I Hate Spammers With A Passion!

When I say, “I hate spammers” I mean that in the deepest sense of the word. We’re talking HATRED beyond what I can even say in this post without sounding like a completely crazed psychotic!

So what brought this post on?

Well, first of all I have always hated spam as much as anyone else. Maybe even more since I’ve been an internet marketer for quite a while and I get more of it than the average person. Nobody likes seeing their email filled with a bunch of crap everyday.

Plus, spammers ruin it for us legitimate internet marketers who build true double opt-in email lists, follow all the rules, and send out information to people who actually asked to receive it. And never spam!

But the reason I am writing this post right now is because some asshole has been spamming people like crazy with ads pointing them to one of my websites.

I’ve had my domain provider threaten to shut down my account and my webhost suspended my account twice this week. Both were resolved once I explained to them what was going on but it still pissed me off! And now I have complaints noted on those accounts, so if someone complains in the future they will see that it has happened before and I will have a harder time getting myself cleared of it. Even though it was NOT me!

Plus, I have had a ton of people write to me to complain and some of them have called me every name under the sun… and let’s just say none of them were nice either. I try explaining to them that it wasn’t me but most of them don’t believe me. And why should they? I don’t blame them! I probably wouldn’t either.

My name, reputation, and business are all getting ruined because some stupid spammer doesn’t care about anyone but himself.

I’ve tried blocking him and taking other actions to stop this from happening but so far none of it has worked. He just keeps on sending out the mass spam emails without even caring that it is doing nothing for him, and it is hurting me and deceiving the people he is emailing.

If I could get my hands on whoever it is doing this it would not be a pretty sight. In fact, I would probably be thrown in jail when it was all said and done. I don’t care, it would be worth it! That’s how pissed I am.

Anyway, that is enough of my rant. I just had to get this off my chest and I figured a good way to do that would be to write up a blog post about it.

Let this be a lesson folks – You need to be careful because stuff like this can happen to anyone at any time for no good reason.

Now I am heading off to try to figure out more ways to stop this spammer.

If you have any tips to help me I would love to hear them.

What Is Telecommuting All About?

In simple terms, telecommuting is an employment structure where you work from home rather than driving to work each day. Depending on the company, the employee may do all their work from home or may alternate between home and the office. Telecommuting has been around for a long time, but has recently become very popular and is increasing in popularity all the time.

Telecommuting is great for people who prefer to set their own working schedule and manage themselves, without their boss or co-workers watching them all the time. It’s also great for companies because they can cut down on many costs by allowing some employees to telecommute, and it allows certain parts of their company to be open during unusual hours of operation.

Telecommuters can be full time or part time employees of a company permitted to do their job from home, or freelancers doing work on a project-by-project basis. For the most part, telecommuting jobs are found in the same ways that you would find any other job.
 
You will often see telecommuting job listings under their own category in the classifieds, or an employer’s ad might state a willingness to hire a telecommuter. Alternatively, would-be telecommuters can also find numerous websites devoted specifically to bringing together telecommuters and employers looking to hire them.

There are some people who have always wanted the opportunity to work from home; Moms with young children, people with long commutes, those who hate office politics, etc… But now, even employers are starting to recognize the value of telecommuting to them.

Hopeful telecommuters these days are finding a much greater willingness among cost-conscious companies to hire independent contractors for jobs instead of bringing on a full-time on-site employee. This is largely because more and more businesses that have offered work at home opportunities to their employees are discovering that they can gain an advantage over their competitors who do not allow their employees to telecommute.

One benefit to companies is that having employees telecommute usually reduces their overhead costs by a significant amount. Another benefit is that employee satisfaction tends to be much higher in telecommuters, and most business people know that productivity is highly dependent on employee satisfaction. Plus they can often find better talent for positions when it is not depended upon them being close enough to come into the office each day.

A person considering making the move to telecommuting has several factors they need to take into consideration when determining how feasible working at home might be for them. Supervision is a huge factor because telecommuters have nobody there to keep them motivated to get their work done. They have to be self-motivated, very reliable and not easily distracted away from work.

With computers and internet in a large percentage of homes nowadays it is much easier for more and more people to work at home telecommuting to their jobs. There are a lot of benefits of telecommuting for both employer and employee alike. But there are also some challenges, and it is not for everyone or for every company so the decision to work at home should not be taken lightly.

Where to Find Article Writing Ideas

OMG, it’s one of those days! My area of expertise is in work at home and I have loads of knowledge on the topic, so how come I can’t think of anything to write? You’d think there is a huge array of topics to write about, right? I also have a health blog and several other blogs that I shouldn’t ever run of things to write about, but you know I sometimes do. It happens. It’s not so much that I run out of things to write, it’s what I want to write about.

Here are some sources that have helped me find topics to pursue and research. They may help you as well if you ever get the dreaded writers block.

1. Forums. These are an excellent place to get ideas for article writing. An active forum with a lot of inquiring minds can easily jumpstart a topic.

2. Television or radio. Often times there is something that have caught my attention or a tidbit that I found interesting. Off I go to do some research on it.

3. Magazines, newsletters, newspapers. Same reason as #2. There are many great topics in print that are interesting, thought provoking, controversial and opinionated.

4. Google Alerts. You can receive the latest news on your choice of query. They are emails automatically sent to you when there are new Google results for your search term. A great way to find topics according to your interests.

5. Social Media. Look at what people are talking about today or questions they are asking, and see if there’s anything related to your blog niche that you can write about.

6. Article Directories. Check out the popular articles in whatever section your niche is in and see if there are any good ideas that you can put your own spin on to write a blog post.

7. Other Blogs. There’s a ton of writing inspiration to be found by reading through your competitors (or friends) blogs. You can easily find topics that you can expand on or rewrite in your own views and experiences on the subject.

Like creative ideas, topics can come about in many different and sometimes unexpected ways. With that in mind, try keeping a notepad and pen with you or close to you. Keep your eyes and ears open because everything can be a topic starter; it just depends if it fits in with the content of your blog(s) and whether you want to write about it or not.

4 Tips to Staying Healthy While Working at Home

They say most car accidents happen close to home. Just when you thought it was safe to drive your car a few blocks without wearing your seat belt. BAM! Not a good idea. Accidents can happen anywhere and yes, they do happen in the home too except these aren’t really accidents; they are health problems.

Your life won’t change if you break a fingernail tapping the keys on your keyboard. Your life may change if you don’t maintain a proper sitting posture, have good lighting and get some regular exercise.

Poor posture results in poor alignment of the head, neck, shoulders and back that causes stress and pain which affects every part of your body from head to toe. Prolonged sitting in front of the computer can cause poor circulation resulting in fatigue in your limbs and leg cramps and poor lighting causes eye strain. Eating is another major component. You have to fuel yourself to keep your energy up.

You have deadlines to meet, phone calls to make, emails to answer and you haven’t had a bite to eat or anything to drink since early this morning, and it’s almost 2 PM! You have a major headache and a nap is sounding very attractive at this moment. You’ve hit a wall…

1. You need to re-fuel. Grab something healthy to eat and drink. Keep a bottle of water by your desk. Have a planner to help you organize your time and stick to it.

2. Make sure you have a proper backrest on your chair. The backrest should fit the natural curve of your lower back. Your feet should be planted firmly on the floor or comfortably on a footrest. Avoid slouching. Keep a comfortable shoulder and arm posture. An ergonomical keyboard and or wrist pad may help.

3. Your monitor should be at least at arm’s length. The top of the screen is at eye level. Overhead lighting or lighting from behind and dust on the monitor contribute to glare and reflection problems. Adjust the contrast and brightness on the monitor that is comfortable for you to reduce eye strain. Taking frequent breaks by focusing on other things other than the monitor will give your eyes a rest and blinking often will lubricate your eyes and prevent dryness.

4. Improve circulation by taking frequent breaks and exercising. You don’t have to go very far, in fact, you can do it at your desk. Shoulder rolls, ankle rolls, deep breathing, arm and leg raises and stretches.

With these tips in mind you will be more focused, more efficient and more productive throughout the day.

Taking The Mystery Out of Mystery Shopping

In my much younger days I worked in retail for quite some years and I remembered wishing I had a job where I could evaluate sales associates on their customer service skills. During one of my shifts, I said to my co-worker, “I would loooove to be a secret shopper.” She totally agreed with me as it seemed like such a cool job… definitely much more exciting than being a sales associate/cashier in the shoe department!

What is Mystery Shopping?

A lot of retailers hire marketing research companies to anonymously evaluate their employees for quality of service. Mystery shoppers are given instructions on what is required for their assignments. This involves going to ABC Store and making a purchase or ordering a particular food item(s). It doesn’t stop there; as part of an assignment, one may have to check the cleanliness of a restroom or the store in general. The mystery shopper will make mental notes and are required to fill out a form to report the experience. Most times the shopper will be reimbursed and can keep the product.

If Mystery Shopping is something you’re interested in pursuing then here are some tips to help you get started:

1. You should never have to pay a for a list of mystery shopping companies. You can find a list for free.

2. Legitimate companies don’t charge an application fee and many accept applications online.

3. You may be required to have the following equipment – scanner, printer or fax machine to submit receipts or payment invoices.

4. Visit the Mystery Shoppers Providers Association (MSPA) at http://www.mspa-na.org – Here you can search for assignments and mystery shopping companies.

5. It’s known for companies to ask you to fill out a W9 form or issue a 1099 form for income tax purposes, provide your SSN/SSI or bank account/routing number, but don’t give out personal information to anyone unless you know for sure it is a legitimate and reputable company.

6. Make yourself available, but don’t overwhelm yourself with too many assignments.

7. It’s important to submit your reports in a timely manner. Make sure you make accurate reports and be specific.

8. Don’t bring children while you’re working unless it is specified in your assignment. Children can be a distraction and you want to be focused on completing your job as accurately as possible and small details are still important. Remember, it is a job.

9. Check the sites daily for new shop assignments.

10. Mystery shopping is a part-time job and a good extra income earner.

Now that I’ve taken the mystery out of mystery shopping, go out and have fun at your job!