If you have a website, how do you generate free traffic to it? There are many ways! Today I am going to talk about one of those ways in which I am embarking on right now.

The popular thinking is that the only way to get free traffic is through forums and spam. There is another way: it is called article submission.

Submit all your articles to the free article directories out there. Google’s spiders (robots who index the pages for their search engine) will run through this directories every week or so and your articles will be all over the search engines, together with your name!

Your name will all be all over the Internet, but what is more important is that this brings free traffic to your website. Readers of the articles will visit your website. Publishers who visit these article directories may use your articles in their ezines or websites and they will have to include your biography box together with your website’s link. This takes on a viral quality and further increases your sphere of web influence!

Submitting articles to hundreds of directories will take a long time to do, but I have found an easy way to do it. What I do is use a software called Article Submitter and what this software does is that it automatically submits your articles to hundreds of directories. All you do is click and submit!

If you want to stay in a day job for life, however, then I don’t recommend you do this. From an article I read, 25% of employers check the Internet for any records of you. An alternative is to use a pen name for your articles.

Fabian Tan makes a short trip to his office everyday - his home! In 2006, he ‘murdered’ his job and now earns a solid income online. Go behind the scenes to discover more of his job-killing strategies and secrets at MurderYourJob.com

There are many ways to trade futures option spreads. One way is to trade spreads that can profit from time decay. You can sell options which you believe will lose more time value than the options you buy.

Another way is to buy and sell options based on their deltas. Some of these trades are called delta neutral trades. Delta neutral trades are option trades in which the total delta of all the options is Zero. At the money options have a delta of 50.

If you buy an at the money call, you will have a
delta of +50.

If you sell an at the money call, you will have a
delta of -50.

If you buy an at the money put, you will have a
delta of -50.

If you sell an at the money put, you will have a
delta of +50.

Basically, the deltas will be determined by where you want the market to go. Think of it this way: If you sold an at the money call option, where would you want the market to move to? You would like it to go lower. So, you would have a delta of -50.

If you look at most at the money options, you will find that they are usually not at 50. That is because they are not exactly at the money. We still refer to these as the at the money options because they are the ones that are the closest to being there. It might have a delta of 47 or 53.

If you purchased one at the money call and one at the money put, you would be delta neutral. The call will have +50 deltas and the put will have -50 deltas. The total is zero. This is a very simple delta neutral trade.

Another delta neutral trade is a ratio back spread. An example of this trade would be to sell an option that is at the money and buy a greater number of out of the money options. You might sell one call option at the money (delta -50) and buy 2 call options out of the money (delta +25 each). You would be delta neutral. You would want to put this on for a credit or at even. You can also put it on for a debit but then you would care a little about market direction.

If you put it on for a credit or even money and the market was lower at expiration of the options, you would break even or earn a small credit. If you put it on for a debit, you would lose the debit amount if the market was lower at expiration of the options. In either case, if the market went sharply higher, you have a chance for unlimited profit, because you have purchased more options than you sold.

Most traders teach that ratio back spreads should be done in the far months only. This is because you have more time to be correct with a big move. The problem that I have found is that you are giving up too much for the time advantage. The options you buy out of the money are not priced at an advantage compared to the ones at the money. You can look at the theta to see how much each option will lose per day or per week.

You can also see that in order to have a lot of time left in the trade, the difference in strike prices between the option you sell and the options you buy are too much. It will take a bigger move before you have unlimited profit potential.

If you are expecting a big move, think differently than the norm and start to look at options that have 20 -40 days left. The options you buy compared to the options you sell, should be priced better. Everything is in relation to something else.

So the next time you hear someone recommending the same old ratio back spreads, take a look at the difference months to see where the real advantage is.

David Rivera has traded commodities and options for one the largest cash trading firms in the world. He has written a course on futures options which contain 2 specific trading techniques. You can find the techniques in depth at: http://www.deltaneutraltrading.com

Ecommerce is big these days. Every year, the amount of spending online goes up. It is predicted in 6 years, the amount of spending on the Internet will double. That’s how fast online business is growing. There is a lot of potential for you to tap on. Don’t listen to others when they say there is no more money left to be made on the Internet. There is going to be a lot more to be made and you can be a part of. Here are 5 more reasons:

1. Hate customer service? The Internet makes it easy for you. It can be as easy as typing a few sentences in an email.

2. Leverage machines and robots to do the work for you. These automated systems do the selling for you, product delivery, and payment procedures all while you are asleep. These machines act as unemotional ‘employees’ who don’t demand benefits and work like a well-oiled, well, machines 99% of the time.

3. Target a vast marketplace (ie the whole world). Instead of being limited to your neighbourhood or even your own country, you can get customers from the USA, UK, Australia and even places like Kuwait. (I have had customers from places like Papua New Guinea and Guatemala)

4. Your shop is open for 24 hours a day. Every hour is a peak period of business. When people in the USA are sleeping, people in Australia are surfing the net. There is no lull period in the day.

5. Low costs to startup. Most of the machines mentioned earlier are free or cost next to nothing. You can make money with a laptop lying in your bed.

Now the question is: do you want to have these advantages on your side or against you?

Fabian Tan makes a short trip to his office everyday - his home! In 2006, he ‘murdered’ his job and now earns a solid income online. Go behind the scenes to discover more of his job-killing strategies and secrets at MurderYourJob.com

If you are a salesperson or small business owner or are responsible for marketing a product than your most important job is to find new prospects who are willing to buy what you have to offer. Without a prospect there is no sale and without any sale there is no revenue. Whether you are given leads and prospects to follow up with or you are solely responsible for finding these prospects there are typically four stages of the sales process.

Out of these four stages there can be many sub stages to the selling process but these four parts are constant and to be successful in sales and marketing you need to learn how to master all of them.

Stage number one-Prospecting

The idea of prospecting is to find hot new prospects that have a need, the funds, and a willingness to buy. When you are prospecting it is difficult to tell immediately if the prospect is a potential customer but finding out up front as much as you possibly can will save you a lot of time and heart ache. If you feel there is a potential when you are talking to a prospect you should go ahead and schedule the appointment when you get to the second stage you will be able to find out if they are more qualified.

Stage number two-Qualification

Once you set an appointment to meet your potential customer than you want to drill down even further to see if in fact they are qualified for you to pursue and spend your time offering your services. This is the most important stage of the whole process because it will give you the information that you need to formulate a plan to make the sale. One of the biggest mistakes that salespeople make is they use the spaghetti against the wall mentality and they generally will pursue anybody who shows the slightest bit of interest. This can affect your commissions because when you are trying to sell to someone who is not truly qualified you waste a lot of time when you could otherwise be selling to a prospect who is more qualified and more likely to buy from you.

These are just the first two stages of the sales process in the next part we will look at demonstrating value and closing. You should try to master these skills sequentially because if you can not get past stage 1 that none of the other stages really matte.

Did you know that even the most successful cold callers only have a 2% success rate while cold calling? You know that cold calling prospecting is one of the least effective ways to find new prospects? Go to http://www.sickandtiredofcoldcalling.com where you will get a free 5 part e-course to eliminate cold calling out of your life.

The trial lawyer’s job is to know the Law and artfully apply it as it pertains to the case at hand. The lawyer’s concern is the development of a cogent theory and the use of affective themes to sway the jury to their point of view. Both theory and themes are based, in part, on information learned from their client and depends on the client’s clear, precise and persuasive testimony. “Just be yourself,” the attorney often suggests. “Just tell the truth.” “Just relax.” With such simple and clear advice, why then are otherwise intelligent men and women (including professionals with expert witness experience) racked by fear at the thought of testifying on their own behalf? Why does a normally compassionate person appear flat and uncaring on the stand? Or a person known for her precision and attention to detail become forgetful and confused? Perhaps the command “Be Yourself,” requires more - more knowledge, more understanding and more depth of purpose.

In truth, most attorneys don’t stop with the simple “Be Yourself,” or “Just relax and tell the truth” commands. Most add a seemingly helpful list of “Make sure to appear strong and confident but don’t be arrogant.” “Just answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ during cross examination and don’t argue about a point.” “I can’t help you out on direct so make sure you explain everything.” “Talk to the jury, I want them to get to know you.” After a preparation session such as this - usually scheduled on the eve of trial - it is not surprising that a normally confident professional can be reduced to spinning a circular loop of self-limiting thoughts up to and including his time on the stand. Preparation of this kind, as well-meaning as it might be, does very little, if anything, to support the needs of the witness. Granted, the attorney has certain testimony requirements to support his theory and themes. The problem develops when a client is expected to slip into a predesigned slot and act as the control gear in an elaborately constructed system of wheels and pulleys.

Not all witnesses fall apart in the courtroom. Not all witnesses make blunders during deposition that pose additional problems at trial. But some witnesses have a case that is complex enough or their presence is commanding enough that the success or failure of the case largely depends on the jurors’ reactions to them. These are the cases for which a Courtroom Behaviorist plays a crucial role.

There is nothing ordinary, customary or natural about courtroom communication. Courtroom communication is different from most other communication in that the sender is not in direct communication with the receiver. During a jury trial there are many senders - the judge, the attorneys and the witnesses. The only receivers, however, are the members of the jury. The witness must understand the jurors and communicate in such a way that he will be understood.
But the witness has no idea who will serve on his jury until after voir dire.

True, the specific jurors are unknown however; the general experience of jury service is known. The witness must understand the general experience that has gathered the jurors in service of his case. He must understand the mental and emotional shaping that takes place in preparation for service and how that affects their views and attitudes during service. Once a witness examines and understands the jurors’ experience, his own point of view and attitude adjusts. As the witness recognizes that all actions, attitudes, nuances and language must be shaped to pass through the jury filter - the only material receivers in the courtroom - his focus matures. As he applies that focus to each aspect of the trial he develops the ability to move from self-conscious, self-sabotaging behavior to other-conscious, self-supporting behavior. In other words - he learns how to “be himself.”

Speaking in public is the number-one fear of most human beings, for many surpassing the fear of snakes. Potential jurors are no exception. As the witness slips into the mindset of the juror - recognizing the subtle anxiety present for each juror as they responds to counsel’s inquiries - the witness can understand that outward signs of judgment from the witness (even when benignly dealt) can prejudice the juror against the witness. Innocent actions such as; taking notes, disregarding a jurors’ comments or whispering to her attorney while a juror is speaking, can all be construed as negative judgment by the anxious juror. Such a juror may be inclined to consider (consciously or not) turn-about as fair play.

Instead, the witness must prepare by asking himself a series of questions.
How do I want to be perceived by the jurors? During deliberation, what words would I ideally like the jurors to use when describing me? In the same way that a traveler must first decide on a destination before he can map his journey, a witness must decide what aspects of her personality are most supportive of the attorneys’ theme and her own truth. What qualities do I possess that the jurors must experience in order to believe the attorney’s theory and my testimony? Once the witness has narrowed her list of critical qualities to three or four, she can use them to create an intention statement, a self-describing statement that calls her true self to the fore. Repeating her personal intention statement will keep her on track, reminding her subconscious mind of her true qualities and encouraging her subtle actions to more accurately represent the person she is, not the person opposing counsel describes.

What conclusion must the jurors come to in order to find on my behalf? As with all decisions there is a final element that creates cohesiveness and sways our convictions toward our ultimate decision. Define that final element. By understanding what the jurors must feel, see or in some way experience as the final step to their conclusions the witness identifies for himself a quality that will be supported by his intention statement.

What actions - actual and described - will lead the jurors toward my intended conclusion? The jury must see and experience the witness as the person he says he is. The jurors measure the words the witness uses, the attitude he carries and his described actions against what is said about him.

How can I define my personal involvement in three short statements? The jurors must understand the witness’s role. By reducing the complexities to three short interrelated statements the witness clarifies her thought process. She finds that all details fall neatly under one of the three and her feelings and reactions to each becomes more clearly defined. The witness will find numerous opportunities to insert these statements into her testimony.

In my opinion, what is the most important obstacle the jurors must traverse if they are to come to my intended conclusion? If the witness is a health care professional the jurors must feel safe with him. In order for the jurors to support him fully they must say to themselves, “I would feel safe in this person’s hands. I would place my wife, husband, child, mother in the care of this person.” The lay witness must pass through a filter of reasonableness. The jury measures the experience of the lay witness as if it were himself, “If I was met with this set of circumstances, how would I react?”

What is my personal viewpoint regarding this case? How do I see the events that have led to the current conflict? The witness may have an opinion that has not been expressed. Holding an unvoiced opinion may prove counter productive as it has a way of seeping into the witness’s testimony. Feelings of guilt affect the way a witness relates to the jury and may compromise her testimony. The witness must live his intention statement. Feelings of guilt or shame or fear or anger cannot coexist with the truth in the intention statement. The witness must do what needs to be done to resolve any conflicting feelings she may carry.

I’ve periodically worked with a client who did not like his attorney or an attorney who confided his dislike of the client. While lasting friendship may not be essential, teamwork is. The entire trial fits together as a collection of important pieces. The witness is a vitally important piece, controlled by how he thinks, what he says and how he relates to jurors. After months or years of developed fear or anger the witness deserves the support required to transform into an asset for the case. With help he can effectively become himself.

“I have been a Courtroom Behaviorist since 1979 when, through an act of other-worldly guidance, I began teaching attorneys (using my background in theatre and psychology) courtroom presentation skills. After seven years of teaching seminars and assisting in the development of cases from Colorado to Wisconsin to Texas to California, I extended my practice to trial preparation for key witnesses.
Over the many years and thousands of clients since that time I’ve devised (and re-devised) ways to help witnesses effectively present themselves and communicate their testimony. Lawsuits are unpleasant, time devouring, self-esteem depleting processes. My goal is to streamline the process toward a confident, clear and concise presentation.
- Glynn Bedington, Courtroom Behaviorist

I am certainly not an expert but a website I recently started working on made a new record appearance(for me) on Google. I built the first page for this site on a Saturday and the following Saturday afternoon the home page showed up in the Google index.

Ten Steps to the Google Index

First I created 5 original pages. I then took 5 pages from ezine articles and posted them on my new website. All of these pages are related to the same theme. March 31, 2007

Create a Links Page

Next I created a links page and linked to several websites in the same local vicinity of my website. March 31, 2007

Create a Sitemap

I built a site map of my site with links to all of my pages on the site. I linked from all of the pages on the site to my home page and to my site map. March 31, 2007

Verify with Google

Next I verified the site with my Google account. I went to Google Webmaster Tools and followed the directions on how to verify my site. It took about 10 minutes. It is a simple process. April 1, 2007

Build a Sitemap.xml

Next I built a site map –Sitemap.xml– I searched on Google for “how to build a Site map” and found a site that built my Sitemap for me. I built a general web site map with an .xml ending. April 1, 2007

Build a Sitemap.xml page

Next I loaded my Sitemap.xml onto my website. I named the page “Sitemap.xml”. April 1, 2007

Google accepted Sitemap

Next I put my Sitemap.xml URL in the box in Google webmaster tools. I checked the next day and Google had accepted it. April 1, 2007

Submit Articles

Next I submitted an article to EzineArticles.com. One of the articles I wrote for my website I submitted. I changed the links on a couple of articles that had already been accepted by Ezine Article to include links to my new website. 3 links. April 1-3, 2007

Links on another Website

I have another website that I put two links onto that is in the same industry as the new website. This other website is not highly rated by Google in fact none of the pages have a page rank above zero. I thought it couldn’t hurt so I dropped in a couple of links. 2 more links April 3, 2007

EBAY Auction Link

I also put a link to my new website on two of the auctions I am running on eBay. 2 more links. April 3, 2007

Checking for the Domain to Appear in the Google Index

On the morning of the seventh day it did not appear but several of the links that I had posted on EzineArticles showed up. I kept checking for the domain name on Google. Saturday afternoon seven days and 16 hours after I first listed mydomainname.Googlepages.com, the home page of my new website popped up as I searched for it. I am not linking to the website in this article because I don’t want this article to impact the website traffic. The search shows Google has 180,000 pages in their index with the two words that I used in the title of my new free twowords.Googlepages.com. My new website showed up as number two. 4/7/2007

Google Webmaster Tools

I checked my Google Webmaster Tools on the 7th and the Google website did not show any pages indexed even though one of the pages was showing up in the index. Checking in Google Tools on 4/8/2007 it showed my homepage as having been indexed on 4/6/2007.

Everything I did in reference to this website I have listed here. I am amazed because I have had websites take months to finally make it to the Google Index. I plan on putting more pages on my new website and growing it. I will write updates on this websites progress on my Googlepages.com/eightdaystogoogleindex”>Web Hosting 2055 website regularly if you are interested.

I am going to log all actions I am taking on the website as I do them.

4/8/2007 put link in Googlepages forum to the new website. As of today the website has 14 total pages counting sitemaps.

4/10/2007 I put more original pages up. Total now 24 pages. Still only one page in the Google Index.

Rick Kern Website Researcher, Website builder,
http://webhosting2055.googlepages.com

As you may already know, there are many ways to make money online. With a little creativity and work, you can build your online empire and create multiple streams of income. It isn’t wise to have only one stream of income, especially on the Internet, where things can change radically almost overnight. The market is very volatile on the Internet so you need to be ready whatever happens and have in place multiple streams of cashflow.

Here are 3 ways to make money online that many have not thought of:

1. Freelancing. If you have a talent for writing, you can get paid for writing online. Simply bid for projects at sites like elance.com and you may be hired to write a few articles or even a complete book. As you get more positive feedback, you can charge more for your services.

2. Buying domains and reselling them for profit. What’s in a name? Domains are hot commodity on the web. Not all the profitable domain names are taken up. There are hidden goldmines out there. Everyday, thousands of domain names are expiring. If you can find just one domain which a big company might be interested in, you could be raking in 5 figures. It’s no joke, thousands of people are doing this even for a living.

3. Selling virtual gold. No, not e-gold! Thousands of people are making money acquiring and selling World Of Warcraft gold, particularly in China. Others are also pulling in profits from the game Second Life. If you enjoy gaming, this may be a profitable solution for you.

These are just three ways of making money online. Can you think of more?

Fabian Tan makes a short trip to his office everyday - his home! In 2006, he ‘murdered’ his job and now earns a solid income online. Go behind the scenes to discover more of his job-killing strategies and secrets at MurderYourJob.com

A promise is a cloud: Fulfillment is rain.
~Arabian Proverb

As difficult as it is to say, I have broken a few promises that I have made throughout my lifetime. Not on purpose, mind you, but mostly by omission. I’d make the promise, diligently work at following through, then be faced with a challenge or something out of my experience or expectations, and in the interest of self preservation or self something, temporarily forget about the promise and go in a different direction. Let me explain.

Let’s start with some of the small ones. “I promise Dad, I’ll study as hard as I can.” Sounds innocent enough doesn’t it? But this promise never took in the fact that I was a teenage boy, and sports, girls and anything but study was what I was about back then. I had no sooner stated that promise than I was on my way out the door. I promised what I. I couldn’t keep.

Ok, how about, “I promise sweetheart, I’ll do that yard work or (insert chore here) on the weekend”. Three months later, it’s still not done. I meant it at the time, but other things became more important… like avoiding it. I promised what I didn’t really want to keep.

The day Shannan, my first beautiful daughter was presented to me by the doctor in the birthing room, I held her, looked into her eyes, and fell head over heels in love with her and promised her that I would never let anything or anyone hurt her. Well, life can often get in the way as they learn to live and to love. Actually, she is much stronger today because I wasn’t always able to keep all of that promise. She has learned to become a strong young woman completely capable of taking care of herself. Actually the same can be said for our other two kids as well. I promised what I had no way of keeping.

We promise for a number of reasons, like self preservation or avoiding a consequence. “I promise I’ll be good” or “I promise I’ll never do that again.” We also make promises because we want to make a change or create a pleasant future state. “I promise to honour, love and cherish…” or to state an intention… “I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth…” Some people promise to manipulate…”Mr. Prospect, this is the best product in the world, you will LOVE it…”

Promises are necessary for connecting and creating accountability, but it’s often the reasons that we make promises that should come under examination. If we take this as a subject for study, we’ll probably find that we often promise things that we are sometimes not able or capable of delivering. Oh, the intention at the time was good, but life got in the way. I’m not making excuses for broken promises; actually, I’m stating the opposite. What I’m saying is, unless you are 100% committed to what it is that you are promising, and you don’t have the evidence, ability and intention to back up your words, then don’t.

In business, some people promise their clients the moon, but once the deal is inked, the moon barely becomes a small foothill because of broken promises. It often happens that once the sale is made, they (salespeople) usually hand off the service of the client to another department, and then forget about it because they feel that they have done their part. It would appear that once the intensity of the moment wanes, so too does the enthusiasm. Then they never follow up until they want to make another sale to that same client. This is one of the reasons that salespeople are so mistrusted today. They have been given a bad name by the “Herb Tarliks’” (WKRP in Cincinnati) of the world who, instead of under promising and over delivering, often over promise and under deliver, leaving customers frustrated and a bit gun shy for the next salesperson who comes along.

To make and keep a promise, we must “sign on” to it. Like writing a vision for our business or our lives, there are three fundamentals we must make to make it come alive and have a life of existence:

1. 1.-You must create in your minds a successful picture of what making the promise will actually create or do for you. See the results in your mind first, and then create what you see.
   
2. 2.-Be committed to the promise by using positive actions every day to follow up on your pledge. Actions create habits.
   
3. 3.-Make sure that when making the promise that you use powerful words that you can connect to, to move you and keep you in action.
   

Just by following these three simple steps, you will find that people will come to trust you more, and you will be winning friends and influencing people.

This week, be the kind of person that, when making a vow or a promise, people will know and have confidence that you are a person of truth and action. They will know because you always deliver on what you say. There are not many truer callings than that.

Make this your best week ever.

Paul

For 22 years, Paul Kearley has thrived in the personal development and coaching business. As a Master Coach for the past 10 years, Paul’s passion is in developing and creating increased potential with both clients and other trainers.

A columnist for two newspapers in Eastern Canada, and editor for his own weekly ezine, Paul writes articles that address the everyday challenges we all have and face in life and in business, and offers suggestions for success.

If you’d like to connect with Paul or subscribe to “E-Motion” his weekly ezine, simply goto the web site at http://www.mustfactor.com or by calling 506 433 4722.

In many ways canine pregnancy is not that different from human pregnancy, although it is somewhat shorter, averaging sixty-three days. A dog’s diet, as well as their consumption of medicine needs to be monitored during pregnancy, just like a woman’s should be, and you may notice changes in your dog’s emotions and social behavior. She can even experience morning sickness!

Most dogs will gain 15-25% of their original body weight during pregnancy, although this does depend on the number of puppies they are carrying and some do not put on noticeable weight until the last week before whelping.

Nutritional intake needs to increase during canine pregnancy and lactation; your dog may even double the amount she eats. During lactation she will need a high protein puppy food, and you may want to gradually introduce this during the last two weeks of her pregnancy, or even earlier. If you are concerned about providing the right pregnancy diet to meet your particular dog’s needs you should consult your veterinarian.

You should try to avoid nutritional supplements during canine pregnancy, even though these may seem like a good idea. Your dog will naturally produce everything her puppies need to thrive during lactation, and supplements may interfere with this process. This is particularly applicable to calcium supplements. If you use a good quality, high protein dog food, supplements will not be necessary.

A lot of canine medication is safe to use during pregnancy. If you give your dog regular preventative medication for heartworm you should continue this throughout pregnancy and lactation. Some medicines to get rid of other types of parasite, such as hookworms or roundworms, can be used but you should consult your veterinarian before administering these. It is important that your dog does get treatment for these conditions as otherwise she can pass them on to her unborn puppies.

Vaccinations should not be given during canine pregnancy. However, if possible, it is a great idea to have your dog vaccinated just before becoming pregnant as this will ensure she has a high level of antibodies to pass onto her puppies during lactation.

About halfway through her pregnancy you should take your dog to the veterinarian for a wellness check and to confirm the pregnancy. The veterinarian will be able to do this by examining the stomach, but a blood test can be done to provide a conclusive result.

You may want to have a radiograph done three weeks prior to the deliver to count the puppies. Knowing how many puppies to expect will help you to prepare for the delivery. Remember that your dog can become pregnant by more than one male during any one heat stage so you may be surprised at the number of puppies she is going to produce.

During the last three weeks of your dog’s pregnancy you may want to isolate her completely from contact with other dogs. This will ensure she does not pick up the herpes virus. While this is usually harmless in adult dogs, it can trigger a miscarriage in your pregnant dog.

You may find she wants to stay close to you during this time anyway. She may dislike being left alone and will probably become more affectionate, if a little irritable. As the delivery date approaches she will start to look for a safe place to give birth, and you should give some thought to where this will be.

As with human pregnancy, it is important to remember that canine pregnancy is a natural process, and your dog has been blessed with the natural ability to carry it through. With a little extra attention to nutrition, and some protection from common diseases, this should be a stress free time for you and your dog.

If you’d like more information on nutritional deficiency in pregnant and lactating dogs, click here. Rebecca writes on dog health and other four legged issues.

You would not be working at a nonprofit if there was not a passion for your mission that compensated for the sacrifices in salary and other benefits you could probably earn in the commercial world. That says something about the kind of people we are. Most of us are:

* Trusting. We cannot imagine that there might be bad people in our idealized world;
* Optimistic. How could we survive if we did not believe we really could make a difference?
* Sympathetic. We are mostly attracted to needy causes or people;
* Non-confrontational. We mostly like consensus and seek agreement.
* Collaborative. Our comfort level is with working as a team rather than going it alone.

These are admirable and useful qualities to have in the nonprofit world. However, there are other people in your industry who do not fit this description. They operate more like they were in competition with everyone. Instead of trusting, they are wary. Instead of being optimistic, they are fearful of failure. Instead of being sympathetic, they are self-promoting. Instead of being non-confrontational, they fiercely stake out and defend their turf. Instead of being collaborative, they prefer to work alone isolated from their colleagues.

These people see their nonprofits being in competition with every other nonprofit - and they are absolutely right. However, the qualities they bring to the contest can often be disruptive and ugly. If you do not acknowledge this, you will lose donor dollars, volunteer commitments, membership, and patronage.

This article will describe the competitive environment in which nonprofits uncharacteristically find themselves. A subsequent article will deal with the strategies you need to consider in order to meet this challenge.

Where is the competition? It is coming at you from all directions:

* Geographic - Look at the other nonprofits in your town. Are some of you competing for the same resources? The problem is that if a donor decides, for example, to set up a charitable trust in favor of the hospital, it is unlikely they will consider a similar commitment to you. If the local library sponsors a town fair for their benefit, it means that you should not expect great success duplicating the experience. If a national charity prevails in a time of particular need, be it a tsunami or Katrina, people will channel their beneficence to them rather than you.

* Category - If you are a museum, you are in competition with other museums. For example, if you are a local historical society, your constituency may reduce their aid to you if they spend a weekend in Washington, DC at the Smithsonian. You are also in competition for support from your County Museum, State Museum, etc.

* Perception - As other nonprofits promote themselves in newspapers, magazines, newsletters, tv, and radio, you will find their name recognition increasing at your expense. Nonprofits need to recognize the importance of promoting their brand.

* Economic - If other nonprofits can outspend you on technology, lure talent with higher salaries, extend their markets by advertising and public relations, and spend money on consultants, they are positioning themselves to enjoy the dividends of these investments.

There are some ways that you can beat the competition, and create a better environment for the entire nonprofit community. We deal with these in the article “21 Things You Must do to Stay Competitive in the 21st Century.”

Jim Gould is the founder and Chairman of
Fundraising Solutions, a fundraising company that offers a free fundraising program for non profit organization fundraising.