulatory authority within 2 years, or the license will expire.

I am looking to break into the investment and finance industry, does this license help?

Absolutely. It is a major plus to your resume to add any SEC/NASD license certifications. Putting on your resume ‘Registered Investment Advisor’ adds a lot to an inexperienced persons written credentials. Passing the Series 65 exam will license you as an RIA as well.

Do I have to take the Series 65 if I pass the Series 66?

No. You can take either test to become an RIA (Registered Investment Advisor).

All in all, the Series 66 test is not a hard exam. It is usually passed by using a home study course that includes text books and a CD Rom test program. Since the exam is mostly rules based questions, most students find that reading the books once and then practicing the sample test questions is the best way to prepare. You want to be at a point where the practice final exams are in the 80% scoring range. This allows you some margin for error when you sit for the real exam.

Adding certifications and licenses like the Series 66 can give a boost to your resume above other candidates looking to fill the same job as you. It’s also great education for CPA’s, financial website publishers or any other professional dealing with customers in a finance related area.

Visit American Investment Training to learn more.

Get the edge. Good luck!

Nick Hunter is the President of American Investment Training (AIT). Their website http://www.aitraining.com offers the industry standard in home study courses, including the Series 66 exam.

XCOR has just completed tests on a Methane fired pulse engine. This is incredible considering the possibilities and abundance of fuel. Methane can be a bio-fuel as well and if this pans out it has all sorts of space applications. This is truly a phenomenal break thru. But how does all this really work you ask?

Well the XCOR methane engine (3M9 LOX) fires in short rapid fire burst. They use self-pressurizing propellants. Methane is available on many planets and is easily stored for long periods of time, which makes it an ideal fuel for space travel, space tourism and kicking off the commercialization of space. Additionally it has private aviation applications as well.

And let’s not count out the Military, as the United States Air Force Research Lab is under writing some of these tests. They too have many potential uses for this; everything from running UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) off of bio-waste to launching rockets, missiles and staging defense systems with long-tern storage. Of course right now they are looking at it solely for space applications.

Everyone is pretty excited about this including NASA. Why even the cows are cool with it and the environmentalists are ecstatic over the future possibilities; very impressive indeed. Can you say Mars fueling station for space exploration? I can. Think on this in 2006.

‘Lance Winslow’ - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/. Lance is a guest writer for Our Spokane Magazine in Spokane, Washington

Don’t ask. The answer is a resounding ‘Yes’! You should tip. When you go on a chartered and chaperoned dive through a commercial diving shop, it is customary to tip both the Captain and the DiveMaster. Gratuities are voluntary, incumbent on your generosity. Even so, it is appropriate to offer a tip for your scuba crew.

If you are going out for one day, it is important to bring some cash on the boat for tipping. If you are diving with the same DiveMaster and Captain for an entire week, it is acceptable to offer a tip at the end of the week.

If you are arranging a variety of dives through a dive shop, you may not have the same Captain or DiveMaster on each dive, so daily tipping is a better idea unless you are certain that your crew will be consistent for the entire duration of your stay.

One perspective is to compare the roles of Captain and DiveMaster to other industries where tipping is expected. Your Captain is analogous to a taxi driver, transporting you safely to and from your scuba destination.

An acceptable tip for a taxi driver is 10% to 15% of the fare; a similar rate for the Captain is appropriate. On a single-tank dive for $65, your tip to the Captain should be between $6 and $9 USD.

Your DiveMaster should be more generously tipped with 15% - or more, if the service was exceptional. On a $65 single-tank dive, tip your DiveMaster between $8 and $12 USD.

Do not skimp your tip due to variations in the local currency. If you are traveling in an area with an embarrassingly favorable exchange rate, do not lower your tip just because the local economy is cheap. To a boat Captain in Florida, $15USD is an acceptable token of gratitude for a nice trip.

To a Captain in rural Honduras, $15USD is a generous gift. Give your generous gifts where they are most needed – to DiveMasters offering good service in economically challenged regions. Keep in mind that some crews derive much, and sometimes nearly all, of their income from gratuities. Stay cool, and keep on diving!

Ian Scott is an experienced diver who has recently discovered the joys of cold water diving. He is also a contributing writer for thescubaguide.com – an excellent website with extensive information about awesome diving destinations, the physics of diving, quality diving gear and more.

Reasons for Conducting a Telephone Survey:

Your sample needs to be representative of the population as a whole.

Your target group is not Internet oriented and/or may not have an E-Mail address or web connection, as in a small business, etc.,

You do not have Opt-In E-Mail addresses, but you do have telephone numbers.

You need to screen for a specific person in a company, i.e. the VP of Finance.

You have a very long or very complicated survey that may also require a live interviewer for prompting, clarification and probing.

You have many open ended questions.

You have a small sample size (10-30) that would not justify the programming costs.

You have to locate the person by telephone, screen them and have only a few questions to ask; therefore it saves time and money to simply ask the questions while you have them on the phone

Reasons for Conducting an Online or Web Based Survey:

You already have a customer list or Opt-In E-mail list, which would mean $$ would be saved in having no telephone recruiting cost.

Your target group is Internet savvy, has E-Mail addresses and is accustomed to using the Internet.

Your target group has a high interested in participating i.e. membership lists.

You have a graphic, plan or presentation that could be viewed easily on a web site thereby saving the cost and time of printing and postage.

A visual presentation of the questions themselves would be easier to understand than hearing the questions (audio).

You want them to give you long detailed answers to open ended questions. Note: you would loose the aid of probing techniques.

You need certain types of information; confidential, embarrassing or information they may not have readily available to them.

You have a tracking study that will continue for a length of time allowing the online survey to just stay up and be used indefinitely, thereby saving new setup and programming costs.

Pluses & Minuses of Internet Research:

Eight Pluses:

1-Respondents can complete the survey at their leisure.
2-Respondents often have a higher interest in participating, once they agree.
3-Speed — 90% of results arrive within the first 2 days ? 30% -50% in the first few hours!
4-Geographical issues: respondents can be local or world wide.
5-Costs can be lower but not always.
6-Can be easier to find certain hard to find respondents.
7-Relative anonymity of the Internet and Internet customs may produce more detailed, thoughtful, honest answers which they might be reluctant to tell an interviewer in person.
8-Many more persons are online today.

Eight Minuses:

1-Relative anonymity can produce more readily expresses negative answers!
2-Requires careful screening to verify respondents are who they say they are.
3-Sample is not project able and therefore is more qualitative than quantitative in nature.
4-Length of respondent’s attention for focus groups (45 minutes) is more limited than during an in person group as respondents can just wander away from their computers!
5-Size of online focus groups needs to be somewhat smaller (6-8) in order to handle the group and allow all to participate.
6-Typos and spelling errors are an undeniable part of communicating on the Internet!
7-Although greatly improved, use of the Internet can sometimes be challenging in that lines can unexpectedly go down and there is nothing you can do about it but wait or re-schedule.
8-If respondents are not Internet savvy they will need to be educated and coached through the process, this can be a challenge!

About Return rates for Email Studies and Web-based Surveys

The following information all assumes that respondents have either agreed to participate through a telephone recruit or are members of a group, company or association, or are a customer of such group, company or association.

The return rate for a blanket outreach of email is not much different than a mail survey where return rate can be 10%.

Return rates for email invitations to go to a web based survey, are generally less than 10% depending on the specifics of the study.

The following all affect return rates:

1)How interested in general are they in the topic?
2)Is an incentive offered and how much?
3)Length of survey.
4)Fits into your schedule. In general the setup takes the most time but the speed of the return rate is fast. 90% in first 48 hours, almost all within a week.

Pointers for Conducting a Web Based survey:

Based on my 18 years as a Field Director and my many years of developing online surveys and projects, these are the things clients should know. With all this said and done, Internet Research is an exciting new opportunity to gather data in ways the Marketing Research Industry could have never anticipated and has many as yet unexplored avenues.

Do not assume because it is going on a computer that anything can be done. Use the KISS philosophy. Simple gets better results and costs less.

Web programming takes time, anywhere from a few days to a week to program and test. Plan this into your schedule. In general the setup takes the most time but the speed of the return rate is fast. 90% in first 48 hours, almost all within a week.

Make sure your questionnaire is final before giving to the programmer; changes take time and money and can delay the start date.

You may think your draft questionnaire is shorter than it really is. It is hard for a customer to estimate the length of a survey based on a Word document that, yes indeed, may occupy one page in length. Each question that may be within a question has to be separated out and asked individually. Don’t be surprised when your 2 page word doc turns into 50 questions! Best to ask ONLY actionable ‘necessary’ questions and not ‘nice to know’ type of questions.

There is no ‘magic number’ of questions to ask in a web survey, like 6 questions or 15 questions = 10 minutes for length of time for respondents to complete the survey. Keep questions as brief and simple and actionable as possible. Then submit your draft questionnaire to your supplier for an evaluation of length of time.

Open ended questions, like: What do you think of our recent changes? Are more expensive to tab and code, as opposed to a list closed ended answers, like: Which of the following best describes your opinion on our recent changes? Check one: ( ) Very satisfied, ( ) Somewhat satisfied, etc. To keep costs down keep open ended questions to a minimum unless they are really what you need and are willing to pay the coding costs.

You can show graphics and collateral’s easily in a web-based survey, but it will need some preparation. Remember though, it is being viewed on a computer screen and therefore does not have the quality of a printed document and has to meet size/download speed requirements. In my experience, graphics always need some work before they can be shown on a website. A Power Point document cannot be considered to be of good enough quality to go directly to a web graphic! Nor is one that is printer ready and has a huge file size. Know that your supplier will have to tweak the graphic.

About ‘templates’: You may have been given what someone told you was a ‘template’ and you may have been given the impression this would then make the survey easier and less costly. A ‘template’ is a ’survey’ that someone else has done with their software and their system requirements. For them it is a template. For your supplier it is someone else’s programming that we will need to re-program - in the worst case - or re-use pieces of in the best case.

Cost factor: You may have heard that web surveys are very cheap or cost less. This can be true, but that depends entirely on who your respondent is, how easily he can be recruited, the length of the survey, complexity of survey and the return rate factors listed. Do not just assume a web base survey will be automatically cheaper.

-Bon Voyage-

Sally is a Principle of the Crusader-Services. Crusader Services specializes in online marketing research and the development of Internet projects for business to business clients.

Sally Hooper has many (over 18) years experience in the Marketing Research Field, most of those as Field Director and Director of Online Research, where she managed literally hundreds of Corporate business to business studies of every kind. She has worked at every level of the field starting as a telephone interviewer.

She was a pioneer of online marketing research. She began “championing the cause” in 1995, quickly putting her company online. Previously, Sally and her husband, Jack Farmer, had been running a *BBS (Bulletin Board Service). She was the *Co-SysOp of the then 5 line BBS, The Crusader BBS. The Crusader BBS, was a well known BBS for the online community.

Sally is also a trained artist (painter) who is an enthusiastic hands-on coder and web designer.