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	<title>Business</title>
	<link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php</link>
	<description></description>
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	<pubDate>Sat, 25 Aug 2007 22:08:47 +0000</pubDate>
	<managingEditor>jtsmith@journalnet.com</managingEditor>
	<webMaster>jtsmith@journalnet.com</webMaster>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[How to Optimize Your Site For the Search Engines]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[We’ve been answering questions for the past week or so and one in particular stood out because it reflects what a lot of you might be going through in developing your business and building your website.  

The question was this:

How do I optimize my site for the search engines and rank for a certain keyword?

Recently, Stacey Cochran (who will be interviewing us on Time Warner’s Artist’s Craft this September 21) wrote in and said that he had just finished reading “Cyber Gold” and was ready to begin building his website, but he had a few questions first.

Now, Stacey’s site immediately became a unique case to us because he figured out his target audience and keywords BEFORE choosing a name for his site.  He knew that he wanted a site about how to get a book published and would offer tips and guidance to new authors looking into the somewhat confusing world of publishing.

He pulled up the iwebtool and went to work.  He found that “how to publish a book” would work best for his site and immediately bought the domain name http://www.howtopublishabook.org .  He has since been following our step by step optimization process and implementing each keyword into the content of his site.  

Truly, very clever.  

For the most part, people buy domain names based on their business name.  We did this with both of our businesses, http://www.shoplizards.com and http://www.wordpartnersink.com.  It’s a common, accepted, and mostly expected way of being a presence on the internet.  ]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3453</link>
      <pubDate>Sat, 25 Aug 2007 22:01:59 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3453#cmt</comments>
    </item>
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      <title><![CDATA[The Stretch IRA: An Asset Transfer Strategy]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[The Stretch IRA: An Asset Transfer Strategy

Provided by: 
Tressa Rockwood
Financial Advisor 
UBS Financial Services Inc.




	 
Although you initially established an IRA as a nest egg for your retirement years, you may also want to consider using your IRA as a tax-efficient vehicle to pass wealth on to your heirs—particularly if you have other sources of retirement income and do not need to draw funds from your traditional IRA.  You may choose to keep your traditional IRA intact until reaching age 701/2 , at which time you must begin taking required minimum distributions (RMDs).

The discussion that follows will focus on a strategy to withdraw the minimum amount required each year under IRS guidelines and to maximize the tax-deferred compounding on the assets remaining in the IRA for as long as possible.  The strategy is commonly referred to as the “stretch IRA.”

In the example, the IRA owner, John Smith, has named his wife, Mary as the sole primary beneficiary of his IRA.  John just turned 70½ and has now taken his first RMD.  John dies at age 71.

Mary, who is now 66, decides to treat the IRA as her own and names her son, Jack, as her primary beneficiary.  Since Mary has elected to treat John’s IRA as her own, she does not have to take RMDs from the IRA until she turns age 70½.   (Note that this option is only available to a spouse who is named sole primary beneficiary.)  Mary takes RMDs from age 70½ until she dies at age 77.

Jack, now age 53, maintains the account as a beneficiary IRA and names his son, Mark, as beneficiary.  Jack is required to take distributions from the IRA based on his remaining single life expectancy.  He takes distributions every year for another 23 years until his death at age 75.  His son Mark, at age 41, now takes distributions each year until the assets in the account are fully depleted.

Spanning over three generations, the IRA, which had a beginning balance of $300,000, provided over $2.1 million in  ..]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3445</link>
      <pubDate>Fri, 24 Aug 2007 11:20:28 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3445#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[ISU Continuing Education Class: How to Start an Internet Business]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[So, Tobin and I just found out that we will be teaching a class at Idaho State University’s Continuing Education this fall.  It has been in the works since we published the book, but it’s official!  We will be instructors.  

This is the listing from the Continuing Education brochure:

CYBER GOLD: HOW TO START YOUR OWN HOME BASED INTERNET BUSINESS   * ISU Credit Available!

( EXTL498P – 111050  or  EXTL498P – 111068 )

Start up your own business for less than $500!  This practical, hands-on class will provide you with a step-by-step guide for building your own online business.  You’ll gain expert advice and learn valuable secrets that will save you thousands in start-up costs.  From taking care of your business license to creation of your business identity, you’ll leave the class with a fully deployable online business ready to roll.  Textbook included with workshop fee.

Tuesdays &amp; Thursdays: October 2 – November 20 (no class 11/22) *  Session I: 4-6pm  Session II: 6-8pm  *  CE Workshop Fee: $145  *  Cost: $50/Credit  Additional Start-Up Costs Required  *  ISU Continuing Education Room 238  *  Instructors: Pam Mosbrucker &amp; Tobin Alder

If you’d like to take this class, you can find more information on ISU’s Continuing Education website, http://classes.isu.edu/fall/x98P.shtml

The textbook will be “Cyber Gold: A Guidebook on How to Start Your Own Home Based Internet Business, Build an E-Commerce Website, and Strategies for Making Money Online,” ISBN: 1430329513, and can be purchased locally where books are sold or on Amazon, which offers free shipping.

It should be a great class and Tobin and I are so excited to be able to share our book with those of you who participate.  We promise that you won’t be disappointed!  

-Pam Mosbrucker
]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3406</link>
      <pubDate>Sun, 12 Aug 2007 11:43:04 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3406#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[How to Accept Money Online: PayPal Explained]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[When we first decided that we wanted to start a home based internet business we were, of course, completely new to everything.  Shocker, huh?

We didn’t know where to start, what to do, which questions to ask, you name it.  One fairly major issue that had us freaked was how on earth we were going to accept payments online.

We actually went to a conference several years ago about starting a business and the guy rambled on endlessly about the process for getting a merchant account at a bank.  Big money down, hefty transaction fees, credit check, references, etc.  

Then we came across PayPal.  

Now, many of you have probably known about PayPal (http://www.paypal.com) for a long time.  Most of you probably even use it to shop online.  But recently, we’ve been getting quite a few questions about some of PayPal’s intricacies and I thought you might like to hear (well, read actually…) my general thoughts on this particular merchant.  

I love PayPal.  Never had a problem with them (knock on wood) and never had a reason to complain.  I think they are the best merchant account, hands down, that a small business can use, and I think that they are the best way to spend your money safely online.  

With that said—they are sometimes perplexing.  

When you first arrive on PayPal’s secure site, they’ll give you the option to select either a Personal account or a Premier Business account.  Now, here’s the kicker. ]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3384</link>
      <pubDate>Tue,  7 Aug 2007 20:05:26 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3384#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Search Engine Ranking: Easier Than You Think]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Of all the questions I get about “Cyber Gold,” how to rank well in the search engines has to be one of the top five.  Search engine ranking is not hard.  

Let me repeat.  

Ranking well in the search engines is not hard.  It only takes a little work, and a little practice.  

Because this topic is so filled with lies, black hat tricks, and extreme measures that never pan out, I wanted to take this moment to get a few things straight.  Ranking well in the search engines hinges on how well you accomplish two things: keyword usage and content (dealing with your keywords) that updates.  

Period.  End of story.  

Ranking well has nothing to do with anything else.  

As I’ve probably said a million times before, keywords are the ONLY thing that will help you in the search engines.  There is no secret program, there is no secret code.  And, if you strapped any other SEO professional down, they would, perhaps painstakingly, tell you the same thing.

What does this mean for you?

Essentially—you already have all of the answers you need to build a profitable website that does well in the search engines. ]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3349</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 30 Jul 2007 11:33:01 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3349#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Search Engine Marketing: How to do Pay Per Click Right]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Wow.  What a storm.  Anyone else have fun with that power outage?  Anyhoo—let’s get down to business.  

Today I wanted to talk a bit about search engine marketing.  There is really only one form that you need to concern yourself with: Pay Per Click (PPC).  Any other form (like banner ads, popup ads, etc) only serve to annoy your potential customers and are a complete waste of money.  

Pay Per Click can be a confusing beast indeed.  But I’m going to tell you a secret here.  Only use Google AdWords or Yahoo Search Marketing (previously known as Overture) to invest your money in.  All of the others out there (MSN, and perhaps a few un-noteworthy others) have no clout when it comes to the search engines and are simply a waste of money.  And, when it comes to your advertising budget, wasting money is not a favorable option.

So, go to:
http://adwords.google.com/select/Login  (for Google)
http://searchmarketing.yahoo.com/  (for Yahoo)

I prefer to use Google for the obvious reasons: Google gets nearly 70% more traffic than Yahoo, and if you do things right, Google ends up being cheaper and more profitable.  

Okay.  So how do you do things right?

Easy.  You must target your ad to your preferred visitor.  Google actually tells you how in a huge downloadable ebook—sort of like a class, actually, but I’ll give you the highlights (in list form, of course).  ]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3320</link>
      <pubDate>Tue, 24 Jul 2007 13:18:02 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3320#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[New Instructional Blog Schedule]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[So I have some bad news.  Monday Excerpts can be no more.  There is apparently a limit to the amount of free pages I’m allowed to share…and it has been reached.  So, I hope the excerpts were enough.  The blog will continue on, though, as I enjoy sharing information and analyzing news as it comes around.  

The new Instructional Blog schedule will go like this:

Tuesday July 24 – Search Engine Marketing

Monday July 30 – Search Engine Ranking
Tuesday July 31 – Search Engine Optimization News

Requests will be honored and questions are appreciated and will be given due space here.

*****
-Pam Mosbrucker
http://www.wordpartnersink.com

If you liked what you read, “Cyber Gold: A Guidebook on How to Start Your Own Home Based Internet Business, Build an E-Commerce Website, and Strategies for Making Money Online,” ISBN: 1430329513, can be purchased locally where books are sold (if you ask and holler really loud at the booksellers who are too busy to physically stock the book) or on Amazon, which offers free shipping.
]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3317</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 23 Jul 2007 10:01:41 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3317#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Missed the Marshall Public Library Talk?  Got Questions?]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Hello!  We’ve been getting emails all week about people who missed our library talk but wanted to ask us questions or buy the book.  Apparently, the bookstores are making this difficult for some customers—which we find reprehensible.  

So, we’ll be at the Marshall Public Library again this Saturday (21st) from 12 pm to 4:30 pm  where we’ll have a table set up.  I’m not sure which floor they’ll put us on, but I’m positive we’ll be easy to find.  We’ll be able to answer any questions you might have as well as sell copies at the discount rate of $25.   

**Edit: Part of the proceeds of our book sales Saturday will be given to the Marshall Public Library.**

I’ll blog again Monday with an excerpt and a new instructional blog schedule.  Things got a little out of hand this week, but I promise that all the topics previously mentioned will be discussed in detail in the coming weeks.  

All the best!

*****
-Pam Mosbrucker
http://www.wordpartnersink.com

If you liked what you read or can’t wait until next Monday for the next excerpt, “Cyber Gold: A Guidebook on How to Start Your Own Home Based Internet Business, Build an E-Commerce Website, and Strategies for Making Money Online,” ISBN: 1430329513, can be purchased locally where books are sold or on Amazon.
]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3303</link>
      <pubDate>Thu, 19 Jul 2007 14:08:04 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3303#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[How to Create Your Business Identity]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[Good Monday morning!  The library talk went so well, again, thanks to everyone who attended.  One thing I wish we had time to talk about, though, was some of the basics for starting a home based internet business.  

Today’s excerpt comes from Chapter Three of “Cyber Gold.”  Next week’s excerpt will be an exercise for solving a customer’s problem.

*****

We designed this guide to help you build your own website and ecommerce business.  We want you to be able to do every aspect of the business yourself, including the web design, and we want you to feel at least semi-comfortable doing so.  

This chapter is about structuring your business identity before the design comes in, because that’s when things tend to get messy.  ]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3287</link>
      <pubDate>Mon, 16 Jul 2007 08:24:15 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3287#cmt</comments>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title><![CDATA[Marshall Public Library Talk: Mentioned Websites]]></title>
      <description><![CDATA[What a wonderful day!  Thanks to all of you who showed up to hear us talk this afternoon!  As promised, here's a list of all the websites we mentioned today.  

To create ebooks: http://www.pdf995.com/

To build your website: http://www.tripod.lycos.com

To check keywords: http://www.iwebtool.com/keyword_lookup/

To download free ebooks: http://www.free-ebooks.net/

To find dropshippers: http://www.worldwidebrands.com

To collect money: http://www.paypal.com 

To check out drop shippers and scammers: http://www.ripoffreport.com 

How to create a robot file to protect sensitive webpages:
Open Notepad or WordPad (not Microsoft Word).  To block all web bots, type in “User-agent: *” without the quotes in the first line.  In the remaining lines of your file, type in all of the pages that you do not want web bots to be able to crawl.

So, your file should end up looking something like this:

User-agent: *
http://www.shoplizards.com/private1.html
http://www.shoplizards.com/private2.html 
http://www.shoplizards.com/private3.html 

Then, save the file as “Robots.txt” and upload it to the top or root directory of your server.  If you use Tripod, you’d simply go to the File Manager and select Upload, and it will automatically be placed in the correct part of the directory.  

If you find that people are still able to access your pages because they have been shared after a purchase, we often change our page file extensions and update the robot file to reflect those changes.  

Unfortunately, you cannot stop all who choose to scam you, but if you are concerned about protecting sensitive ebooks or files, there is often a setting that you can select during the publish process that allows you to select how many computers that file can be viewed on, or even how often (or at all) they can print.  

If you need any further instruction or help, we do have quite a few answers on our site, http://www.wordpartnersink.com, otherwise, feel free to s ..]]></description>
      <link>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3285</link>
      <pubDate>Sat, 14 Jul 2007 18:55:28 +0000</pubDate>
      <category>General</category>
      <comments>http://www.pocatelloshops.com/blogs/Business.php?id=3285#cmt</comments>
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