My 2¢ Worth

appy Easter to all of my subcribers old and new! Even if you're not religious, I know many of you celebrate this holiday. And if not, why not?

espite its religious connotations, did you know Easter was originally a pagan festival? The ancient Saxons celebrated the return of spring with an uproarious festival commemorating their goddess of offspring and of springtime, Eastre. When the second-century Christian missionaries encountered the tribes of the north with their pagan celebrations, they attempted to convert them to Christianity.

he missionaries cleverly decided to spread their religious message slowly throughout the populations by allowing them to continue to celebrate pagan feasts, but to do so in a Christian manner.

s it happened, the pagan festival of Eastre occurred at the same time of year as the Christian observance of the Resurrection of Christ. It made sense, therefore, to alter the festival itself, to make it a Christian celebration as converts were slowly won over. The early name, Eastre, was eventually changed to its modern spelling, Easter.

Feature Article

Your E-Business Strategy: Is It Love ... Or Fear?

by: Steve Shaw SubmitYOURArticle.com

I read recently that every human thought originates from either love or fear. The more I thought about it, the more true it became. I began to apply it to business - after all, every business success or failure originates ultimately from human thought. This article examines the effects that love or fear can have on your e-business - is it love, or is it fear, that dominates the way you do business online?

If it's fear, you fear you're missing the 'one big thing', and so you attempt to try absolutely everything in case that's the thing you're missing. You read every email that comes in promising business success, and attempt to follow what they suggest.

The only problem is you are attempting to follow several strategies at once, but there's only one of you and not enough hours in the day. You end up barely touching the surface of each strategy, and you become disillusioned and despondent. You tell everyone who will listen that everything you have tried simply doesn't work, and that the Internet is a money-making myth.

You are constantly fearful of your competition. You worry they are doing more business than you, that their offer is better than yours, that they will drive you out of business. You try to copy them, and emulate their style, but somehow it just doesn't work and your heart isn't in it. You feel like you're always following some way behind, rather than out in front, leading the pack.

You have no idea where your sales are coming from, and when you have a couple of 'dry days' with no sales at all, you're panic stricken, and all you can think about is business failure. You've been running your business blind, you have no idea what's been working well and what hasn't, so you have no foundation on which to base your decision making, and no faith that what you are doing is working.

You begin to feel unfulfilled, over-worked, over-stressed, and you can feel yourself burning out. The motivation for your business begins to disappear, and you soon end up with no business.

Instead, if it's love, you concentrate on Strategy A fully, before even considering B or C. You do your homework first - you read all the literature, you know it's been very successful for many people, and you believe you can do it too. You studiously, deliberately and methodically follow the strategy. Rather than diluting your energy by pouring it into many different moulds, you pour all of it into this one, persistently and with considerable dedication.

You don't see much happening at first, but you still have faith, and you re-examine the strategy to ensure you are maximizing the possible outcome. Over time, you begin to see the positive results. This reinforces your energy and motivation, and increases the beneficial effects you experience.

You tell everyone who will listen how well it works for you - others try it too, and begin to see positive results for their own businesses.

You look for ways in which you can work with your competition for mutual benefit. You think about a JV, and approach your competition with it, even ensuring that the benefits for them outweigh your own. Your competition can see how much benefit your proposal could be for both parties and agree to it. The end result is a highly positive outcome for both sides, and you agree to work more closely together in future.

You concentrate on your own USP, and inject your business with a sense of your own style, confidence, and overall business strategy. You see others beginning to emulate you, which you take as a token of admiration, boosting your self-esteem, and thereby further improving the way you do business. You find yourself leading the marketplace.

You have a couple of dry days, but you know that occasionally this happens for whatever reason, that your targeted traffic comes from multiple sources, which show excellent conversion rates. Instead of fearing business failure, you quickly check everything is okay with your merchant account or payment processor and check your site is functioning normally, and you know sales will pick up normally again very soon. You concentrate your energies instead into new avenues of promotion.

Instead of running your business on fear, and consequently witnessing it shrivelling up and dying, you run it on love - you have a passion for what you do, you always take positive action, and the more successful you become, the more it fires that passion.

Your business expands and becomes more successful. And the positive energy from your own business begins to rub off on others.

Can you see how a simple change in approach could transform your business?

**************

Steve Shaw develops software and systems for effective e-marketing. For example, his PopUpMaster Pro software allows you to add popups to your web site that beat the popup blockers, and vastly improve your response rates. For more information please go to popupmaster.com.

Apply CSS formatting to printed pages

If you've ever print previewed a CSS formatted Web page, you may have been surprised to see that the page no longer contained any of your carefully crafted CSS formatting. That's because, by default, CSS formatting only applies to the screen rendering of a Web page.

To make sure a printer also applies CSS formatting to a page, you'll need to indicate to which media you want the formats to apply. To do so, add a media attribute to the <style> or tag, like so:

<style type="text/css" media="screen,print">

Now, when you print the Web page, the printer applies the CSS formatting too.

* Get these syndicated tip feeds for your web site, free. *

Second Article

Conquer Desktop Clutter with Action Files

by: Jan Jasper Jasper Productivity Solutions

Action files enable you to unclutter your desk yet still keep reminders and current papers close at hand. Also known as working files, these files are usually separate from — and in addition to - client, project, or reference files. Action files are for current or pending activities and miscellaneous things you must act on.

Action files must always be within easy reach-- ideally in a small desktop file holder that holds the file folders upright so the tabs are clearly visible.

For added peace of mind, make a note in your calendar or scheduling software to remind you of important dates. This combats the "out of sight, out of mind" worry and lets you clear your desk without fearing you’ll forget something important.

Suggested categories for Action Files:

• phone calls to return
• agenda for an upcoming staff meeting
• expenses to submit
• bills to pay
• papers to file
• business development ideas
• good ideas to try someday
• papers to photocopy
• current departmental & administrative matters
• pending health insurance claims
• your upcoming business trip
• tasks to delegate to your assistant
• conferences to register for
matters to discuss with
• co-workers
errands to run, gifts to buy, sale coupons
• things to discuss with your child’s teacher or doctor
• pending (for example, letters you sent for which you must receive a reply)

It’s not necessary to use every category listed here, and feel free to add any others that suit you.

**************

Jan Jasper has been training busy people to work smarter, not harder since 1988. She is the author of "Take Back Your Time: How to Regain Control of Work, Information, & Technology" (St. Martin's Press). Jan helps clients streamline their systems and procedures, form optimum work habits, use technology efficiently, and manage information overload. Find lots of free tips at www.janjasper.com.

Comments?

If you'd like to comment on any aspect of this publication, send an E-mail to
comments@ paradigmwebdesign.net

---

If you enjoyed The Web Sm@rts Newsletter, forward it to your friends, family and associates. They'll thank you for it!

---

Do you know someone who might be interested in receiving
Web Sm@rts?
Recommend us!

---

NOTE: You have received this message because you or one of your friends added your name to our list of those who may wish to receive this newsletter.

If you do not wish to receive this newsletter, please point your browser to http://paradigmwebdesign.net/unsubscribe.html

FYI: Web Sm@rts will never share your E-mail address or personal information with any other party for any reason what-so-ever.

---

This newsletter is never sent unsolicited.
To unsubscribe, point your browser to http://paradigmwebdesign.net/unsubscribe.html

Tell them Web Sm@rts referred you!

Recommended Reading

I highly recommend the following E-zines.

ThePortalToSuccessE-Zine

Interactive Marketing Ezine

Looking for free newsletters? Just visit the EzineXchange, Select the ones of interest and subscribe. It's free!
ezinexchange.com

Find other great e-mail newsletters and Ezines at the Cumuli Ezine Finder: www.cumuli.com/ezines/

Web Site and E-zine Promotion for Idiots
Get your copy from PWD and get lots of traffic to your Web Site or E- zine instantly.

Use Link Crafter to drive more traffic to your site. Free download from PWD.
lc.exe

Text Tally from
Harmony Hollow software
is a handy text counting utility. Download it free from PWD
Download now

E-Zine Advertising WORKS!
Place your ad in 100s of e-zines like this one. The E-Zine AdSource Directory is the place to find discount e-zine ad space. Come see!
ezineadsource.com

Tutorials

Elated Webdesign Tips
Javagoodies JavaScript Repository
Website Abstraction Westciv: CSS Resources