This is a time to check out internet business opportunities such as the seven business ideas below.

Merri and I enjoy having an international internet business.

This recent ranking from Alexa.com shows how our site is in the top 16,000 web sites in America, top 8,000 in Canada and top 500 in Ecuador.  There is more… as you’ll see in pictures below how the recent recession has caused our internet business to grow.  So you can do the same… earn more as others seem to earn less.

Our sales have doubled since the recession began and our list of readers has increased over 100% also.

Knowing the philosophies that we follow to prosper from change can help you invest better and can help you create an internet success if you desire.

The Western economy has changed… probably forever.  The old ways are gone and those who held jobs… or still have work in the private sector have lost the most.

The economy will recover… in numbers yes… but the way people earn and work… and how the money is distributed and to whom especially… has been profoundly altered.  This is especially true in value added countries like Canada… the USA and most of Europe.

Excerpts from a recent New York Times article entitled “After Escaping Jobless Rolls, Trauma May Linger” by Michael Luo helps explain why:

RALEIGH, N.C. — Antje Newby went back to work in September, but she has still not escaped the burden imposed by nine months of unemployment.

Antje Newby, working again, said, “We’ve got financial impact we’re going to deal with forever.”

Tom Newby stays home in part to help his children adjust to their move from in the Detroit area.

Mrs. Newby and her husband were forced to walk away from their home in suburban Detroit and are now living here in a rented house with their three children. They are bracing for a huge tax bill in the spring because of early withdrawals they made on her 401(k) and taxes they still owe on unemployment benefits. Their credit is in tatters, and their 16-year marriage showed cracks they are still trying to repair.

The wound of unemployment, as her family has learned, is not cauterized so quickly, and lives do not simply go back to the way they were.

Interviews with more than a dozen people who were out of work at least a half-year during the recession and have now landed jobs found many adjusting to new realities. Some of the changes are self-imposed; others forced upon them. They include grappling with newfound insecurities and scaled-back budgets; reshaped priorities and broken relationships. In some ways, it is equivalent to the lingering symptoms of post-traumatic stress.

One person interviewed said, “If the rug is pulled out again, I’m not going to survive”.

Another said “We’ve got financial impact we’re going to deal with forever.”

Many of the old rules of employment have been turned upside down. For example in the past people worked for the government for job security but expected lower pay. Now, according to the Cato Institute this has completely flipped and the reversal is growing:

The Bureau of Economic Analysis has released its annual data on compensation levels by industry (Tables 6.2D, 6.3D, and 6.6D here). The data show that the pay advantage enjoyed by federal civilian workers over private-sector workers continues to expand.

The George W. Bush years were very lucrative for federal workers. In 2000, the average compensation (wages and benefits) of federal workers was 66 percent higher than the average compensation in the U.S. private sector. The new data show that average federal compensation is now more than double the average in the private sector.

See the full Cato article below.

Yet at the same time there has never been a better time… with greater opportunity, for an internet business… if… you are choose a  business that flourishes with change.

We are in an era of global structural change… in economics… in society and in the way we work because technology brings us low cost administration, low cost access to data, low cost communication, and low cost travel, plus…
the opening of markets beyond logic that rely more on passion and experience than on efficiency and cost.

We looked at these economic and structural changes, and what to do about them in the international investing and business portion of our Quantum Wealth Seminar we conducted in Mt. Dora, Florida last week.

We saw how markets are shifting from materialistic needs to emotional needs.

Love-friendship-control-freedom-tradition-change-big answers-recognition and care are emotional needs that create expanding demand and business opportunity

The next generation is having more involvement in every step of the buying process.

Uniting the body and mind is an emerging market.

Natural physical health, fitness will expand but botox and insulin sales will also grow.

Mental health, retreats and spas prosper.

The health of the planet is becoming a more important business.

There is a shift of emphasis from GDP to GWB  (General Wellness Barometer Happiness Factor)
Business will operate with more passion.

We saw how these shifts create new opportunities for investment and internet business in seven areas.

Currency Distortions
Value Markets
Emerging Markets
Wellness
Water and Alternate Energy
Truth & Cohesion
Ecuador and Smalltown USA Real Estate

I call these seven areas the Magnificent Seven… these are the places where I am looking for opportunity and focusing our efforts now.

This focus has paid off.

This chart from Alexa shows our…

traffic rank.  At times we are nearly ranked among the top 40,000 websites in the entire world.

There is another picture about this below.

Over the month of March, we’ll look at each of these magnificent seven opportunities to see how they can help you.

Learn more about international investing in the magnificent seven at Jyske Global Asset Managers forex seminar in Laguna Beach this April . See details here.

Or join us for our next Quantum Wealth Seminar June 24 to June 27, 2010.  See more here

Gary

Or Join Merri and me or Ecuador Living’s staff in Ecuador in March 2010.

This Alexa.com chart shows our that website’s reach at times is 4/100s of a percent of all websites.  That is a lot of reach for a tiny two person business.  More important… the trend of our ranking and our reach over 2007, 2008 and 2009 has been up and up.

Join us so we can help you enjoy prosperity from change as well.

Here is what one delegate at our Quantum Wealth seminar last week wrote:

Thanks mucho for everything.  Just so you know, we are in brain overload right now, thanks to you! Your course was awesome! So much to do! I am overwhelmed and going in a hundred directions!

March 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Fl.

March 15    Travel to Quito

March 16 Travel Quito Cotacachi

March 17-18  North Andes, Imbabura & Cotacachi Real Estate Tour

March 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour

March 21  Travel Cotacachi to Manta

March 22-23   Manta & Mid Coast Real Estate Tour

March 24 Travel Manta to Cuenca

March 25-26 Cuenca Real Estate Tour

March 27  Travel Cuenca to Salinas

Mar. 28-29   Salinas & South Coast Real Estate Tour

The Ecuador airfare war makes it cheaper to get to Ecuador than ever before… and there is still time to enjoy great Ecuador tour savings.

International Club Three Monthly Payments of $1,190

Our Spring 2010 schedule starts:

Apr. 12-15   Ecuador Export Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 20-21  Coastal Mid Coast Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 23-24  Quito & Mindo Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

The multi tour discounts remain effective for the April tours.

See After Escaping Jobless Rolls, Trauma May Linger

Federal Pay Continues Rapid Ascent

There are numerous benefits to developing Ecuador internet ideas.

One benefit is freedom.  Many readers move to Ecuador… or elsewhere out of  the US or other developed nations because they feel they have lost freedom.

This makes sense because along with the goodies of successful capitalistic democracies comes a myriad of regulations.  I think it is fair to say that almost every citizen of The US, Canada or Europe breaks some law… each and every day because… there are so many rules and regulations!  Often the laws are without common sense and…  penalties can be harsh.

Here is an extreme example that took place in Britain shown in excerpts from a Telegraph article entitled “Mother condemns council for school places spying mission” by John Bingham.

That article says:  A mother has launched an unprecedented legal challenge against a council’s “ludicrous and completely outrageous” use of spying powers to check whether they were living in their school catchment area. Jenny Paton, 40, her boyfriend and three children were placed under surveillance by undercover council officials for almost three weeks after an unfounded tip-off that they were using a false address to secure a place at a popular primary school.

Their home in Poole, Dorset, and the family car were photographed and their day-to-day movements were recorded 21 times, even during a half term holiday, in February last year, a hearing in London was told.

Poole Borough Council was given permission for the surveillance under the controversial Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (Ripa), after completing a standard application form designed for dealing with matters of “national security”, a panel of judges heard.

Gordon Nardell, for the family, told the panel that while his clients had carefully stuck to the regulations, the council had “played fast and loose with the rules”.  He said that while school admissions were a “hot topic” which was “second only to house prices” in discussions in pubs and dinner parties, the case was about the wider issue of liberty and the scope of an “extraordinary power”.

The panel heard that the three children were specifically named as targets for “intrusive surveillance” alongside their parents in the council’s application which alleged fraud.

With two children already attending Lilliput First School in Poole, Miss Paton and her partner applied for a place their then youngest daughter in January last year.

They had just bought a new home outside the catchment area but were still trying to sell their first house and did not move in until after the cut-off point for applications in early January, the panel heard.

When the council received the first of two tip-offs that they were living outside the area later that month, the family were asked to provide proof including car insurance documents to show that they were still at the old address, which they did.

Rather than call the family in for an interview the council launched an extensive surveillance operation.

There is a link to the entire article below.

This is a British example, but I have little doubt that I could easily find numerous stories in Canada and the US… Germany, France and such where petty bureaucracy restricted the freedom of citizens.  In fact if you have an example of a stupid law or petty bureaucracy… please share.  I’ll pass it on if I like it… without using your name.

Many readers report feeling freer in Ecuador or other countries where governments are poorer and a bit more disorganized or shall we say… less efficient.  Merri and I definitely feel this.

Having the freedom to move around also brings other benefits because the sun always shines somewhere..

For example sunrises are great at our Blue Ridge farm… part of the year.

Yet when they turns into this…

we want freedom to move south and work like this instead!

It dropped to freezing last night here in Mt. Dora…  but at our North Carolina farm it was 4 degrees and they are expecting up to foot more of foot of snow and more next week. Our help had to bring in a dozer to clear the road so they could feed our horses.

In Cotacachi it never reaches freezing.

Only at the highest points of Mt. Cotacachi (almost 17,000 feet) is there ever ice.

Mt. Cotacachi seen from the center of the village on a winter day.

Here is a winter shot of Mt Imbabura.  At over 16,000 feet there is rarely ice.  This mountain shot was taken from the front window of…

this Cotacachi Ecuador adobe house for sale.

See more on Ecuador’s weather below.

Yet when we leave for Ecuador or wherever… departing what we called home… where we worked… earned…  we ask… what to do?

We may need to earn income.  We may just want to be fulfilled and occupied.

An internet business can be mobile and bring you freedom in life… and security and something to do that satisfies as well.

My first book published in the 1970s was entitled “Passport to International Profit – How to be a One Man Multinational”.

That book and and our newsletters and reports and website have always focused around the premise that the sun always shines somewhere.

One of the greatest privileges of owning an internet business is that you are allowed to work in so many places where the sun shines, metaphorically, economically and really.

Merri and I work hard… no doubt about that. You’ll see in the lesson below that most internet business owners do.  Yet one’s efforts never seems like work… when you love what we do and are free to enjoy working from many different places you love.

Everyone should work towards this freedom… earning their way… with like minded people… in great places… where the sun shines.

This is the mission of our Tangled Web course.

Many readers of the course enjoy such success with their web businesses that we like sharing what they have learned.

One such reader is Michelle Toole who has built her first web success and has started another. She shares many lessons such as the one below about search engine optimization.

I hope you enjoy and gain from it.  We give special thanks to Michelle for sharing it.

We are especially proud when our courses help delegates develop their own business.  Michele Toole is a wonderful example. She sent this note with the latest lesson in her course.

Hi Gary,  Great newsletter this morning, Candace Pert is one of my favorite authors! Attached is my article for this month.  I have some great news, my web site  http://healthy-holistic-living.com is now getting on average 2,000 visitors a day!  Yup my little one man show web site now gets close to 60,000 visitors each month!  The power of the internet is amazing as well as the opportunities.  We have said it before but it deserves saying again the internet is truly the great equalizer.

My web site is at a point now that it is growing without much effort and produces a nice passive income allowing me to continue working on my second site http://home-remedies-and-natural-cures.com and to get my third site up and running.  I am also working on various joint ventures with other web sites focusing on helping others start their own web business. I am doing monthly webinars helping disabled individuals start their own business on the Internet and will be starting a coaching club in the new year.  The opportunities are only limited by one’s imagination.

Again I can not thank you and Merri enough, I look forward to many great adventures and new experiences in the coming years!

Michelle was disabled when she first attended our courses and tours.  A shamanic minga tour helped her enjoy a full recovery and our internet publishing course helped her develop her own successful internet business.  99% of Michelle’s success is her work… her dedication… here striving towards a worthwhile goal.   Yet even if we added 1% that is very fulfilling for us.

One internet idea that can be helpful in Ecuador or anywhere is that search engines can help create freedom.

Here is what Michelle has to say about Search Engine Optimization.

Why is Search Engine Optimization So Important?

Why are so many people on the internet consumed with making sure that their web site is optimized to please the search engines?

Good question and one that lot of people really do not understand. Because when it comes to business, we are taught to please our customers or potential customers and absolutely nothing about pleasing the ’search engines.’

So, why is it important for web sites to please the search engines?  Because the search engines have the potential to send a ton of ‘free’ or ‘organic’ traffic to your web site every single day.  That is like having a bus full of customers looking for that one specific product you sell stop in front of your store every single day, for ‘free.’  So pleasing the search engines can literally make or break your web business.

And if you are now wondering how you go about pleasing the search engines, the answer is simple; you do that through Search Engine Optimization (SEO).  But just in case, let’s first start by defining what is meant by ’search engine optimization’ or SEO for short:

According to wikepedia.com “search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via “natural” or un-paid (“organic” or “algorithmic”) search results as opposed to search engine marketing (SEM) which deals with paid inclusion. Typically, the earlier (or higher) a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine.”

In other words, search engine optimization (SEO) is the method by which a webmaster or web site owner communicates or optimizes their web site to let the search engines know that they are indeed a good resource for their searchers and should be indexed in the top search pages.  Search engines are not humans and, because of this, search engine providers have created a method of ranking web sites based on a set of very technical and ever changing algorithms to calculate site relevancy. Sounds simple enough, but truthfully, it is quite technical.

Just know this going into it, there are no short cuts when it comes to building a successful on-line business and that includes search engine optimization.  You have to be methodical, thorough and at the same time keep your readers’ (potential customers) needs in mind. But with a bit of elbow grease and the right information you can satisfy the search engines and your readers getting that ever important ‘free’ traffic to your site. Here are some important guidelines to follow:

Basic Search Engine Optimization Guidelines:

1.  Over-deliver your CONTENT

This is probably the single most important thing you need to do if you want to be found on the Internet. Yes, really! I know you were expecting some juicy technique or tip that you could quickly implement on your site but the bottom line is nothing is going to get the job done like quality content.  Remember, people on the internet today are looking for INFORMATION!  By over-delivering original, high quality content, you are assured to please both your real visitor and the search engines.

Keep in mind quality content is the foundation of any good web site but fresh content is what makes the difference between a good site and a successful site.

Fresh content keeps the search engines coming back to your site; and the more they visit the more likely your pages will get ranked faster and higher on the search engine result pages bringing you even more traffic.

2.   Proper Keyword Selection and Keyword Placement

Proper keyword selection is essential to building a successful web business.

Before you build any of your web pages, you need to know the basic supply and demand. This means knowing the user interest for the specific keywords or theme associated with the web page you intend to build.  This is especially important in the initial stages of building your web business.

Proper placement of keywords is also vital to being indexed by the search engines.  You see, the search engines looks at certain parts of your page to determine “what exactly your page is about” and you want to be consistent in the information you supply the search engines.  In the future, as search engines become more and more advanced this may become obsolete but for now it needs to be an integral part of your web building process.

Luckily for me I use a closed business system (Site Build It) which has two nifty tools, one called ‘brain storm it’ which lets me know the basic supply and demand for any given keyword or phrase and the other called ‘analyze it’ which lets me know if my web page is properly optimized.  This makes my job a lot easier. You may want to consider finding a tool that supports the more technical aspects to search engine optimization (SEO) to help you develop your web business.

3.   Get Linked

Search engines use a multitude of methods to determine the value of the content of your web site one of which is called page rank, which is determined by back-links.  Back-links are simply a link to your web site from another web site. The more sites that link to your site, and the more credible the linking sites are, and the closer the linking sites are to the theme of your site, the more “popularity points” Search Engines award to your site and its web pages, ultimately ranking you higher in the search engines.

In the short term, you will have to develop a linking strategy that includes utilizing a combination of search engine directories and niche directories, social networking sites and the likes, but the long-term strategy for building link popularity is a passive one. Simply build a site of such high quality that people want to link to it in order to increase the value of their own visitors’ experiences. What could be easier? Your link popularity builds itself! That is the power of “keeping it real.”

4.   Don’t try to fool the search engines

Search engines want their results to be accurate, they are in the business of providing searchers with the information they are looking for and they don’t like it when people try to trick them. Don’t use cloaking, link farms, keyword stuffing or any other dubious methods.  If you do, you risk being penalized or ever banned from the search engines.  Just don’t do it!

Bottom Line…

There are a lot of tips and techniques to search engine optimization but what it all comes down to is providing your readers/customers with what they want: quality information and products.  Keep it real and you will keep your readers coming back ultimately getting you that most wanted response… kaCHING!

You can check out Michelle’s web sites at http://healthy-holistic-living.com and http://home-remedies-and-natural-cures.com.  To get more great tips, like the ones above and to see how and what tools she used to create a successful on-line business go to http://sitesell-sbi.com

This is really but advice. Good search engine rankings can help you…

On the Other Hand…

Another reader of this course, Steve Barwick has a really successful website business that offers health benefits of colloidal silver.

He shares a different story:

Congratulations on your Google ranking.  That’s very impressive.  And I am envious.

In regards to my web site story as related by Gary Scott, you asked, “I’m impressed with how you increased your sales, but did you also increase the amount of visitors to your site?”

The letter I wrote to Gary was about how changing my homepage from a sales page to a “story” page increased sales.  It didn’t increase web site traffic.  It only increased sales from the existing traffic.

Generating additional traffic is a different issue altogether.

For traffic, I’m not as concerned as Gary about Google rankings.  Don’t get me wrong.  I’d love to have higher Google rankings.  And eventually I’ll figure out what I have to do to achieve that goal.  (Any suggestions would be appreciated.)

But…your case is a good example of why I haven’t concentrated on Google rankings very much lately.  I used to be ranked by Google back on page 100 for the term “colloidal silver generator.”  Then I got to page 33.  Then page 11.  Then page 3.  Then the bottom of page 1.  But like you, I didn’t notice very much increase in actual web site traffic as I incrementally climbed the Google rankings.

The bottom line is that a high Google ranking is nice.  Very nice.  But just because you have a high Google ranking doesn’t automatically mean you’ll get lots of web site traffic.

You should.  But you won’t necessarily.

Like you, I really don’t understand why the Google ranking doesn’t always translate into increased traffic.  But I know that in terms of generating traffic, there are other factors that matter, and in many ways those “other factors” have done far more to help me boost my web site traffic than achieving incrementally higher Google rankings has.

The vast majority of my web site traffic comes from my blogs (see www.ColloidalSilverSecrets.blogspot.com and www.SecretsOfNaturalHealing.blogspot.com).  These are separate from my web site (www.TheSilverEdge.com).

This is the hard work part of generating traffic.  Everybody wants what I call “magic traffic,” i.e., traffic that just comes to you with no effort (such as from achieving a high Google ranking and then sitting on your laurels).  I wish there were such a thing, but so far I have found that there’s not.  A high Google ranking is nice.  But it’s not magic.  In my limited experience it takes hard work to generate regular and increasing web site traffic.

So the first and greatest source of web site traffic to my web site is from the blog posts.  And the second largest web site traffic source is from my email blasts to my existing customer base and opt-in names.

A third traffic source is my online forum activity, i.e., going to online forums and communities that allow commenting, and judiciously “salting” my comments with a link back to my web sites.

For example, I might go to BlurtIt.com or YahooAnswers.com, and see if anyone has asked a question about colloidal silver usage. If so, I answer the question, and leave a link back to my site.  I also go to CureZone.com and get involved in online comment strings about colloidal silver usage, or about specific infectious diseases, and I always salt my comments with a link back to my site.

I also do google searches for recent news articles about colloidal silver or infectious disease, and if the news articles allow comments, I’ll salt my comment with a link back to my site.

Finally, a fourth traffic source is online article writing activity, i.e., posting articles I’ve written to web sites such as Self-growth.com, eZine.com, HealthierTalk.com, eHow.com and others. The deal here is that you write an article on a specific topic (example: “New Study Proves Colloidal Silver Decimates Fungal Pathogens; Even Superior to Popular Anti-Fungal Drugs”) and at the end of your article you get to include a link back to your web site.

Those four areas (i.e., blogging, email blasts to customer list and opt-in names, online forum comments and online article posts) are where the hard work comes in that produces the vast majority of my web site traffic.

If you’ll watch what Gary does, you’ll see that he writes something new on his web site (www.GaryScott.com), which is a modified blog, every single day.  There’s always something new on his site.  You’ll see that he also captures names right from his web site with a “FREE e-Newsletter” opt-in, located in the upper right hand corner of his home page.  This is something you absolutely need to start doing.  Gary has spent years building that list (i.e., hard work), and he continuously builds it.  (More hard work.)  He then emails his list daily, alerting each person on the list to his latest web site post.  Of course, all of this is designed to draw in potential customers for his seminars and other products.

I have basically copied that technique, but with some minor modifications and additions.  For example, at present, I keep my two blogs separate from my web site.  And I use the blogs to drive traffic to the site.

At least several times a week I try to post something new to the blogs.  I don’t always make that goal.  Gary is a much more prolific online writer than I am.  I have a direct mail business that I’m more involved in, and working that business takes up most of my work days, which, unfortunately, are often seven days a week.  But I am working slowly toward weaning myself away from the direct mail business, and replacing it with the online business.

Anyway, I write the blog posts as often as possible.  If you go to either of the blogs and look, you’ll see that I give tons of great content.  But I also use the blog posts shamelessly to drive traffic directly to my sales web site.  (Actually, I have more than one sales web site, but for purposes of this conversation we’ll limit it to the main one at www.TheSilverEdge.com.)

I know that the search engines love blogs that add new material regularly.  So as I mentioned, I try to do so.  And another key I’ve found is that the blog posts need to be named or titled appropriately in order to get high Google search rankings, and to make it easy for people searching for the same topic to find my post.  For example, if you google “colloidal silver and ear infections” or “colloidal silver and pets” you’ll see my blog posts on those topics rank on the first page.  This generates traffic to the blog much better than a general search for “colloidal silver generators” would generate traffic to my main sales web site.  After all, people who google, for example, a term like “colloidal silver and ear infections” are looking for “treatment” information, which means they have an immediate problem they need to solve.  So I try to slant my blog posts that way.  When I do that, the search engines drive lots of traffic to the blogs, and the blogs in turn drive lots of traffic to the main sales web site because each blog post I do makes it a point to mention the fact that you can make your own colloidal silver a lot less expensively than you can buy it, and that the small machines you need to do so are handily available at www.TheSilverEdge.com.

Like Gary, I also send email notices to my online customer list and opt-in list whenever I do a new blog post, alerting them to the new post.

If you notice on the home page of my web site (www.TheSilverEdge.com), there’s an opt-in list opportunity in the upper left hand-hand corner of the page, offering a free downloadable report, as well as free subscriptions to two e-newsletters.  So I capture email addresses and names that way.  I also capture the email addresses of all online buyers, and continually build my email list, like Gary does.

I also run Google and Yahoo adsense ads directing people to my web site.  But I really limit those.  I only spend about $300 a month on those.  But they do generate a lot of opt-in signups on the web site.  I recognized early on that building a good mailing list of customers and opt-in names of people interested in colloidal silver and natural healing was going to be a major key to online success.  And so, like Gary, whenever I post a new article, I always alert my entire email opt-in and customer list.

I use Visistat.com for watching my web site traffic and determining where it comes from.  About 40% or more typically comes directly from the blog.  In other words, people either find the blog posts through Google searches or through my email blasts, and the blog posts in turn direct them to the web site.  About 20% of my web site traffic typically comes directly from the email blasts (keep in mind that most of my email blasts are designed chiefly to direct my customers and opt-in name subscribers to the blog posts, which in turn drives them to the web site; however, I do include the web site link in the email, along with the link to the blog post, so some traffic from the email blasts bypasses the blog posts and goes straight to the web site).  About 20% of the web site traffic comes from Google, and frankly, most of that is from the adsense campaigns rather than the organic links. About 10% of my web site traffic typically comes from the online forums I visit, at which I post comments about colloidal silver and salt the comments with links back to my web site.  Finally, another 10% comes from the articles I post at the online article-posting web sites I mentioned above.

So…that in a nutshell is how I generate the traffic.  It’s hard work.  But the site is doing better than $100,000 a year in sales now (closer to $200,00 this year, due mostly to the Swine Flu issue which I’ve been able to capitalize on in blog posts, articles and online comments).  That doesn’t compare to the several million a year we do in direct mail sales.  So I have a long way to go before I can start making the switch over to a total online business and still maintain the kind of business revenue I’m used to.  But I recognize that all of the efforts I’m putting into the online marketing now are “long tail” efforts, i.e., every online article I post now, every online comment I make now, every blog post I do now, etc. will continue to drive small amounts of traffic to my web site for years into the future.  (For example, I’m still getting web site traffic from several online comments I posted on various news web sites about the man who turned blue from overdosing on colloidal silver; these comments were posted back in 2008!)  And once you get enough material posted on your blog, in forums and other online avenues, and get into the swing of posting regularly, those small trickles of traffic taken together turn into a nice ongoing stream of traffic.

I recently attended the Blogworld conference in Las Vegas.  I was feeling burned out from juggling my direct mail business with all of that blogging and email blasting and comment and article posting.  I went to the conference looking for that magic solution that would allow me to drive traffic effortlessly to my web site, so I didn’t have to spend so much time at it.  Guess what I found out?  Most of the famous gurus at the conference were working 12 and 16 hour days like me, blogging away and posting and podcasting and email blasting, in efforts to drive traffic to their various online endeavors.  There’s no magic to it.  It’s hard work.  That’s one reason why, as Gary always advises, you need to pick something you’re totally passionate about when you take on an online endeavor. When you’re passionate about a topic, it’s generally fun to work at it, day in and day out.  But work you must.  Regards,  Steve

See Steve’s site at The Silver Edge

and his blogs at: www.ColloidalSilverSecrets.blogspot.com

and www.SecretsOfNaturalHealing.blogspot.com

Conflicting advice?  How I love it, because… puzzles like this cause us to dig deeper into what we are doing and the information that each of these successes has shared.

I find this often… two successful ideas… proven to work… yet seem to conflict.

When this happens to me… the first thing I do is look for what the conflicting systems agree on.

You can see how I operate my internet business from North Carolina, Florida and Ecuador and three lessons I learned from the conflicting advice above as a Tangled Web Internet course subscriber.

Gary

Join Merri, me, my webmaster to learn more on developing an internet business and more Feb. 11-14 at our  International Investing & Internet Business seminar, in Mt. Dora.

You can also join our group and travel to Ecuador after the Mt. Dora seminar.

Feb. 15-16   Travel to and visit Quito
Feb  17         Travel to Manta
Feb. 18-19   Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20        Travel to Cotacachi
Feb. 21-22   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

You gain discounts by attending multiple seminars and tours.

There is still time to enjoy great Ecuador tour savings.

Monthly payments can now be made to attend Ecuador tours. See below.

Our January export tour is almost full… but you can still sign up for the January real estate tours.

However the best deal if you plan to attend six seminars or tours in 2010 is our 2010 International Club membership that allows you and a guest to attend as many of the 56 courses and tours we’ll sponsor and conduct in 2010  (fees would be $40,947 for all these courses individually).

The 2009 club fee was only $2,999. Because we have added four extra south Ecuador beach tours, the 2010, International club fee rises from our 2009 enrollment to $3,500 on January 25th 2010.  Enroll in the International Club now at the original fee of $2,999. Save $501.

International Club 2010 monthly payments.

Attend our 56 investment, business, Spanish, real estate and export, courses and tours in 2010 with one small enrollment fee of $2,999.  Because holiday expenses often tightens the winter cash flow, you can enroll with three monthly payments $1,025 in January… $1,025 in February and $1,025 in March 2010.

International Club 2010 Membership $2,999 Enroll here

International Club 2010 Three Monthly Payments of $1,025

Here are the 56 courses and tours you can attend free. Plus there is even one more savings you will see below.

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 15-18     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 21-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Join us in February or March.

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Fl.

Feb. 15-16   Travel to and visit Quito
Feb  17         Travel to Manta
Feb. 18-19   Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20        Travel to Cotacachi
Feb. 21-22   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Fl.
Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic tour
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour
Mar. 28-29   South Coast Real Estate Tour

Apr. 12-15   Ecuador Export Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 20-21  Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

May  13-14     Ecuador Shamanic Minga  ($499 or couple $749)
May  16-17    Imbabura Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
May  19-20    Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
May  22-23    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
May  25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
May  28-29    South Coast real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

June 24         Quantum Wealth North Carolina
June 25-27    International Investing and Business North Carolina  ( $749 or couple $999)
June 28-29   Travel to Ecuador and Andes
June 30-Jy 1 Imbabura Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
July 3-4          Coastal Real Estate Tour   ($499 or couple $749)
July 6-7          Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour    ($499 or couple $749)
July 9-10        Cuenca Real Estate Tour   ($499 or couple $749)

Sept.   3-6      Ecuador Export Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
Sept.   8-9      Imbabura Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
Sept. 11-12     Coastal Real Estate Tour   ($499 or couple $749)
Sept. 14-15     Cuenca Real Estate Tour    ($499 or couple $749)
Sept. 17-18     Ecuador Shamanic Minga  ($499 or couple $749)
Sept 20-21      South Coast Real Estate tour ($499 or couple $749)

Oct.    7          Quantum Wealth North Carolina
Oct.   8-10     International Investing & Business North Carolina ($749 or couple $999)
Oct.   11-12    Travel to Quito and Andes
Oct.  13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Oct.  16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Oct.  19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Oct. 22-23     Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

Nov.    4-7        Super Thinking + Spanish Course Florida ($749 or couple $999)
Nov.    8-9       Travel to Quito and Andes
Nov. 10-11       Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Nov. 13-14      Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Nov. 16-17      Quito-Mindo Real Estate  ($499 or couple $749)
Nov. 19-20     Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Nov  22-23      South Coast Real Estate Tour (($499 or couple $749)

Dec.   3-5       Ecuador Shamanic Mingo  ($499 or couple $749)
Dec.   7-8       Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Dec.  10-11    Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Dec. 13-14     Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Dec. 16-17      Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

If you join the International Club, the entrance fee for 2010 is $2,999 (until January 2010).  Your attendance fees at all courses will be waived. You and your guest can attend courses worth $40,947.

You can calculate the savings as our schedule of all 2010 courses is shown below.

Arrival dates are always one or two days earlier. Please double check with us before booking flights.

I invite you to be a member of the International Club which allows you and your guest of your choice to attend all of these courses which are valued at $40,947!

There is still time to enjoy great Ecuador tour savings.

Monthly payments can now be made to attend Ecuador tours. See below.

Our January export tour is almost full… but you can still sign up for the January real estate tours.

However the best deal if you plan to attend six seminars or tours in 2010 is our 2010 International Club membership that allows you and a guest to attend as many of the 56 courses and tours we’ll sponsor and conduct in 2010  (fees would be $40,947 for all these courses individually).

The 2009 club fee was only $2,999. Because we have added four extra south Ecuador beach tours, the 2010, International club fee rises from our 2009 enrollment to $3,500 on January 25th 2010.  Enroll in the International Club now at the original fee of $2,999. Save $501.

International Club 2010 monthly payments.

Attend our 56 investment, business, Spanish, real estate and export, courses and tours in 2010 with one small enrollment fee of $2,999.  Because holiday expenses often tightens the winter cash flow, you can enroll with three monthly payments $1,025 in January… $1,025 in February and $1,025 in March 2010.

International Club 2010 Membership $2,999 Enroll here

International Club Three Monthly Payments of $1,025

Here are the 56 courses and tours you can attend free. Plus there is even one more savings you will see below.

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 15-18     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 21-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Join us in February or March.

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Fl.

Feb. 15-16   Travel to and visit Quito
Feb  17         Travel to Manta
Feb. 18-19   Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20        Travel to Cotacachi
Feb. 21-22   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Fl.
Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic tour
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour
Mar. 28-29   South Coast Real Estate Tour

Apr. 12-15   Ecuador Export Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 20-21  Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Apr. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

May  13-14     Ecuador Shamanic Minga  ($499 or couple $749)
May  16-17    Imbabura Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
May  19-20    Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
May  22-23    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
May  25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
May  28-29    South Coast real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

June 24         Quantum Wealth North Carolina
June 25-27    International Investing and Business North Carolina  ( $749 or couple $999)
June 28-29   Travel to Ecuador and Andes
June 30-Jy 1 Imbabura Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
July 3-4          Coastal Real Estate Tour   ($499 or couple $749)
July 6-7          Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour    ($499 or couple $749)
July 9-10        Cuenca Real Estate Tour   ($499 or couple $749)

Sept.   3-6      Ecuador Export Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
Sept.   8-9      Imbabura Real Estate Tour  ($499 or couple $749)
Sept. 11-12     Coastal Real Estate Tour   ($499 or couple $749)
Sept. 14-15     Cuenca Real Estate Tour    ($499 or couple $749)
Sept. 17-18     Ecuador Shamanic Minga  ($499 or couple $749)
Sept 20-21      South Coast Real Estate tour ($499 or couple $749)

Oct.    7          Quantum Wealth North Carolina
Oct.   8-10     International Investing & Business North Carolina ($749 or couple $999)
Oct.   11-12    Travel to Quito and Andes
Oct.  13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Oct.  16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Oct.  19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Oct. 22-23     Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

Nov.    4-7        Super Thinking + Spanish Course Florida ($749 or couple $999)
Nov.    8-9       Travel to Quito and Andes
Nov. 10-11       Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Nov. 13-14      Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Nov. 16-17      Quito-Mindo Real Estate  ($499 or couple $749)
Nov. 19-20     Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Nov  22-23      South Coast Real Estate Tour (($499 or couple $749)

Dec.   3-5       Ecuador Shamanic Mingo  ($499 or couple $749)
Dec.   7-8       Imbabura Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Dec.  10-11    Coastal Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Dec. 13-14     Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)
Dec. 16-17      Cuenca Real Estate Tour ($499 or couple $749)

If you join the International Club, the entrance fee for 2010 is $2,999 (until January 2010).  Your attendance fees at all courses will be waived. You and your guest can attend courses worth $40,947.

You can calculate the savings as our schedule of all 2010 courses is shown below.

Arrival dates are always one or two days earlier. Please double check with us before booking flights.

I invite you to be a member of the International Club which allows you and your guest of your choice to attend all of these courses which are valued at $40,947!

International Club 2010 Membership $2,999 Enroll here

International Club 2010 Three Monthly Payments of $1,025

You may well wonder why I would make such an offer and ask why the cost is so low? Let me answer this question frankly and from the heart.

First, it helps us do a better job for you. We feel greatly enriched when we can really help our clients improve their lives. We have learned through years of experience the best way to do this is to meet with you regularly. We can best help you learn how to improve your health and wealth through continual expansion of knowledge.

Second, we gain enormous fulfillment from the many friendships we form through the years. Our friends have enriched our lives tremendously. Let me explain this in more detail.

As a member, you will be part of our international family that meets intensively over the next year to examine ways we can make our lives better. Our goal is beyond just having money. Our goal is to have quantum wealth… good health… wealth and fulfillment through service.

Though I give all course delegates my very best, I cannot help but to do a better job for those who come again and again. As we meet often; your particular wants, needs and desires become clear, and it is easier for me to point you in the right direction.

Another phenomenon is that repeat delegates help each other! They get to know one another, help each other learn, share their insights, make contacts and gain more wealth.

Out associates in Ecuador, are experienced business people who live or work and conduct our real estate and export courses.  They can also act as your local backup for the business.

Lifestyle for Two. There is more! I have learned at my courses that many repeat delegates were couples.

We want couples! As a member of the program, you are entitled to bring another person to every single course or tour. The cost for that extra person will be ZERO!  You can bring whomever you wish. Bring your spouse, a friend, son or daughter, partner, accountant, adviser. You can bring the same person each time or a different person, whomever you choose to accompany you. (Accommodations and air fares relating to the courses are not included for members, delegates or their guests.)

Won’t you join us in this exciting club and share Merri’s and my lifestyle for the next year? We look forward to seeing you at as many courses as possible and sharing this wonderful world of abundance and well being with you!

Gary

International Club 2010 Membership $2,999 Enroll here

International Club Three Monthly Payments of $1,025

You may well wonder why I would make such an offer and ask why the cost is so low? Let me answer this question frankly and from the heart.

First, it helps us do a better job for you. We feel greatly enriched when we can really help our clients improve their lives. We have learned through years of experience the best way to do this is to meet with you regularly. We can best help you learn how to improve your health and wealth through continual expansion of knowledge.

Second, we gain enormous fulfillment from the many friendships we form through the years. Our friends have enriched our lives tremendously. Let me explain this in more detail.

As a member, you will be part of our international family that meets intensively over the next year to examine ways we can make our lives better. Our goal is beyond just having money. Our goal is to have quantum wealth… good health… wealth and fulfillment through service.

Though I give all course delegates my very best, I cannot help but to do a better job for those who come again and again. As we meet often; your particular wants, needs and desires become clear, and it is easier for me to point you in the right direction.

Another phenomenon is that repeat delegates help each other! They get to know one another, help each other learn, share their insights, make contacts and gain more wealth.

Out associates in Ecuador, are experienced business people who live or work and conduct our real estate and export courses.  They can also act as your local backup for the business.

Lifestyle for Two. There is more! I have learned at my courses that many repeat delegates were couples.

We want couples! As a member of the program, you are entitled to bring another person to every single course or tour. The cost for that extra person will be ZERO!  You can bring whomever you wish. Bring your spouse, a friend, son or daughter, partner, accountant, adviser. You can bring the same person each time or a different person, whomever you choose to accompany you. (Accommodations and air fares relating to the courses are not included for members, delegates or their guests.)

Won’t you join us in this exciting club and share Merri’s and my lifestyle for the next year? We look forward to seeing you at as many courses as possible and sharing this wonderful world of abundance and well being with you!

Gary

International Club 2010 Membership $2,999 Enroll here

International Club 2010 Three Monthly Payments of $1,025

Read entire article Mother condemns council for school places spying mission

See more on Ecuador Comparisons & Weather-Weathering Weather

See the Cotacachi Ecuador house for sale

Internet business freedom just keeps getting better as we head to 2012.

Science and technology truly have set us free.

Here I am with Mahananda working at our new Florida home.

Technology has accelerated change and this makes many uncomfortable.  Yet look at the benefits… the mobility… the broadened horizons… the destruction of limitations imposed by time and space.

I can sit in my office in North Carolina and work.

with this view.

Or hike into our Blue Ridge forest and work.

Or visit Ecuador’s beaches and work.

Or enjoy our Andean hotel and work.

Many suggest an upcoming disaster scenario… but these predictions must be suspect.   Fear sells and there have always been those who use this fact for their own hidden agenda.  Yet mostly what technology has brought us is longer lives and more to fulfill us in that extended time.

A reader send this note in comment to our recent message 2012.

Gary,  Much like the scares of the past (e.g.,  Y2K) the end won’t come in 2012.  Albeit our 4.5 billion year old planet has gone through near life form extinctions before and may go through another, there is no credible evidence that it will be in 2012.  Don Yeomans, NASA Senior Research Scientist, couldn’t have said it better, “I for one love a good book or movie as much as the next guy, but the stuff flying around through cyberspace, TV, and the movies, is not based on science.”  To render December 21, 2012, as a doomsday event or moment of cosmic shifting is a complete fabrication and a chance for a lot of people to cash in.  NASA has set up a website to address frequently asked questions about the myth.  Consider suggesting your audience go to the website:  http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/2012.html
Regards,  Richard D. Sanchez, Scientist Emeritus, U.S. Geological Survey

Actually even if there were a chance of chaotic disaster in 2012… the only logical way to prepare is to plan for the best.  Chaotic disaster is too chaotic to predict or plan for.  Preparing ourselves for anything… good or bad… makes the most sense… because chances are what is ahead is good.

Learning to stay healthier… have a keen mind, healthy body and knowing how to serve are the best survival tools of all.

This is why we help readers learn how to use the internet in business.

This is more important than ever because the internet recently became even better with concepts being developed by a private firm called NEXT JUMP.

Here is an excerpt from A December 5, 2009 article that says: NEXT JUMP may well be the most intriguing Internet business that you’ve never heard of — though that’s likely to change as the company seeks a wider audience.

The handful of industry analysts who were invited into the company’s New York offices recently have come away impressed. Next Jump, they say, represents the future of online commerce and could emerge as a counterweight to Amazon, the giant Web merchant. And this patiently gestated start-up, they add, shows one path to the still-elusive promise of Internet advertising: using data to greatly improve the efficiency of marketing.

“Next Jump is a bellwether for the next generation of e-commerce, driven by better data,” says Tim O’Reilly, a blogger and the chief executive of the technology publisher O’Reilly Media.

Today, 60 percent of the Fortune 500 companies use Next Jump’s technology for their employee discount programs.

Next Jump also handles the rewards programs that offer deals to loyal customers of companies like Dell, Borders and Hilton Hotels, and similar programs for membership organizations like AARP and the American Federation of Teachers.

As it has quietly expanded, Next Jump has been gathering data, and not only from companies and customers. It also gets credit-card transaction data from American Express and MasterCard. This vast trove — accumulated over years — is the company’s most precious asset, analysts say.

Next Jump analyzes that data to draw inferences about what a person would be likely to buy, and at what price. Its network also includes 28,000 retailers who can specify the characteristics of customers — age, location, income, for example — that they are most interested in luring with certain products.

Next Jump’s software then tailors offerings to small segments of potential customers, down to individuals, often reaching them with e-mail alerts. “It’s true microtargeting,” Mr. Kim said.

Most striking is the efficiency of Next Jump’s sizable network. Its click-through rate — the percentage of Web surfers who see an ad or offer and click on it — is 60 percent, the company says. At most e-commerce sites, a 5 percent click-through rate is considered excellent, analysts say.

But the endgame of Internet marketing is converting browsers to buyers. Next Jump says that for every 11 people who see one of its ads, one person makes a purchase. In Web commerce generally, 1,000 to 1 is deemed a good performance.

Until recently, the Next Jump e-commerce engine was entirely unbranded, working unseen underneath corporate intranets or retailer’s rewards Web sites. “We were all white label,” Mr. Kim said. “Nobody knew who we were.”

But that is starting to change. The Yahoo Deals shopping area now has a Personal Offers site, whose logo says “Powered by Next Jump” — co-branding similar to the Intel Inside campaign of the big chip maker.

In September, Next Jump rolled out a Web site, Corporate Perks, that lets small businesses and consumers tap into its marketplace. Similarly, it has recently developed BlackBerry, Android and iPhone applications for another of its sites, Overwhelming Offers, that offers deep discounts on merchandise in sales that typically last an hour or two.

Last month, the company struck a deal with MasterCard to offer Next Jump’s e-commerce marketplace to its cardholders.

By broadening its reach, Next Jump promises to become a more strategic partner for consumer-goods retailers. Many of them, analysts say, are leery of Amazon’s growing clout as the dominant online marketplace.

Unlike Amazon, Next Jump is not a retail competitor, merely a technology engine for sales. “Next Jump can potentially become a really viable alternative to Amazon for retailers,” said Leslie Hand, research director for IDC Retail Insights.  NEXT JUMP’S status as a trusted middleman has enabled it to collect fees both from companies who use its software and from retailers on goods sold.

This is why we offer our internet course Tangled Web – How to Have an Internet Business. Plus our webmaster David Cross can create a site… just like ours for you.  See details here.

Merri and I also personally conduct International Business and Investing  seminars with our webmaster. We have three of these seminars set up throughout 2010 to share what we are doing with our international investing and internet business. We share how you can use the same steps to create your own online business.  See detail on our Feb. 11-14 seminar in Mt. Dora here.

This is also why we provide a free course written by Michelle Toole on how to develop a website. The latest lesson in this course is below.  I hope you enjoy and gain from it.  We give special thanks to Michelle for sharing it.

Do You Know Your Numbers?
By Michelle Toole

How much do you really know about what happens behind the scenes of your web site?

You probably know the basics like how many visitors your web site has each day, number of page views, length of time on site and bounce rate, right? But have you ever thought about how your top pages are doing and how each of them contributes to your bottom line?

Here is a list of questions to ask yourself:

•    Is my top-viewed landing page turning visitors off from my site before they read the second sentence?

•    Is one of my lesser-viewed pages creating a buzz that I am not taking advantage of to ‘build my brand of one’?

•    Am I giving my readers too many opportunities to leave my site before having them contribute to my bottom line?

•    Am I missing out on maximizing keywords that are sending the most traffic to my web site?

Don’t know the answers to these questions?  Well, then maybe you should consider using Google Analytics to find out.

What is Google Analytics?

Google Analytics is a full-featured web site analytics tool designed to track everything about how people use your web site. It shows you how people found your site, how they explored it, and how you can enhance their visitor experience.

Oh yeah, and it’s free!

Google Analytics has “over 80 reports that can track visitors through your site, and can keep track of the performance of your marketing campaigns – whether they’re AdWords campaigns, email campaigns, or any other advertising program. With this information, you’ll know which keywords are really working, which ad text is the most effective, and where your visitors are dropping off during the conversion process.” (wikepedia.com)

Google Analytics will not only help you increase your conversion rate and track marketing campaigns it can also help you attract potential advertisers.  Yup, nothing like adding another revenue stream to your web business.
If you’re seeking advertisers be prepared to tell them your numbers. The great thing is that Google Analytics gives them to you! Most advertisers want to get the most bang for their buck and they do that by advertising on sites with ‘big numbers’.  So what stats will they want to know? Well that can vary from advertiser to advertiser but generally they all want to know:

•    How many monthly visits to your site
•    How many monthly unique visitors to your site
•    Number of monthly page views on your site
•    Bounce Rate
•    Length of Time on Your Site
•    Reader Demographics

And this information is all available simply by implementing Google Analytics on your site.  Simple enough, right?  Well, yes, but as with most things there is a learning curve for the more advanced features.  But, truthfully, nothing is more important than finding out what makes your visitor tick and Google Analytics can get you there.

Bottom Line….

Although there is a bit of a learning curve for the more advanced features you may find that you will only utilize the basics to begin with so it is well worth your time to add Google Analytics to your arsenal of tools to help you maximize your traffic and increase your overall conversion rate. Google Analytics can help you improve your website return on investment, increase conversions, and make you more money on the web and that is a bottom line I can live with!

Check out Michelle’s web sites at http://healthy-holistic-living.com and http://home-remedies-and-natural-cures.com. To get more great tips, like the ones above and to see how and what tools she used to create a successful on-line business go to http://sitesell-sbi.com

Michelle added this note:

Gary & Merri, I just wanted to give your readers a heads up Site Build It, the company I used to build my successful online business is getting geared up to run their holiday special and they have given a select few the opportunity to purchase Site Build It at the special rate of 2 for 1 starting December 16th!

This is a great opportunity for any of your readers that have been considering an internet business but has just been putting it off.  My site, healthy-holistic-living.com is getting over 2,000 visitors each day and each month my income is increasing, last month was a record month!   Having an on-line business is the only way I know to build a passive income with little or no overhead. It is almost hard to believe that we all have this opportunity. Thanks again for all that you and Merri do, your seminars are fantastic and your on-going support and friendship is more than appreciated.  Much Love, Michelle

Good or bad… 2012 is on its way. Those who are prepared have the potential to see greater opportunity than any generation before.

Gary

Join us this winter in warm Florida or sunny Ecuador.

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour

Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 15-18     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 21-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Join us in February or March.

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Fl.

Feb. 15-16   Travel to and visit Quito
Feb  17         Travel to Manta
Feb. 18-19   Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20        Travel to Cotacachi
Feb. 21-22   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Fl.

Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes

Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic tour

Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour

Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Enjoy extra savings with a multi tour pack.

2 seminar courses & tours $998 Couple  $1,499

3 seminar courses & tours   $1399 Couple  $1,899

4 seminar courses & tours   $1,699 Couple $2,299

5 seminar courses & tours  $1,999 Couple $2,699

6 seminars courses & tours  $2,199 Couple $3,099

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

International Club attend up to 52 courses and tours in 2010 free.

See our entire 2010 seminar and tour schedule here

Read the entire article Unboxed The Data That Turns Browsing to Buying here.

When you start your Ecuador real estate search, remember a thought that has been around for quite awhile…”Veni Vidi Vici.”

I came… I saw… I conquered.  The phrase is not “I conquered over the internet and then flew down”.

The biggest most important factor is first to come… The second is to look and see.   Then conquer.

Yesterday’s message shared a reader’s question at Ecuador B&B Search.

The reader also asked:  How much time would be needed to find a place and settle the purchase?  On average 9 days, or a few weeks?

Possibly in the first few years we`d be unable to visit for more than 5 weeks of the year.   Our biggest problem is for our employer to give us any time off from work .  It`s not possible to have any unpaid leave.  My husband thinks we need to go in 2 months because if we wait 12-14 months the prices may have escalated significantly .  What do you think?

Here is my reply.  I do not think this is a realistic plan. You should not be rushed to buy.  Better to take a year or two and use your vacations for trips. Look.  Get a feel of Ecuador and Ecuador’s real estate market… then rent or buy.

Merri and I spent six years, living, traveling and looking at Ecuador real estate before we made our first Ecuador real estate purchase. Good values are found by knowing the market… being available to buy and being able to make a good offer when a good deal comes through.

You’ll have a better chance of buying as a well informed buyer later than rushing to buy earlier when you are ill informed!

Merri and I recently bought an estate in Florida. This process took almost a year and we knew Florida really well to begin!  We had lived in Florida for more than 20 years and Merri over 30 years… yet  before we purchased we researched, traveled all over the state and look at hundreds of properties before making our first offer (which was turned down).

See more on how we buy real estate at Ecuador to Florida and at Value Investing Dairy to see the laborious process we used to find this house…

with this view and…

this waterfront.

at a good value… we hope.

See how this process helped us buy our Ecuador Hotel Meson de las Flores in a 30 second decision…

Meson’s colonial architecture charms and welcomes you.

based on seven years of research.

Here is Meson’s courtyard.

Our websites and daily messages can help you learn the rules about buying Ecuador real estate.  Visiting… seeing for your self and experiencing Ecuador helps you learn the exceptions to your rules.  So use the intelligent order that was given to us so many millenniums ago.   “Veni Vidi Vici.” come… see… conquer. This is the way.

Gary

Join us in Ecuador. We can help you see Ecuador real estate.

December 6-8 Blaine Watson’s  Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Join us in 2010. See our winter Ecuador real estate tours below.

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour $499 Couple  $749

Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour   $499 Couple $749
Jan. 21-22     Coastal Real Estate Tour $499 Couple $749
Jan. 23-24    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour  $499 Couple $749
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour  $499 Couple $749

Enjoy extra savings with our special early bird fees (if you enroll in November 2009)

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999

Feb. 15-16   Travel to and visit Quito
Feb  17         Travel to Manta
Feb. 18-19   Coastal Real Estate Tour   $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Feb. 20        Travel to Cotacachi
Feb. 21-22   Imbabura Real Estate Tour  $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour  $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Florida $749 Couple $999

Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour   $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour      $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour        $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour        $499 Couple $749 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.

Enjoy extra savings with our special early bird fees (if you enroll in November 2009)

2 seminar courses & tours $949 Couple  $1,399

3 seminar courses & tours   $1199 Couple  $1,749

4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple $2,149

5 seminar courses & tours  $1,599 Couple $2,499

6 seminars courses & tours  $1,999 Couple $2,999

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

International Club attend up to 52 courses and tours in 2010 free.

See our entire 2010 seminar and tour schedule here

Here is a great Ecuador internet business idea that can create a job for you and others as well. Create “notchups”  an idea you could say was raised from the dead.

Ecuador’s guild system creates an interesting “notchup” opportunity.

Here is why you can cash in with a “notchup” internet business.

Branding is a powerful marketing tool… sometimes good and other times… not.

For example Kellogg’s claim that their  ‘Cocoa Crispies’ cereal can boost a child’s immunity has to be in the all time “Disgusting Brands Hall of Fame.”

However good or bad… in marketing, branding works and one negative form of branding to my way of thinking is via prestige pricing.  Prestige pricing creates products that are so expensive that most consumers cannot afford them.  This is prestige or envy branding.  This type of branding really works.   To give you an example of how well envy branding works, when Forbes magazine released its annual list of top-earning dead celebrities for 2009, the biggest dead earner was fashion designer Yves Saint Laurent who raked in a staggering $350 million after his death last year.

Number two and three by the way were Rodgers and Hammerstein at $235 million and  Michael Jackson earning US$90 million after his death… all leaving the king in the dust. Elvis earned only $55 million.

I suspect that as soon as envy branding began… so to did notchoffs… a CHEAPER look alike product that looks like the expensive brand.

Ecuador has many master weavers.

Yet there are some other bigger more important internal benefits of living in Ecuador or anywhere different around the world.

These Ecuador musical instrument makers are famous around the world.

The great Ecuador Internet Business Idea is to make BETTER look alike products that I call “notchups”.

Teach Ecuadorians how to make high end products and then sell their inventory over the internet, without inventory costs.

This is a nice way to fight back against prestige branding… better for less so the man in the street can afford the product.

Here is how this idea came about.   A Businessweek article by By Douglas MacMillan entitled “Psst! Private-Sale Shopping Sites Are Hot” started the idea.

You can link to the entire article at the end of this message but here is an excerpt from the article: Saddled with unsold merchandise amid the recession, makers of luxury goods are selling their wares through members-only shopping sites.

During last year’s bleak holiday shopping season, fashion designer Lauren Merkin greatly overestimated the number of handbags she’d sell in upscale retail stores such as Neiman Marcus and Bloomingdale’s.

She found a good way to sell them elsewhere without consigning them to a bargain-basement rack that might tarnish the brand in the eyes of would-be customers. All year, she’s been selling the excess goods for half-price on the members-only Web site Gilt Groupe, during 36-hour sales that are hidden from the view of the general public. “What we’re selling is first-rung, but if it sits around at a sale I think the consumer gets the wrong impressions about the product,” Merkin says.

Saddled with overstock from the retail recession, makers of luxury apparel, home furnishings, and other high-end goods are selling their wares at reduced prices through Gilt Groupe and other private shopping sites. Many of these companies help fuel pent-up demand by limiting membership, forcing would-be clients to park on a waiting list or be referred by existing members.

The private-sale model also makes sense for Gilt Groupe and other sites that act as middlemen, because they carry no inventory and earn a wide margin on sales. Combined revenue at Gilt Groupe, Rue La La, and Ideeli, three of the top four players in the U.S., is expected to exceed $300 million this year. That, along with sales at other private-sale sites, makes up a significant portion of the estimated $1 billion a year in online sales of luxury apparel, says Sucharita Malpuru, e-commerce analyst at Forrester Research (FORR).

Enterprising business people can turn their passion into profit and take this idea one step further. They can create products similar to (but often even better) than existing luxury goods, have talented Ecuadorians make them and then sell them online.

For example, this Fendi Zucchino shopping tote in canvas with leather handles and trim, made in Italy is for sale on the internet for $819 bucks. Yikes!

Here is an Ecuador craftsman scrapping leaves of the Aguave plant to create…

fiber to make Shigra bags like this… green… hand made for the wearer.  Maybe $30 retail and they could look better than the Fendi!

Here are the keys to make this idea a success.

#1: Be involved in something you really love. This enhances your lifestyle as well as your wealth.

#2: Do not make knockoffs. Make something better…notchups!  Ecuador’s guild system created craft masters who no longer exist in Europe.  You can create handmade products similar to luxury items but are really better and with a better story because the items are hand made.

#3:  Offer experiences not just goods. Offer optional trips so buyers can come and be involved in the creation of their product.

There are great artists who can do wonderful reproductions like this religious art.

The concept of knockoffs have existed probably since branding began.  However you can create a business selling notchups and knock your competition as you enhance your lifestyle and create extra income.

Gary

See the best Ecuador property for you.  Find the best real estate offers.  Know more of Ecuador. To help you experience a bigger adventure in this wonderful nation, to broaden your horizons, to expand your awareness of all Ecuador offers, we are providing deep discounts in 2010 for those who sign up for multiple tours.

Join us in Ecuador

Join us at our upcoming courses and tours.

December 6-8 Blaine Watson’s  Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Join us in 2010. See our winter Ecuador real estate tours below.

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour      $499  Couple  $749

Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour   $499  Couple $749
Jan. 21-22     Coastal Real Estate Tour $499  Couple $749
Jan. 23-24    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour   $499  Couple $749
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour  $499  Couple $749

Enjoy extra savings with our special early bird fees (if you enroll in November 2009)

Join us in February or March.

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999

Feb. 15-16   Travel to and visit Quito
Feb  17         Travel to Manta
Feb. 18-19   Coastal Real Estate Tour   $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Feb. 20        Travel to Cotacachi
Feb. 21-22   Imbabura Real Estate Tour  $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour  $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999

Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour   $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour      $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour        $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour        $499 Couple $999 or discounted fee for multiple tours below.

Enjoy extra savings with our special early bird fees (if you enroll in November 2009)

1 real estate tour  $499 Couple $749

2 seminar courses & tours $949 Couple  $1,399

3 seminar courses & tours   $1199 Couple  $1,749

4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple $2,149

5 seminar courses & tours  $1,599 Couple $2,499

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

International Club attend up to 52 courses and tours in 2010 free.

See our entire 2010 seminar and tour schedule here

Read the entire article  Psst! Private-Sale Shopping Sites Are Hot

Smalltown USA – Revisited

Finally we get to revisit Smalltown USA.

Over these last seven years, we have learned to respect and heed our intuition even more.

When logic and intuition come together, it is a beautiful event that goes beyond wealth… calm… richness and fulfillment.

As Merri and I begin our 42nd year of international investing and business seminars and publishing, we gain great comfort and enthusiasm from the  feel of how our efforts in this last seven year cycle progressed. 

You’ll also be happy because this progress creates extra value and some enormous savings for you.

First we are excited that in this upcoming seven we can expand our focus on Small town USA as well as global investing and Ecuador.

Yesterday’s message looked at how the broader measure of unemployment in the US is now 17.5% and why living in Ecuador can help those who want to retire or are unemployed.   That message also reviewed the importance of seven year cycles in human affairs.

So let’s continue looking at seven years points of interest.

Seven years ago this site also began a “Great Places to Be” series that focused on Ecuador BUT ALSO looked at Smalltown USA.

We began to zero in on Cotacachi Ecuador, Ashe County North Carolina and places like Lake Placid, Florida and Bucksnort, Tennessee as great places to live and invest.

Here is an article that we posted seven years ago in 2002 about Lake Placid in Central Florida as a great place to be.

One reader who read that article shared with me that he really cleaned up from that advice.  He invested in orange groves in that Central Florida area and evidently his profits soon exceeded his investment.

We however grew so busy in organizing our Ecuador efforts we had little time to keep up with Smalltown USA beyond fixing up our farm here in the Blue Ridge.  Smalltown USA in Lansing, North Carolina by the way might be a misnomer. Perhaps microtown USA?  We love isolation!

Now after seven years of progress, our properties in Ecuador and North Carolina are in pretty good shape.   Our associates are now running things well in both places north and south.  This allows Merri and me to broaden our horizons and expand our Smalltown USA efforts to places like Lake Placid.

We can enjoy helping our readers in Ecuador, but also help those who cannot or do not want to come to Ecuador now.  We can help them in Smalltown USA North Carolina and Florida.

The benefit for you is that we can now serve you during the winter in Florida. Our North Carolina summer and autumnal seminars are great… but when we began conducting seminars in North Carolina, we tried one winter seminar.  The seminar hall and accommodations which we built to look like barns are fantastic in the summer, but in the winter they looked…

like this instead.

Water froze.  Cars stuck. Delegates were distinctly chilled.  Talk about a learning curve!

Now we have purchased an orange grove on…

]

a lake in…

Smalltown USA, Central Florida.   This is a nice lake and a pretty good grove as well… I think. My orange grove experience equals my hotel management experience when we bought Meson de las Flores, our Cotacachi hotel… in other words-zero.

Yet we keep matching our hunches with our logic and the results this next seven years will be interesting to see.  This is how we like business… as an adventure. The fun comes from not knowing, learning, growing and meeting the challenge!

We conducted international investing and business seminars in Florida Smalltown USA for years when we lived in Naples, Florida… until Naples was no longer a small town.  We fled and headed south to Cotacachi and north to the Blue Ridge.

We are back! We have chosen Mt. Dora as our small town this time… another little piece of paradise that most have missed.  I am stunned when talking with Floridians to find how many have never been there… and often do not even know where it is.

For the record, here is a map…. showing the 50 miles or so to Disney World and Orlando.

This is a charming town that sits on a huge lake over 7000 acres.

Here is a shot from the website of the Lakeside Inn in Mt. Dora.

The inn’s website says:

A ‘National Historic Treasure’, listed on the National Historic Register, we have continuously operated as an Inn for more than 125 years, the oldest operating Inn in Central Florida.
 We are located 40 miles Northwest of Orlando in the charming shopping village of Mount Dora, the “New England” of Central Florida.

Mount Dora is the Antique Capital of Florida, where the Renninger’s Twin Markets draw thousands to their Antique Mall and Flea Market, along with downtown Art Shows, Craft Fairs, Music Festivals, Theatre, Antique Shows, Classic Wooden Boat Shows, Sailing Regatta’s and Holiday Lighting Ceremonies and Parades.  The Captain Doolittle Eco Tours and Mount Dora Trolley leave right from the Inn for your daily excursions!

Here are shots of the Inn from its website.

That 50 miles between Orlando and Mt. Dora makes a world of difference.  This entire mid Florida area offers some incredible bargains. Take for example this listing Merri just received… a three bedroom, two bathroom house on a lake with a guest house. We track these listing and this started in the $400,000s. Now the asking price has dropped to $199,000.

Our seminars in Mt. Dora WILL NOT  be about Florida real estate… but about International Investing and Business and Super Thinking. However when you visit us in Florida… if you like investing in real estate, I suggest that you take a look and we will be happy to put you in touch with brokers we have found helpful.

There you have… expanded horizons. In 2010 we serve you in Ecuador… Florida and the Blue Ridge. We look forward to meeting you in Mt. Dora.

Gary

Meet us in Florida and the Blue Ridge, yet see the best Ecuador property to0 with Split Sessions in North and South America.

Our new split session seminars help those who have asked to attend courses but who cannot make it to Ecuador right now.  These courses… both our International Business & Investing and Super Thinking + Spanish seminars will have the first session conducted in Central Florida (Mt. Dora) or the Blue Ridge in North Carolina.   Then those who choose the second optional session can travel to Ecuador for the remaining real estate or shamanic minga tours that follow immediately after the first session.

Find the best real estate offers.  Know more of Ecuador. To help encourage our split sessions and help you experience a bigger adventure in Ecuador  we are providing deep discounts in 2010 for those who sign up for multiple tours.

In 2010 you can save  to $359 on 2 seminar courses & tours   $  998 Couple  $1,399
Save up to $698. 3 seminar courses & tours      $1,399 Couple  $1,799
Save up to $1,047. 4 seminar courses & tours   $1,699 Couple  $2,199
Save up to $1,599. 5 seminar courses & tours   $1,999 Couple  $2,599

Early Bird Extra Savings. All delegates who enroll for a December 2009 or January through March 2010 course during this month, November 2009 save up to $200 more.

Save up to $200 more. 2 seminar courses & tours $  949 Couple    $1,199
Save up to $200 more. 3 seminar courses & tours   $1199  Couple   $1,749
Save up to $300 more. 4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple  $2,149
Save up to $400 more. 5 seminar courses & tours   $1,599 Couple  $2,499

2010 will be a truly exciting year in Ecuador…. more tours in more places. For the first time it is possible to get a feel for all of Ecuador in one continuous tour.

December 6-8 Blaine Watson’s  Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Attend all three and save up to $698. 3 seminar courses & tours   $1,199 Couple  $1,749

2010

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour ($499) Couple $749
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Feb. 15-16   Travel to Quito and Andes
Feb  17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20-21  Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Save with our early bird multi tour discounts.

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

Save up to $359.     2 seminar courses & tours    $949 Couple  $1,399

Save up to $698.     3 seminar courses & tours   $1,199 Couple  $1,749

Save up to $1,047.  4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple $2,149

Save up to $1,599.  5 seminar courses & tours   $1,599 Couple $2,499

Silver Opportunities in Ecuador go beyond silver itself.

Silver is beautiful and offers great opportunity as jewelry and other art.  Ecuador Silver artisans do wonderful work at low prices.

Ecuador silver can surely be sold via the internet.

Here is how Ecuadormall.com sells Ecuador silver.

Yet silver offers other types of opportunity because silver is more than just metal for jewelry.

Here is one example of how one reader of many years, Steve Barwick, markets information on colloidal silver and wrote about our internet course.

This reader was a professional copywriter for many years. He lives far from anywhere also…deep in California ’s desert. One day his copyrighting business introduced him to the healing power of colloidal silver. He was enthused and wanted to sell this product… but found he could not… too many rules too many regulations and a medical establishment that did not want simple health solutions available to the public.

This highlights the power of publishing. Steve felt he could not manufacture and sell colloidal silver… but he could self publish information about how to make and use it. No matter how much big business wanted to stop him, it could not interfere with the freedom of the press.

So for years he marketed this wonderful product until I began writing about the power of internet self publishing. From here, I’ll let this reader tell the story himself.

Here is the unsolicited note he sent:

“Gary ! I really do enjoy getting your emails each morning before I start my day, and when they stop coming, I miss them immediately.

“Over the last few days I’ve been thinking about why I read your emails so frequently, compared to the literally dozens of other email communications I receive from a variety of business and marketing “gurus,” which I mostly skip. If you don’t mind, I’ll take a moment to tell you what I feel sets you apart from the rest of the herd:

“First, your insights into the “small, slow and steady” way of doing business act as a much needed check on my tendency to take on too much work in the course of my business day and wear myself out. Reading your emails the first thing in the mornings always seems to help keep me focused and well-grounded.

“The other “gurus” are always talking about going “big, big, big” and shooting for the moon. And I must admit, there is a part of me that wants to run a business empire. But every time I fall into that trap I pay a hefty price for it, physically, emotionally and financially. I am a walking testament to the business truths you have taught over and over again; I always do best in my business by staying as lean as possible, and staying focused and relaxed by working on what I love the most.

“Secondly, the always friendly and personal nature of your emails are a very welcome respite from the often manipulative and insincere nature of the email communications I am bombarded with from other “gurus.” I love getting emails that feel like they are coming from a good friend who always has an eye out for opportunities I might be interested in. I can’t stand getting emails from people who come on like sideshow con artists and carney barkers.

“Third, your emails always tend to reflect your positive and uplifting spirit, and serve as reminders for me to keep a cheerful and positive outlook at all times, even during the most challenging of business days. I don’t always succeed at this. But it always gives me something to shoot for. To paraphrase Jack Nicholson in “As Good as it Gets,” your daily emails make me want to be a better person, both in my business and personal life.

“Finally, my wife and I usually sit down at the end of each business day and briefly review the events of the day with each other. We mostly discuss anything new we’ve learned, and better ways of getting important tasks accomplished. And as she will tell you, many have been the times that the conversation has started off with the phrase, “Today, Gary Scott said…” I don’t tell you that to flatter you. It’s just the way it is. I don’t always agree with everything you say. But I do learn from everything you say.

“By the way, I really must tell you one more thing that has me really excited. I want you to know about it, because you played a prominent role in helping me get over a huge hurdle that has, as a direct result, increased our company business by well over $100,000 a year.

“As you know, I’m an old direct mail hand from way back. So I focus the vast majority of my attention on marketing my company’s products through direct mail marketing, much as you used to. And over the years Kathy and I have done really well at it. We’ve made a very good living. Our house and property are paid for. We have nice cars. Some decent investments. Plenty of money in the bank. Etc. But as I’ve read more and more of your emails on internet marketing, it has inspired me to dedicate a little bit more time to our main web site, rather than focusing so exclusively on direct mail.

“Our main web site (the one that features our colloidal silver generators and nutritional supplements) was a real mess and only did about $1,200 worth of sales a month. All my focus was on all of the money we were making through our direct mail sales campaigns. But as I read your emails about how you and Merri made the shift from direct mail marketing to internet marketing, the idea of making the web site work better kept nagging at me.

“So earlier this year I attended a few local (and very expensive) seminars on internet marketing, and made some dramatic changes to the web site based upon what I’d learned. After much work (i.e., new photos, new design, new sales copy, new shopping cart, and some experimentation with Yahoo pay-per-click) that took many months worth of hard work and many thousands of dollars more to complete, I managed to triple the income the web site was generating. Big deal. The end result was that we went from $1,200/month to $3,600/month in sales, which was pretty weenie compared to what I had expected.

“I was disappointed. But I kept coming back to your emails which discussed the importance of telling a story, and developing a relationship with your customers. Something in what you were saying rang true. But you know me: I’m a hardcore salesman from the old days, who believes in going straight for the sale. None of this “storytelling” and “relationship” stuff for me. In short, I was very reluctant to change what has always worked so well for me for the past 27 years of my direct mail marketing career.

“To make a long story short, my disappointment in the results from my web site changes forced me to analyze what went wrong. Your words about this being the “era of the story” kept reverberating in my mind. I finally broke down and wrote what I called a “folksy” story about how Kathy and I first found out about colloidal silver, and how we got into the colloidal silver generator business. I took the advice you so often give in your emails on internet marketing, and tried to write our story specifically from the point of view of helping potential customers learn and benefit from our experiences, rather than trying to sell them anything. In fact, I eliminated from the story all efforts at selling any products whatsoever, and just wrote to educate and inform the reader.

“I have to admit, when the story was finished I just couldn’t bring myself to post it to the web site. It was just too far off course from what has always worked for me in the past, in terms of sales and marketing. I’ve always been a hard-core “wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am” sales writer, as you well know.

“But I kept coming back to your emails on using storytelling to develop an ongoing relationship with your customers. And finally it dawned on me that one of the most delightful things that always keeps me eager to read your emails each day, and visit your web site from time to time, and try your products when they strike my fancy or suit my needs, is the endearing stories you tell about your work, your business history, your personal experiences, and the experiences of the people you have either worked with in the past or have surrounded yourself with in the present.

“So I decided to give it a try. I took our home page – which was a hard-sell, straight-for-the-jugular sales pitch — and made it page number two of the web site, instead. And in its place I put up our “folksy” story as the new home page. Then I held my breath. I really thought web site sales would plummet. After all, making this change meant our entire home page would sell…absolutely nothing. It just told our story. For the life of me, I couldn’t imagine that anyone searching on the internet to buy a colloidal silver generator would want to stop and read our story first.

“Well…it’s now been three months since replacing our “hard-sell” home page with our “folksy story” home page, and here’s the good news: That one simple change has nearly tripled our internet sales. I’m not kidding you, Gary. We are now doing on average $8,000 a month in internet sales alone! In November, we did a whopping $12,163.55 in gross sales through the web site. That’s $145,962.60 in gross product sales, on an annualized basis. Now those are some numbers that really get me excited!

“What’s more, the web site stats show that replacing the former “hard sell” home page with our new “folksy story” home page increased our web site stickiness (i.e., the amount of time people spend on our site) by a factor of ten. People spend far more time on the web site now that our “folksy story” is our home page. And the stats demonstrate that they are actually visiting more of the other pages on our web site than ever before.

“Thanks to you, we have dramatically increased our online sales, with no extra effort other than simply telling our story.

“By the way, in order to keep in touch with our new online customers, we will soon launch a daily email service alerting them to the latest research and information on staying healthy and well with colloidal silver and the various nutritional supplements we carry. We hope we can engender through our emails the same kind of supportive, educational and enlightening atmosphere you’ve been able to engender for your readers, through your daily emails.

“Regards always, Steve Barwick, TheSilverEdge.com”

Reading Steve’s note was gratifying to say the least, but it also stressed three important facts about business today.

Point #1: The internet can dramatically boost your income with minimal investment in time cost and expense.

Plus Steve shared here one really smart way to get exposure for your website. Send a positive note to editors of other publications and when you sign it, be sure to put your web site address at the bottom. Smart move Steve! He has a powerful product that anyone who is interested in health beyond the MD should know.

Point #2: Self publishing is a powerful way to use the internet and can be enormously profitable. Steve is adding income at a rate of an extra $12,000 a month. Yet as he incorporates ideas we give him, he may reach higher and higher sales levels. Our internet sales alone yesterday were $13,240…in one day. Yet we have no full time staff and few overheads as we run this business from a bedroom in our house.

Point #3: A big part of the world has become disgusted with the dishonest hidden agendas of big business. If you have a small business providing a good service that you love giving…and just tell it like it really is…the world will beat a path to your door. Not the whole world perhaps but a world that’s plenty big enough to bring you enormous wealth and self fulfillment!

You can see how Steve sells colloidal silver here.

Learn how to sell Ecuador silver via the internet with our course “Tangled Web – How to Have an Internet Business.”

Gary

December 6-8 Blane Watson’s Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

2010

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour ($499) Couple $749
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

See the best Ecuador property for you.  Find the best real estate offers.  Know more of Ecuador. To help you experience a bigger adventure in this wonderful nation, to broaden your horizons, to expand your awareness of all Ecuador offers, we are providing deep discounts in 2010 for those who sign up for multiple tours.

In 2010 you can save  to $359 on 2 seminar courses & tours   $  998 Couple  $1,399
Save up to $698. 3 seminar courses & tours      $1,399 Couple  $1,799
Save up to $1,047. 4 seminar courses & tours   $1,699 Couple  $2,199
Save up to $1,599. 5 seminar courses & tours   $1,999 Couple  $2,599

Early Bird Extra Savings. All delegates who enroll for a December 2009 or January through March 2010 course during this month, November 2009 save up to $200 more.

Save up to $200 more. 2 seminar courses & tours $  949 Couple    $1,199
Save up to $200 more. 3 seminar courses & tours   $1199  Couple   $1,749
Save up to $300 more. 4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple  $2,149
Save up to $400 more. 5 seminar courses & tours   $1,599 Couple  $2,499

2010 will be a truly exciting year in Ecuador…. more tours in more places. For the first time it is possible to get a feel for all of Ecuador in one continuous tour.

December 6-8 Blaine Watson’s  Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Attend all three and save up to $698. 3 seminar courses & tours   $1,199 Couple  $1,749

2010

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour ($499) Couple $749
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Feb. 15-16   Travel to Quito and Andes
Feb  17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20-21  Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Save with our early bird multi tour discounts.

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

Save up to $359.     2 seminar courses & tours    $949 Couple  $1,399

Save up to $698.     3 seminar courses & tours   $1,199 Couple  $1,749

Save up to $1,047.  4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple $2,149

Save up to $1,599.  5 seminar courses & tours   $1,599 Couple $2,499

A great way to retire early or fight inflation is with a silver business in Ecuador.

Yesterday’s message part one of this Silver Update reviewed thoughts on silver investments.

Silver may or may not be the best investment… but a business in silver can be a great idea.

Your silver business does not have to be just in Ecuador… or in Ecuador at all.

Your silver business can be as simple as being a silver collector.   If you like coins, bars, history and collecting you can enjoy a business that is part  hobby. This can create serious investment potential (if you become good and know what and how to buy).   There are many delightful coins to collect and, over time, you are likely to improve your asset holding in silver more than if you are buying bullion.  Few investments have risen as much as good collections whether they be of coins, wines, art or cars.

Manufacturing or importing silver products is another way of investing in silver that can be profitable.   This is one of the Ecuador silver products our Ecuador export delegates see Ecuador silver and gold crafts like this on our Ecuador export tours.

This is a business where your inventory will appreciate when silver prices rise… but prices rarely drop when silver prices fall.

More Ecuador gold & silver art.

Many of our Ecuador export tour delegates look at…

silver products on their tours.

Yesterday’s message focused on the fact that silver investments do not look like the best inflation hedge. Personally,  I choose gold. 

However for those who feel at any time that silver is under priced… or who just like silver, this is a commodity that has sudden price surges (as well as drops).   With silver, good speculators can do well.

Silver has great beauty and attraction so if your love affair is with silver… turn your passion into profit  and consider a business in silver… collecting, manufacturing or importing of silver.  Then whenever silver prices rise, the value of your stock in trade grows.

Learn how to sell Ecuador silver via the internet with our course “Tangled Web – How to Have an Internet Business.”

Gary

December 6-8 Blane Watson’s Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

2010

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour ($499) Couple $749
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

See the best Ecuador property for you.  Find the best real estate offers.  Know more of Ecuador. To help you experience a bigger adventure in this wonderful nation, to broaden your horizons, to expand your awareness of all Ecuador offers, we are providing deep discounts in 2010 for those who sign up for multiple tours.

In 2010 you can save  to $359 on 2 seminar courses & tours   $  998 Couple  $1,399
Save up to $698. 3 seminar courses & tours      $1,399 Couple  $1,799
Save up to $1,047. 4 seminar courses & tours   $1,699 Couple  $2,199
Save up to $1,599. 5 seminar courses & tours   $1,999 Couple  $2,599

Early Bird Extra Savings. All delegates who enroll for a December 2009 or January through March 2010 course during this month, November 2009 save up to $200 more.

Save up to $200 more. 2 seminar courses & tours $  949 Couple    $1,199
Save up to $200 more. 3 seminar courses & tours   $1199  Couple   $1,749
Save up to $300 more. 4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple  $2,149
Save up to $400 more. 5 seminar courses & tours   $1,599 Couple  $2,499

2010 will be a truly exciting year in Ecuador…. more tours in more places. For the first time it is possible to get a feel for all of Ecuador in one continuous tour.

December 6-8 Blaine Watson’s  Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Attend all three and save up to $698. 3 seminar courses & tours   $1,199 Couple  $1,749

2010

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour ($499) Couple $749
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Feb. 15-16   Travel to Quito and Andes
Feb  17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20-21  Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Save with our early bird multi tour discounts.

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

Save up to $359.     2 seminar courses & tours    $949 Couple  $1,399

Save up to $698.     3 seminar courses & tours   $1,199 Couple  $1,749

Save up to $1,047.  4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple $2,149

Save up to $1,599.  5 seminar courses & tours   $1,599 Couple $2,499

Green international investments can help investors prosper due to the threat of an EMP terrorist attack.

Tuesday’s message at this site saw seven steps that could help us survive and prosper in a new era that could unfold due to a terrorist EMP attack.

Yesterday’s message looked at the importance of securing food in an EMP terrorist attack.

This threat of a terrorist EMP attack could accelerate opportunity in green international investments.

We’ll look at these in a minute… plus some Ecuador real estate plus how the risk of  a energy grid shut down could accelerate green investments.

First… let me reiterate… I do not think the sky is falling.  The sun always shines somewhere and the grass is not always greener on the other side of the fence.  God…Nature or whatever you wish to call your Higher Being always takes care of us. 

May I quote a wonderful passage about this from  John James Ingalls (a Senator from Kansas 1873 to 1891), address in “In Praise of Blue Grass.”

Grass is the forgiveness of nature–her constant benediction.  Fields trampled with battle, saturated with blood, torn with the ruts of cannon, grow green again with grass, and carnage is forgotten.  Streets abandoned by traffic become grass-grown like rural lanes, and are obliterated.  Forests decay, harvests perish, flowers vanish, but grass is immortal.  Beleaguered by the sullen hosts of winter, it withdraws into the impregnable fortress of its subterranean vitality, and emerges upon the first solicitation of Spring.  Sown by the winds, by wandering birds, propagated by the subtle horticulture of the elements which are its ministers and servants, it softens the rude outline of the world.  Its tenacious fibres hold the earth in its place, and prevent its soluble components from washing into the wasting sea.  It invades the solitude of deserts, climbs the inaccessible slopes and forbidding pinnacles of mountains, modifies climates, and determines the history, character, and destiny of nations.  Unobtrusive and patient, it has immortal vigor and aggression.  Banished from the thoroughfare and the field, it bides its time to return, and when vigilance is relaxed, or the dynasty has perished, it silently resumes the throne from which it has been expelled, but which it never abdicates.  It bears no blazonry or bloom to charm the senses with fragrance or splendor, but its homely hue is more enchanting than the lily or the rose.  It yields no fruit in earth or air, and yet should its harvest fail for a single year, famine would depopulate the world.

Our horses here at our Blue Ridge farm really believe this.

They are allowed to roam the farm freely except in our front yard.  But once a year, in the autumn, we let them in.

They crop and fertilize the lawn. This makes the horses really happy.

They love chomping, lying, rolling and sleeping in the grass.

Play in the grass

Blaze, the oldest, relaxes so much that when I sent this picture to our grandson Garren, he panicked thinking that Blaze was dead.

He’s not. Up he came…

On the subject of international investing and grass. I finally received my new Neuton weed eater.

This is a neat machine.

I have been using a Neuton electric lawn mower and when I ordered this weed eater they were 1,500 orders behind!

This shows the demand for green products.

Neuton says at its website: We are dedicated to making the world’s most innovative and dependable battery-powered lawn and garden equipment for people who care about the maintenance of their properties and the health of our environment.  Our forward-thinking designs reduce the noise and pollution of traditional gas power equipment, making yard work more enjoyable. Consistent with these goals, a portion of our profits are donated to community organizations working to clean our air.

Using innovative designs in rechargeable, battery-powered products we¹re developing unique and reliable tools that are easy to use and are easy on the environment. And together with our customers, we¹re redefining the way people care for their properties.

Designed in Vermont

Neuton battery-powered mowers are a reflection of the simplicity, ingenuity and values that define Vermont. At their core, Neuton battery-powered mowers are:

* Hard working – providing high powered cutting capacity with professional results
* Simple – delivering an ease of use and storage you won’t find elsewhere
* Responsible – exhibiting a profound respect for the environment

* A cleaner and more efficient way to mow your lawn. In fact, Forbes magazine recently rated Vermont the number one “Greenest State.”

Neuton and the Environment
Neuton battery-powered mowers are the #1 selling battery-powered mowers on the planet. Our belief in the environmental benefits of Neuton is a strong one. We call it our Clean Air Initiative.

Since we started, we have subsidized the purchase of thousands of Neutons across America in exchange for dirty/gas-guzzling mowers. In Southern California alone, 16,000 residents have replaced their mowers with Neutons. The result has been a staggering emissions reduction of 600 tons per year.

And with Neuton, reducing environmental impact extends even further.  The Noise Pollution Clearinghouse rated Neuton the quietest rotary mower you can buy.

The bottom line is you get big-time results, while leaving behind a small environmental footprint.

Neuton’s success shows the potential for green products.  The threat of an EMP terrorist attack has the potential to accelerate the value of green investments because it could shut down North America’s national energy grid.  Tis may speed up the development and use of individual energy systems.

Neuton is not a public company so we cannot buy shares, but tomorrow’s message looks at how to take advantage of good international green opportunity.

The risk of an EMP attack also accelerates demand for Ecuador real estate.

See for example how this sloping 10 acre corn field with outstanding 360 degree views, offers extra opportunity at Cotacachi real estate tours.

Gary

Let’s share ways and lifestyle alterations that protect as they provide joy, satisfaction, better health and enhanced wealth.

You may not be able to (or want) to move your home abroad or to a rural area.   Yet gardening, even in urban areas,  can be healthy and fun.  Holding some precious metals is probably a good investment anyway.  We should be taking care of our health even when their is no threat of war.

When it comes to holding assets abroad… our multi currency course can help.

Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

December 6-8 Blaine Watson’s  Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Join us in 2010.   Attend more than one seminar and tour and save even more plus get the three emailed courses free.

Our multi seminar-tour discounts have grown!  See the 2010 winter schedule below.  To Enroll click below.

1 real estate tour  $499 Couple $749

2 seminar courses & tours $949 Couple  $1,399

3 seminar courses & tours   $1199 Couple  $1,749

4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple $2,149

5 seminar courses & tours  $1,599 Couple $2,499

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

International Club attend up to 52 courses and tours in 2010 free.

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour ($499) Couple $749
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Feb. 15-16   Travel to Quito and Andes
Feb  17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20-21  Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

See our entire 2010 seminar and tour schedule here

See Neuton’s website here

Finding food and water could be a problem in a terrorist EMP crisis.

Tuesday’s message at this site saw seven steps that could help us survive and prosper in a new era that could unfold if there would be a terrorist EMP attack.

#1:  Move well away from the USA…. to an agriculturally based country.  This is one reason Merri and I have been active in Ecuador for nearly 15 years.
#2: Move to Small Town USA.  Our sites have been looking at the benefits of this for years and why we live on an agricultural property.
#3: Create your own source of food & water.
#4: Create a local source of hardened energy and communications.
#5: Keep some gold and or silver on hand.
#6: Know how to take care of your own health.
#7:  Hold some assets outside of North America.

We’ll look at some Ecuador food property below.  First, this message looks at some ideas that can help us improve our odds of having access to food and water in a terrorist EMP crisis wherever we are.

May I share three important points up front?

Point #1: I do not think (or maybe hope) that a crisis of serious magnitude will take place in our lifetime.

Point #2: Yet one could… so I try to be somewhat prepared… without jerking my entire life out of joint.

Point #3:  None of the steps that Merri and I have taken below have anything to do with expecting a terrorist crisis.  One cannot foresee all the consequences of a maximum magnitude terrorist crisis. Trying to do so is inefficient… and wastes time. History suggests that humanity always figures out how to avoid the big terrorist crunch… and/or adapts when the terrorists attack.

Merri and I try to live our life down the path we feel we are led… enjoy it… prepare reasonably and then leave the rest in the hands of God.

Let’s look at what we have done about food and water.   Then recognizing that most of mankind does not or cannot live in places as isolated as ours, we’ll look at some more urban alternatives.

Our North Carolina farm can certainly provide all the food and water a family needs.  Many generations who lived here have proved this fact.

Yet it is our love for this life and the people of the Blue Ridge that brought and keeps us here part of each year…. not security from a terrorist attack.

This is a side benefit that this lifestyle provides us with an independent source of food…. domestic and wild.

On the wild side we see…

wild turkeys in our front yard…

often.  This is a normal scene that I photographed. There were 15 turkeys in this flock… all cruising across our front yard.

I expect we could have plenty of venison…

like these deer I photoed in our front yard.  I recently placed my wildlife camera up the hill from the house and…

in a couple days…

had pictures of 20 deer or so including this small forked horn. We saw two big bucks, (a big four point and six point) walking together on a recent walk.

Plus the creek is full of trout.  Here are a couple I stuck on one of our cabins.

We have a pond also…

that helps us on the domestic side, raising fish and ducks that…

grow!

Not to mention our geese.

We never buy eggs because…

our chickens lay more than we can eat and the flock…

grows and…

grows and grows.

We have built a new varmint proof (I hope) pen that…

includes a greenhouse sitting in a sunny spot so the chickens remain warm (and laying) though winter’s cold.

Speaking of the greenhouse, we can grow greens and vegetables though the winter, plus…

we have many apples and acres of blackberries, plus a storage place to keep them with our potatoes… plus

pumpkins and squash and…

sunflowers grow really well here.  We especially focus on spaghetti squash as it stores through the winter in this potato cellar.

Water.  Our creek starts at the top of our farm with many springs like this.

Water is everywhere… pure… clean, seeping and trickling out of the rocks so by the time it reaches the lower part it is…

this.

If a terrorist attack knocked out all forms of domestic energy, we would not even give up our hot baths since this…

tub is heated by a wood fire.

We have transportation.

and raise fish and grow greens in our back yard.

We were doing all this before Merri and I had a clue about EMPs and the risk of a terrorist attack.

What can one do… if… you do not want to live on a farm?

There are options.

One option is an urban farm. A recent AP article entitled “USDA to Unveil “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” Initiative” by Ken Meter provides some clues. Here are excerpts from this article.   As I prepare for five days of announcements next week, when USDA plans to unveil its new “Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food” initiative, the buzz across my desk is about the potential for urban agriculture.  EPA reminds that brownfield moneys can be used to convert polluted land into working farms in inner-city areas.  I think the potential is enormous, especially in formerly industrial cities, where the big factories are not going to come back, but there are large tracts of vacant land that already have water mains (think irrigation) running under them. Each of these cities spends billions of dollars for food, and can generate significant local income by building the farms and distribution channels needed to cycle that food within city borders. We’ll also need to grow new urban farmers, and tap the excellent skills that many new immigrants already have in growing food.

Did you know that forty-one percent of all U.S. agricultural commodities are sold from farms in metropolitan counties?  Were you aware that 55% of the money made from producing farm commodities was made in metropolitan areas in 2007 ($15.7 billion of $28.7 billion)?  Moreover, Department of Defense studies show that Victory Gardens during World War II produced 40% of all produce consumed by Americans, after two seasons of gardening. This shows the potential for small-scale activity adding up to a big difference.

Gardening can provide food… plus it is good for you.  I believe living on a farm has helped my health.  Walking a lot is good. Working in fresh air can’t be bad.

If you can’t or don’t want to garden… how about participating in Community Assisted Agriculture (CSA)?

Here is an article from the Local Harvest website which I have linked below.

Thinking about signing up for a CSA but want to learn more about the idea before you commit? Read on.  Over the last 20 years, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has become a popular way for consumers to buy local, seasonal food directly from a farmer. Here are the basics: a farmer offers a certain number of “shares” to the public. Typically the share consists of a box of vegetables, but other farm products may be included. Interested consumers purchase a share (aka a “membership” or a “subscription”) and in return receive a box (bag, basket) of seasonal produce each week throughout the farming season.

This arrangement creates several rewards for both the farmer and the consumer. In brief…

Advantages for farmers:

•    Get to spend time marketing the food early in the year, before their 16 hour days in the field begin
•    Receive payment early in the season, which helps with the farm’s cash flow
•    Have an opportunity to get to know the people who eat the food they grow

Advantages for consumers:

•    Eat ultra-fresh food, with all the flavor and vitamin benefits
•    Get exposed to new vegetables and new ways of cooking
•    Usually get to visit the farm at least once a season
•    Find that kids typically favor food from “their” farm – even veggies they’ve never been known to eat
•    Develop a relationship with the farmer who grows their food and learn more about how food is grown

It’s a simple enough idea, but its impact has been profound. Tens of thousands of families have joined CSAs, and in some areas of the country there is more demand than there are CSA farms to fill it. The government does not track CSAs, so there is no official count of how many CSAs there are in the U.S.. LocalHarvest has the most comprehensive directory of CSA farms, with over 2,500 listed in our grassroots database. In 2008, 557 CSAs signed up with LocalHarvest, and in the first two months of 2009, an additional 300 CSAs joined the site.

The many of you who have, or plan to join us in Ecuador gain added food security because Ecuador is such an agricultural country. See more on this at Ecuador Food.

There are many Ecuador agricultural properties for sale at low prices. Here is an Ecuador avocado farm for sale. Here is the farm house and workers house from the back.

Here, in front of the houses, is the fruit… the cash generator.

The avocados are flowering for their first crop.  See more on this Ecuador avocado farm here

The sky is not falling. Yet it could… because of a terrorist EMP attack.  So it makes sense to find enjoyable, healthy ways to live that also ensure your supply of food and water.

Gary

Let’s share ways and lifestyle alterations that protect as they provide joy, satisfaction, better health and enhanced wealth.

You may not be able to (or want) to move your home abroad or to a rural area.   Yet gardening, even in urban areas,  can be healthy and fun.  Holding some precious metals is probably a good investment anyway.  We should be taking care of our health even when their is no threat of war.

When it comes to holding assets abroad… our multi currency course can help.

Nov. 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

Nov. 11-14 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

December 6-8 Blaine Watson’s  Beyond Logic & Shamanic Tour

December 9-10 Imbabura Real Estate Tour

December 11-13 Ecuador Coastal Real Estate Tour

Join us in 2010.   Attend more than one seminar and tour and save even more plus get the three emailed courses free.

Our multi seminar-tour discounts have grown!  See the 2010 winter schedule below.  To Enroll click below.

1 real estate tour  $499 Couple $749

2 seminar courses & tours $949 Couple  $1,399

3 seminar courses & tours   $1199 Couple  $1,749

4 seminar courses & tours   $1,399 Couple $2,149

5 seminar courses & tours  $1,599 Couple $2,499

(Be sure to show in the comments section which courses and tours you are attending)

International Club attend up to 52 courses and tours in 2010 free.

Jan.   8-11     Ecuador Export Tour ($499) Couple $749
Jan. 13-14     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Jan. 16-17     Coastal Real Estate Tour
Jan. 19-20    Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Jan. 22-23    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Feb. 11-14   Quantum Wealth Florida -International Investing & Internet Business, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Feb. 15-16   Travel to Quito and Andes
Feb  17-18   Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Feb. 20-21  Coastal Real Estate Tour
Feb. 23-24  Quito-Mindo Real Estate Tour
Feb. 26-27  Cuenca Real Estate Tour

Mar. 11-14     Super Thinking + Spanish Course, Mt. Dora, Florida ($749) Couple $999
Mar. 15-16    Travel to Quito and Andes
Mar. 17-18     Imbabura Real Estate Tour
Mar. 19-20    Cotacachi Shamanic Tour
Mar. 22-23    Coastal Real Estate Tour
Mar. 25-26    Cuenca Real Estate Tour

See our entire 2010 seminar and tour schedule here

Learn more about Community Supported Agriculture here