The Google Online Marketing Challenge 2010

Amanda Steadman @WealthBabes – The Google Online Marketing Challenge 2010…


It`s worth to Enter: http://tinyurl.com/yw7j2m
The 2010 Challenge is now on!
The Google Online Marketing Challenge is a global student online marketing competition open to any higher education institution, anywhere in the world.

Developed by professors in collaboration with Google, the Challenge is a great opportunity for students to gain practical, real world online marketing experience. Students also get the excitement of competing on a global level, with the overall winners and their professor/lecturer receiving a trip to the Googleplex in Mountain View. In addition, regional winners and their professor will receive a trip to their local Google office.

The 2008 Google Online Marketing Challenge saw more than 1600 student teams from 47 countries around the world taking part in this global competition. Find out more about our 2008 winners and finalists here.

How does it work?
Student teams receive US$200 of free online advertising with Google AdWords and then work with local businesses to devise effective online marketing campaigns. Teams outline a strategy, run a campaign, assess their results and provide the business with recommendations to further develop their online marketing. Teams submit their reports and are judged by a panel of independent academics from all over the world.

Who can enter?
The Challenge is open to any higher education institution from anywhere in the world.

Registrations for 2009 have now closed but you can register your interest for 2010.

Click on the markers to see the institutions and number of teams that registered for the 2009 Challenge.

Online Podcasts vs Videos…

YouTube have 63% of UK market and Iplayer have 11% of YouTube market
(normally most of other provider get barely 2%).

It has unleashed a global demand to learn film-making and editing.

Tutorial is a big Podcasts & videos market.

For Videos use Flip`s new Mino HD @ £170 = very very ggod!.
Pocasting Is also big business. http://audioboo.fm/
Audio-boo for free audio up to 5mns.
Other mobcasts are good with Twitter meet podcast service.

2009 will be the year when mobile video takes off.

From Victor Keegan article:

www.facebook.com/people/Victor-Keegan


www.guardian.co.uk/profile/victorkeegan

The Prioritisation Game..

Staying Focussed….

Recently many of our clients are saying that there is SO much to do and SO many distractions so I have put together an article to help those focussed challenged busy people! Have a groovy week people!

Amanda x

The Prioritisation Game

Staying on Target



When Prioritising you may want to ask yourself specific questions to make sure you are using your precious time for the highest pay off items on your agenda.

Whether you are self employed or employed, TIME is your rarest resource so use it well and the rewards are endless!

In today’s work and play place – the biggest distractions, namely the internet and mobile phone will tempt you away from the tougher, higher pay off tasks that you know will make the most amount of difference to your day and objectives. So, what are you going to do about it!

Once you get clear about your longer term, higher objective or goal this seriously helps you figure out WHAT is MOST IMPORTANT and not necessarily the most urgent. So take a look at the questions below and go on a Focussed Self Discovery Session to make sure you stay with your actions that take you closer to those all important goals that lead to ….more money, more time, more fulfilment and more happiness rather than busy-ness!





What do you stand for? What do you want out of life? How important are your ‘goals to you?
Prioritise these goals in order of importance and make your decisions based on ‘ is it taking me further or closer to my goals?’ If further away – don’t do it!
How are you spending your time? Is it in the areas you want to and with the people you want to be with? Make tough choices on your time spending!
What is your purpose? Heavy questions I know but CRITICAL so you don’t spend all your life doing something you don’t like! What would you do for free because you love it so much? If we handed you $10 million – after you’d spent some of it on THINGS then what would you DO with the rest of your time?
What are your values – you will spend all your time and money on your values. If you love sport..most of your time and money is going to g there. If you love learning – it will go on courses, books and DVD’s. What you spend the majority of your money on (excl expenses of course) and what books you have on your shelves will give you a good idea of what your values have! Once you are clearer on this – its even easier to make decisions, then prioritise and focus on what you need to.
Once you have got a list of your key goals, values and what you need to do. Pick the 3 most important things that HAVE to be done the night before and have it written down on a piece of paper – out of your mind! Download it. Use a weekly/monthly planner either on paper or PC/Mac
Get the highest pay off tasks done before 12 noon! Do NOT do anything else until those 3 things are done (if it’s a big project at least 3 key parts/pieces of that project that are the most important!)
Keep your work area as clear as possible – get rid of all loose bits of paper, booklets stuff that you know you will always be able to find on the internet anyway! Do not be distracted by shuffling papers, rearranging your pencils and leave your mobile/blackberry facing downwards or even off for two hours in the morning if you can!! (It’s a challenge I know but form a new habit, I promise it will pay off!)
Scan your email for any urgent ones for 5 minutes MAX in the morning then do not look at them again until 12 noon. Do not be tempted to keep replying to all your friends of check Facebook at 9am..you know what will happen. It will be noon and your 3 highest pay off tasks have not been done!!
Reward yourself every time you complete any of those 3 key tasks! Have fun working on what you know is going to bring you the greatest results. Good luck in reaching all those wonderful goals you’ve set and to taking more control of your time and destiny!




Amanda Steadman

www.WealthBabes.com

Wealth and Success Coach, UK

Wow we are a 10th into 2009! How are your wealth goals going?

Well – its already a 10th into 2009 and how are you getting on with all your new year resolutions? Have you started your savings plan? Have you scheduled those special dates with your loved one?
Check in with yourself as you how you are spending your time.
Are you focussing on what we call ‘your highest pay of tasks?’. A highest pay off task of one that will get you closer to your goal faster. For example. We have worked with quite a few sales people and a great salesman told me once ‘ Write a note for your desk and put is somewhere prominently. Write on the note ‘Is what I am doing right now making me money’. This advice has helped me and many of my clients to get focussed on the task at hand and their sales went up!
So where could you write a little note that will keep you on track on a daily basis!
Give it a go and see the results!

Have a great week!

New buyer enquiries are up and there are green shoots of recovery for the housing market….

New buyer enquiries are up and there are green shoots of recovery for the housing market….

But we’re not at the bottom yet!

It has been a traumatic 18 months for those working within the property industry.

As lending by the banks dried up, sales fell to a near standstill, and estate agents started dropping like flies.

Well, every cloud and all that.

Everything must go
However, new figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have revealed housing sales are slowly creeping up again.

According to the trade body, surveyors have completed an average of 10.6 sales over the past three months, up from 9.7 in the three months to both March and February.

As a result, the trade body has recorded an improvement – if we dare call it that – in the house price situation, with the balance of surveyors reporting rising prices rather than falls moving from minus 72.1 to minus 59.9 in April. That’s right, we’re still in minus figures here. Do you detect a few straws being frantically grasped at?

We have reached the stage where even the most farcically minimal improvement in the housing market provokes raised eyebrows and a heart flutter, as if we are finally through the worst.

Those tiny shafts of light
RICS is far from alone in focusing on the positives. When Nationwide Building Society claimed house prices had increased by 0.9% during March, it sparked incredulity that such an astonishing event could possibly have happened. And lo and behold, the very next month a chunk of that increase had been wiped out with a further fall of 0.4%.

The various other indices from outfits like Halifax and Hometrack have been nowhere near as positive, frequently identifying further falls, albeit at a slowing rate.

And then last weekend, the Lloyds Banking Group, the biggest lender in the UK, started suggesting that house prices have only a further 6% to fall before a rise by the end of the year.

Have they gone completely crackers? Is this the sort of barmy thinking that led to the HBoS deal in the first place?

Always look on the bright side of life
Or are the boffins at Lloyds on to something? After all, the RICS figures demonstrate the demand is there – new buyer enquiries have increased for six straight months, and at the fastest pace since the heady days of August 1999, when nobody had heard of quantitative easing, toxic debt or Robert Peston.

Meanwhile, Hometrack’s most recent survey found that applicant numbers were up 6% in April, and 32% in the last three months.

The thinking seems to be that the sharp fall in house prices, which stands at 18.4% peak-to-trough according to Nationwide, has made property more affordable for our old friends, the first-time buyers.

As they see properties begin to fall within the range they bracket as affordable – and according to Halifax, affordability has more than trebled for first-time buyers since mid-2007 – interest picks up and these buyers trundle along to their estate agents to see where they stand.

And so long as those buyers have a healthy looking deposit, and the squeakiest of squeaky clean credit records, they stand a decent chance of getting a mortgage.

In addition, those already on the ladder and with a decent amount of equity in their property are in a position to move onwards and upwards at a better price – and likely with a cheaper mortgage at a small loan-to-value – than they could previously.

Anecdotal evidence seems to suggest this may be happening. My own father, whisper this quietly, is an estate agent and has recently been recruited by a former employer because they are swamped with enquiries and need all hands on deck. And my mortgage broker has started sleeping at night again, thanks to a jump in the number of potential borrowers looking to snap up a bargain.

Building castles in the sky
But that is all it is, anecdotal. We can all go through the various house price indices, and desperately cling on to the vaguest sign of positivity, the merest morsel on which to finally proclaim the market has reached the bottom, and everything will be rosy again.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders got it spot on – and that in itself is something of a miracle – when it described the current situation as ‘green shoots with no roots’.

There may be the odd artificial improvement in sales or house prices, but there is precious little foundation for a sustained recovery, particularly while the situation with unemployment remains so uncertain.

Because the market is not at the bottom, and it won’t be for a while yet. Until the banks and building societies feel able to devote a few more pennies to their mortgage lending, prices are going absolutely nowhere. And all the cautious optimism in the world will not make a jot of difference.

Very good Article by www.lovemoney.com

Interest rates may stay low til 2010 -What should you be doing about it?

The Bank of England reckons inflation will fall and the base rate will remain at 0.5%for the next year. What should savers and borrowers do with their money?

Below are some suggestions, however if you want something specific to yourself do contact us on the contact page for your own Money & Financial Game Plan- www.wealthbabes.com

Pay attention: here comes the science
First of all the boring stuff – the figures themselves.

The Consumer Price Index – what the Bank of England uses to measure inflation – is currently 2.9%, almost a whole 1% above its target. However, the Bank is convinced this figure will fall below 2% later this year, as the massive jumps in food and petrol prices from a year ago fall off the measurement.

In addition, the Bank dropped some extremely heavy hints that the Base Rate is likely to remain at 0.5% for at least another year. But what does this mean for you and me?

Go for a fixed rate mortgage
It goes without saying that mortgage borrowers on tracker rates have been the big winners so far. But if you’re shopping around for a new mortgage this year, you may be better off with a fixed-rate mortgage.

Figures out this week from the Council of Mortgage Lenders have shown that first-time buyers and home-movers are currently benefitting from the lowest mortgage rates since 2004.

In other words, if there was ever a time to fix, it is now.

If you want the security of a fixed rate but the flexibility of a short-term deal, then HSBC has the lowest rate at 2.89% for two years, though it carries a whopping £1,499 fee and is only available with a 40% deposit or equity stake.

For those adverse to such fees, and with a smaller deposit, I like the Royal Bank of Scotland two-year fixed rate at 3.09% up to 75% loan-to-value (LTV), which has a more reasonable booking fee of just £299.

However, for me, a longer term fixed rate is by far the safest and smartest move. The best rate on a five-year deal is available from – you guessed it – HSBC! The rate is 4.39% but it’s only available if you have a 25% deposit or equity stake, plus it carries a hefty booking fee of £999.

If you’d rather not pay such a large fee, Ulster Bank has a five-year deal fixed at 4.55%, with a paltry booking fee of £295.

Prefer a tracker?
If you are determined to gamble and go with a tracker, an important consideration will be the early repayment charges – if rates do start to rise quickly, you will want to be able to bail out as cheaply as possible.

As a result, your best bet may be to go for a two-year discounted variable deal from HSBC. The rate is guaranteed to be base rate plus 1.99%, and the early repayment charge is only 1% of the sum repaid. However, this is only available up to 60% LTV.

If you only have a 25% equity stake, you can still get a tracker at base rate plus 2.45%-2.49%, from lenders such as Alliance & Leicester, Principality Building Society and Market Harborough Building Society (though these each boast much higher early repayment charges).

Savings in a piggy bank
For savers, the choice is a little more clear cut. With the Base Rate likely to be rooted at 0.5% for some time, the prospects for your money in an easy access savings account are fairly grim.

Then again, inflation is set to fall dramatically. So, if you lock in at today’s interest rates, your return should be greater (in real terms) in the future.

In other words, if you are lucky enough to have a wad of savings burning a hole in your pocket, it may be time to look at a fixed rate savings product. So what’s out there?

The current two-year market leader is this fixed rate bond at 4.25% AER from Birmingham Midshires,* You only need £1 to invest, and interest is paid yearly.

If two years just isn’t long enough for you, Nationwide has a range of five-year bonds paying 4.13% to 4.15% AER, offering interest paid on a monthly, yearly or anniversary basis.

However, when thinking about a bond it’s always worth remembering that it is not always easy to get your money out, so only ever put in what you can do without.

For more about the top fixed rate bonds for different time periods, read Earn a top guaranteed rate on your savings.

Get an ISA
Alternatively, if you haven’t yet used up your ISA allowance, you may want to consider Leeds Building Society’s five-year fixed rate ISA. The rate is set at a juicy 4% tax-free – equivalent to a 6.66% standard savings rate for higher-rate tax-payers.

Just be warned there is a penalty of 180 days interest which is incurred if you withdraw more than 25% of your savings.

For more about ISAs, read Top 20 savings accounts and ISAs.

Keeping your savings regular
Of course, rates will probably start to rise again once the economy recovers, so you may prefer not to tie yourself to a bond at today’s low rates for more than a year. If this is the case, consider taking out a regular savings account, as these also offer fixed rates, but usually for just 12 months.

If you have young(ish) children then look no further than the Norwich & Peterborough Building Society’s Family Regular Saver, paying a whopping 6% fixed for one year. Available to customers with dependent children aged up to 16, or 18 if still in full time education, the interest is paid on an anniversary basis, and must be compounded.

If you plan to save no more than £250 a month, then Barclays’ monthly savings account will also pay a fixed rate of 6%, with interest compounded and paid on a monthly basis, though any withdrawals will see you hit with a 2.85% loss of interest.



But if you plan to put away a little bit more than that each month, then have a look at Scottish Building Society’s regular savings account. It pays a fixed rate of

4% on monthly deposits up to £1,000, with interest compounded and paid on a yearly basis, and there is no account fee.

The only downside is that you cannot make payments by direct debit – clearly the Society is not a fan of 21st century technology.

If nothing else, the Bank of England’s inflation report has offered some hope for a period of relative stability following the trauma and unpredictability of the last two years.

Whatever you choose to do, good luck!



FOR A FREE MONEY AND FINANCIAL GAME PLAN – CONTACT US FROM OUR CONTACT PAGE – www.wealthbabes.com

The five golden rules of remortgaging

Switch and save the smart way when you come to change your homeloan.

If your mortgage is coming up for renewal, you might be at a loss as to what to do. All the experts seem to be recommending fixed rates, but perhaps your lender’s SVR is dirt cheap and very tempting. Plus, with falling house prices plunging many homeowners into negative equity, and lenders having tightened the screws over the past two years, you might be worried you’ll be left with limited remortgage options.

Frankly, where do you start when it comes to remortgaging?

1. Speak to your lender first
You need to arm yourself with certain facts when you remortgage and your lender is the first port of call. Ask what your outstanding mortgage is, check there are no early repayment charges to move your homeloan (and if there are, how much are they?) and ask about the exit fee — a charge made by most lenders which usually costs at least £200.

Then ask your lender what will happen if you do nothing. You will probably revert to its Standard Variable Rate (SVR) which could be low, depending on your lender. Find out exactly what your monthly repayments would be, so you can compare it to a new deal easily.

Remember, if you stay on your lender’s SVR, you won’t need to pay a new mortgage arrangement fee, valuation fee or legal fees, which you will face if you move your mortgage.

But the downside is, your lender’s SVR will be variable. That means the rate goes up and down broadly in line with interest rates — so there is potential for it to rise. If you would prefer the security of a fixed rate, ask what deals your lender can offer you. Some will offer existing clients a fixed rate option even if your loan-to-value ratio (your mortgage as a proportion of the property’s value) is higher than its usual maximum.

2. Compare the deals available to you
Once you are armed with information from your existing lender, it’s time to shop around. Despite the mortgage market having contracted significantly during the credit crunch there are still hundreds of deals out there from dozens of lenders. The best, easiest and quickest way to compare mortgages is through a comparison service like the one provided by lovemoney.com. This allows you to input your requirements and search hundreds of deals in seconds, sorting them by interest rate for example.

When you compare mortgages, it’s useful to have considered the type of deal you want. Do you want the immediate low rate of a tracker mortgage or the security of a fixed rate?

Also consider whether you can afford to pay a large upfront fee or not, and whether you need flexible features such as the ability to overpay and underpay.

It will also be useful to have a rough idea on the current value of your property so you can work out your loan-to-value ratio and search for deals that are available to you.

3. Do your sums
When you have found a few deals you are interested in, it can be helpful to work out the total cost of these mortgages over a set period. If you are after a two-year fixed rate it makes sense to look at the total cost over two years for example.

To do this take the monthly mortgage repayment and multiply by 24 (months), then add on any fees and charges, and subtract any cashback the lender may offer. It is sometimes the case that the lowest rate is not in fact the lowest deal in terms of true costs, particularly if it comes with a hefty fee.

And don’t worry if you are not very good with numbers — when you compare mortgages at the lovemoney.com mortgage centre, you can get them listed based on the total costs as well as looking at other criteria.

4. Think about what you would do if rates rise
If you are looking at tracker mortgages or discounted variable deals, remember that these rates can move up and down in line with Base Rate. Although they are currently available at very low rates, it’s worth bearing in mind that they are actually priced at a wide margin to Base Rate. A tracker mortgage at 3% looks low, but with Base Rate at 0.5% the lender has a margin of 2.5 percentage points. If Base Rate was to go up to 5% (which is perfectly possible in the next year or two) your pay rate would be 7.5%.

If you cannot afford a large rise in your repayments it could be worth fixing your rate. There are some attractive fixed rate mortgages around for only a modest premium above tracker deals.

5. Speak to a broker if want face-to-face advice
Mortgages are not always straightforward and a broker could provide invaluable help and advice. They will find out about your financial circumstances, attitude to risk and preferences and search the market to find deals that will suit your needs.

All brokers are authorised by the Financial Services Authority and must have passed professional qualifications in order to give advice. More importantly they understand the mortgage market inside-out.

Unfortunately the credit crunch has led some lenders to solely distribute their mortgages direct to consumers rather than through brokers, meaning advisers do not always have access to all the best deals. However, the majority of products are available through intermediary channels, and the service that you get from a professional could be invaluable.

They have strong contacts with lenders and can rush through cases when necessary or help clients with unusual circumstances to get a deal through. If you have a history of bad credit, you are self-employed or you need a buy-to-let mortgage for example, a mortgage broker is still your best bet to get a deal.

Very good Article by www.lovemoney.com

Men, Money and Chocolate

Last month I had the ultimate pleasure of interviewing a fabulous author, Menna van Praag who completed the book Men, Money and Chocolate recently. With title like that – which ladies would NOT want to read it..however I have heard that men have also been delving inside the covers!

We were lucky enough to record the interview so for those lucky subscribers to this blog and my facebook friends – you have the pleasure of listening to it at your leisure!

And if you want to buy the book..go ahead and treat yourself to a good read! Click Below

Men, Money and Chocolate

CLICK HERE to Listen to the interview with Menna van Praag

http://www.freeconferencecall.com/itunes/itunes.xml?id=6054754810:204130

How to become a Money Magnet!

This is me in our office holding a copy of Marie-Claire Carlyle’s latest book – How to Become a Money Magnet which has just been launched.

I had the privilege of interviewing her to find out more about her motivations, challenges and top tips on how to bring more money into YOUR life! You may want to check it out and get the FULL interview!

Listen to the interview here:

http://www.freeconferencecall.com/itunes/itunes.xml?id=6054754810:204130

Buy a copy of her book here:

http://tinyurl.com/mariemagnet

OR at Her Website: http://www.marieclairecarlyle.com/

The Winners Mindset

Andy Murray, Britain’s No 1 Tennis Player, may not have won Wimbledon this time. But he is extraordinarily committed, focussed and determined to be the best. In these more competive and tougher times in business – are you doing all you can to please those customers, go the extra mile, be mindful of your competition but not distracted my them?

I read an article in the London Paper recently quoting Andy’s mindset regarding competition at Wimbledon ‘ Regardless of whether there’s 10 Brits, I’m still going to take care of my own business and not worry about what’s going on with the other players. If you start doing that, you kind of get distracted and you’re not putting 100% focus on yourself, which is what I need to do for the next couple of weeks!’.

It is important to have an awareness of what your ‘competition’ are doing but not necessarily be consumed or worried by it – they aren’t you at the end of the day! On the other side of the coin I have recently teamed up with various Joint Venture Partners who would normaly be ‘competition’ so this is also a great way of doing business in the current climate – collaboration breeds results too! Just like in Tennis where the individuals then go off to play their ‘doubles’!

Who could you be ‘teaming up with’ in order to add value to another business as well as yourself? Who else do you know who could form a mutual alliance/mailing list in order to serve your clients better? We’ll leave you with both those questions and to your health, wealth and success!

YOU MUST BE THERE! Amanda and Wealthbabes Marketers Cruise 2010

Greetings!

After experiencing the marvellous Marketers Cruise of 2009 I have decided to go again and invite all my friends, clients and anyone else who has a real passion to change the world on line and also create a great income.
If you are going to book…its ONLY a deposit of $250 until October!

We are taking bookings now so email us for more information at cruise@wealthbabes.com today and receive a free video link to Top Secrets of Taking Action! CLICK BELOW TO GET MORE INFO!!



Be there of be square…if you’re not fun..dont come!

GeekySpeaky: Submit Your Site!

Words of Wisdom from Bruce Lee July

I was going through my files and came accross a quote I loved that comes from Bruce Lee, although its related to face to face combat. It can easily be applied to your business and personal life…enjoy!




If you think you are beaten, you are. If you think you dare not, you don’t.If you like to win, but you think you can’t, It is almost certain you won’t.




If you think you will lose, you are lost. For out of the world we find
Success BEGINS with a fellow’s WILL. It’s all in the state of mind.




If you think you’re outclassed, you are.
You’ve got to think high to rise. You’ve got to be sure of yourself before You can ever win a prize.




Life’s battles don’t always go to The stronger or faster man. But sooner or later the man Who wins is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!