Teach Me Who You Are – Writing
Teach Me Who You Are
Timothy Dey, M.D.
We all have a privately held belief system that defines who we think we are. This belief system is composed of ideas that we have accumulated over time that we think describe us accurately.
These ideas came from sources that varied widely in quality. Most of the ideas we have chosen to label ourselves with have come from origins that would be clearly absurd to us if we encountered them for the first time today. Many others have origins that can longer be recalled because they are too old, or trivial, or have been suppressed. Yet these collections of labels are still maintained as part of our self image despite their murky history.
We mistakenly believe that only we can know what our true assessment of ourselves is, because only we have access to our private thoughts. The reality is that our speech and all our actions teach everybody around us about our internal model of ourselves and our world. There is no way to be alive without constantly teaching others about our belief systems.
What we believe is true about ourselves completely determines how we interpret the things we see, the sounds we hear, and the meaning of the events that take place around us. Our beliefs act as filters that serve to reinforce our internal models
Feed me – Satisfy the Search Engines and Your Sites Visitors With Keyword-Rich Content – Real Estate
Feed me - Satisfy the Search Engines and Your Sites Visitors With Keyword-Rich Content
Julia Hyde
Search engines love content. Graphics may make your site look great, but a nice picture does not attract a search engine. Or a searcher for that matter. Good, relevant content does.
Search engines arent all that different from people. When faced with a ton of choices, they want to know which sites are the best. And, the best sites are the ones that give the most accurate and relevant information.
Good content serves three main purposes:
1. Search engines will rank your site higher for keywords and phrases included within your content.
2. Users will return to your site, and recommend it to others
3. Other sites will link to you, which will improve your linking popularity and make your web site visible to the spiders.
But, how do you get good content Simple. You write it, or get someone else to write it for you, using keywords and phrases your visitors will actually use on a search query.
Feeling a little hot under the collar Relax. Its not as difficult as it sounds. Anyone can learn to write for crawler search engines. It just takes a little planning, detective work and focus. Ready to begin Follow the steps below and youll be writing like a pro in no time.
1. Determine which keywords and phrases you want to target
Before you sit down to write anything, youll need to decide which keywords and keyphrases are relevant to your site. One of the best ways to do this is to use the Word Tracker keyword tracking service at www.wordtracker.com. Word Tracker receives its data from the Dogpile and Metacrawler search engines and estimates search counts for all other search engines based on its market share. You can sign up for a day, a week, a month or a year.
Another good way to find keywords your visitors are using is to look at your sites server logs. These will tell you what phrases people are using to find your site. Some keywords will be too competitive. For example, the keywords "real estate" will return hundreds, if not thousands of search results, and may not place your site near the top, but "Houston Real Estate" or is more focused and targeted to a particular query.
If you want your site to be included in local and regional searches you may want to design your site with local searches in mind, even if you also market globally. How do you do this Just include local keywords such as address, city, state, province and zip code in the header or footer of your web pages. For example:
XYZ Business Consultant, 3657 Acacia Avenue, Santa Cruz, California 95067. Tel: 408 746 8954. Located close to San Jose, CA.
That way you have a much better chance of getting a first page listing on a localized search.
2. Scatter your chosen keywords and phrases throughout your text.
Lets say one of the keyphrases you want to target is "cotton duvets". Youll want to weave this phrase throughout your copy without making it sound stilted or contrived. Remember, you still need to persuade your prospects to buy your product, so dont be tempted to write paragraphs like this:
"Our cotton duvets are the softest cotton duvets around. Check out our affordable cotton duvets in our online cotton duvet store now." While its obvious what your keyphrases are, the two sentences dont exactly encourage your visitor to place an order. Be subtle. Use your keywords to emphasize your point and insert them where they naturally fit, without compromising flow and readability.
3. Review your headings, titles and hyperlinks
Use your keywords in headings, subtitles, page titles found in the blue bar at the top of your Web browser, bold face and hyperlinks, because these stand out to the search engines. For example, returning to the cotton duvets you may want to change your "contact us" hyperlink to "contact us now about our luxurious cotton duvets." Or, "learn more about how our cotton duvets can keep you warm and snug this winter"
4. Post keyphrase-rich, informative articles on your site
Another great way to fill your site up with keyword-laden content is to post relevant, informative articles. Every article you post on your site adds more content--content that the search engines thrive on. And, if you write each article as if you are giving the spider a good, healthy meal full of essential keywords, theyll devour every word, and index it for future use.
You can also post your articles on article directories such as GoArticles, Article City or IdeaMarketers that offer free content to ezine publishers and website owners. That way youll spread the word about your site, get some great back links and even free publicity.
5. Publish a Newsletter or Ezine
Newsletters and ezines are another way to add content to your site. If youve written articles already, you get to reuse them, and you can create a newsletter archive section on your website.
6. Post a blog or weblog
Blogs or Weblogs are frequently updated journals. that point to articles elsewhere on the web, and to existing on-site articles. The popularity of blogs have spawned blog services such as Typepad and Blogger which make it easy for non-techies to update their sites and add them to an existing web site. Because both the search engines and your sites visitors love new, updated information, blogs can be a great way of adding content to your site on a daily basis. You can use a blog to announce company news or comment on industry news, announce new product details or to create a "brand" or "personality" for your company.
Before you begin publishing your blog, think about what youre customers want to know. Then, answer their questions on a daily basis. It wont be long before youll have them, and the search engines hooked.
About The Author
Julia is an independent copywriter specializing in advertising and search engine marketing services. To learn more about how Julia can help boost your companys profits visit her site at www.juliahyde.com. You may also like to sign up for Marketing Works! Julias monthly ezine. Visit www.juliahyde.com/form.html or email Julia for details.
info@juliahyde.com
"You Make Me Sick" and other things Parents Say in Anger – Parenting
"You Make Me Sick" and other things Parents Say in Anger
Patricia Gatto
Maryann is so focused shes blind. Shes slipped over the edge of responsibility and forgot the real reason she is working so hard. Its for her daughter.
Being a single parent isnt easy. Between working, grocery shopping, cooking, cleaning and homework, there isnt much time left in the day. Its a heavy burden to be the sole supporter of a young child. But when pressures and tensions are so great that harmful words spill out like bitter pills, isnt it time to stop and take inventory
"Clean your room or Im gonna kill you!" "If you dont do your homework right now, Ill break your neck!" "Just leave me alone, Ive had a rough day."
These statements came from a woman who loves her daughter and shes working hard to provide for her. If you asked Maryann, shed say she would do anything in the world for her child. But why cant she see that respectful communication conveys love more than a new pair of shoes ever will And why does she have to be reminded to treat her child with respect
Maryann isnt alone. Life is frustrating. Weve all heard parents, married, single or otherwise, speak to their children in anger. As adults, weve all rolled our eyes at the dramatic threats, knowing full well they have no intention of being carried out. But does a child know these are simply dumb words spoken in frustration Does a child know that the violent threats of bodily harm are hollow
Whether over the top displays of drama are blurted in anger, or merely used to snap a child to attention, the results are unhealthy and damaging.
When little Billy tells a classmate he is going to kill him over a broken crayon, where do you think he learned that response from And in todays climate, do you think anyone would consider it just an innocent statement from an innocent child Billy would be sent to the principals office on the spot. And if not, he would certainty be called down after the victim of his harsh words went home and told his parents and they reported it to the school.
What happens when your child gets a little older and has a real problem What if he needs to talk about drugs or alcohol Or she has a problem in school, or a question about boys Repeatedly belittling your child with angry words and intimidation will break down the barriers of communication long before you even reach this point. If you threaten to "kill" your child over a messy room, what would you do if she told you she was having sex
Anger has a way of creating very colorful and exaggerated statements. Parents and caregivers need to make a concerted effort to remove these damaging phrases from their vocabulary by controlling anger. Save the drama for a time when it is really needed. On occasion, shocking statements do have a place in parenting, but used on a daily basis, they will only sever to create fear or simply numb your child to your words.
Search your vocabulary; are you unintentionally damaging the relationship you have with your child Here are some steps to help you take control when you feel frustration and anger rise.
Take a deep breath, not from your chest, but pulling from your diaphragm. Slowly exhale. As you do this, picture your words evaporate into the air.
Lift your hand, palm out, in a stopping motion. This will indicate to your child that you need a moment and serve to remind you that you are stopping yourself from anger.
Calmly tell yourself to relax as you continue to breathe deeply.
Wait until you feel in control. When you speak, intentionally bring your voice down, not to a whisper, but to a soft, paced level.
Then logically explain the reason for your anger to your child, voiding threats and harsh criticism.
Its okay to say you are disappointed or upset about a messy room or a bad grade, but focus on the problem and offer a solution or deliver a fair ultimatum.
If punishment is necessary, make it realistic. I dont know of a single parent that took away television privileges from their child for the rest of their life.
Follow through on your words.
If you do get angry, offer your child an apology, not an excuse. Take blame for your actions.
Closely examine the situation that triggered your anger. Was it really your child Is there an underlying factor If so, what can you do to correct the situation or avoid it in the future
Anger is a natural emotion. It cant be completely controlled or removed from our lives, but you can change the way you handle things. In doing so, you gain an invaluable gift, a respectful relationship with your child. Healthy communication is a parents weapon against the outside world. A child should turn to his parent in times of trouble, not run away in fear.
About The Author
Patricia Gatto and John De Angelis are the authors of MILTONS DILEMMA, the tale of a lonely boys magical journey to friendship and self-acceptance. As advocates for literacy and childrens rights, the authors speak at schools and community events to foster awareness and provide children with a safe and healthy learning environment. For more information, please visit Joyful Productions at http://www.joyfulproductions.com
pgatto@ptd.net