The Payday Loan Channel

Ok, so you have a website. It’s live, it’s open for business but, now what do you do? One of the hardest things about having a website, is always getting it noticed and used. You will hear people talking about “search engines” and “directories” and a ton of geeky jargon, but what can you do to make your site more visible and get more visitors? Several things in fact, that don’t require a PHD in computers to understand or do.

One of the fallacies is that a search engine listing is all you need. Nothing could be further from the truth. According to GoDaddy (one of the leading domain name registrars) over a million new web sites are registered every day! Google, the leading Internet search site, currently indexes billions of web pages. Billions! Obviously, you are going to need more than just a search engine listing.

So, what do you do?

Simple. You do what has always worked. You tell everyone, and let word of mouth be your best salesman.

1: People need to know your site exists in order to go there.

When was the last time you went someplace you didn’t know about? Almost never, right? The web is the same way. People almost always go where they plan to go. Making people aware that you exist is a main part of getting noticed and visited.

So, how do you do this?

* Put your website on everything going out of your business. Put it on receipts, invoices, letterhead, business cards, boxes, class handouts, flyers, etc. If it leaves your business at any time, make sure there is a website address on it.

* Place it prominently in your windows. Remember, your window works 24/7/365 for you. Make sure that you have 3 key pieces of information on there: Your name, your phone number and your website.

* Have a custom bumper sticker made for your vehicle that lists your website. You can also have a local vinyl or sign company do some work for you that advertises your business on your vehicle. Be certain to include the web site! Your vehicle spends a lot of time in parking lots. Let it be a mobile billboard for your business and work for you.

* If you sell or give away “branded” merchandise (sports bottles or towels for example), have the website included.

* All advertisements that you run must include your website address.

* Make sure that all of your students, parents and instructors know about the site. Remind them regularly about it.

2: People need a Reason to go there.

Knowing you have a site is not enough. People need to be told to go there, and they need to know why.

* When talking to a prospect on the phone, don’t just tell them about the classes. Tell them that “and information can be found on our website xxx.com.” or “Our full class schedule is always available on our website, xxx.com”. If you have a web coupon, be sure to mention it as well. Everyone likes to save a buck, and pointing that out will almost guarantee that they will take a look at the site, and hopefully, also pass the address on to someone else.

* When talking to your students, parents and instructors, be sure to mention that class schedules, upcoming events, school news, and whatever other areas of interest you have there exist, and encourage them to check regularly. Ask your students to link to the school site from their web pages. When doing “Tell a Friend” promotions, be sure to suggest that they also tell them about the website. Update your site regularly, and announce the updates at every class for a week after the updates are done. “Our class schedule on the website has been updated. You can print a copy for your own use right from there.”

* Update your site regularly, and let everyone know about it. Students, parents and instructors all should be checking the site out regularly. Encourage feedback on the site and ask your students and instructors for suggestions on improvements. This involves them in the process more, and makes them feel good. Updates are especially effective if done after an event, and photos and reviews are included. Most people love seeing themselves, and the “Hey everyone, I’m on my schools website working with Master Z” can get you great word of mouth promotion for your site.

3: You need to do some promotion of the site as well.

When talking to a vendor, inquire if they do link exchanges. A link exchange is where you put their banner (a small image) and a link to them on their website, in exchange for them doing the same for you. These are good ways to help boost your visibility and rankings on the search engines.

* When you go to other events or seminars, ask if you can bring flyers or other handouts to help promote your school. Many will say yes. Even if they say no, be sure to bring several business cards with the address on them with you. This way, you can do some personal networking and exchange cards.

* When talking to key people in your art (your instructor, the guest instructor of the seminar, etc), find out if they have a website, and would be interested in a link exchange as well. Many people are very happy to do so.

* Make certain that all your newspaper, magazine, phonebook, radio and TV advertisements mention your website.

* When you do trade shows, you want your website address visible and prominent. Many people today will write a website down before they write the phone number.

* If you frequent web forums and mailing lists, most will allow you to include a small block of text, often called a “signature” in your postings. Do so, and make sure that, if allowed, you include your website.

* Most email programs also allow you to include a signature. Add one to all outgoing messages.

Conclusion

Having a successful website is a lot of work. Gone are the days where you can just put it up, list it on a search engine, and watch traffic role in. Each day, over a million new sites go up. That’s a big ocean in which to shine, but, with the proper promotion, you can start a motion that builds to a popular and successful web presence. All it takes is some old fashioned promotion.

Bob Hubbard is an administrator of the popular martial arts sites MartialTalk.com and KenpoTalk.com. He is president of SilverStar WebDesigns inc., a web site design and hosting company specializing in affordable solutions for martial artists. A student of all the arts, he is currently studying Modern Arnis. More of Bob’s articles can be found at rustaz.net. Please contact Bob if you would like him to review your martial arts product.

“Gladiator,” unlike many films that pit men against men in individual combat, is entertaining to watch because it has, what Aristotle was one of the first to call, “spectacle.”

Spectacle is grandeur, a large story set on a worldly stage, with dazzling scenery, and breathtaking moments.

“Gladiator” has all of these things, and through special effects, it shows us what Imperial Rome may have looked like.

The Coliseum is, well, spectacular.

When the script says it seated 50,000 blood-lusting locals, the moving pictures in front of you prove it.

You believe that Russell Crowe and company are doing battle in the best arena in the world.

So, from an architectural standpoint, this movie is a great travelogue.

Moreover, the scenes depicting gladiators fighting each other to the death are well done.

But where it leaves me feeling vacant is in the arena of individual motivation.

A martial artist must ask himself: When is it right to fight?

When you have right, and might, you’re invincible.

Might alone, without the proper motivation, can let you down and you can fall to someone less physically impressive, who is fueled by virtue.

Why does Russell Crowe’s “Gladiator” fight? Largely, it boils down to a single word: Revenge.

He lost his family and his promotion to the throne because of one man’s avarice and cruelty, and he wants payback.

Revenge is a great theme in the movies, but is it something around which you should construct a life?

Who is the stronger martial artist: One who can overcome loss, or one who must avenge it, at the price of his own life?

I leave it to you to consider this and other questions raised by this film.

In the meantime, it’s definitely worth your attention, and it’s entertaining, especially if you forget that pesky fact that you’re a martial artist, and it is your job to align right with might.

Dr. Gary S. Goodman, President of Customersatisfaction.com, is a popular keynote speaker, management consultant, and seminar leader and the best-selling author of 12 books, including Reach Out & Sell Someone® and Monitoring, Measuring & Managing Customer Service, and the audio program, “The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable,” published by Nightingale-Conant. He is a frequent guest on radio and television, worldwide. A Ph.D. from USC’s Annenberg School, a Loyola lawyer, and an MBA from the Peter F. Drucker School at Claremont Graduate University, Gary offers programs through UCLA Extension and numerous universities, trade associations, and other organizations from Santa Monica to South Africa. He holds the rank of Shodan, 1st Degree Black Belt in Kenpo Karate. He is headquartered in Glendale, California, and he can be reached at (818) 243-7338 or at: gary@customersatisfaction.com.

For information about coaching, consulting, training, books, videos and audios, please go to: http://www.customersatisfaction.com

In my years as a self-defense instructor, I have
tried and tested many training methods to find out
the fastest, most effective way to produce the
best results in the shortest time possible.

I don’t run a self-defense club or ongoing long-term
classes. My “specialty” is short-term courses and
seminars. I need to share knowledge and teach physical
skills in the shortest time possible. And that
training has to “stick.”

I don’t “train” people. I teach them how to train
themselves. I encourage my clients to take full
responsibility for their own learning process and
the results that they produce. There are many excellent
resources out there, but that’s all they are…

Information is inert until you apply it to accomplish
something. Its up to you, study and apply them.

One of the most powerful methods I’ve found to teach
proper punching and striking skills in the fastest,
most efficient way is FOCUS PAD training.

WHAT ARE FOCUS PADS?

Focus pads (also called focus mitts, coaching pads,
punch mitts and target pads) are flat, hand-held
pads that are about 12 inches in diameter.

They are made of dense foam covered in leather or
vinyl. They have been used in boxing, kickboxing and
martial arts training for ages.

HOW ARE THEY USED?

The pads are held by a coach or training partner
at different ranges, positions and levels. The
puncher and pad holder work together to build
offensive and defensive skills, sharpen reflexes
and condition the body.

THE BENEFITS OF FOCUS PAD TRAINING

Focus pads are cheap, portable and easy to find.
They are an excellent training investment that allow
you to conduct a wide variety of drills for the
development of several combative qualities.

If you’re still undecided about whether or not focus
pad training is right for you, here are some of the
benefits.

FOCUS PAD TRAINING IS FUN AND CHALLENGING!

Focus pad training is a blast. Partner training with
focus pads allows you to perform a wide variety of
drills and “fighting games.”

Because there are so many ways to use focus pads, it’s
easy to keep your training fun and interesting. And
most importantly… if you enjoy doing something, you’ll
do it more often.

FOCUS PADS ARE INEXPENSIVE

You can pick up a pair of focus pads at a good
sporting goods or martial art supply store. A decent
pair will set you back about 50 to 70 bucks.

You’ll also need a good pair of bag gloves or boxing
gloves to protect your knuckles. They’ll cost you
about the same. $100 bucks for a full-blown training
system seems like a pretty decent investment to me!

FOCUS PADS ARE PORTABLE

Unlike equipment such as heavy bags, focus pads are
small, light and extremely portable. You can throw
them in a sport bag or knapsack and take them pretty
much anywhere.

Because they don’t have to be installed or mounted,
they are excellent where room is limited or its
impractical to install more cumbersome equipment.

FOCUS PADS DEVELOP EXCELLENT HITTING SKILLS FAST

If I had to teach you how to hit properly, in the
shortest time possible, I’d use focus pads. If you
already knew how to punch but you wanted to improve
and refine you hitting skills, again I’d recommend
focus pad work.

Because the pads are relatively small, they develop
accuracy.

Because they can be moved quickly into different
positions and at different angles, they are one of
the best methods available for working punches in
combination.

Because they can be moved dynamically and even
pulled out of the way, they can be used to develop
quick thinking and “non-telegraphic” delivery.

FOCUS PADS SUPPLEMENT HEAVY BAG TRAINING

All impact training stresses the body. If you hit
too hard or too often you’re going to get injured.
The problem is that punching power increases faster
than the body can adapt and become resilient enough
to withstand that impact energy.

There is a period of “adaptation” required before
for tendons and ligaments become stronger and more
resilient.

It takes about 6 to 10 weeks of more moderate training
before all out, full power hitting efforts can be
performed safely. That’s where focus pads come in.

For starters, there is far less resistance to hitting
a focus pad than a 60 to 100 lb heavy bag. That allows
you to work on your punching power with less strain
on your joints and connective tissues. This allows you
to work your way up to more demanding heavy bag
training which is undeniably harder on the body.

If you already do heavy bag work, you can do your
focus pad work on days in between your heavy bag
sessions. That will afford you some “active recovery”
and the ability to continue working on your
hitting skills while giving your body a time to
recover.

FOCUS PADS IMPROVE YOUR SPARRING AND FIGHTING SKILLS

If you ever watch a good fighter sparring, you’ll
notice that he begins to react to being punched at
BEFORE the punch is even thrown.

Its almost as if he is reading their opponent’s mind
and anticipating what is about to happen before it
does.

What is actually happening is that by being punched
(or kicked) at over and over again, the brain begins
to interpret the meaning of certain positions, weight
distributions and body signals.

When holding the pads and watching various punches
travelling in your direction, you begin to establish
“pattern recognition” which will enhance your ability
to anticipate and defend yourself from attack.

STRESS INOCULATION (HIT PSYCHOLOGY)

Many people are terrified with the idea of being hit
in a fight. Just as many are uncomfortable with the
idea of punching another human being. (I’m not sure
why because I kinda like it!

In fact, because it is an “unknown” people are far
more concerned about being hit than they should be.
Speaking from the perspective of someone who has been
punched, hit and kicked thousands and thousands of
time; its not so bad! You do not want to be terrified
by the idea of being hit or overwhelmed if it happens.

I refer to your comfort level with the idea of hitting
and being hit as “Hit Psychology.” People with weak
hit psychology are more prone to panic or “freeze up”
in a combative situation. They can become overwhelmed
by an exaggerated and unnecessary fear of the
encounter and perform poorly.

We have a term for that in the self-defense field… Its
called, “NOT GOOD!”

Stress inoculation is a process of de-sensitizing
someone to the fear of combat by exposing them to
controlled amounts of impact in a low stress, non-
threatening environment.

In a short period of time, the student finds that
situations that formerly terrified her are far more
manageable and even enjoyable!

FIGHT-RELATED CONDITIONING

Did you know that conditioning is “exercise specific?”
If you are a runner, your body will become fit and
accustom to running but not nearly as much for
swimming or cycling.

If you work out on an elliptical machine, your body
gets more efficient at working out on an elliptical
machine. Your body adapts and improves specific to the
activity that you are participating in. So what you
ask?

I’ll tell you what… the best way to condition your
body for fighting is by mimicking movements and
actions that are like fighting. It’s as simple as
that.

I have trained with people who would be considered
extremely fit athletically but tire very quickly when
introduced to combative training drills.

The good news is that there are a wide variety of
combative drills that you can do with focus pads
that will tone the muscles, build your stamina and
endurance and enhance your self-defense performance.

SO… what I’m saying is this. Not only is combative
training such as pad work an excellent, whole body
form of exercise. The conditioning provides fitness
qualities directly relevant to self-defense and
fighting.

FOCUS PAD TRAINING BURNS FAT

Many people undertake ongoing martial arts and
self-defense training to get into shape… and more
specifically to lose weight (excess body fat) and
regain a lean and mean physique. Focus pad
training is excellent for fat loss. Here’s why…

Not that long ago, the belief was that the best way
to lose body fat was through LSD (long slow distance)
aerobic exercise. In other words, low intensity
exercise that was sustained for at least 20 to
30 minutes. The theory was that during exercise your
body uses fat as a fuel source at lower intensity and
it burns glucose instead of fat at higher intensity
levels.

That might be true, but the assumption was that fat
loss is based on the amount of calories you burned
during your workout. That’s not the case. The amount
of calories you burn during your exercises session
is minimal.

What does matter is the extra calories you burn
BETWEEN your workouts.

Fat burning is accomplished more effectively by
interval training. Interval training involves periods
of moderate to high intensity exertion intersperse
with low intensity periods to catch your breath and
recover your energy in between.

This type of training will increase your metabolism
for hours after your workout and you will burn more
overall calories and body fat.

Focus pads are excellent for interval training.

FOCUS PAD TRAINING REDUCES STRESS

There have been very few evolutionary changes in the
human body in millions of years. One thing that has
not changed is our survival mechanism. The body is
predisposed to “fighting or fleeing” from a
threatening situation.

What HAS changed however is the fact that in modern
day life, most of the “threats” we perceive are not
actual, physical threats and do not merit kicking
butt or running off. So what happens is that we
activate this “fight or flight response” but do
neither.

A host of chemical and physical changes occur that,
if left unchecked become toxic and unhealthy. That
is why exercise is so healthy and such a great way
to manage stress.

I suggest that cardiovascular exercise satisfies
the body’s need for flight. I believe that impact
training such as hitting a pair of focus pads or a
heavy bag satisfies the bodies evolutionary need
to fight.

FOCUS PAD TRAINING MAKES YOU MENTALLY TOUGHER

Mental Toughness is the ability to be effective,
healthy and happy regardless of the challenges and
stressors in your life. It involves building your
ability to cope with stress by repeatedly exposing
yourself to stress and then recovering from it.

The more you do this the tougher you get on a
physical, mental and emotional level. Focus pad
training can be used to improve your mental toughness
in two ways.

Physiologically, The interval training that I’ve
already mentioned builds mental toughness. Doing
“round training.” (intervals of exertion interspersed
with short periods of recovery) teaches your body to
expend energy and then recover. This expend, recover,
expend, recover process makes you tougher and more
emotionally resilient.

Another opportunity that focus pads provide is the
ability to design “never give up drills.” I’ve
referred to this in my Power Punching Guide as
“blitz” training.

Blitz training is an advance training method that
involves going “all out” for a predetermined period
of time. You push yourself through the pain of lactic acid in your muscles and the discomfort of being winded and push, push push yourself until
you reach the end of the drill.

This is not only a terrific conditioner for your
body but it is also an excellent mental exercise to
teach you on of the most important traits that you
can have for self-defense: “NEVER GIVE UP.”

FINAL THOUGHTS

Bottom line… if want to develop and refine your
punching skills quickly, condition your body with
fight-related exercise and design challenging and
versatile training sessions then take a serious
look at focus pad training.

Randy LaHaie
Randy@ToughenUp.com

Randy LaHaie is the president of Protective Strategies and has been teaching reality-based
self-defense for over 30 years. He is the author
of several “Toughen Up Combative Training Guides” (http://www.ToughenUp.com)

Subscribe to his Free Self-Defense Newsletter at
http://www.ProtectiveStrategies.com

One of the more dangerous types of people in the world are sociopaths — the 4% of the population who don’t have a conscience. Who’re not “wired” to care about anyone else.

The kind of people who can rob, hurt, torture even kill another person without thinking twice — as if it’s just another “chore” on their list.

But knowing they exist and what they are capable of is not enough. The frightening thing about them is they rarely pose as dangerous people to their victims. And so, it’s equally important to know how to identify them, so you know when you’re dealing with one or not.

Listen: One giant “red flag” that gives them away is they have an extraordinary ability at making great first impressions.

And I mean WAY above average. As in, they will make you feel like you’ve known them forever after just one conversation.

Why are they so good at this?

Simply because they don’t have natural reactions. They don’t understand us. They don’t have the normal moral guidance regular people have.

So they are very careful and closely watch how we react. And the really dangerous ones — especially the ones who like to hurt people — get frighteningly good at making sure they’re your new best friend within five minutes of talking to them.

And if you’re not careful — if you aren’t aware of this — you’ll think the sociopath who wants to fleece your house and victimize you and your family is a “really great guy.”

In fact, this is why people are so shocked when they’re victimized by a sociopath. They never, ever saw it coming.

One famous example of this was Ted Bundy — the cold-blooded killer who went on a murder spree several years ago. He had almost supernatural charm, wit and charisma — and his victims never saw it coming when he killed them.

So what does this mean for you?

Well, I’m all for being a “good samaritan” but you also have to watch your back.

When that guy on the street asks you to help him change his tire or to go with him to help him do some menial little task or whatever, watch your back.

If he starts calling you “buddy” and acting like you’re best friends, when you just met, that ought to be a red flag.

It doesn’t always mean you’re dealing with a sociopath, and even if he or she is, it doesn’t always mean they have any intention of foul play. But be alert. Be vigilant.

And above all else…be prepared to fight.

That’s the point I want to make here.

The best thing you can do for your safety — and the safety of your family — is learn how to protect yourself.

Because, there are bad people in this world who will hurt, cripple even kill you or one of your loved ones to get what they want. The smart ones will not attack you in a place where you have access to your gun, the police, or any help.

And so the only way to really protect yourself from them is to know how to defend yourself.