Author Archives: schatzi

Mar
27
2023

Introduction to Investing in Real Estate

“The property boom has made us all feel wealthy, but unfortunately it has lulled many of those nearing retirement into a false sense of security.” -Noel Whittaker

Making money in the real estate market has never been easier. It used to be that investing in real estate was an activity only the affluent could afford to indulge in. However, today, property investing is available to anyone at any price range.

If you have ever dreamed of being a successful investor, or buying and selling properties at a huge profit, now is your time! Do not let this opportunity pass you buy. Not only would you be involved in the most profitable and exciting form of investment in the current economic market but you would be securing your financial future.

Never having to think about financial concerns again – sounds like a dream come true. Real estate investing is a great way to earn an income off your investments. All you need to learn is how to it and then take your newly acquired skills and make it happen! The first step is stop dreaming and start acting.

If you are truly interested in finding financial freedom you have to act today. Once you have decided to get out of your chair and do what it takes to become an active property investor you need to first start with research. There are many websites which offer information and advice about how to get started in investing in real estate.

There is plenty of free information, ebooks, tutorials, and even mentors just waiting for you to get involved. Remember the first step to any investment is learning and that cost absolutely no money.

Once you learn the basics, seek out a successful real estate investor to discuss your options with. Most people are more then willing to show a new investor the ropes and offer insider tips and wisdom.

Then you must learn the techniques of real estate investing which you will soon have to utilize. These skills include how to find the right properties to invest in, how to be a good negotiator, and how to structure legal and binding financial contracts. The goal of all real estate investments is to put out as little capital as possible and then reselling to achieve the maximum profit available.

To become a real estate investor no formal education is needed. All that is needed is understanding the value of hard work, determination, and drive. A couple of solid real estate investments can turn a substantial profit for the investor.

For those folks who are not looking to get rich but merely have a decent income, real estate investing is for you. With just a single real estate investment, four times a year, you could bring in an income that is far greater then the salary you receive from working your 9 to 5 job. Stop working, live off investments, and enjoy you present as well as your future.

Mar
26
2023

Using Insurance Marketing Videos To Improve SEO & Extend Your Agency Reach

Videos have great shelf life and offer insurance agencies and brokers an opportunity to provide educational, sticky, and effective content. Videos can range from recorded webinars, to voice over PowerPoint, to professionally composed whiteboard productions with scripted voice over and complimentary background music.

Why add video to your insurance agency website, and why create a branded YouTube channel with videos? One important statistic to consider, is that your insurance prospects are 80% more likely to watch your video than read your content. Another is the impact of video on your insurance search engine optimization efforts. Google gives more weight to webpages that contain videos, and of course, they own YouTube. More video typically equates to better insurance SEO. And when your insurance agency video has a longer view time than other websites in the same search results, you receive an even greater SEO boost from Google. Furthermore, an insurance agency video provides producers with great collateral for their email marketing, a social media marketing efforts.

Professionally branded YouTube channels can be used to create featured videos and specific play lists. For example, you can offer playlists for P&C, Employee Benefits, High Net Worth Clients, and Personal Lines. Each play list should have at least 3 videos, preferably more. These can then be used for web marketing initiatives including email marketing and social media marketing.

Though prospects (and clients and partners) often prefer videos to written content, not all of these website visitors will watch your video in its entirety. Insurance website visitors want to know if the video pertains to them, and if they don’t see its benefit quickly they will leave your video and bounce to another site. To help improve stickiness, make sure you add captions and transcripts. Captions and transcripts will help improve the chance people will watch your entire video and boost your authority with Google. Captions and transcripts help by:

  • Increasing view time (up to 80%)
  • Improving deep linking with keywords in video
  • Improving search results for keywords included in video

Take the time to create insurance videos, and leverage their benefits to the fullest. Including insurance marketing videos on your website and adding them to a branded YouTube channel will help your insurance search engine optimization efforts, increase website traffic and drive more insurance leads into your pipeline.

If you are looking for ways to improve your insurance agency website, produce high quality videos, and optimize your insurance agency SEO, and lack the internal time, tools or skills to do so, you can consider outsourcing this initiative to a proficient insurance marketing agency.

Mar
25
2023

Money – The Best Way to Get Your Finances in Order

As the economy worsens we have to make adjustments, to the comfortable lifestyles that we were once accustomed to. The days when we could spend like there was no tomorrow are long gone. In these tough times, money is tight and hard to come by. Making a few adjustments to our lifestyles can make a huge difference in our finances. Here are a few tips on how we can make smart financial choices during the recession.

1. Avoid signing up for store credit cards no matter how good the offer may seem. Store credit cards have very high interest rates, and at the end of the month if you don’t pay off the money that you owe in full, you’re going to end up losing much more money than you were supposed to save when you first made the purchase, from the high monthly interest charges.

2. Clean your garage and closet out. You’ll be shocked at how much stuff you’ll find that you no longer use. Have a garage sell or put it up for sell on eBay to generate some extra income.

3. When shopping online always use coupon codes. There are a lot of coupons online that you can take advantage of. You’ll be surprised at how many promotional offers you can find online that are not offered in store. Shopping online also offers you the opportunity to compare prices at the click if the mouse.

4. Make a habit of purchasing your clothes, appliances, and furniture from outlet stores and thrift stores. You can get good quality clothes and sometimes even name-brand clothes at unbelievably low prices. These stores regularly offer sales and discounts.

5. Don’t make the mistake of going grocery shopping with an empty stomach, at least eat a full meal or have a snack and drink a large glass of water. This will prevent you from being tempted to purchase unnecessary snacks, which will help you cut down on impulse buying. Also always remember to carry an energy bar with you at all times, just in case you get hungry and need that quick energy boost while your out shopping.

6. If you really must eat out at restaurants, only do so on special occasions such as Birthdays, Anniversaries, Mothers Day, Fathers Day and Valentines Day. Eating out frequently is too expensive; you save so much more by cooking your on meals.

7. If you are a parent try trading babysitting nights with friends, family or neighbors. Child care is so expensive these days, a lot of parents will be more than happy to do this with you. Doing this will help you save on childcare expenses and you’ll at least be getting someone whom you know and trust to watch over your kids.

8. Be smart about your cable television package. Do away with the HBO, HDTV and movie on demand purchases and stick to the basic package. Believe it or not those little extra charges add up! I mean is having all those channels really necessary?

9. If you have credit cards and have made all your payments on time, consider calling your credit card companies and ask them to lower your interest rates, they just might agree to do so.

10. Make a habit of paying more than the minimum credit card payment each month, and remember to pay off your high interest rate credit cards before the low interest rate cards.

Mar
24
2023

Advantages of Internet Franchise Businesses for Sale

Looking for home based businesses for sale? Existing successful franchise businesses offer numerous benefits, like an established reputation and a proven system. Hence, operating it successfully is not as hard as starting a new business from scratch. Having a system in place, like in the case of an Internet franchise, also eliminates much guesswork. Moreover, there are distinct advantages in relying on a proven system: it minimizes operational expenses and maximizes ROI, virtually eliminating dangerous guesswork.

The main challenge when deciding to purchase a home based business remains recovering the original investment. Once that challenge has been conquered tough, unlike a regular job, the entrepreneur may enjoy benefits like being her own boss and having flexible working hours. If it’s an online business, it can easily be relocated wherever the business owner is with obvious personal and family related benefits.

Of course there are also many other challenges when operating a home based business, foremost of which is being disciplined enough to overcome the distractions that the environment offers, and setting clear boundaries between personal and business finances. When the above cons have been appropriately addressed, the astute home based entrepreneur can get her business running smoothly and have greater chances of reaping good results, leading to a lifetime of financial security.

There is a vast choice of home based businesses available for sale. Some examples are retailing of ready-to-wear apparel, jewelry, food, health products, skin care & cosmetics, automotive detailing, distribution service, and so on. But there is no doubt that the easiest to operate and with more predictable results is an Internet franchise business.

A distinctive advantage is that the owner of an Internet franchise business can readily acquire important information ranging from competitors, fluctuations, customer feedback and attitudes, etc. directly from the licensing company thereby avoiding expensive and time-consuming market research or having to rely on dangerous guesswork.

Another major advantage of choosing an Internet franchise business is not having to spend a great deal of money on startup supplies new equipment or automation. The operating methods are already in place. Having existing, reliable suppliers may also prove to be a great time saver for the new business owner.

It is also proven that when getting into this type of online business, previous operational experience in the form of existing client list can help to start profiting immediately, especially if the clients in that list have been satisfied with products or services you provided in the past. Existing customers know they can trust you, and can also refer your business website to other people, thereby helping spur business growth. After all, word of mouth is still the best form of advertising.

Indeed, there are many advantages worth considering when buying an Internet franchise business. The entrepreneur benefits from a proven system already made, market research and supplier base, which can save time and other resources. At the same time however, and this is vital, the new business owner must take time to review existing standards and ferret out any legal or financial issues. In my opinion, a good way to start when planning to venture into one of the many Internet franchise businesses for sale is to get in touch with, consult and possibly learn the ropes from a trusted mentor before making the final decision. Help and support are always available for those who are willing to ask.