eBay’s bidding system is basically on ‘bid increments’. A ‘bid increment’ is nothing but the amount by which a bid will be increased every time the current one is out bidden. eBay has an automatic bidding system. You need not do anything to setup, the system is already in place and is convenient.

When you find an item on eBay which is of your interest, assess it carefully and then click on the link “place bid”. Here, enter the maximum bid and click the button “continue”. Carefully go through your bid and once you are sure click the “confirm bid” button. Now eBay will come into play and bid on your behalf up to your max bid. You will then get a confirmation email for your bid. Later you will receive another mail to tell you whether you are the one who has won the item, along with what you have to do next.

For successful bidding of an item on eBay never bid on exactly alike items in different listings. This is because if you are too lucky and win both, you will be required to buy both. There are chances that the bidder who has won withdraws his or her bid and your bid might then become the winning bid. So, always wait until the auction ends before placing a bid on an equivalent item. You can though place the identical item in the list of items you are reviewing, in “My eBay”. If you want to change your bid amount you can do so by clicking on the “back to item” link available at the bottom of the page.

Donny Lowy runs http://www.closeoutexplosion.com an online wholesale and closeout business that supplies eBay sellers, retailers, and flea market vendors.

As an artist, the key to selling more artwork is maximizing its exposure. The internet is an increasingly popular tool for promoting original art, and if done properly, can be quite profitable.

One of the most effective (and free!) online marketing tools for artists is the blog. Artist blogs provide an easy way to display your art, discuss your creative process, post exhibition announcements and more. Best of all, blogs require no working knowledge of HTML and the search engines love their dynamic content.

What is a blog and how will it sell my art?

A “blog” is a web-based diary or journal. The author of a blog, also known as a “Blogger”, publishes content on a regular basis about a focused topic. These regular postings typically provide a “community” feel by allowing site visitors to post feedback to your journal entries. This mode of communication can deepen relationships with potential art buyers, leading to increased sales.

Blogs also have the ability to archive all of your previous posts, dynamically creating an individual page for each journal entry. The feature is great for art buyers using search engines to find original art. For example, if you have a blog post describing a painting that you just completed of the Golden Gate Bridge at sunset and an art buyer in Florida goes to Google and searches for “painting of Golden Gate Bridge at sunset”, there is a very good chance that your blog entry will appear pretty high in the rankings. Cha Ching!!

Many artists have felt the pain of email marketing losing its effect due to spam filters, junk email overloads and virus paranoia. Blogs provide a new way to communicate with clients, fans and industry professionals. This trend can support your email marketing efforts by allowing blog subscription options for site visitors so that they are notified whenever your blog is updated along with providing a permanent place on the web for all of your postings as opposed to newsletter emails that are typically deleted.

How to start a blog

1. Blog Publishing Tools

   To begin, visit some of these free blogging sites, all offering unique template options that even an artist can appreciate, image uploads and syndication ability.

   • Blogger.com (blogger.com) - Simple to set up and multiple authoring ability
   • MSN Spaces (spaces.msn.com) - Create your own mini site, with an exceptional blogging feature
   • Live Journal (livejournal.com) - Requires a bit of ‘blogging knowledge’ to get it set up
   • Blog Drive (blogdrive.com)

   If you’re interesting in reviewing additional blog features, these sites require a small monthly fee to maintain.

   • Typepad (typepad.com) - starts at $4.95/month
   • Tripod Blogs (tripod.lycos.com) - starts at $4.95/month

   Note to artists with MySpace accounts: MySpace provides members personal blogs, but it is important to know that MySpace blogs are not currently listed in search engines, which as noted above, is one of the main reasons to get a blog. While MySpace works to remedy this issue, it is recommended that you blog using a tool that is accessible to search engine spiders.

2. Decide on a title for your blog

   The title of your blog should be brief and to the point. You can get creative with your language in the blog description / tag line. A focused title will help with higher search engine rankings and make it clear to visitors what the blog is about.

   For example, the title for ThePauper.com blog is “Diary of a Pauper”. The blog description is “Rants and raves about the careers and lives of starving artists.” The title is concise, stating exactly what it is, while the description is a bit more creative.

3. Blog theme

   It’s important to establish yourself as a professional working artist if you want to use your blog as a vehicle to sell your art. Blog theme involves the layout and color of the page, quality of the artwork images displayed and verbiage used for blog postings.

   Select your blog template carefully and make a habit to review your blog from the perspective of a potential client. Is the page visually appealing? Do the images of your artwork provide a link to an extra large version to see detail? Does your content have a consistent theme?

   Here’s a good example of a working blog by mix engineer, Ken Lewis: http://protoolsmixing.com/blog.html

   The content theme is exceptionally consistent, plus the colors and page layout match his website.

4. What to write

   What’s beautiful about blogs is that there are no rules on what to write, but if you want to attract and keep an audience, you might consider some of these suggestions.

   • Keep your posts creative and interesting. Move and inspire your readers by being completely honest about your creative process.

   • Use keywords in your blog title and post. Using the example mentioned earlier - if your post is about a Golden Gate Bridge painting, be sure to use that exact phrase in the title and body of your blog. Think about what people might type into search engines to find your content and then use those keywords in your blog. This technique will help increase the ranking of your web page on search engines.

   • Post daily, or at least twice a week. If you publish blog entries frequently, you will see more return visitors, subscriptions to your blog and comments from site visitors.

   • Proofread and preview your blog entries before posting. Some blog HTML editors have a way of creating weird symbols out of certain characters and a quick spell-check never hurts. (Note: be sure to create your blog entries using Word or some other text editor. Many blogging tools tend to “time out” after a certain amount of time and you could potentially lose hours of work.)

5. Publish your blog

   Finally! Your blog looks great and has unique content. Now, depending on the blogging tool that you selected, follow the steps to publish it to the World Wide Web. Test the live URL that now houses your blog. If all of your graphics appear correctly and the copy is flawless, then you want to make sure that you promote your blog on your personal website, in your email signature and by word of mouth.

   Using the tools you already have to spread the word while testing your dedication to frequent posting is the best way to get started. Part 2 of will unveil tons of ways to promote your blog online.

Kristin Royce is a search engine optimization and online marketing professional contributing online marketing and promotional content for artists to The Artrepreneur E-Zine and newsletter.

The Artrepreneur offers articles helping artists focus on proven techniques to accomplish any goal. Read More: http://www.theartrepreneur.com

Copyright © 2005 Arctic Mouse, Inc. All rights reserved.

Thanks to the trend of current TV advertising I am now fully informed about the function, use and fulfilling qualities of …….panty liners. I know where they go, what they do, and exactly what the problems they can cause. And the ones they solve. I have an in-depth knowledge about the latest state-of-the-art develpments in this field.

I know about suer absorption, trapping liquids inside wafer-thin materials, shaping for comfort, and most of all, I now know that real freedom for a woman isn’t a well-paid job, a fantastic guy toahng out with, or loads of money.

It’s panty liners!!

Not just run ofthe mill panty liners either. They have to be shaped to fit, super-duper moisture absorbent, not need changing for A-G-E-S and totally invisible under the briefest of briefs.

I now know what today’s woman is thinking about when she sits gazing into space with that faraway look, yes, I know the secret of her true desires. It’s not MONEY and it’s not MEN. It’s PANTY LINERS. I know, because the advertisers have shown me with ever increasing frequency and in graphic colour and detail just what it is that’s on every woman’s mind.

And, I admit, prior to the current wave of panty liner adverts on TV, I was oblivious to this.

Silly me. I thought it was hair spray she really wanted. You know, the sort that separates each individual hair, the kind that gives superb hold and body, restores lost vitality ……

Stephen Kaye is the owner of www.kaymexdirect.co.uk.

Using blogs as a poker promotion technique can be very profitable. In case you’re a poker affiliate and aren’t familiar with the world of blogging, here is a quick overview of why you should consider blogs as strategy for building your business.

Blogging is a concept that was started in the late 90’s. Blogging was originally used as a way to comment on an existing webpage and provided an opportunity for visitors to voice their opinions on a particular page. Here is a list of 5 reasons why you should start using blogs as a poker affiliate.

1. Blogging is simple. Publishing content to a blog is hands down the easiest way to get your writing on the web. There are absolutely no skills necessary to publish content to a blog, it is actually so simple that even a child can do it. Simply type and click, that’s it. Maintaining a blog is just like having a virtual piece of paper that you write your ideas to. As long as you have access to a computer and an internet connection, you can start promoting poker online.

2. Blogging is authentic. In a day and age where advertising saturates our lives, many question the credibility of ads that they are exposed to. Blogs however, allow real people to share their real life experiences and reviews, unscathed by paid ads. Blogging lends credibility to your promotion efforts and builds up trust.

3. Blogging is free. Blogging doesn’t have to cost a dime and you can get started in just minutes. What more could you ask for?

4. Blogging builds credibility. Blogging gives your readers an opportunity to gain a somewhat candid view of your thoughts, opinions, and emotions. This leads to believability and you can use this to promote your poker affiliate business.

5. Blogging expands your sphere of influence. Blogging will explode your circle of influence and you’ll soon have visitors from all parts of the world visiting your blog and reading your posts. This is extremely powerful!

As you can clearly see, there is absolutely no reason why you shouldn’t add blogs to your poker affiliate marketing business. Give your business a boost today by tapping into the power that blogging has as an Internet marketing tool.

Learn how Party Poker affiliates are generating massive incomes with this amazing poker affiliate program at http://www.epokeraffiliate.com/

Method 1

Equipment

I fish baits at all depths, not just the bottom, in wide-open water. I always set up and fish deep lake structures. Besides an understanding of the contours on the bottom of the lake, being mobile and being able to read your fish locator are the keys. The tools I use are 8-foot heavy action rods, circle hooks, cut and live shad, balloons and the all-important fish locator. I use 30-pound line, large capacity reels, 8-foot heavy action rods, 2 oz. Egg sinkers, barrel swivels and #7/0 circle hooks.

Basically a Carolina Rig, I have a hook with an 18-inch leader tied to your barrel swivel, which is connected to your main line, which is where your egg sinker is attached. My boat is equipped with steel rod holders, a hand-controlled trolling motor, two fish locators, a big dip net and marker buoys. My equipment is not the most expensive but it is practical. The main thing to remember is to keep whatever equipment you use in good condition. Many know all too well about the disasters that can be caused by old line and improperly maintained fishing equipment and big Blues will test everything from your knots to your rod holders. If there is a weak link, they will expose it.

Find the Big Fish

You need to know how to tell the difference between larger fish and bait fish while using your fish locator.

There are two main structures that I catch Blue Cats on: ledges and humps. Blue Cats are creatures of edges and they seem to congregate on the brake lines of ledges and humps. The one-two punch comes when you find these structures with both bait fish and big fish mixed together on your locator. There are very few spots that I will stop and fish where I don’t see either big fish or bait fish on my locator. The ledges that I primarily fish are old river channels edges. The fish can be scattered up and down the edge but the best fishing occurs when they are on the top.

Catching Them

Typically, when I set up to fish these ledges, I run my boat over them and throw out my marker buoy where I see the fish. A little trick to using your marker buoys is to throw your marker upwind of where you are going to fish. If you drop the marker right on top of the fish, you will be bumping it and will eventually move it while the wind is pushing you around. If you throw it upwind of the fish, you can run your trolling motor right up to it without the wind pushing you over it.

Next I bait my rods, staggering them at the depth I see the fish. If the fish are up high, above 10 feet, I use a balloon and live shad on two rods. The other four rods will have half live and half cut shad, which I will suspend over the fish, continuously moving around the marker until the first strike occurs. In the warmer months the bite will usually occur on live shad. The colder the water, the better that cut bait seems to work.

Keep moving the depth of your baits up and down according to what your locator is telling you. An easy way to determine the depth of your bait is to measure the distance between the first guide and your rod’s reel. My rods are two feet from reel to the first guide so when I pull out twenty sections of line between my reel and the first guide, my bait will be approximately 40 feet deep. Stagger the depth of your bait so that you know how deep each is. When you get your first strike, move your other rods to that depth. If no strikes occur within 30 minutes move to another structure. I have set on the same ledge for many hours and caught fish, but I will usually have to move after catching 5 to 10 active fish. If you do not have a trolling motor you can use anchors, but it requires many sessions of heaving up heavy anchors and can soon kill the fun of ledge fishing. When water is at its coldest, the anchor method will work better due to the inactivity of the fish below.

In other words, the warmer the water the faster the fish will spook out from under your boat. The colder the water the less chance the fish will want to move away due to their comfort zone in the water column.

Make sure to read Part 3 of this article to learn about Capt. Jeff’s second non-typical technique!

You have permission to publish this article free of charge as long as you are not selling it and that you include the author bylines immediately visible with the article and, if published in an electronic medium such as on a web site, you provide a link back to www.ozark-lodges-fishing-trips.com in the author bylines, both where the web address is listed as well as well as with the text “Lake of the Ozarks Catfish Fishing Guide Service”…

Jeff Williams runs a Truman Lake Hybrid Bass and Lake of the Ozarks Catfish Fishing Guide Service offering lodging and guided trips in Missouri. To book a trip, learn more tips, or find out how Capt. Jeff would fish your own local waters, call 1-866-HOOKSET or visit http://www.ozark-lodges-fishing-trips.com today!

The twenty first century brought the computer into our lives and along with it a different style of photography. No longer the domain of news reporters and expose journalists/photographers, true candid photography has piqued the interest of every modern bride.

That one in a million shot of a tearful mother behind a deliriously happy bride, a groom fiercely bear hugging his dad at the church or an awed look on a ring bearer as he gazes up at the cake are all candidates for the new look in wedding albums. In order to find a photographer who is capable of producing these images, the bride and groom must canvass the studios and check out the sample albums.

Remember that the wishes of the parents are part of your final decision. No wedding coverage would be complete without a bridal portrait and a family picture. A certain amount of direction is necessary for these pictures to be successful but even these traditional images can be done with flair and natural real life expressions. Put yourself twenty years in the future and try to imagine which pictures in your album are going to be most precious to you..

Many techniques add to the uniqueness of a wedding album. Not every picture must be taken at eye level. Pictures taken from the ground or high in a balcony take on a different and revealing look. People don’t always stand around immobile, but walk, talk and even run around. Capturing these moments presents a challenge to the wedding photographer but the results are worth it.

Series pictures are valuable to the album for the micro event they tell. A ring is placed on a finger, the hand brought to the eye to brush away a tear, then kissed by an adoring new husband. Mini stories like this portray the real emotions ordinarily hidden behind bland smiles. For every event there is an action leading up to it and a result following.

While flash pictures insure perfect color and frozen action, natural light and slower shutter speeds add a new dimension to the journalistic approach. The photographer may have to resort to a not so sharp 800 ISO setting, but the opportunity to capture a magic moment in natural light is a small price to pay. With no flash popping off every few minutes, brides start to relax, offering real expressions and emotions to appear on their faces.

Retired portrait and wedding photographer.

Imagine having advance warning - telling you where to go to catch your fish, before you stop? That’s just what you have with the Eagle Cuda 240, with its GPS navigation system and clear display telling you what’s going on under your boat.

The Cuda 240 gives you the features you need to have a successful trip each time you head out onto the lake. Here are some of the features that make the Cuda 240 so great.

Okay, so we start with the screen. The display is four inches of diagonal LCD screen. It is featured in high definition at 240×160 resolution and has a backlit screen. Lastly, it is 16 level grayscale. What does all of this do when put together? It equals a fish finding unit that will deliver a clear, crisp, and easy to read display. Now, what will be on that screen?

Now on to that sonar. You’ll get depth coverage of about 600 feet. How deep is your lake? This is an average depth system but it still powers ahead with features you need. The high performance transducer allows for effective fish detection at 60 degrees. It gives you a good, overall range for locating your fish. Where should you cast? This will tell you what is under your boat or what is out next to it. You also get Advanced Signal Processing which will automatically give you the best signal out there. No need to play with dials here. Advanced fish finder technology helps you pick out the fish from nearby structures or the bottom. Don’t miss the fish - catch it!

You also get a great GPS unit with the Cuda 240. With its satellite technology it helps you pinpoint where you are to an accuracy of three metres. Plot and save your successful trips so that you can revisit them easily next time. With the Cuda 240’s advanced navigation systems and alarms you will find that great fishing hot spot without getting lost, then be able to get back to base with no misshaps.

Find the fish every time with all the features that the Cuda 240 has to offer you!

Niall is a keen fisherman always looking at new tools to help him catch more fish. Visit Fish Finder Review for more information and great deals to help you find a Eagle Cuda 240 or other Eagle GPS and Sonar marine navigation systems. www.fish-finder-review.com

This article may be reprinted in full so long as the resource box and the live links are included intact. All rights reserved. Copyright Fish-Finder-Review.com

Undoubtedly, the surprise film of 2002 was 8 Mile, the story about a young white rapper in Detroit who struggles with his broken family, gold-digging friends, and simply to find his identity in the nefarious world in which he lives. Starring the best-selling rap artist Eminem, 8 Mile is supposedly autobiographical in nature, portraying the true life rise of Marshall Mathers from the hardened streets of Detroit to the gold paved highways of superstardom. But the film begins and ends in the ghetto, cataloguing the time prior to the rapper’s success. As a movie, it performs its duties well - virtually transporting the viewer to the crime and poverty riddled neighborhoods of one of America’s most dangerous cities…

Local youth Jimmy “B-Rabbit” Smith, Jr. harbors dreams of hitting the big-time as a rapper (along with most of his peers in Detroit), but few are supportive of his efforts, especially his mother Stephanie (Kim Basinger), a self-centered woman who neglects her five-year-old daughter, remains unemployed, and generally wastes her life away. Her verbal battles with Jimmy are the only substantive part of their relationship.

When Jimmy gets a job working on an assembly line at a sheet metal factory, he works long hours in the dead end job making just enough money to get by. Living in a trailer with his mother so that he can save up enough money for a demo tape leads to everyday confrontations with the woman. Things begin to look up, though, when Jimmy meets Alex (Brittany Murphy), an aspiring model who shares his dreams of leaving the ghetto and pursuing a better life. But everything goes awry when Jimmy chokes at a local late-night rap showdown.

The bad news continues when Jimmy catches Alex cheating on him, his mother kicks him out, and a gang of thugs gives him a beating - placing a gun to his head and threatening to pull the trigger.

When the opportunity arises to perform once more in the local rap showdown, all of Jimmy’s dreams hinge on his ability to pull out all the stops. Can he verbally destroy his opponent and gain the notoriety necessary to put him on the map…?

A surprisingly well-written screenplay wrought with symbolism, 8 Mile vividly portrays the life of an angry urban youth who aches to express his hatred for the world around him. As the dividing line between the city Detroit and the outside world, 8 Mile represents was is and what can be. The film’s ability to draw the audience into a world of which they may not be a part makes this a definite must-see film. For those conservative or older viewers who may be reluctant to the see the film because of its leading star Eminem, I highly recommend giving 8 Mile a chance. If you enjoy drama and peering into unique worlds, then you might be pleasantly surprised with this one…

About the Author

Britt Gillette is author of The DVD Report, a blog where you can find more reviews like this one of the 8 Mile (DVD).

1. Write your ad copy like you’re talking directly
to your visitors. Use the words “you”, “your”, and
“you’re” a lot in your ad copy.

2. Visit business discussion boards regularly. You
could discover helpful advice, online resources and
give your own two cents worth.

3. Gain free advertising by listing your business info
in your chat room profile. Most chat rooms allow
this, but check their rules to be sure.

4. Let people know about your affiliate program.
Submit it to numerous affiliate program directories,
announce it in your e-zine, put it in your sig file, etc.

5. Tell your visitors exactly what you want them to
do at your web site. You may want them to order
products, subscribe to your ezine, etc.

6. Focus your site on your visitor’s desires, not on
yourself. They want to know what’s in it for them,
not that you won an award for your business.

7. Try not to get caught up in loading your site with
technological gizmos and gadgets. Concentrate on
your words, they will do the actual selling.

8. Create your own ad copy; don’t copy the basic
run of the mill ad copy. Don’t be afraid of trying
something different to increase your sales.

9. Change you ads regularly. Your prospects can
get bored seeing the same ad all the time. They
usually see the ad 7 times before they actually buy.

10. Lower your negative word of mouth marketing.
You’ll always have customers that are dissatisfied.
Try to please them as much as possible.

About the author:

Rojo Sunsen is a specialized bounty hunter who prefers to work quietly/confidentially for the benefit of her clients.

The meter in your camera will help you calculate the correct combination of shutter speed and aperture for your image. In average conditions, using the camera in this way will get you near perfect results.

The meter measures the amount of light entering the camera. By calculating the light levels the meter can judge which settings on your camera will be most appropriate. If you are using “fully programme” mode then the camera will select these settings when the image is taken. Of course, if you are in “shutter priority” mode then you set the shutter speed and the camera will select the aperture. In “aperture priority” mode, the opposite will happen.

Most cameras on programme mode will automatically select flash when light levels are low.

In more advanced cameras, there are various metering modes:

Centre - weighted metering: this allows an average meter reading to be taken of the scene but with emphasis on the central area (where the subject is likely to be)

Multi-zone metering: this allows meter readings from several areas of the viewing area, from which an average is taken

Spot metering: this allows a very small area to be metered and can be useful when there are strong backlit or shadow areas in the composition

In all cases it is often possible to override the camera settings by using exposure compensation.

Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com