My Little Miracle

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Tracking and Testing - the Solution to Attracting More Visitors

2006-07-27 @ 04:22:48 PM

I am passing along an article that I found to be helpful for Every serious online business owner.

Every serious online business owner eats, sleeps and breaths targeted traffic to their website. They spend the most money and time trying to attract first-time visitors to their sites in hopes of generating new sales and subscribers. But, believe it or not, it’s easier to increase your income by simply selling more of the visitors you already get than trying to chase down more traffic.

The solution? Tracking & testing! Probably the most overlooked and underutilized, but certainly the most powerful strategy for increasing sales and opt-in subscriptions. If you spend any time or money on advertising, you must start testing and tracking. Simply put, “tracking” means you measure the effectiveness of each individual advertising source you use to promote your business.

For example, if you advertise in email newsletters, you should know how effective each newsletter ad rates compared to all the others in terms of sales and subscribers generated. This enables you to know whether an ad makes or loses money. Testing means you constantly look for ways to improve your ads in small, incremental amounts that add up over time.

The most common (and effective) tests you can run are A-B split tests, which pit two variables against each other to determine which converts more lookers into buyers. Split testing headlines, price points, and guarantee periods make, from my experience, the best places to start testing.

The reason testing and tracking can double your profits (or more) lies in the power of small, incremental improvements. Lets say, for example, you decide to do a series of split tests on a website that currently converts 1 in every 100 visitors (1% conversion). You test, headline, price, guarantee and a payment plan. If each of the 4 tests yields a .25% increase in conversion, you would not see an increase in sales to 2% (4x.25%), but actually an increase to almost 2.5% since each improvement builds on the last!

The most basic tool in testing and tracking revolves around the use of advertising link tracker software. These tools measure the number of clicks on individual advertisements (text links, banners, pay-per-click ads, etc) and then measure sales or subscriptions generated as a result.

You get two choices with link trackers: a hosted service or software you install on your own server. A hosted service offers the advantage of easy setup and use. Most of the time you just sign up for the service, enter the link you want to track, get your tracking code, and you’re off to the races.

The disadvantage of a hosted service is that, if it gets abused, using the URL of the service in your links can get your emails blocked or your pages banned by search engines. The advantage of hosting the software on your own server is that you maintain a higher degree of technical control and can avoid the banning issues. The main disadvantage of hosting it yourself involves the fact that you really don’t have anyone to call for help if something goes wrong.

One of the most popular hosted link trackers online is HyperTracker.com, though I’ve not used the service. My favorite link tracker is actually part of an integrated e-commerce system at http://www.MysiteSales.com. This service enables you to track your sales and subscriptions made through the shopping cart.

Two options for software you install on your own server are Dynatracker.com and ProAnalyzer.com. Both provide decent link tracking, though no system I’ve tested provides 100% accurate results. But, with that said, failure to test means you’re leaving money on the table by wasting visitors you could otherwise convert to buyers with basic effort at improving your sales messages.

Copyright 2006 Jim Edwards

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Jim Edwards is a syndicated newspaper columnist and the co-creator of an amazing course that will teach you step-by-step and click-by-click how to get your own money-making videos posted online... "Finally! A Quick and Easy Way For YOU To Painlessly Create, Post and PROFIT From Your Own Money-Making Online Videos... Without Being a Computer Geek or Paying Outrageous Fees To A Webmaster!" => http://www.WebsiteVideoSecrets.com

Check out this One-Stop Ads, Visitors, Clicks, Actions & Sales Conversion Tracking / Split Testing Solution at:
http://GoTo-Pro.com/silver/319

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Happy Memorial Day

2006-05-29 @ 05:31:25 PM

I would like to wish all US citizens a happy Memorial Day. As you gather together today with family and friends take a few minutes to remember what Memorial Day is all about. Click below for a tribute to all our troops.

http://www.interviewwithgod.com/patriotic/highband.htm

Have a great day and

GOD BLESS AMERICA
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Dad's Poem

2006-02-21 @ 11:27:58 AM

Someone emailed this poem and I thought it might touch your heart as it did mine.

Dad's poem

Her hair was up in a pony tail,

her favorite dress tied with a bow.

Today was Daddy's Day at school,

and she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,

that she probably should stay home.

Why the kids might not understand,

if she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid; she knew just what to say.

What to tell her classmates of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,

for her to face this day alone.

And that was why once again,

she tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school

eager to tell them all.

About a dad she never sees;

a dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back, for everyone to meet.

Children squirming impatiently,

anxious in their seats

One by one the teacher called a student from the class. To introduce
their daddy, as seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,

every child turned to stare.

Each of them was searching,

for a man who wasn't there.

"Where's her daddy at?"

she heard a boy call out.

"She probably doesn't have one,"

another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,

she heard a daddy say,

"Looks like another deadbeat dad,

too busy to waste his day."

The words did not offend her,

as she smiled up at her Mom.

And looked back at her teacher,

who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back,

slowly she began to speak.

And out from the mouth of a child,

came words incredibly unique.

"My Daddy couldn't be here,

because he lives so far away.

But I know he wishes he could be,

since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,

I wanted you to know.

All about my daddy,

and how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories

he taught me to ride my bike.

He surprised me with pink roses,

and taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,

and ice cream in a cone.

And though you cannot see him.

I'm not standing here alone.

"Cause my daddy's always with me,

even though we are apart

I know because he told me,

he'll forever be in my heart"

With that, her little hand reached up,

and lay across her chest.

Feeling her own heartbeat,

beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere here in the crowd of dads,

her mother stood in tears.

Proudly watching her daughter,

who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love

of a man not in her life.

Doing what was best for her,

doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,

staring straight into the crowd.

She finished with a voice so soft,

but its message clear and loud.

"I love my daddy very much,

he's my shining star.

And if he could, he'd be here,

but heaven's just too far

You see he was a policeman

and died just this past year

When airplanes hit the towers

and taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,

it's like he never went away."

And then she closed her eyes,

and she saw him there that day.

And to her mothers amazement,

she witnessed with surprise

A room full of daddies and children,

all starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,

who knows what they felt inside.

Perhaps for merely a second,

they saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy,"

to the silence she called out.

And what happened next made believers,

of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,

for each of their eyes had been closed.

But there on the desk beside her,

was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,

by the love of her shining star.

And given the gift of believing,

that heaven is never too far.

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Looking Heavenward

2006-01-07 @ 01:20:42 PM

I thought this might put a smile on your face today, then pass the smile on to someone else

Looking Heavenward

The temporary Sunday School teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had been told the combination, but couldn't quite remember it.

She went to the pastor's study and asked for help. The pastor came into the room and began to turn the dial.

After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment.Finally he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently.

Then he looked back at the lock, and quickly turned to the final number, and opened the lock.

The teacher was amazed. "I'm in awe at your faith, pastor," she said.

"It's really nothing," he answered. "The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling."

.
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The reason for the season!

2005-12-14 @ 02:41:04 PM

Santa lives at the North Pole.
JESUS is everywhere.

Santa rides in a sleigh.
JESUS rides on the wind and
walks on the water.

Santa comes but once a year.
JESUS is our ever present help.

Santa fills your stockings with goodies.
JESUS supplies all your needs.

Santa comes down your chimney uninvited.
JESUS stands at your door and knocks,
and then enters your heart when invited.

You have to wait in line to see Santa.
JESUS is as close as the mention
of His name.

Santa lets you sit on his lap.
JESUS lets you rest in His arms.

Santa doesn't know your name,
all he can say is "Hi little boy or girl,
what's your name?"
JESUS knew our name even before we were born.
Not only does He know our name,
He knows our address too.
He knows our history and future.
He even knows how many hairs are on our heads.

Santa has a belly like a bowl full of jelly.
JESUS has a heart full of love.

All Santa can offer is
"HO HO HO"
JESUS offers health, help and "hope."

Santa says
"You better not cry."
JESUS says
"Cast all your cares on me for I care for you."

Santa may make you chuckle.
JESUS gives you joy that is your strength.

While Santa puts gifts
under your tree.
JESUS became our gift and He died on a tree...
The cross!

We need to put Christ back in CHRISTmas!
Jesus is still the Reason for the Season.
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The Drug Problem in America

2005-12-03 @ 10:45:53 AM

This is the kind of drug problem I had when I was young and living at home. I think we need to give our children this kind of drugs today.

The other day, someone at a store in our town read that a
methamphetamine
 lab had been found in an old farmhouse in the adjoining county and he
 asked me a rhetorical question, ''Why didn't we have a drug problem
when
 you and I were growing up?''

 I replied:   I had a drug problem when I was young.

 I was drug to church on Sunday morning.

 I was drug to church for weddings and funerals.

 I was drug to family reunions and community socials no matter the
weather.

 I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful to adults.

 I was also drug to the woodshed when I disobeyed my parents, told a
lie,
 brought home a bad report card, did not speak with respect, spoke ill
of
 the teacher or the preacher, or if I didn't put forth my best effort in
 everything that was asked of me.

 I was drug to the kitchen sink to have my mouth washed out with soap if
I
 uttered a profane four-letter word.

 I was drug out to pull weeds in mom's garden and flower beds and the
 cockleburs out of dad's fields.

 I was drug to the homes of family, friends, and neighbors to help out
some
 poor soul who had no one to mow the yard, repair the clothesline, or
chop
 some firewood; and, if my mother had ever known that I took a single
dime
 as a tip for this kindness, she would have drug me back to the
woodshed.
 Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in
 everything I do, say, and think.  They are stronger than cocaine,
crack,
 or heroin; and, if today's children had this kind of drug problem,
America
 would be a better place.
 (author unknown)

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Thomas Kinkaid..great picture and his daughter's commentary

2005-10-27 @ 12:43:14 PM

I love Thomas Kinkaid's pictures so I thought I would pass this along to all the blog readers and what his daughter said about rain.

To upload the picture, copy

http://by107fd.bay107.hotmail.msn.com/cgi-bin/getmsg?&msg=70A498BA-8150-4485-B7EB-CF732F6875B7&start=0&len=583391&curmbox=00000000-0000-0000-0000-000000000002&a=3b19ed0c56db4e3aa6b8c50572b29e01a49c7a766027723ca6a6cd51a24f3756&mimepart=12

in a new browser and hit enter.

One rainy afternoon I was driving along one of the main streets
of town, taking those extra precautions necessary when the roads are wet and slick.
Suddenly, my daughter, Aspen, spoke up from her relaxed position in her seat. "Dad, I'm
thinking of something."

This announcement usually meant she had been pondering some
fact for a while, and was now ready to expound all that her six-year-old mind had
discovered. I was eager to hear.

"What are you thinking?" I asked. "The rain," she began, "is like sin, and the windshield
wipers are like God wiping our sins away."

After the chill bumps raced up my arms I was able to respond. "That's really good, Aspen."
Then my curiosity broke in. How far would this little girl take
this revelation? So I asked.. "Do you notice how the rain keeps on coming? What does that tell you?" Aspen didn't hesitate one moment with her answer:
"We keep on sinning, and God just keeps on forgiving us."

I will always remember this whenever I turn my wipers on.
Isn't it distressing to know that when you forward this message
you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe,
or what they will think of you for sending it to them. Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me than what God thinks of me.

In order to see the rainbow, you must first endure some rain.

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Attitude IS Everything

2005-09-16 @ 07:06:05 PM

This is a great way to look at life!!!!

John is the kind of guy you love to hate. He is always in a good mood and always has something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a natural motivator.

If an employee was having a bad day, John was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

He replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or ... you can choose to be in a bad mood.

I choose to be in a good mood."

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or...I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or... I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life.

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," he said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people affect your mood.

You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live your life."

I reflected on what he said. Soon hereafter, I left the Tower Industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that he was involved in a serious accident, falling some 60 feet from a communications tower.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, he was released from the hospital with rods placed in his back.

I saw him about six months after the accident.

When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna' see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but I did ask him what had gone through his mind as the accident took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was the well-being of my soon-to-be born daughter," he replied. "Then, as I lay on the ground, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live or...I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

He continued, "...the paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the ER and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read 'he's a dead man.' I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big burly nurse shouting questions at me," said John. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes", I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Gravity."

Over their laughter, I told them, "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

He lived, thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude... I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

After all, today is the tomorrow you worried about yesterday.

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I Pledge Allegiance

2005-07-15 @ 08:15:50 AM

In these days when we are divided on whether burning the flag is desecration or want to take "under God" from the Pledge, I am reminded of something I heard a long time ago. Some may not know who Red Skeleton is but it does matter who he was just the words he said. Read the following and also go to the link below to hear it , then think of what our flag means to you.

Pledge of Allegiance by Red Skeleton

Red Skelton, one of America's best loved Comedians and star of Motion
Pictures, Radio and Television, was also a true Patriot. A man who loved
his Country, its Flag and the Freedom America stood for. On January 14,
1969, Red touched the hearts of millions of Americans with his "Pledge
Of Allegiance," in which he explained the meaning of each and every
word. Red's "Pledge" was twice read into the Congressional Record of the
United States and received numerous awards.

"I remember this one teacher. To me, he was the greatest
teacher, a real sage of my time. He had such wisdom. We were all
reciting the Pledge Of Allegiance and he walked over. Mr. Lasswell was
his name...He said, 'I've been listening to you boys and girls recite
the Pledge Of Allegiance all semester and it seems as though it is
becoming monotonous to you. If I may, may I recite it and try to
explain to you the meaning of each word:

Pledge

Allegiance

To the Flag

United

States

For which it stands

One Nation

Indivisible

With Liberty

And Justice

For All

And now, boys and girls, let me hear you recite the Pledge of Allegiance:
I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic,
for which it stands; one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

"Since I was a small boy, two states have been added to our country and
two words have been added to the Pledge Of Allegiance - 'under God.'
Wouldn't it be a pity if someone said, 'That's a prayer' and that would
be eliminated from schools too?"
-Red Skelton

You can listen to him recite this at: http://www.poofcat.com/july.html

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DO YOU SMELL THAT?

2005-07-07 @ 10:37:34 PM

This story reminds me of just how blessed my family is because of my grandson, Cloud.

DO YOU SMELL THAT?

At the end of this story, it gives you two options. I think you will
figure out what option I chose.

A cold March wind danced around the dead of night in Dallas as the
doctor walked into the small hospital room of Diana Blessing. She was

still groggy from surgery. Her husband, David, held her hand as they

braced themselves for the latest news.

That afternoon of March 10, 1991, complications had forced Diana, only
24-weeks pregnant, to undergo an emergency Cesarean to deliver couple's
new daughter, Dana Lu Blessing.

At 12 inches long and weighing only one pound nine ounces, they already
knew she was perilously premature. Still, the doctor's soft words dropped
like bombs.

"I don't think she's going to make it," he said, as kindly as he could.

"There's only a 10-percent chance she will live through the night, and
even then, if by some slim chance she does make it, her future could be a
very cruel one."

Numb with disbelief, David and Diana listened as the doctor described
the devastating problems Dana would likely face if she survived.

She would never walk, she would never talk, she would probably be blind,
and she would certainly be prone to other catastrophic conditions from
cerebral palsy to complete mental retardation, and on and on.

"No! No!" was all Diana could say.

She and David, with their 5-year-old son Dustin, had long dreamed of the
day they would have a daughter to become a family of four. Now, within a
matter of hours, that dream was slipping away.

But as those first days passed, a new agony set in for David and Diana.

Because Dana's underdeveloped nervous system was essentially 'raw,' the
lightest kiss or caress only intensified her discomfort, so they couldn't
even cradle their tiny baby girl against their chests to offer the strength
of their love. All they could do, as Dana struggled alone beneath the
ultraviolet light in the tangle of tubes and wires, was to pray that God
would stay close to their precious little girl.

There was never a moment when Dana suddenly grew stronger.
But as the weeks went by, she did slowly gain an ounce of weight here
and an ounce of strength there.

At last, when Dana turned two months old, her parents were able to hold
her in their arms for the very first time. And two months later, though
doctors continued to gently but grimly warn that her chances of surviving,

much less living any kind of normal life, were next to zero, Dana went home

from the hospital, just as her mother had predicted.

Five years later, when Dana was a petite but feisty young girl with
glittering gray eyes and an unquenchable zest for life. She showed no
signs whatsoever of any mental or physical impairment. Simply, she was
everything a little girl can be and more. But that happy ending is far from the

end of her story.

One blistering afternoon in the summer of 1996 near her home in Irving,
Texas, Dana was sitting in her mother's lap in the bleachers of a local
ball park where her brother Dustin's baseball team was practicing.

As always, Dana was chattering nonstop with her mother and several other
adults sitting nearby when she suddenly fell silent.

Hugging her arms across her chest, little Dana asked, "Do you smell
that?"

Smelling the air and detecting the approach of a thunderstorm, Diana
replied, "Yes, it smells like rain."

Dana closed her eyes and again asked, "Do you smell that?"
Once again, her mother replied,

"Yes, I think we're about to get wet. It smells like rain."

Still caught in the moment, Dana shook her head, patted her thin
shoulders with her small hands and loudly announced, "No, it smells like

Him.

It smells like God when you lay your head on His chest."

Tears blurred Diana's eyes as Dana happily hopped down to play with the
other children.

Before the rains came, her daughter's words confirmed what Diana and all
the members of the extended Blessing family had known, at least in their
hearts, all along.

During those long days and nights of her first two months of her life,
when her nerves were too sensitive for them to touch her, God was holding
Dana on His chest and it is His loving scent that she remembers so well.

You now have 1 of 2 choices. You can either pass this on and let other
people catch the chills like you did, or you can delete this and act
like it didn't touch your heart like it did mine.

IT'S YOUR CALL! "I can do all things in Him who strengthens me."

I chose to pass it along to all the Blog readers.

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My Little Miracle

Cloud

Tracking and Testing - the Solution to Attracting More Visitors

Happy Memorial Day

Dad's Poem

Looking Heavenward

The reason for the season!

The Drug Problem in America

Thomas Kinkaid..great picture and his daughter's commentary

Attitude IS Everything

I Pledge Allegiance

DO YOU SMELL THAT?