Marketing - What It All Be Like

At times, the agencies that should get the most help do not. Nonprofit organizations, such as the American Red Cross and the American Cancer Society, need funding to conduct important research that affect millions of people. So, it could be said that their bottom line is the one that really matters because it affects us all.

Although most businesses need to have fundraising events, these events are most crucial for nonprofit organizations. How can an organization raise money and awareness if it is not generating many funds to begin with? While nonprofit fundraising can be difficult, it can help the organization succeed and their cause gain awareness when done well.

One effective way for nonprofits to raise money is through partnering with a corporation to increase cause recognition. Cause-related marketing has been around for a while. Many charities and businesses have partnered together to achieve success. The difference between a mere partnership and a successful partnership, however, is quite different.

In the January 1, 2004, article “Making the Business-Nonprofit Partnership a Win-Win” on AllBussiness.com, Marion E. Gold stated that “the key is to create an environment in which the company’s and charity’s objectives are integrated to create a mutually beneficial result.”

Gold suggested that nonprofits present their partnership plan to businesses in a creative way to clearly explain why the partnership would benefit the community.

“The most successful nonprofits will position their causes as” brands or as products that their “corporate partners want to buy,” Gold said.

Gold also said that both sides of the partnership must hold up their end of the agreement, monitor the partnerships results, make the best out of the resources available and ensure that both partners have something to give in the joint venture.

Another unique way to raise funds is to go to the Internet. While many charitable organizations already use the Internet to raise awareness, there may be avenues they have yet to explore, such as social networking, email lists and article RSS.

The May 24, 2006, blog post, “Social Networking for Nonprofits” at Netsquared.org, suggested a few ways that nonprofits can use social networking sites, such as MySpace, Friendster and Facebook, to increase funding and exposure.

Nonprofits can create profiles for their organization with links to their official Web site, write blogs about issues the organization is concerned with and create groups that center on the issues the group works on.

Nonprofits can use the Internet for fundraising in other ways, as well. Starting email campaigns can easily, and economically, reach many potential supporters at once. The September 8, 2000, article “A Primer for Online Fundraising for Nonprofit Organizations” by Michael Stein also suggested that nonprofits consider adding their organization to an online charity forum.

“Charity portals are Web sites that offer a directory of nonprofits, of which you’d be one of many. Their job is to attract lots of traffic to their site and encourage visitors to make contributions to the nonprofits listed. Often your listing is free, and the portal accepts secure credit card contributions on your behalf,” said Stein.

“Some charge a fee when you get a contribution, but usually there are no monthly charges. These portals make their money either from advertising on their site or through the fees they charge the nonprofit.”

Nonprofits come in all shapes and sizes. They can be large like the American Cancer Society or small, like your community’s homeless shelter. Size and visibility should not hinder any charitable organization’s ability to raise money. So start slow, build power and start implementing simple fundraising mechanisms to get your nonprofit off the ground today.

Abbie Stutzer is a graduate student in the School of Journalism at the University of Kansas. She currently works in the marketing department at Absorbent, Ink. (Absorbent, Ink: Promotional Products).

Social marketing has been getting a lot of buzz lately in the internet marketing industry.

This is easy to understand since social media sites combined get more traffic per month than Google.

However, this increased attention to social sites has resulted in many coaching programs being released from so-called internet marketing gurus that promise to reveal the secrets to how you can get massive amounts of traffic and make tons of money from social marketing strategies.

The problem with this is:

* these programs are often very expensive

* who do you trust?

* are they actually teaching methods that work?

These are all very relevant concerns. Especially when you consider that these so-called experts may be just jumping on the social marketing bandwagon and looking to make some money while the topic is hot.

Who should you listen to?

When it comes to social marketing, one person that you can trust is Jack Humphrey.

Jack and his team were offering social marketing training back in 2006, before anyone really knew anything about this method of driving tons of highly targeted traffic to a website.

A free guide to web 2.0 marketing that Jack originally published in 2007 set the standard for professional and organized marketing with social media.

This free ebook, recently updated for 2008, has been downloaded over 40,000 times and was named the best free ebook for bloggers by http://Mashable.com, the largest online community for social marketing and media with well over 5 million visitors per month.

When Rich Schefren wrote The Attention Age Doctrine Part 2, he went to Jack for advice on how to use social media.

Rich would call Jack a Social Marketing Maven.

Mike Filsaime hired Jack as a social marketing consultant earlier this year and he stated quite frankly that he thinks what Jack can teach him is so powerful and so explosive that he is going to spend $36,000 over the next year to have Jack teach him everything he knows about social marketing.

Fortunately, you don’t have to pay big money to learn from this social media maven.

You can get hold of his latest guide to social marketing for free.

What you can expect:

* 67 pages of quality content

* Easy to read and reference format

* Loaded with resources and strategies

What you will learn:

* Responsible social marketing tactics that skyrocket your search engine rankings

* How to drive massive, direct traffic from authority links

What you will Not find:

* A “plug in and play” system

* A short-term plan using questionable methods and spamming that do not support long-term online presence and growth

Jack writes in a very honest , up-front, and slightly-in-your-face style.

As he says, “What have I got to lose by telling a few uncomfortable truths? I’m giving the thing away, right?”

Here’s an example of an uncomfortable truth that you need to know when it comes to social media:

All the traffic that people talk about from sites like Digg is all but worthless. Despite what the so-called experts are saying, you need to know how to go far beyond simply getting traffic from the social sites themselves in order to bet achieve quality, measurable results from social marketing.

The approach that Jack Humphrey takes is different because he tells you how to get the kind of traffic and links that work to drastically increase your conversions and get higher search engine rankings on more keyword terms than you ever thought possible.

You will also learn:

* video marketing (Google loves video links!) - how to create and syndicate video to the top video sharing sites

* what linkbait really is, how to write it, and how to use it to create a massive buzz and generate hundreds of backlinks in the process

* a free tool that with the click of a button will instantly bookmark any page on the web in all the social bookmarking sites

* step by step details on how to execute the strategies, including all the technical information, that the author, Jack Humphrey, uses himself everyday

* the right way to use RSS subscriptions to skyrocket your exposure (most webmasters and marketers are doing RSS the wrong way)

The bottom line is that social marketing is bigger, badder, and far more effective than any other marketing tactic, including paid advertising, for driving huge amounts of targeted traffic.

Mark McCullagh is the author of the NewSuccessOnline.com blog.

To learn social marketing strategies that generate free instant traffic, get your copy of the Authority Black Book for 2008 by Jack Humphrey here: Authority Black Book

Many email marketers are using Double opt-in or Confirmed Opt-in to verify the subscribers interest in receiving the emails from them. Called ‘Consent based email marketing’.

How it works?

There will be a form on the publisher site. Visitor submits his details. Now the auto-responder software that works behind the form, will send an email to the email address asking to confirm the interest.

Prospect clicks on the link in the email expressing his/her interest in receiving information from the publisher!

Basically the above is the method of ‘Confirmed Opt-ins’ or ‘Verified opt-in’.

Why you need Confirmed Opt-in?

* To avoid junk email or one time email address users. If the prospect confirms means, they are actually using that email account and most probably he/she is going to use it future. So your email will be going to a real person.

* To cover yourself from spam complaints. Say ‘Tim Doe’ enters email of ‘John Doe’. Without confirmed opt-in, publisher don’t know this … So he will be sending email to ‘John Doe’. ‘John Doe’ will be annoyed by these emails and wrote a spam complaint on the publisher.

What percentage of Confirmed opt-ins is reasonable?

I’d say 50% and more is a reasonable margin. More than 80% is an excellent figure!

If 100 prospects subscribed, only 50 people confirmed their interest in receiving your email … not bad. But it is ALWAYS BETTER to improve this 50% to more than that. Right?

How to improve this Confirmed opt-ins?

* Your email series or ezine should provide good information to the subscriber. Sure he’d love to receive that info from you. People love to receive information that is useful to them. Like tips, free software or free tools links, discounts etc.

* Clear instructions on your web sites regarding your private policy, terms of use and anti-spam seal etc. Not only just displaying, you should follow them too.

* Recommendations or testimonials from your present subscribers. Display them on your subscription pages. This increases your credibility.

* Post your previous ezine publications as an archive on your site. So visitors can see the previous ezine content.

* Keep instructions on your subscription page that to check their junk folder for your initial email. If they don’t check it there, they will miss the email to confirm their subscription.

* Ask your subscribers to add your domain to their safe list, so they will receive the confirmation email to their inbox.

* Use SPF record to improve your email deliverability from your web site. SPF records are usually set by your host. If the SPF record is properly set, most email client allow your email pass through the email filters.

* Make sure confirmation emails, links to click in the email are working properly.

* Set up a short tutorial and a screenshot on how to confirm by clicking the link or other means, on your subscription page.

Radhika Venkata Download F*R*E*E ‘RV Article Publisher’ script! Publish Articles, FAQ, Tutorials, Knowledgebase articles Easy. With Search Engine Friendly URLs!! http://www.scripts4webmasters.com/

“Media professionals face a variety of different challenges, requiring that they work under strict and stressful deadlines,” suggests Rene Lacape, Marketing Manager for eQuote Life Insurance. “They are generally required to cover a variety of topics, including those that they may not know anything about. And they are continually receiving criticism from professionals, politicians and the public as whole despite all of their greatest efforts.”

At the same time, larger audiences are hearing their voices, and their power is serving as a direct liaison to the ears and the eyes of the public, and this power cannot be disputed. When it comes to financial professionals, this means that you can grow your business practice with the power of the media no matter how many years you have been in the industry. The shortcomings of the media can actually be used to the same advantage on a professional level.

Some of the biggest competitors in this business are not insurance agents, financial planners, financial professionals, stockbrokers or other investment advisors who are actively working with the public. Instead, the biggest competition is actually the media, which is interesting to say the least. Many people concern themselves with what they view to be their competition, other financial advisors in the industry, but really there is much business out there waiting to be had, and the real challenge should be getting real information to the public despite the media’s best attempts to steer the public astray.

How has it become so obvious that the media has gained so much power? “I have experienced a variety of examples of successful partnering with the media,” says Rene Lacape. “Reading something in print, or seeing it come up on a television show only makes everything seem more important or more valuable.”

Think about reality television as an example. People believe that their own realities are too boring, so they turn to the television where the media makes other people’s lives seem multitudes more important. Obviously there is more to appealing to the public through the media than simply fun and games, as there is a high level of credibility that comes along with committing one’s words into print because of an inherent level of accountability.

The recognition that comes with recognizing a face on the television builds a much more significant level of trust and expectation,” explains Rene Lacape. So why is the media so powerful? This isn’t the question that you should be asking. Instead, consider how you could possibly capitalize on it.

Here are 8 outstanding ways that you can earn some credibility through working with the media.

1 – Write an opinion position paper, or a short piece on a topic that you are passionate about, or one that is often talked about within your practice. Print the paper in the form of a newsletter, or put a cover letter on the front. Then your opinion is ready for your clients, should they happen to ask you for it. Your paper is a lot more credible than simply telling your clients what you feel.

2 – Write a quarterly or a monthly newsletter, printing it and mailing it or sending it out over the Internet to all of the contacts and clients in your address book.

3 – Send a letter to the editor of one of the newspapers that you read, or one of the trade journals that you know your clients are reading. These are the perfect places for you to send letters or comments that could allow for you to be published in an upcoming issue.

4 – Write letters to other writers, especially when you find an article that you find particularly interesting. Make comments on their article, and then offer yourself up as a resource for future resources on the topic or similar topics.

5 – Write a column for a company’s newsletter, the local newspaper, a bulletin at your church, a trade journal or any other publication where potential clients may be found. Offer to write something regularly, as editors are always on the look out for talented writers.

6 – Turn yourself into an expert, by letting local journalists know that you are an expert on a particular subject matter, or several similar subject matters. Many websites are specifically on the hunt for potential interviewees to build quality content. Next time someone is doing a story on something that you specialize in, they may likely remember who you are.

7 – Write a book, because nothing builds more quick credibility than becoming a published author. You can always hire a ghostwriter if you do not have the time or motivation to write on your own.

8 – Finance your own program on television, radio or through a blog, which in most cases can be cost effective and convenient.

When something is written or viewed on television, it demonstrates that you are an authority or an expert, as well as your willingness to take out the necessary time to inform the public. Media exposure is excellent at displaying the fact that you are a credible professional. “Even if you employ a few of these strategies it is sure to develop your credibility over the long term, concludes Rene Lacape.

Jonathan Carlson is a veteran freelance writer covering the a Jonathan Carlson is a veteran freelance writer covering the life insurance industry.

In April 2007, an ebook product called “Get Google Ads Free” was released by retired doctor Jon Cohen of New York. The product detailed a method that Dr. Cohen had developed and used for the previous 9 years to acquire over $93 million in Google Adwords ads for free. He used the ads to market products for 16 different companies he created and built up a personal fortune of over $70 million.

Immediately after the product was released, it created a big controversy in the Internet Marketing business. People on various blogs and forums were highly critical of the product, even calling it a “scam”.

However, after a short few months, people that purchased and bought the product started to post positive comments in the forums and blogs, supporting the marketing claims made by Dr. Cohen. People said that the “secret” of “Get Google Ads Free” actually lies in an old traditional direct response marketing strategy with a completely NEW Internet “twist” that no one’s ever seen.

One of the most well-known internet marketing forums, WarriorForum.com, had a full-blown, on-line feud going on. The “Get Google Ads Free” controversy had generated over 230 posts and 15,000 views in a very short period of time. Eventually, the moderator at WarriorForum pulled the entire thread since it was generating “too much” rancorous discussions.

As shocking as it may seem, Google has NO problem with the course that reveals how anyone can get ads on their search engine for Free. After all, Google makes most of it’s money from the sale of both AdWords (PPCs) ads and AdSense (where webmasters allow Google to show their ads on their pages).

One might think that any information that revealed how an advertiser could get their AdWords pay-per-clicks free would be damaging to Google, and therefore Google would not want anyone finding out about it, right?

WRONG! It seems that the secret system developed by the retired doctor contains an interesting “twist” that while allowing advertisers to eliminate their AdWords costs, it does not reduce a single dollar in AdWords revenue for Google.

In fact, just the opposite! Google actually endorses the “Get Google Ads Free” ebook.

In order to verify this claim, I contacted the company. Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Mr Todd Coutrin, responded:

“We started our launch like we always do with any product online, using Google AdWords to offer our Product.

“We used keywords that contained the word ‘free’ so we anticipated the usual HOLD these keywords usually cause when Google scrutinizes the ads.”

“But when our campaign was paused by Google for a tad more time than what we regularly anticipate, we became concerned.”

“I actually placed a call directly to Google at 1-866-2-GOOGLE and spoke at length with a customer services rep who said she’d check into what was happening.

“She returned my call 16 hours later and informed me that due to the specific nature of the Product in question (i.e., the ebook “Get Google Ads Free!”) their team at Google secured the product, read it all the way trough, and then realizing it would NOT hurt their revenue but actually increase it, they immediately un-paused and resumed our ads”

So, the fact that Google allowed a product like this to be advertised on their network is pretty convincing evidence that it does what it claims.

But, to be thorough, I purchased a copy of “Get Google Ads Free” to see if it really can enable you to buy millions of dollars worth of Google ads for free. Due to copyright and non-disclosure rules, I can’t reveal their proprietary information. But I can tell you that with the application of what’s inside “Get Google Ads Free”, that:

- Google loses NO money

- Google actually can make even more MONEY!

- Advertisers gain an instant almost unfair advantage over anyone not privy to what’s inside “Get Google Ads Free!”

- Advertisers can now afford to outbid their competition.

- Advertisers are not at risk any longer as their advertising budgets no longer matter.

Overall, this is a very impressive product that is really revolutionary in the Internet Marketing world. Who can benefit from buying this product? Basically, anyone who runs an online business that buys ads and needs web traffic. So, if you sell your own product or are an affiliate program marketer, this product could revolutionize your business.

Kurt Hagemeister President of KWH Marketing, a marketing consulting company specializing in Internet Marketing. http://www.TrafficForNothing.com Resources, Reviews, and Tips Of How To Get Massive & Free Web Traffic

Digital signage is fast becoming the medium of choice for in-store advertising. It allows retailers to create compelling, visually interesting messages that can be easily targeted to specific groups of customers. It is also flexible – messages can be quickly revised at any time of day in response to changes in shopper demographics.

Content is a critical part of a digital signage network. Any digital network plan must include a detailed discussion of which content to include and how to display it.

Tips from Digital Media Design Professionals

Digital media design experts can devise an effective plan for your digital signage content. Here are some of the points they consider when planning a digital signage project.

• Always begin with a plan that includes forecasted costs and a clear idea of the messages you want to create.

• Who are you targeting? You cannot plan any type of advertising without knowing a lot about the audience you are trying to reach. Sales data is a great starting point. Be sure to analyze trends at specific times of day to take advantage of day-parting capabilities, discussed below.

• What content do you want to include? This seems like an obvious starting point, but many retailers get so caught up in the technology that they forget about the content. Consider starting with your existing advertising materials to see if there are ideas you can adapt to your digital merchandising.

• Remember that what works for print or TV does not work for short video. In-store messages must be concise in order to hook busy customers who often intend to purchase only what is on their shopping list. The right display can encourage them to consider buying something else. A digital media design expert can help you create a display that stops customers in their tracks.

• Day-parting. The ability to schedule different messages at different times of day is one of the main advantages of digital signage. When planning your content, take day-parting into consideration. You need to analyze your sales data to know who shops when so you can target a message to specific types of consumers. You also need to decide how many messages you require to cover all of the segments in an average day, for example, early morning, mid-day, after-school, dinner, evening.

• Static content, animation or video? This is a tough decision. When planning your content, be sure you understand these format options and the costs associated with each. Animation and video are expensive, so be sure to plan carefully. Templates allow you to re-use material when creating new messages so try to use them when possible.

• Less is more. It may be tempting to spend a lot on animation, but too much motion can overwhelm a viewer. Often static images and text are sufficient to draw customers in.

An effective digital media design strategy will address both content and formatting for your in-store digital displays and is the best starting point for your digital merchandising project.

For more information on creative digital media digital media services and digital merchandising contact http://www.ek3.com

*The Akiles Coilmac M is one of the most popular spiral coil binding machines available on the market.

*It is designed to bind documents using standard 4:1 pitch spiral coil binding supplies.

*The CoilMac-M is a heavy duty metal spiral coil binding machine that is designed for small and medium sized organizations that are looking to bind their own documents with ColorCoil.

*This machine is an excellent choice for small companies who are considering binding their own documents using coil.

Strengths / Features:

*The Akiles CoilMac manual binding machine is one of the highest quality medium duty spiral coil binding machines available anywhere. Akiles has built their reputation on the fact that their equipment is extremely strong and durable. The Coilmac M is no exception. This machine is built out of heavy duty steel. The body of the machine, the handle, the internal mechanisms, and the finishing table are all made of high quality metal. This heavy duty metal construction is designed to ensure that this machine can be used for years without any problems.

*The Coilmac-M punches a four to one pitch hole pattern with four holes per inch. This hole pattern is designed for use with standard 4:1 pitch spiral coil spines. Using 4:1 pitch coil it is possible to bind documents as small as 6mm (1/4″) and as large as 50mm (2″). However, attempting to bind documents with coils larger than one inch can be very difficult and is only recommended for experienced users. Still, the wide variety of available sizes and the fact that spiral coils are produced in more than sixty colors and in almost any imagineable length means that the Coil-Mac manual binding machine provides a ton of versatility to its users.

*The punch on this machine is capable of punching up to seventeen sheets of twenty pound paper at a time. Although there are certainly heavier duty punches available on the market, this is an excellent capacity for a medium volume coil binding machine such as the CoilMac M.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

*Unlike many other larger spiral coil binding machines, the CoilMac-M does not include an electric spiral coil inserter. It does include an inserting table that helps to make the process of inserting spines by hand easier. However, an inserter or coil spinner would make the binding process go a lot faster. For an electric inserter you have to step up to the CoilMac ECI.

*This machine does not include a pair of spiral coil crimping pliers. These special pliers are used to cut and crimp the ends of the coil spines so that they don’t spin off the book once it is bound. The process of cutting and crimping coil is extremely difficult if you don’t have these special coil crimpers. Users who choose the Coilmac-M should really consider ordering a pair of pliers with the machine.

*This machine has a thirteen inch punching throat and has five disengageable dies for punching common paper sizes. Users who need to punch letter, legal, half letter or standard European sizes should not have a problem with this machine. However, the Coilmac-M is not designed to punch custom length documents. Attempting to punch odd sized sheets will most likely result in a half hole being left on the edge of your document.

Recommendation:

*The Akiles CoilMac-M manual coil binding machine is ideal for small and medium sized companies that are looking for a solution to bind up to fifty documents per week.

*It is known for its rugged metal construction, excellent feature set, versatility and dependable performance.

*This machine is great for binding a few documents per day. However, it is not ideal for high volume applications.

*Larger volume users may want to consider an electric coil binding punch with a spiral coil inserter. Or even a manual punch with an electric spiral coil inserter.

For more information or to purchase the Akiles CoilMac M Manual Spiral Coil Binding Machine visit MyBinding.com Jeff McRitchie is the director of marketing for MyBinding.com. He writes extensively on topics related to Binding Covers,Binding Supplies,Binding Machines, Binders, Index Tabs, Laminators, Laminating Pouches and more.

*In the past, users who needed to buy a twin loop wire binding machine would have to choose between either 2:1 or a 3:1 pitch machine.

*Most users prefer the tight hole pattern and elegant look of 3:1 pitch wire for their small documents. However, 3:1 pitch wire is only available in sizes up to 9/16″. Organizations that wanted to bind both large and small documents either had to settle for the more spread out pattern of 2:1 pitch wire or had to buy two binding machines.

*The Akiles DuoMac 321 changes all of this. It offers the ability to bind documents using both 3:1 pitch and 2:1 pitch double loop wire. This is ideal for organizations that need to bind both large and small documents.

Strengths / Features:

*The DuoMac 321 is designed to punch two completely different hole patterns. The 3:1 pitch hole pattern has three square holes per inch and can be used for binding documents with 3:1 pitch double loop wire, GBC Proclick and 3:1 pitch spiral coil. The 2:1 pitch hole pattern has 2 rectangular holes per inch and can be used with 2:1 pitch twin loop wire and with 2.5:1 pitch spiral coil. This means that it is actually possible to bind documents with five different styles of binding using this one machine.

*Both the 2:1 pitch and 3:1 pitch punching throats are fourteen inches wide and offer fully disengageable dies. They also have open throats and continuous punching guides. This means that it is possible to punch any document that is fourteen inches or less using a one step punching process. Sheets that are longer than fourteen inches can be punched using a two step process. All you need to do is punch one side of the document using the punch and then flip it over and punch the rest of the holes. The continuous punching guide will help you line up the holes.

*On the right hand side of the DuoMac 321 there are two small gray knobs. These knobs are designed to help you adjust the depth of the holes from the edge of your paper. For smaller sized books it is a good idea to set the holes so that they are close to the edge of the paper. This will help to ensure that your pages will turn freely. For larger diameter books the holes should be further from the binding edge in order to provide added strength to your bound documents.

*The DuoMac 321 includes a high quality heavy duty wire closer on the front of the machine. This wire closer is made of heavy duty steel components and should have no problem maintaining its accuracy over time. There is also a wire holder on the front of the machine that will help you hang your documents on the double loop wire in preparation for closing.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

*Although it is possible to use this machine with 3:1 pitch and 2.5:1 pitch spiral coil, the DuoMac 321 does not include a spiral coil inserter. It is also important to note that these two pitches of coil can be somewhat difficult to find and are usually produced on demand. If you plan on using this machine with coil it is a good idea to order your supplies with lots of time to spare in order to allow for production lead times.

*Each of the different binding styles offered by the DuoMac 321 have their own limitations.

1.)3:1 pitch wire is only available in sizes between 3/16″ and 9/16″.

2.)Although 2:1 wire can be used to bind larger documents up to 1-1/2″

in diameter, this machine can only be used with wires up to 1-1/4″

in size.

*GBC Proclick binding spines are only available in three sizes (5/16″, 1/2″ and 5/8″) and in four colors. They are only available in eleven inch lengths.

*Three to one spiral coil is available in sizes from 6mm up to 50mm. However large diameter coils can be difficult insert, especially with the smaller square holes that are produced by this machine.

*2.5:1 pitch coil is only designed for binding large diameter books and is available in sizes ranging from 20mm up to 56mm. However, this coil will need to be inserted by hand because of the slight pitch difference between the holes and the coil.

*With all of the features that this machine has, it can be a little bit intimidating to inexperienced users. There are a lot of handles, knobs and buttons on this machine that can be somewhat confusing if you aren’t sure what you are doing. This machine isn’t really that hard to use. It may just take a little bit of experimenting and reading the users manual.

Recommendation:

*The DuoMac 321 is available at such a great price point and offers so many features it hardly makes sense to buy a wire binding machine that can only produce one hole pattern.

*This machine is a little bit larger and can be more intimidating than a normal wire binding machine such as the Akiles Wiremac M. However, the flexibility that it offers in terms of document size and presentation appearance are awesome.

For more information or to purchase the Akiles DuoMac 321 2:1 and 3:1 Pitch Wire Binding Machine visit MyBinding.com Jeff McRitchie is the director of marketing for MyBinding.com. He writes extensively on topics related to Binding Covers,Binding Supplies,Binding Machines, Binders, Index Tabs, Laminators, Laminating Pouches and more.

* The Akiles DuoMac 541 is a high quality combination binding system that is designed for binding documents spiral coil.

* The DuoMac 541 is the only machine of its kind. It includes a unique design that allows users to punch both a 5:1 pitch hole pattern for spiral coil binding and a 4:1 pitch hole pattern for spiral coil binding.

* Normally, you would have to use two different binding machines to do the same tasks as the DuoMac 541. This means that the DuoMac 541 can save you space, time and money.

Strengths / Features:

* The DuoMac541 is capable of binding documents with both 4:1 and 5:1 pitch spiral coil. Although there are a large number of 4:1 pitch coil binding machines available on the market there are very few machines capable of binding documents with 5:1 pitch coil. With this machine, you can choose the pitch of coil that you want to use depending on the size of your document or the look that you prefer.

* Both punching throats on the 541 Duomac include five disengageable punching pins. Using these punching pins it is possible to use this machine with all of the most common sizes of paper. Each punch is capable of handling documents up to thirteen inches in length. However, the throats on both punching heads are open so that you can punch longer paper using a two step process.

* On the right hand side of the machine you will notice two small knobs. These knobs are used to adjust the punching margin on this machine. You can set the machine to punch the holes closer to the edge of your paper for smaller sized documents or further away for larger sized documents. Using this feature you can maximize the strength of your bound documents while ensuring that the pages turn freely on your coils.

* The DuoMac 541 also includes a high quality pair of spiral coil crimping pliers to help you finish your documents. These pliers are used to cut and crimp the ends of your bound document so that the spiral coil does not spin back off the edge of your book.

Weaknesses / Limitations:

* The DuoMac 541 is built on the same platform as all of the other machines in the Akiles Duo Mac line of binding machines. This means that it includes a wire closer. However, the wire closer is essentially useless on this machine. Wire is not available in either 4:1 or 5:1 spacing. This simply means that you will need to ignore the closer or use it with documents that are punched on another machine.

* Oddly enough, the DuoMac 541 includes a wire closer that you don’t need and is missing a spiral coil inserter that would be really handy. Akiles suggests that you purchase this machine with a Roll @ Coil modular coil inserter. This is an excellent idea. Without a coil inserter you will end up having to spin all of the spines onto the edge of your document by hand.

* This machine can bind documents with both 4:1 pitch and 5:1 pitch spiral coil. However, you are still limited to the supplies that are available for each pitch. Four to one pitch coils are available in a huge variety of sizes and colors. However, five to one pitch coils are only available in sizes up to 25mm. Five to one pitch coils also tend to be slightly more expensive and a little bit harder to find than their four to one pitch counterparts.

* Although this machine is extremely well built, it is still a manual binding machine. Organizations who need to bind large numbers of documents or extremely large documents will most likely find the manual nature of this machine is fairly tedious. As a general rule, the DuoMac 541 is a good fit for companies that need to bind up to fifty documents per week. Companies that bind more than this may want to investigate a larger electric binding system.

Recommendation:

* The Duomac 541 is an excellent choice for a company who wants the flexibility to choose between four to one and five to one pitch spiral coil binding. No other desktop machine offers this flexibility.

* Like the entire line of Akiles equipment this machine is built with precision components and is known for its quality and durability.

* However, users who do decide to purchase this machine should really consider buying a coil inserter to increase productivity in assembling documents.

For more information or to purchase the Akiles DuoMac 541 5:1 Pitch and 4:1 Pitch Coil Binding Machine visit MyBinding.com Jeff McRitchie is the director of marketing for MyBinding.com. He writes extensively on topics related to Binding Covers,Binding Supplies,Binding Machines,Binders,Index Tabs,Laminators,Laminating Pouches and more.

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Online business opportunities are available for the taking. It is all a matter of having the confidence to jump in there and grab a hold of that opportunity. In life we are presented with chances to make our lives more pleasant and to increase our own knowledge as well as happiness. Sometimes we feel intimidated and we allow the opportunity to pass us by. We are left wondering “what if”? Other times we jump in without concern of the consequences because we want it so bad. If you want the opportunity to be working from home, then make the leap and do it today because it could lead to a wonderful life experience.

Pat Sanchez is owner of LifeLineProfits.com and writes on a variety of subjects. To learn more about working from home Pat recommends you visit: LifeLineProfits.com