Sunday, May 23, 2010

Is Your Opt-In Form Driving Away Customers?

Over the years, we've all been taught that the best way to grow a sizeable mailing list is to give our visitors a great offer they can't say no to. And the most common way to attract more traffic and readers is to pay or trade with another marketer to have a popup window or hover ad on their site with your offer and hope that the visitors will be intrigued enough to sign up.

But more recently, we're learning that popup ads, hover ads and all those other gimmicks are simply driving visitors AWAY and leaving us with no sales and an unresponsive list.

Until now, there wasn't a sure-fire way to get your ad noticed without getting on people's nerves. One ad network is looking to change that - and do it all for free.

It's called SlideUpAds - http://www.SlideUpAds.com/7928

SlideUpAds is a unique, eye-catching way to advertise your site across an entire network without having to resort to distracting popups or banners.

With SlideUpAds, your ad appears at the bottom frame of the user's screen, so they can still scroll on the web page without being interrupted on whatever they're viewing. Since your ad slides up from the bottom gradually (and quickly), it's more likely to get noticed without being distracting and abruptly closed.

SlideUpAds costs nothing to join and there's no charge for any advertising. You simply fill out a short form and get the details of your account, then upload your ad and you're ready to go! It's simple and straightforward and most ads can be online within a few minutes.

For a limited time, SlideUpAds is also opening the doors to what they call a
"Viral Marketing Avalanche". If you refer a friend and THEY join, you get 100% of that person's credits. If your friend refers a friend, you get 100% of THEIR credits too! Of course, your friends still get to keep their credits, but it's like getting double or even triple the exposure without doing any extra work!

Many people are reporting terrific success with SlideUpAds, particularly where popups and hover ads simply haven't performed well in the past. Consider testing your current opt-in form with SlideUpAds and gauge the response for yourself - you may be pleasantly surprised at the results!

To learn more, visit http://www.SlideUpAds.com/7928 - it's free to join and there's no membership fee.

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

What's been happening in these 'ere parts

I have to say, I've been busy. So, here's a run down.

You probably know about the Magick School already, that's still running and the lessons are growing. I also made the lessons available to be purchased individually instead of forcing people to pay a monthly membership - http://hlmagickschool.com

The Web Hosting site is going well, its a tough market out there so it has been growing slowly, but if you need web hosting in South Africa, give us a shout. Oh, I am also putting together a deal with a Webmaster with 50% off all hosting packages, so if you are a Webmaster and want hosting for your clients, we can do the same for you - http://webhosting52.net

Then there is revival of Red Path Publications, which, although still active, has changed to Red Path Media. My original intention with this was to provide affordable book publishing in South Africa, so I am now focusing on Self Publishing, but if you want to publish under RPP, you can still do so - http://redpathmedia.za.net

I also have an online community for the Pagan people going - http://proudlypagan.co.za

A free article submission directory for Esoteric material - http://magicarticles.za.net

And the latest (my personal favourite) an online used esoteric book store - http://thebookcauldron.za.net

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Turning Inside Out

This has really been a most powerful Samhain period. Everything has been twisted and turned in upon itself. The Inner is now the Outer and the Up is the Down. I asked the students in my Lodge last night if they have been feeling strange, out of sorts or just different for the past 2 weeks, and their first reaction, "Ok, what did you do?" Such faith :o) The strong have become weak, the patient are irate. I can't even do any form of Inner Working as the I feel like I am Inner and should be working Outer in order to reach the "Other Side", whichever direction that may be.

The D-state is very prominent, demotivated, depressed, distressed. Oddly enough, for those that don't have a very optimistic view as of late, they are most probably feeling happy at times, and they can't explain why.

I have still had that sense of the past. I can't quite grasp it or when it is from, but I get the feeling it is when I was still young and living with my parents, possibly through to a time when I first met my wife. It is a physical sensation in my solar plexus and it reminds me of when I first started venturing into the Craft. To go along with that I have been digging all of my old stuff out, not only music, but files, texts, writings from other people that I used to read during those years. Connecting with myself as I was, bringing back the sensation of being alive in my Craft. I am not saying I am not alive in my Craft and my Art now, but I think those that have been in it for some years will know what I am talking about. They would have grasped that sensation at times, reminding them of how they felt, doing simple rituals that made their Blood and Bone cry out in excitement and fear. Sadly as we progress we find the simplicity in things that exposes the true Reality, and through that simplicity we come to realise that the complexity of ritual which we once knew does not connect fully with the Power of that which is all around us, but at the same time our fresh attitude tapped into it, not completely understanding what we were touching, and so it holds back until we find the direct line which goes from here to there without the twists and turns. It protects us from our curiosities, from our naivety, but it recognises the necessary process and path that must be trodden in the Crooked Witching Ways.

And so it is nearing the time when I must come back from my wandering in the Land of the Past, but with me I will bring back an old knowledge which can be combined with the new. A knowledge which I once had but did not understand, which I can now put to use and expand on to its fullest capacity.

Never forget who you were or where you came from, it is part of what made you, but if you forget, take some time to reconnect. There is much power in what we once were, when we were fresh, green, immature. The new Seeker on the Paths has a Power which is rarely seen because we tend to look through rose coloured glasses at what they will become, i.e. someone like us. To think as such is powerless and is faulted. To think as such is even more naive than the Seeker fumbling across the Path. Don't send that person away or laugh at them, rather pick them up, because one day you may stumble, and who will be there to help you?