If you are a shoe lover as much as I am, you probably have over a dozen stunning high shoes in your cupboard. However, when is it really appropriate for you to wear a pair of high heel shoes?

I’ve seen women wear high heels on many occasions while they sacrifice the comfort of their feet. I find that there are only certain occasions and events to which you should wear your sexy high heel shoes. There are certain places you shouldn’t wear them to. Here is my list of places which are either appropriate or inappropriate.

Appropriate occasions for wearing high heel shoes.

1. A Dinner Date: If you are going out on a date with a gentleman, especially if it’s the first date, you can put on your sexy shoes. You will appear to him as a confident lady. This is a quality many men admire in a woman. Better yet, you’ll be seated most of the time so your feet won’t get hurt.
2. A Wedding: Receiving an invitation to a wedding is an honour. With wedding costs skyrocketing, couples are compelled to invite selected guests only. If you are the lucky recipient of a wedding invitation, you need to look the part. Weddings are occasions usually celebrated in style where guests are required to be dressed formally. When you choose your elegant evening dress you can certainly put on a pair of sophisticated high heel evening shoes to complement your dress.
3. Year End Functions: If you are going to a year-end function or any corporate function for that matter you need to look powerful and professional. A woman wearing a beautiful pair of high heels indicates to her colleagues that she is confident, strong and determined. Furthermore, while you are mingling and moving around, you’ll find that the shoes are actually quite comfortable and manageable.

Inappropriate occasions for wearing high heel shoes.

1. The Shopping Mall: We all love to get attention but getting attention at a shopping mall is not good. Shoppers tend to gawk and criticise ladies who wear high shoes in malls. Furthermore, high heels are not made for walking long distances and you could easily walk 5km in a mall. I don’t know about you but I’m not going to walk 5km in my heels. Why should I put myself through that pain?
2. Travelling: When you are travelling by plane or train, you’ll have lots of luggage that you’ll need to lug around. Yes, I know there are trolleys but there are some areas that you can’t use them and you still have to lift your bags. The extra weight of the bags could hurt your ankles. So consider your feet the next time you travel.

I hope I have given you some insight in the world of fashion shoes. High heels are a girl’s best friend but only when you wear them at the right time.

It seems like a simple enough concept, but it’s one aspect of a marriage that gets stamped out first. Whether this is due to neglect or it’s done purposely, it probably depends on the individual couples.

But how it happens ultimately doesn’t matter. The fact that it does happen is the truly sad thing.

What am I talking about? Friendship. Research on marital relations indicates that for the vast majority of couples, the most important goal is to ensure that their spouse is their friend — and that he or she in return, is a friend to the mate.

This makes sense. Moms since the beginning of time have been telling their daughters this. “All else, good looks… sexual attraction… matter little if you and your husbands aren’t friends first.”

Not surprisingly, then, when marriages are young and relationships are healthy, most spouses acknowledge this friendship factor. In fact, it may surprise some women to learn that men actually describe their wives as their best friend more often than women do.

If you can nourish — or rekindle — that friendship, then there’s little doubt your marriage can, indeed, still be saved.

What’s This Friendship Stuff All About Anyway?

In order to be a friend, though, you really need to know what a friend is. If you were to ask a dozen random individuals exactly what a friend is, you’d receive a dozen different answers.

But generally speaking, a friend is a person with whom you can relax, talk to about your feelings and dreams, and a person who’s there when times get tough.

Friends are important for you — not only emotionally but physically as well. Research reveals that your friends can actually provide you with that much needed buffer during some of life’s roughest moments. Those individuals who have at least one good friend do better in almost every conceivable way — including their mental and physical health.

The most powerful aspect of friendship, studies reveal, is the feeling of intimacy and connection with the other person. Men and women approach this aspect differently.

And this approach can sometimes lead to misunderstanding. Women share with friends during face-to-face communications. They put all activity aside while they discuss issues.

Men, on the other hand, tend to talk about and share their feelings as they do something else.

In a marriage, friendship is hearing your partner’s heart in the ways he or she is most able to share it. And that can take any number of forms. That means creating those bonds of friendship is unique to your marriage.

Your job is to learn to listen carefully for what is in your partner’s heart and soul. Then you can share what’s in yours. Sounds easy enough, now doesn’t it? So what could possibly go wrong? Plenty in today’s high speed world.

First, let’s take the issue of time. Far too often the maintenance of your friendship with your spouse takes a backseat to such events as work, the needs of your children, meetings and a host of any other number of things.

Sometimes the friendship slips because of a skewed view of it. Listen to this shift in attitude. Eighty percent of engaged and newlywed couples say that their partner is their best friend. Theoretically, you’d expect those bonds to tighten as the years pass.

However, those couples that have been married for a while view themselves as “just married.” They no longer identify themselves as friends first — or friends at all, for that matter!

Those marriages, though, in which the spouses recognize and nurture the initial friendship, are among the strongest and longest lasting.

When The Talking Stops

One reason this view ensues is that as time passes, marriage partners simply stop talking to each other as friends. They seem to put their “friendship talk” on hold and only discuss the problems or issues of their marriage. You’re cheating yourselves of the intimacy you used to so readily share.

Let’s go one step further with this idea. Many individuals in a marriage eventually build a wall around them. And you can easily understand it — even if it’s a damaging action.

It’s difficult, after all, to share your hopes and dreams with a personal you’re currently mad at or experiencing a major disagreement with. We’ve talked earlier about the habit some partners have of interpreting everything you say in a negative light. Who’s going to bare their soul just to have someone stick a knife in it in an argument they experience next week? Why give your spouse any more ammunition?

If the two of you have a continuing argument ensuing over an issue, chances of sitting down for a heart-to-heart on other topics is extremely low.

Consider, for example, this potential situation. You’re involved in a great friendship talk with your spouse when the topic somehow turns to a household problem, ending in an argument.

Chances of starting another round of friendly conversation have probably declined. You’re now fearful that the conversation can turn sour at any time with little to no advance warning. And I can’t say your fear is baseless in this instance.

Now, How Do I Preserve My Friendship?

Great friends question each other. Great friends get together to talk to each other. Great friends stay in touch.

Some parts of this answer may appear hopelessly simplistic. Some of these suggestions are easy enough to offer them quickly. But realize they may be far more difficult to implement.

If time to talk is an issue for you — then make the time. I know one couple who talk early in the morning, first cups of coffee in their hands. And they sit there chattering away about just about anything that pops into their heads.

This habit started simply enough for them. For a period of time, the husband needed to get up at 4:30 a.m. to leave for work at 5:30 a.m. The wife obviously didn’t need to rise that early. But she did because it was the only time they could find without the interference of children to talk to each other.

This marriage at this point easily could have begun to fall apart. Instead, it grew stronger as they enjoyed their special time together.

Without even knowing it, this couple was protecting and preserving their friendship. Research now indicates the importance of this action. Creating time for the nurturing of your friendship is one of the key investments you can make in your marriage.

It’s that important. Search for time. Create special times to do just this. Whether you rise earlier, stay up later talking, or create a date night for that type of conversation, it’s well worth the effort.

You need to take one more step though. And in some marriages this may be a giant leap. Some couples find friendship talks always ending up as “conflict disagreements” over household issues. Don’t let that happen.

If you have to set up “game rules” so to speak to avoid this, then by all means do so.

Friendship Talks Deepen and Strengthen Your Marriage

By doing this, you’ll realize your friendship talks are deepening and strengthening your marriage. This way you’re providing the necessary infrastructure to survive the conflict talks that are bound to emerge.

If you wake up early in the morning to renew your friendship, don’t mar this time by bringing up potential conflict issues.

Don’t consider this avoidance; think of it as prudent planning. Your relationship will be all the more stronger for this.

Sadly, some couples are so removed from this idea that they have no clue where to begin this “friendship talk” stuff. If this describes your marriage, don’t abandon the idea. It may take a little work, but it can definitely happen.

Simple origami is ideal for all ages. While many may think it’s just for kids, it’s not! Here are eight fun facts about paper folding that you may not know… yet!

1. There are dozens of entries for origami in the Guinness Book of World Records including most folds, smallest, biggest, fastest time for folding 100 cranes, and many more.
2. If you thought origami was just for kids, think again. There is an origami airplane championship held every two years in Japan. According to an article in the Bangkok Post, the record for the longest flight indoors of an origami plane is 22.48 seconds – held by Takuo Toda, who is credited with inventing the paper airplane.
3. The smallest origami crane in the world was made by Naito Akira folding plastic film measuring 0.1 by 0.1 mm. The 82-year old uses special tools and a microscope.
4. The three largest origami cranes on record include one with a wingspan of 206.7 feet made by Akita Japan residents in August 1998. It took approximately 200 people 7.5 hours to fold the square paper which measured 212 feet per side. Wings for Peace folded an origami crane in Seattle in November 1999 with a resulting wing span of 215 feet. The latter reportedly weighed 1750 pounds. In January 2001 an origami crane with a wingspan of 256 ft 6 was folded in Odate Japan.
5. A charity in Mexico (Grupedsac) supports small farmers and indigenous people to make and sell shoulder bags, hand bags, coin purses and belts out of folded candy wrappers and other trash.
6. Origami is the theme of a play in New York called “Animals Out of Paper” in which the three main characters all are involved in the art of paper folding.
7. There are at least a dozen national origami associations throughout the world including: US, Japan, France, Netherlands, UK, Spain, Germany, Australia, Italy, Poland, Russia, and China. The British Origami Society was the first association and was founded in London in 1967.
8. Origami USA sponsors a yearly convention in New York that is said to be the largest in the world.

It’s easy and affordable to get started with simple origami. You just need paper and folding directions.

Wrought Iron Wine Racks Home Decor

If you are planning to purchase some wine bottles for possible future celebrations, then you might want to be looking into a wine rack. If you’re pessimistic and you’re only going for a few wine bottles because you feel there wouldn’t be a lot of celebrations in the near future, then you might want to go with a smaller wine rack, in which case those made out of wrought iron would get the job done. Even if you’re going for a dozen bottles of wine, you can still get a few wrought iron bottle racks for various advantageous reasons.

First, wrought ironworks usually look like skeleton frames of what they’re supposed to be. Unlike other frames, they are made out of bended iron, which makes it possible for them to be designed and patterned in an infinite number of ways; and this isn’t an exaggeration. If you get a wooden shelf, it will take up a lot of space in your home and it won’t help if you’re a little claustrophobic. With bent iron racks, you can really feel like there’s more air circulating around your home and it adds to a less cluttered look.

Another reason that wrought iron is the best choice for a wine rack is the fact that it is an eye candy capable of turning your wine bottles into eye candy. As mentioned above, bent iron can be shaped into various designs, essentially turning it into a standalone decor. With different wine bottles with, say, different colors, you can put them in a wrought iron decor and you end up with a great looking rack – no, not THAT kind of rack.

There are wrought iron wine trees out there that you can get. If you don’t know what that is, wine trees are simply multiple pieces of “wires” made out of bent iron that extend in all directions. Near the tips of these wires, the iron spirals into a shape where you can safely place your wine bottles in. They are called wine trees because when you put your wine bottles in, your wine rack becomes the tree and your wine bottles become the fruit. Imagine that – a nice piece of furniture that makes your home look even better.

It’s not just all for show, though. Wrought iron wine racks can withstand the test of time. If you have a wine cellar, you can even use bent iron for the racks and you can just leave it there without worrying when it will start to rust and whatnot.

In 2008, during a classroom break, as I sat around a table with a dozen people I met four days earlier, a young lady took a banana out of her purse, peeled it half way, then she took out a spoon and began to carve the peeled banana into spoon-sized bites. She carried on normal conversation while she fed herself spooned pieces of the banana. I had never before seen or heard of anyone who ate a banana that way. My other classmates did not act as if anything about this was unusual. There was another detail that I will reveal at the end of this article.

This is 2021, and something triggered my memory of the event. Now, I can say, thirteen years later, that it still is the only time I have ever seen or heard of anyone who ate a banana that way. You may be familiar with the Jerry Seinfeld television comedy series. Season six featured an episode titled, “The Pledge Drive,” in which Elaine’s boss unwrapped a Snickers Bar. He placed the candy bar on a plate and ate it using a knife and fork during an office business meeting. So, yeah. In the Seinfeld show, the knife and fork incident sparked a social awareness on Manhattan Island in which “the smart people” began to use various cutlery to eat candy in order not to touch the candy with their fingers (such as eating M&Ms with a tablespoon).

Perhaps human trends begin with the peculiar habit of an individual. Web search, “Ten innovations that built ancient Rome.” You may be surprised by some of the underpinnings of Rome, a world-class empire that rose and lasted more than one thousand years. I was surprised to see the welfare system listed, and that some attribute it to hastening Rome’s eventual downfall. In the United States, we have a welfare system today that is expanding beyond both government control and the capability of the workforce to sustain it.

Cultural assimilation did not make the top ten list. Beginning with the province of Greece, the Romans took the time to assimilate Greek practices that they believed to work well, and to attempt to revise those that did not work well. Then, they invited the Greeks to participate in the newly remodeled culture. This worked, and the practice continued every time the Romans acquired a new province (kingdoms that either capitulated or were defeated in combat). This system of government was complex, but it did expand and the Roman civilization endured well beyond any previous civilization. Graft, greed, decreasing confidence in government, and a failing moral compass among the Roman citizens contributed heavily to the empire breaking, and the return of the broken pieces to their tribal origins.

So, what was the missing detail about the young lady who ate her banana with a spoon? She had a peanut butter cup too. With the spoon, she scooped peanut butter out of the cup, enough to cover the first quarter of the tip of the spoon on the concave side. Then, she used the remaining space of the concave side of the spoon to carve out a piece of the banana. So, she actually ate banana and peanut butter in a single bite, with style and grace, avoiding getting food on her hands. Genius. So far, I have detected no popular trend to do what she did.

This English language term is often attributed to unnamed Native Americans of many tribes. The meaning in English may be different from the meaning in native languages. Probably, “Many” meant “more than could reasonably be expected.” Probably, “Smokes” meant campfires, although I have read that one or more of the half-dozen tribes who ranged into what is now Yellowstone Park as hunter-gatherers referred to the collective plumes of steam from the geysers as “Many Smokes” in their native tongue.

The hunter-gatherers were a nomadic tribal people who moved about when their food source moved somewhere else. In the film, “Dances with Wolves,” the Sioux were hunter-gatherers who followed buffalo. The buffalo, being large shaggy beasts, tended to move to high country during the summer in order to get to cooler terrain when temperatures got too hot. The gatherers in the tribe tended to be women and children who gathered grains, roots, berries, nuts, small game, and fish when the tribe settled for a time as the principle game stopped moving. They also, opportunistically gathered while traveling when they recognized edible plants.

Bear in mind that the Sioux, the Crow, the Cherokee, and other tribes did not simply spring up one day. All of them were descendents of earlier Paleo Indians (the Clovis People), who inhabited what is now the United States for 10,000 years or longer. The name Clovis was attached to these earlier people by the first finder of some of their arrowheads (Clovis Points) in Clovis, New Mexico. The later native tribes essentially hunter-gathered as their long ago ancestors did. Some of the tribes today have stories that specifically mention Mastodons being the main food source that was followed and hunted.

Did the Paleo Indians and the later Native American tribes know God? Yes. They knew what God allowed them to know. They were all descendents of Adam. The natural world in which they lived was God’s handiwork. People today get confused about God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. The natives attributed the Great Father (God) as having a spirit form. It was their way of saying what Christians say today, “God in three persons.”

They were not present on the continent where Jesus was sent as the Christ to bear all sin upon himself. But, that does not mean that they are not saved. It also does not mean that any people before the time of Jesus are not saved. Web search, “How do people who lived and died before Jesus get to heaven?” I like the way Pastor John MacArthur answers the question. Pastor MacArthur builds his answer on Christian Biblical scripture. Web search John 14:6-9 and Revelation 21:3.

A wide range of hotels is now available in all skiing nations in Europe and further afield. In most cases you have the option of a bed and breakfast stay, half board, full board, or all inclusive, and of course there is the full range of service available, from no-star to five star deluxe.

Fairly basic ski hotels are commonly offered by British tour operators in most mid-range resorts in the Alps and the Pyrenees. Ideal for group school ski trips or first ski holidays, these hotels are always very simple, and have passable access to the slopes but very few add ons. Expect an ensuite shower-room but no bath for example, or a small breakfast buffet but no evening restaurant or bar. If you are a budget skier who just wants to spend every daylight hour on the slopes, and be in bed by 9pm after simple local supper, then these establishments are ideal.

Variants on the more budget hotel theme include Chalet Hotels (hotels run in a chalet style) and ApartHotels, which are apartment complexes with optional hotel facilities and services. A good way to get the best of both worlds (hotel and chalet), these options can provide you with privacy AND public space.

In addition, increasing number of newer more luxury establishments with pools, spas, nurseries, fine winelists and Michelin-starred restaurants are now also available. Luxury resorts such as Courchevel, Zermatt and St. Moritz now offer some of the world’s best hotels with superb facilities, décor, staff and service.

And depending on your whereabouts, you can find small mega-luxe boutique hotels with just a dozen stunningly decadent rooms, or giant super-complexes with more than 750 rooms and dozens of restaurants and other facilities.

The high end ski operators such as Scott Dunn have the best luxury ski hotels in their portfolio, across a range of ski resorts throughout the world – including St Anton, Lech, Val d’Isere, Zermatt and Jackson Hole. For example, this ski season you can choose from Scott Dunn’s 36 luxury ski hotels. Consider Le Seizena in Courchevel 1850, described as a luxurious and hi tech boutique hotel with just 20 rooms, or The Four Seasons Whistler with 273 guest rooms, suites and townhouses, as well as ski in/ski out access, a spa with outdoor heated pool and two restaurants.

Whilst not strictly a hotel stay, Scott Dunn also offers a split chalet option – you still stay in a chalet, but the fact that you share the space with other guests outside your own party often makes for a boutique hotel feel, and can be very good value.

As well as service and facilities, you are of course paying for style, and in the style stakes, good luxury hotels should capture the essence of a fabulous mountain hideaway, with natural wood and stone finishes, spacious yet cosy rooms, superb mountain or valley views, balconies and fireplaces, and of course fluffy duvets and cosy soft towels. Some of the world’s best ski hotels rooms even have private hot tubs, private butler service and roof-top helicopter access!

Always remember the golden rule when you are planning your ski holiday – work out exactly what you want from it before you book. Ski accommodation at cheaper hotels are better for the budget of course, but if they are less convenient for the slopes, you will inevitably spend less time on the snow. And if this is your one week a year of Winter wonderland, well then you need to make every second count!

Germans love flowers. When invited to their home, flowers are an appropriate gift. There are customs regarding the color and the number of flowers to bring. Impress your host by following the rules.

An invitation to a German home is an honor. Wine or flowers are the best gifts. Let’s go with flowers. There are plenty of florists in Germany. They are called Blumenhändlers.

Be aware of the shop hours. Up until 2004 the German government tightly managed retail hours until handing them over to the states. Florists will generally be open until 18:00 to 19:00, 6 to 7PM. The exception is Thursday night, when retailers offer later hours, and Sunday, when the majority of businesses are closed.

Purchase the flowers early. Germans open and close promptly. It is my experience a last minute shopper, arriving near closing time, will not feel welcomed.

Be sensitive about colors:

• Red is the color of romance. Your hostess may blush, but not the host;
• Carnations signify mourning;
• Lilies and chrysanthemums are for funerals.

Your best choice is yellow roses. Ask the florist to wrap it up as a gift, or “Würden Sie das bitte als Geschenk verpacken? If they are not gift-wrapped, remove the wrapper before presenting them to the hostess.

Most importantly, a dozen roses do not work in Germany, or many European countries. Always give an odd number of flowers. The exception is 13 – an unlucky number in Germany as in other lands.

I asked my German colleagues where the rule for an odd number of flowers came from. One perspective is an odd number of flowers are easier to arrange. Others believe it is a norm or rule. Germans tend to embrace most rules, whether or not they are logical to other countries.

You are all set: an odd number of yellow roses, except 13, specially wrapped by the florist. Smiling hosts and no rules broken. Wunderbar!

For the active stock photographer, placing your images on a Web-based on-line photo gallery can be a showcase for your stock photography. In some cases, it can also be an opportunity to make new photobuyer contacts and sales. The photo albums, or “malls” as they are sometimes called, range from companies that provide film printing service, to high profile sites that attract professional photobuyers.

If you are just starting out you can sign up with a free site to test the process. These sites usually limit entries to three or four dozen images. You also have to put up with boundless advertising accompanying your page. You need to be aware that professional photobuyers rarely frequent these kinds of sites.

Some on-line photo sites don’t permit extensive keywording. This would limit the ability of a photo researcher searching this site to target in on a specific image that needs to be described in several specific words. Be sure to choose a site that allows extensive captioning (photo descriptions) for each picture. You’ll find Portfolios.com does this, but it’s expensive: $599 per year. It does not carry any advertising.

We have listed a few dozen current gallery sites that we have discovered over the past year. We’ve listed them all, but be prepared that some of them may already be out of business by now. Which brings up a second caution note for when you choose a free site. Research the stability of the site carefully, the way you need to do when choosing an Internet Service Provider. If the site is not in business in a year from now, you’ll have an uphill task to transfer the increasing numbers of your images to another site.

And finally, the site may be free and well-designed, but if it’s getting few visitors, it would not be the site for you if you’re planning on selling your stock photography. You can check whether a site gets lots of visitors, by using the (free) software, http://www.alexa.com, to see the ranking that Alexa gives the site.

Two gallery sites we can recommend with confidence, are of course, our own: http://www.photosourcefolio.com, and http://www.photosourcegroup.com. Our Folio site offers you the chance to display ample-sized photos, and is associated with our well-known website http://www.photosource.com, which gets 8,000 visitors (50,000 hits) per day. That’s a million hits per month. No other stock photography-oriented site on the web gets this many hits per day. For our marketletter subscribers we offer an extensive on-line gallery called http://www.photosourcegroup.com. This is a text-centric site that works with search engines such as Google. The buyer types in a keyword phrase in a search engine, plus the word photosource, to land on the photographer’s page.

If you have discovered other Photo Gallery sites that we have not listed, or if you have comments about existing sites, please share them with us. -RE

Adobe ActiveShare, [http://www.activeshare.com], FREE

Album Express, press@notetab.com, http://www.fookes.com/album, $24.95

Anexa, http://www.anexa.com, FREE

Club Photo, http://www.clubphoto.com, FREE

DotPhoto.com, support@dotphoto.com, http://www.dotphoto.com, FREE

FlipAlbum, fabeta@ebooksys.net, http://www.flipalbum.com, FREE

Folionet, http://www.folionet.com, FREE

Fotango, support@fotango.com, [http://www.fotango.com], FREE

Fotki.com, http://www.fotki.com, FREE

FotoTime, support@fototime.com, http://www.fototime.com, FREE

Global Photographers Search, webmaster@photographers.com, http://www.photographers.com, FREE

Imira.com, http://www.imira.com, FREE

InfoPics.com, info@infopics.com, http://www.infopics.com, FREE

Morephotos, wdsales@wdweb.com, http://www.morephotos.com, $200

OnlinePhotoLab, feedback@onlinephotolab.com, http://www.onlinephotolab.com, FREE

OzImage Stock Library, feedback@ozimages.com.au, http://www.ozimages.com, FREE

Pbase.com, image@pbase.com, http://www.pbase.com, FREE

PhotoAccess.com, support@photoaccess.com, http://www.photoaccess.com, FREE

Photofolio, http://www.photofolio.com, FREE (trial) ,$19.99/month

Photographers Index, info@photographersindex.com, http://www.photographersindex.com, FREE

Photo Highway, info@photohighway.com, http://www.photohighway.com, FREE

PhotoReflect.com, kgoralski@expressdigital.com, http://www.exposuresonline.com, $34.95

PhotoSourceGROUP, info@photosource.com, http://www.photosourcegroup.com, FREE

PhotoSourceFolio, info@photosourcefolio.com, http://www.photosourcefolio.com, $4.95 month

PhotoStockPlus, info@photostockplus.com, http://www.photostockplus.com, FREE (trial)

PhotoWorks, info@photoworks.com, http://www.photoworks.com, FREE

PicturesNow.com, info@picturesnow.com, http://www.picturesnow.com, FREE

PictureTrail, feedback@picturetrail.com, http://www.picturetrail.com, FREE

Portfolios.com, info@portfolios.com, http://www.portfolios.com, FREE (trial)

Shutterfly, info@shutterfly.com, http://www.shutterfly.com, FREE

ShutterPort, info@shutterport.com, http://www.shutterport.com, FREE

Snapfish, info@snapfish.com, http://www.snapfish.com, FREE

Sony ImageStation, info@sony.com, http://www.sony.com, FREE

Webshots, support@webshots.com, http://www.webshots.com, FREE

Yahoo Photos, info@yahoo.com, http://www.photos.yahoo.com, FREE

Note: Data can change from month to month. Consult a search engine such as Google.com to get the latest updates.

For the budget conscious internet marketer, learning how to use free classified ads is a worthwhile action – and one that doesn’t take up a lot of time.

For traffic generation and sales promotion it is risk free and at no cost. The following tips will help you make best use of this option.

Firstly, search and explore more than one free classified ads sites. This gives you both a different reach and a more diverse targeted audience.

Don’t Just Rely On One Classified Ad Site

Try to build a stable of about 6 or 7 sites to help maximize your success rate. With them, post new ads regularly and renew existing ads that have shown responses.

You may need to explore over a dozen or more to find ad sites that suit your products and services. Use

Google and keyword search for “your niche+free classified ads” or just Google ‘free online classified ads’ or similar phrase.

Browse through the group you have bookmarked as possibles. Become familiar with them and sign up, preferably using a public email address such as Hotmail or Yahoo.

You ought also have a URL shortener installed by this time anyway such as bit.ly/ or goo.gl/ as you will need to use them if you want to cloak an affiliate code in an URL. It is also a quick way to see if you ads are getting hit as they all keep stats.

Compelling Yet Credible Ad Titles

These are called magnetic titles. They capture some ones curiosity, yet remain believable. Most WON’T believe titles like “Make $5000 Each Day”.

Look at the ads you see in classifieds and on Google and get an idea if you are stuck for good copywriting. The aim is to grab someone’s attention. Look at ads – and see what grabs you or attracts your eye. These that stand out are a good guide for you to emulate.

Also take note of those that keep appearing (e.g. on Google’s right hand column) – advertisers are not likely to keep non-performing adverts

Use strong calls to action e.g. (sign up today, buy now, pay less, save now etc)

Examples of strong words are new, guaranteed, proven, safe, free etc

Keywords

Using a tool like Google’s AdWords tool is a source of finding popular keywords – use these creatively in your ad title.

In the ad body, be precise, emphasize benefits and use ‘call to action’ phrases such as “Click now to take advantage of time limited discount”

Find out a few popular keywords people use to search for your niche using Google. Google AdWords keyword tool is a great tool for keyword researching. Pick a dozen related keywords and try to creatively use those keywords in your ad title.

Simply enter your niche keyword or a key phrase and the tool displays the average monthly search counts of both the keyword you have entered and a large number of related key phrases

Next Step

Draw up about half a dozen (or more) variations of the same advertisement and post about 20 ads in each site.

You have say six free ad sites – therefore posting the 6 variations will give you 36 ad postings. Keep the rest for the next posting time.

Monitor the responses you get from the ads. Those that get responses (visits) are worth doing more of.

Summary

Use a strong title

Show the benefits, be specific

Include a call to action with a sense of urgency