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We thought today was another perfect time to share with you a great resource you can use to kick start your next promotion.

Everyone knows the benefit of moving pictures, especially when you consider flash and its effect on a website. Today is a perfect time to discuss the next step of your promotion, that being videos.

Videos are an effective way to market your service and product. For the majority of businesses, it is difficult to create a professional video that advertises your business without the cost of someone putting their face and voice to a camera.

To the over confident this is easy when you have the right tools. For the rest, there are a few simple tools you can use to boost your marketing.

The first option is Windows Movie Marker or similar. This is a standard program with a PC which allows you to add video and pictures and create a real time video. You can also easily add various effects like transitions to make your video stand out.

The other resource you can use is an online one known as animoto.

Animoto which stands for “animated pro” produces a moving and exciting video on your business based on the pictures and music file you provide. It is quite simple to do this and you can even try it for free! .

Simply visit http://www.animoto.com/ and try the program free. When you create videos under a free account, you’re limited to a time constraint and the animoto logo appears at the end of your film. For a more professional look you can consider purchasing an account with Animoto which gives you greater length in videos and removes the animoto logo from the video.

Surprisingly many businesses have already done this. Animoto is now well known around the world and is fast establishing itself as the next generation in successful branding and advertising.

The question is where to put the videos to use? .

The first idea that comes to mind is YouTube. After all more than 10 million people visit that site every day. Putting your videos on there with your business information will entice customers to visit you. In saying that with so many visitors, there are also many people thinking the same for their marketing strategy. Therefore, thinking outside the box is needed for this.

To do this start a new video channel which relates to your business. For example if you sell skin care, then run a video on beauty tips and advice. Make it as general as you want to be. The more general, the more value and the more interest you’ll receive from people online.

By generating regular videos you will also gain an interest on a continual basis. Remember although you’re keeping it general, your business name and site should still appear at the end of each video and on your channel. This will make sure your subtle way of marketing works!

The second place to store your videos would be on networks like Ning. The http://www.ning.com/ network has thousands of community and social network groups, some of which might match your product or service. One suggested network is for the party plan industry at http://www.partyplanhaven.ning.com/. As your videos are general, they should still be allowed in the video section of most communities. Plus you will gain a new area to share your expertise and promote your product on a less direct way than before (subtle way).

The third place to store your videos would be on your Facebook like page. If you haven’t discovered the benefits of this then kindly ask our team to explain the benefit to you. You’re already part of this benefit by following us on our like page at Lyf Solutions.

And finally the last place is on your website. Store them under free tips and advice and don’t forget to have at least one on your welcome page or near it.

Just remember general is always better! Too much sales pitch nowadays doesn’t work, similar to the traditional Abraham Lincoln advertisements with recruitment that say “I Want You”. Using old techniques will only throw you away into greater mess and in less success than before.

If you’re unsure on how to create an animoto video yourself, the Lyf team is happy to help. We can create a full length video for you for just $15 for 30 seconds and for 2 minutes $25.00

Budget Key Points:

* $2.2b for increased GP services, super clinic upgrades, more nurses and electronic health records
* $661m to boost skills training
* $652m for a Renewable Energy Future Fund
* Tax breaks on interest income up to $1,000
* Simplified tax returns
* $1b for Australian Rail Track Corporation and $71m for a Sydney transport hub
* $4.3b national security boost

Forecasts At A Glance:

* $40.8b deficit 2010-11, $13b deficit 2011-12, $1b surplus 2012-13, $5.4b surplus 2013-14
* Growth at 3.14pc for 2010-11, 4pc for 2011-12, 3pc for 2012-13, 3pc for 2013-14
* Unemployment at 5pc for 2010-11, 4.34pc for 2011-12, 5pc for 2012-13, 5pc for 2013-14
* Inflation at 2.5pc across the four years
* Net savings of $544m over four years
* Net debt to peak at 6.1pc of GDP and be paid off three years earlier than expected

The budget at first glance shows no surprises. However when you compare the budget to previous times or expectations, the government still hasn't reduced spending. Instead they're keeping most stimulus reforms until later in the end of the year, despite the Reserve Banks recent trend in rising interest rates from an ever increasing central price index (Inflation).

The budget is being described as a "no frills" political statement. The reasoning because the budget has to go in accordance with the election coming up. Overall the budget is fair. However, it should be noted the flaws inside. First off health care. The acknowledgment of greater beds hasn't been introduced into the argument. Rather we're seeing a push for electronic health records similar to the US and the increase of promised health clinics, a number of 36 extra in which the previous promise had only delivered three according to the health minister. In saying that, the Treasurer Wayne Swan strongly disagrees and says it is "eleven". Even if this is true, the government is still falling behind it's other promises.

The other negative is the mining sector. There is a 40% levy tax on Australia's largest exports. To make this clear this will increase the cost price of Australia's largest commodity. The mining sector rakes in billions. Although it may seem fair to take some profits away from the company's, the increase in tax will raise the real unit labor cost and therefore will have an effect on Trading partners. As the Australian dollar is already at a near high, around 80-90 cents, the pressure of the dollar has already made exports more expensive. If other countries that supply mine resources come to play, Australia may lose its competitive advantage. Overall this downfall will cause a decrease in production which will have a major impact on the Gross domestic product, which as we know if negative in two consecutive quarters, determines a recession. The downfall in the sector may also lead to a decrease in terms of trade. For the government this is detrimental as they're relying on 60 years high to continue to maintain their promise of a surplus. Therefore you can see the good and the bad side of the tax increase for the mining sector. In the event the sector falls like it has lately in the share market, the government may need to alter the tax or reform. Remember the government is hoping that more than $10 billion dollars is collected to fund an increase in super from 9 to 12%. For business it means greater expense but for someone like the younger generation, it could mean for a full time work on a normal wage, more than $150,000 dollars extra in their pockets.

As you can see the government is relying on economic growth. It is also going with the usually unreliable statistics of the treasury. In the event the government is able to maintain the terms of trade and overall GDP, the surplus will be real in the three year target. However, if not the government may be face a downfall in popularity. This will only be seen if the labor government is able to win the next election.

R.P Copyright 2010

The Lyf team have been super busy this month with some extra brain power for our clients. We want to add more value to our fan page and thought what better way to do it than by providing free website and design tips for our loyal fans.

Our first post will concentrate on colours. Reading this you’ll understand what colours mean and how to use them with your design projects. You have to be careful because some colours can mean you’re giving the wrong message. Remember don’t just choose a colour because it looks good or because it is better known for success. Research the colour here then give yourself reasons to use it. Might sound daunting at first but it will save you long-term.

Why Are Colours Important?
Colours play an important part in eye co-ordination. They also have a strong psychological effect that most people are unaware of. These are linked to how the brain works. Various colours or shades signal the brain to remember a certain feeling or memory. For instance red equals passion but can also be close to blood.


What Your Colour Means?

Red: is a colour of intensity, love, blood, war, passion, excitement, hot, masculinity, power, strength, energy, financial loss, error, correction, aggression, stop and assertion.

Blue: is a colour of unity, harmony, depression, winter, coldness, conservatism and idealism.

White: is a colour of peace, innocence, simplicity, humility and fearfulness.

Black: is a colour of darkness, sophistication, power, style, sadness or formality.

Green: is a colour of nature, new life, money, youth, nature, earth, envy and aggression.

Purple: is a colour of spirituality, royalty, sensuality, wealth, creaitivity, profanity and flamboyance.

Brown: is a colour of richness, stability, dirt, dullness, poverty, filth and tradition.

Yellow: is a colour of humour, logic, joy, happiness, child like, optimism, sunny or idealism.

Orange: is a colour of energy, flamboyance, balance, excitement, motivation and arrogance.

As you can see each colour has different meanings. They also have conflicting ones where for instance red may equal passion but also a devilish side. The way you design your site and represent your brand plays an important part in which message is sent to your visitors brain.

Recently we had a client that designed her ecommerce site all in blue. Her reasoning was because she heard blue was the most successful colour for a visitor to be encouraged to browse a site with ease. This may be the case but her product did not reflect this. The lady was selling jewellery that was funky. Blue wasn’t suitable. In some cases it can work when mixed but in this case an oriental colour could be used to go with a sophisticated look with a bit of black. On the other hand for a more fun and flamboyant look, orange and yellow could be used together along with the use of the colour white for clearness and simplicity. All these colours were used in our design project and were a real hit with the client as well as their clients. The reason? The site had a clear message and it was easy to understand what image the business was giving and what it appealed to. For customers who enjoy funky jewellery they tend to also enjoy bright or wacky like colours.

If you have any questions don’t hesitate to email sales@lyfhosting.com