Special Report: Another Meat Debate - Poor Pakistani's Are being Sold 'Horse And Donkey' Flesh?

By RABIA BASRI | INNLIVE

In a country where class mobility is inaccessible to most, questionable approximations of all sorts burgeon. The Pakistani love affair with meat has been a long and enduring one. In decades past, every neighbourhood, rich or poor, featured a butcher shop, whose front prominently featured a fresh carcass swinging from a hook. Housewives would debate quality with the butcher or argue over the price or the freshness or the cut.

Reverse Exodus: Gulf Workers Return to India, Bringing New Travails

In March, Dhananjay Datar, promoter of the US$50 million United Arab Emirates-based Al Adil Trading Co., celebrated the 25th year of his business. He hired a Boeing 737 and circled Dubai for several hours as 50 guests popped champagne and ate cake. After touchdown, he presented his wife, Vandana, with a US$2 million Rolls Royce Phantom.

Around the same time, other Boeing 737s were ferrying laid-off Indian workers back from Dubai to Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode and Kochi, principal cities in the southern Indian state of Kerala. They hope to return, but at the moment it doesn't seem likely.

Some 200,000 to 500,000 Keralites working in the Gulf are likely to return home by midyear, state finance minister T.M. Thomas Isaac told the State Assembly recently. This is a considerable chunk of the estimated two million-plus Keralites working abroad, nearly 90% of them in the Gulf. The 2001 census put Kerala's population at 31.8 million. Non-resident Keralites (NRKs) send back close to US$8 billion in remittances annually, more than double the state's tax revenues. The impact of the reverse exodus -- both economically and socially -- could be devastating, according to experts.

"There will naturally be a considerable negative impact on Kerala, as the remittances will stop and the number of unemployed will increase simultaneously," says Rajesh Chakrabarti, assistant professor of finance at the Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB). "Socially, adjusting to the returnees will be a problem. They would be quickly perceived as liabilities as opposed to assets, affecting both them as well as the residents."

The reasons for the reverse migration have been well-documented. The Gulf economy has been suffering after the crash in oil prices. Dubai has been hit particularly hard because it was the region's key financial center, and finance has taken a backseat amid the global economic slowdown. "It is mainly the real estate and property segments along with bankers who have been hard-hit," says Datar of Al Adil Trading. "The other businesses are not doing too badly. They may be down by 15% to 20%." Adds Faisal Shamsudheen, a Dubai-based journalist-turned-PR manager who lost his job in the crisis: "Construction and banking are the worst hit. Mass redundancies are happening by the day in the private sector and semi-governmental organizations."

The bulk of the NRKs were working in construction. "The Gulf has been a significant employer in blue-collar jobs and the worker class," says Narayanan Ramaswamy, executive director, KPMG Advisory Services. "That influx will come into India." People have left other Indian states for jobs in the Gulf, but in much lower numbers. (Labor migration from states such as Uttar Pradesh and Bihar has more often been to richer states such as Gujarat and Punjab.) Kerala will bear the brunt.

Kerala's Main Export Commodity

"The main commodity which Kerala exports to the Gulf countries is manpower," says Ajay Kumar, chairman of the Kerala State IT Mission and secretary of IT. "They have been engaged in the construction, real estate and tourism sectors, which have been badly hit by the global slowdown."

Ramaswamy notes that Kerala's rule by a Left alliance may create additional problems. "One of the things this will definitely cause, especially in an economy like that of Kerala, with its Communist flavor, is more unrest," he says. "Jobs will be affected. Unions will protest. If this continues for the medium to long term, it will also lead to law-and-order problems."

Though some observers sense disaster, authorities don't seem particularly concerned yet. "The Dubai government is still in a denial phase and continues to repeat that there is no mass exodus of Indian workers," says Shamsudheen. The Center for Development Studies (CDS), in Thiruvananthapuram, said in a report this year that there was no cause for worry. The main conclusion of the report, the Kerala Migration Monitoring Study 2008, is that "as of December 2008, there is neither any indication of a significant slowdown of emigration from the state nor any large-scale increase in return emigrants to Kerala." Authors S. Irudaya Rajan and K.C. Zachariah acknowledge, however, that the situation may have changed in 2009. But not all return migration is related to the recession, they say.

According to the CDS, the number of emigrants from Kerala in 2008 was 2.16 million, up from 1.84 million in 2003. The number of return emigrants was 1.1 million in 2008, up from 890,000 in 2003. So return emigration rose only 210,000, compared with an increase of 320,000 outward-bound. "I don't think there is a crisis," says Rajan, who is chair professor in the research unit on international migration and a fellow at CDS. "A few hundred people may have lost their jobs. But what are they among the two million [Indians] in the Gulf?" Shamsudheen also points out, however, that these figures were calculated before the economic crisis struck the region.

And some data can be misread. Take remittances, the lifeblood of the Kerala economy. According to K.V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, a UAE-based charitable organization working for the welfare of expatriate Indians, NRKs have remitted more than US$42 billion to Kerala in the last 35 years. Weekly newsmagazine India Today reports that non-resident external deposits with Kerala banks, which were US$6.73 billion in June 2008, are expected to cross US$7.39 billion by June this year. Adds Binoy Augustine, manager of the Tiruvalla branch of Federal Bank, which has one of the largest numbers of NRK accounts in the state: "In the past two months, we have seen a surge in NRI remittances thanks to the favorable exchange rates." This boom in remittances is considered good news; it's business as usual.

Coming Home Permanently

Others, however, say that returning NRKs are closing their accounts in the Gulf because they are coming home permanently. The spike is also attributable to the more expensive dollar, which makes it attractive to convert to rupees, and the migration of accounts from foreign banks, perceived as risky, to Indian public-sector banks. Such a surge cannot continue.

A Planning Commission report submitted recently to the Union government suggests as much. Remittances could decline by 20%, the report says. As workers abroad return to India, "they may bring back their accumulated savings and a one-time increase may take place. During 2009-2010, private transfers can be between US$35 billion and US$50 billion."

A World Bank study reaches a similar conclusion. "Cash remittances to developing nations sharply slackened in the last few months of 2008 because of the global financial distress, and they are projected to continue their slowdown this year," the report says. "Their lower growth in 2009 will likely be a result of the global crisis, the downward impact of the oil price collapse on the Gulf economies and the uncertainty about exchange rates.... The growth of remittance flows is expected to slow significantly from 6.7% in 2008 to 0.9% in 2009, but could recover in the medium term to 6.1% growth in 2010."

Although Kerala may suffer the most, the decline could hurt the entire economy. India gets the highest remittances of any country in the world (US$27 billion in 2007; US$32 billion in 2008). This is estimated to add 3% to GDP. "The slowing down will hurt particularly as it comes coupled with the reversal of portfolio capital flows," says Chakrabarti. "Together, this could hurt both the exchange rate, making the rupee weaker, and the asset markets, particularly the real estate market." The euphoria following the formation of a new, stable government may dilute this effect. The rupee is strengthening and foreign portfolio investments have resumed. But remittances have always been long-term money, while foreign investments in Indian equity, as the last year shows, can be fickle. Total foreign direct investment in India in 2008-09 (April to March) was around US$27 billion, while portfolio investments stood at a negative US$15 billion as foreign institutional investors pulled out.

The government won't acknowledge the potential for a crisis. In Dubai recently for the inauguration of a new campus of the Ghaziabad-based Institute of Management Technology, former commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath rejected a suggestion that the government work out a loan or grant scheme for Gulf workers who had lost their jobs. This has been a demand of the Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, which earlier appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to have the government provide US$2,000 each to workers who had to return after losing their jobs. Nath instead said India had plenty of jobs.

"The government can't fund any rehabilitation or relief packages for its expatriate Indian community," Nath said, according to the Abu Dhabi-based newspaper The National. "However, Indians facing losses should return and find new opportunities back home. Industries like IT continue to grow in India, and business is looking positive."

But, as in other parts of the world, job losses have been considerable in India. Nath's optimism notwithstanding, having special schemes to provide jobs for returnees may invite problems. "To the extent that some of the returnees will have prior experience and skills, the government may be able to help them find employment, but any 'special efforts' directed at them will also cause social heartburn," says Chakrabarti. "So efforts, if any, should be kept low-key." Adds Ramaswamy of KPMG: "The government should take some measures. But this business of providing direct employment could just be more emotional talk. The way they should provide employment is to hasten some of the infrastructure projects and start investing in capital-intensive projects."

Financing for Repatriated Entrepreneurs

Those are big-ticket items. The Kerala government, meanwhile, is thinking small. It has announced a US$200 million entrepreneurship package for repatriates. This, finance minister Isaac says, is not a dole program. The money will go to the state-owned Kerala Financial Corp., which will borrow six or seven times that amount from the market. The principal will be used to finance entrepreneurs.

Kumar of the State IT Mission says the technology sector offers employment potential. "There is hope in the IT sector, which seems to be growing despite the economic slowdown. The growth in IT in Kerala is likely to be much more than the national average." Because of pressures on costs, IT companies will move to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, he predicts. Kerala has enough of those and an additional edge because of "the best social infrastructure and highest physical quality of life." The government has a three-pronged plan to make Kerala an IT destination: Build infrastructure, develop human resources and focus on marketing the state. "There is a hidden opportunity for Kerala," Kumar notes.

There is a problem, however. Keralites work hard when they go out of the state to seek their fortune; at home, they seem to lack the same discipline. "Keralites are ready to do any job once they cross the state border," says Rajan of CDS. "But [at home] there is a kind of self-created social unemployment." Opportunity exists nonetheless. "There is a scarcity of workers in Kerala. If you notice, in Thiruvananthapuram city alone there are thousands of workers from other parts of India and even from Nepal."

The Kerala crisis raises issues that are larger than the impact on the state. India was supposed to benefit from a "demographic dividend." India's young workers would provide muscle as other countries turned gray. Has this theory -- and therefore India's growth prospects -- suffered a setback? "It is temporary," says Chakrabarti of ISB. "The jobs crisis is global, across countries. In the end, India will still be among the fastest-growing countries in the world. Hopefully, by 2011, 2012, the dust will settle, and by then India will also be able to get back on track for growth."

A related issue is protectionism, particularly in the labor market. Western countries have begun making noise about this as they try to preserve jobs for their own nationals. But Chakrabarti is optimistic. "These protectionist tendencies will be short-term," he says. "But if the slowdown becomes a very long one, the protectionist pressures may cross certain political thresholds, which may lead to the world going the protectionist way for decades to come." Adds Ramaswamy: "Protectionism is an emotional response and can only be a short-term phenomenon because the world has moved a long way from where we were during the last recession. The impact of the Gulf slowdown on India is only an indirect one, so we don't need to be overly concerned. Even the people who are coming back will return to the Gulf once the economy picks up."

It has happened before. During the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, there was an exodus of Indian workers from the war zone. "It was a fast turnaround for Kuwait after the Gulf War, considering the devastation and exodus the country saw with the Iraqi invasion," says Shamsudheen, the PR manager. "Almost all Kuwait returnees went back after the country was liberated, and there were more opportunities with the reconstruction projects."

Special Report: Can India's Largest Ever Olympics Contingent Bring Back Its Largest Ever Medals Haul From Rio?

By M H AHSSAN | INNLIVE

Shooting, hockey, badminton, wrestling, and archery offer hope.

Despite India's sending its largest ever contingent (till then) to the summer Olympics in 2012 in London, the opening ceremony featured Bangalore-based danseuse Madhura Nagendra, who was seen walking at the head of the Indian team’s march during the Parade of Nations.

She grabbed more attention than the medal exploits of the 83 member-strong team representing India. Considering that India did end up with its best-ever haul of six medals – two silver and four bronze – perhaps it was a little bit unfair.

Exclusive: Jalayagnam - 3, The 'Baap' Of All Scams In India

By Manoj Kumar / Hyderabad

There are several similarities between the coal blocks allocation scandal (Coalgate) and the late YS Rajasekhara Reddy’s Jalayagnam irrigation “loot-for-everyone” scam in Andhra Pradesh.  First, there is the similarity in numbers. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) put the value of the Coalgate losses at Rs 1.86 lakh crore. This figure is also the latest estimate of the Jalayagnam project’s bloated costs. It started with Rs 1.1 lakh crore and is now at Rs 1.86 lakh crore, and could go even further as projects get unduly delayed. 

India's Divine Temples Of Grants: Swirls Of Strong Desire

By Parvati Shankar | INN Live

SPECIAL REPORT   What takes people to shrines that grant what they seek? A look at wish-making. Religious places are supposed to be infused with special qualities. For example, when people talk about Kollur, where the Adi Sankara established the famous Kollur Mookambika temple, they talk about the place being powerful, not just the deity. The temple is on the spur of the ecologically rich Kodachadri mountain. 

The Sowparnika, which runs through the town, flows down from the Kodachadri. The official website of the temple notes that the “river absorbs the elements of 64 different medicinal plants and roots as it flows, therefore it cures all the diseases of those who bathe in it. Hence a bath in this river assumes significance and is considered sacred.” The sacredness here is not just that of the deity but also of the powerful natural qualities of the river and the surrounding land. When seen from the perspective of the qualities of a place, we find a different logic to wish fulfilment as compared to a theological one.

Old Parents: Left In The Lurch At Lord Krishna’s Abode

By Sonakshi Mili | Trivandrum

SPECIAL REPORT  In a shocking trend, elderly parents are being dumped by their families in the Guruvayur temple complex. On any given day, thousands of devotees throng Guruvayur to seek Lord Krishna’s blessings. But a few visitors have a hidden agenda during their pilgrimage to the 17th-century temple in Thrissur district of Kerala — dumping their aged parents in the temple premises.

“Every month, at least 15 new destitutes end up staying at Guruvayur as the temple offers free meals at noon and evening,” says TT Sivadasan, chairman of the Guruvayur Municipality. “Many of them are those who have been kicked out of their homes by their families or dumped by their children.”

Special Report: The Dark Side Of Naveen Patnaik's Regime

By Partho Ghosh | Bhubaneshwar

Anyone who dares to dissent against the Naveen Patnaik government in Odisha faces the risk of being branded a naxal or seditionist. The list of those jailed on trumped charges includes legions of protesting tribals, public-spirited lawyers and human rights activists. In a month long investigation Gulail lays bare a systematic subversion of civil liberties and extra-judicial killings by a government that has till now been by and large successful in avoiding media scrutiny.

Special Report: This 'Blind Cricketer' Who Won The 'World Cup' For India Cannot Find A Job Yet, Despite Promises?

It's hard to imagine a successful sportsman facing obstacles when it comes to employment: And yet, Ketan Patel, who was awarded Man-Of-The-Series in the ODI and T20 cricket series in England (held recently) has returned to his home town flushed with success, but without any job prospects in sight.

Visually-challenged Patel, who returned to Mumbai yesterday, revealed that his team's success did not alleviate his worries about finding a job in his home country in an interview with a vernacular daily. "“I was part of the World Cup team and now these two memorable series, but will these performances count for something? Despite several pleas to the Gujarat government, I have not been able to get a much-needed job,” he said.

'Of the Voter, By the Voter, For the Voter': Indian Elections

By Aalia Nazneen | INNLIVE

SPECIAL REPORT After the date 16th May 2014 is arbitrated as the judgment day, the ballots from Five Hundred Forty Three (543) parliamentary constituencies will come together to decide the contender for the Prime Ministerial seat in Lok Sabha parliament.

To clamp down on illegal or wayward action, Election Council of India has ensured that the voting is carried out in nine long phases starting from 7th April 2014 to 12th May 2014. With such a schedule, this proves to be the longest election in Indian history till date.

This year Election Commission of India (ECI) has launched a few IT centered initiatives to appeal to voters of all groups alike to cast their ballot and exercise their franchise. Last year’s Ananda Babu has been altered to Ananya this year, which is an audio-visual campaign run by the Election Commission of India.

Special Report: Six years after 26/11- Why we are not prepared to prevent another attack

As the nation remembers the sixth anniversary of 26/11, INNLIVE takes stock of what has changed since then and whether India is any safer. Former Union home secretary G K Pillai and counter-terrorism specialist Ajai Sahni explain what ails India's security system.

After the 26/11 attacks, the government brought the Kargil committee report out from the dust and in a flurry of steps launched the National Counter Terrorism Centre (NCTC), National Intelligence Grid (Natgrid), Criminal and Crime Tracking Network System (CCTNS), coastal security project, NSG hubs, and police reforms. Clearly, all these are not enough.

The Transformation Of The 'Indian Charitable Hospitals'

By Madhurima Nundy (Guest Writer)

SPECIAL REPORT As the lines between for-profit and not-for-profit hospitals get blurred due to market forces, the mission of affordable healthcare becomes the biggest casualty.

One of the vernacular newspaper reported the dismissal of a doctor from St Stephen’s for “not making enough money” for the hospital. Soon after the publication of this report, two senior doctors who were critical of the management decision were served notices.

Special Report: How Cellphones Are Reviving India’s Folk Music Scene?

Spending time in rural India in the past few years, it has been difficult to miss the cellphone, especially in the hands of millennials. It has also been hard to ignore how rapidly the phone has been absorbed in the vernacular social fabric.

According to a Deloitte report, the sales of feature phones and smart phones, used as much for communication as for entertainment, are estimated to have surged by a 100% in the past year across India. In a nation where mobile phones are the primary entertainment device for those who own them, their use is now expanding to preserve and perpetuate traditional folk and tribal music.

Special Report: Massive Merger In India’s largest Branded Clothing Company - Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail

Amid India’s e-commerce boom, the country’s largest branded apparel company—a decidedly brick-and-mortar entity—has just been born out of a merger.

Indian billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, chairman of the $40 billion (Rs2.4 lakh crore) Aditya Birla Group, has decided to bring all his garment businesses under one company, which together adds up to annual sales of over Rs5,000 crore ($785 million).

Growing 'Nutrition Merchandise' In Indian Pharmacies

SPECIAL REPORT: Changing lifestyle has pushed the demand of nutritious supplements, seen stocked in the pharmacies nowadays. Here is a report on the growing nutrition merchandise in pharmacy retail, transforming the traditional business model.

There has been intense market competition and consolidation among providers of pharmaceutical products. In the retail pharmacy, the notable changes have been seen in closures of local independent pharmacies and growth in pharmacies located in supermarkets and mass merchandise stores.

Giant pharmacy chains like Guardian Pharmacy, Apollo, Religare and others similar to these are seen on the busiest street of Indian small and big towns. Not only do they fill prescriptions and sell OTC medicines, but are also offering wide variety of nutrition merchandise to the consumers.

A 2D-Story Of Indian Diplomat 'Devyani Khobragade' In US

By Sanjay Mehlogkar | New York

SPECIAL REPORT A diplomatic war reminiscent of cold war days has broken out between India and the United States of America. It is now threatening the warm relationship developed between two countries over the past 10-15 years. In a strong response to the arrest of a young Indian woman diplomat Devyani Khobragade in New York, India is now even refusing to entertain a high level visiting US Congress delegation. In an unprecedented move, India has even asked all US diplomats serving in India to surrender their Identity Cards.

India is describing the arrest as an insult to the country's sovereignty. The strip searching and handcuffing of Devyani added fuel to the fire.

Special Report: 'A Tragedy Making in The Gulf'

Indians working in Saudi Arabia heaved a sigh of relief as King Abdullah intervened last week to stop the drive launched by the ministries of home and labour to weed out illegal immigrants. But the respite is only for three months. 
    
The expatriate workforce has been given three month’s time to regularise the residency documents. Any developments related to migrant workforce in Saudi Arabia or any other Gulf country is acutely felt in India as there are nearly 60 lakh Indian living there either as workers or their dependents. One third of these Indians are working in Saudi Arabia followed by the UAE which hosts over 18 lakh Indian workers. Of the Indian workers in Saudi Arabia, people from two states—Kerala and Andhra Pradesh—are counted among the largest groups. There are about 6 lakh people from AP, a large number of them from Hyderabad. 
    
Indians in the Gulf generally enjoy the reputation of being a law-abiding workforce. However, there are notable exceptions, particularly with regard to rules governing the expatriate community. The meaning of the term 'illegal immigrant' in Saudi Arabia is wrapped in shades of grey and does not have a black and white definition. It is generally used in relation to a foreigner who is considered to have 'violated' immigration and labour laws. But what is violation? Let’s take a look at the following example which was published in Saudi Gazette, an English language newspaper published from Jeddah: 
    

Dr Khaled M Batarfi , an academic who has lived most of his life in Saudi Arabia. His son was born in the Kingdom and has recently finished his bachelor’s degree from a university in Jeddah. On turning 18 he had to transfer his kifala or sponsorship from his father to a new sponsor as the rules demanded. He found a Saudi woman who was kafeel or sponsor to 117 other persons like him. He had to pay her a certain amount as fee. But as luck would have it, his sponsor suddenly died leaving him scurrying for another kafeel. Around the same time, the government exercise to streamline the irregular labour force started. The report does not say what happened to the lad but obviously he faces an uncertain future. 
    
Since the oil boom, the Kingdom has been trying to implement the Saudiisation programme that aims at providing jobs to all Saudi nationals. This ambitious programme has some inbuilt flaws which are generally not discussed. At the same time, what is played out prominently is the violation of the rules by the foreign workforce. 
    

Though the violations are of many kinds, there are two key ones. One is of migrants overstaying after expiry of their visa period, and the other is the system of Azad or free visa which has been in vogue for decades. The free visa system is the main source of income for many Saudis as the visas are sold to intending candidates at exorbitant rates. It is also one of the legal means for a foreigner to enter the kingdom, search for a decent job and keep earning as long as possible. Both these factors work against the interests of the unemployed Saudi youth. 
    
The tragic part of this story is that the Andhra Pradesh government is absolutely unprepared for the sudden return of its workers from the Gulf. Maybe it is waiting for its workers to be uprooted from jobs there, languish in prisons and then return home as destitute. The tragedy which appears to be in the making can still be avoided if the state government sends a delegation of officials and experts to the Kingdom to assess the situation there and prepare an emergency plan. It has only three months to do that.

Nobody Knows His 'Real Name' Because His Dad Is A 'Terrorist' Finally, Tells His Story Makes You Speechless!

SPECIAL REPORT: Zak Ebrahim, a man who chose to change his name and was forced to hide his family history ever since they parted ways with his father, who was a terrorist, this is his story. The story of how a terrorist’s son escaped a violent heritage.

Zak’s father helped plan the 1993 World Trade Centre Bombing. The first time Zak’s father and his friends took him to the shooting range in Long Island, he was 7. After his terrorist father explained to him his target and put the rifle over his shoulder, Zak took the first shot of his life and that day the last bullet that he shot burnt the entire target into flames. To that, his uncle said to the other men — “Ibn Abu” (Like father like son) and laughed loudly.

Will Social Media Decide The Fate Of 2014 Elections?

By M H Ahssan | INN Live

SPECIAL REPORT  Young urban Indians virtually live on Facebook and Twitter. It's no surprise then that all major political parties are spending millions of rupees on social media campaigns in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. But will Twitter and Facebook help sway votes like it did for Barack Obama in the US elections, given that India is a predominantly rural nation? 

Four more years — this was Barack Obama’s tweet after he won the presidential election for the second time. This was before he formally addressed the United States of America. Needless to add, he set a precedent in not only the political spheres, but also the ever-increasing digital space. Over the years, there has been a sea change in the way politicians — in India and abroad — interact with the general public, thanks to the advent of social media.

Special Report: India-Bhutan Ties At A Start Or An End?

By Medha Bisht (Guest Writer)

Since Bhutan opposition People's Democratic Party (PDP) led by Tsering Tobgay won last week's National Assembly elections, speculation has grown over the influence that India's decision threats to withdraw certain subsidies had on the vote. Many analysts say India's withdrawal of subsidies on cooking gas, kerosene oil, excise duty refund and hydro-electric projects could have lost the vote for the formerly ruling Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT). 

Writing Classified Ads That Generate Sales

By M H Ahssan

Ads are the basement of an easy home business, no easy home business can exist without sales, and every sale begins with some kind of advertising.
So the ad copy must be good enough to make potential buyers buy.

Does advertising always succeed?

NO!

And the credit for the success, or the blame for the failure of almost all ads, reverts back to the ad copy itself.

What does an ad look for? Generally, the "ad copy writer" wants one of the following:

* That you visit the store to see and judge the product for yourself
* That you immediately buy the merchandise being advertised by the ad
* That you phone for an appointment to hear the full sales presentation
* That you ask for further information (which amounts to the same thing).

The bottom line is always the same: To make the reader buy the product or service.

As an "ad copy writer" you must know exactly what you want that your customers do.

BASIC RULES FOR WRITING CLASSIFIED ADS AND SALES LETTERS

* A classified ad and a sales letter must be read to stimulate sales
* A classified ad and a sales letter must be seen, so it can be read
* A classified ad and a sales letter must command or grab the attention of the reader
* Your knowledge and practice of these basic rules will determine the extent of your success as an ad copywriter and an easy home business owner.

HOW TO WRITE CLASSIFIED ADS AND SALES LETTERS

Classified ads are small, relatively inexpensive, many times free in Internet, and give the beginner an opportunity to advertise his product or service without losing his shirt if things don't go how he expected.

Many people look classified ads when they wish to find a product or a service, that's why they are a great means of promotion for any Internet business, if you learn how to use them.

How do you put free classified ads in The Web? Just look for "classifieds" or "classified ads" in a search engine (i.e. www.hotbot.com) and then look for a link that might say "announce" "place an ad" "post free ads" "free ads" etc. Sometimes you won't find the link in the home page and you will find it after you choose one of the categories (i.e. "business opportunities", "Internet marketing", "home business", "jobs", etc.)

What kind of results can you expect from a classified ad? A good ad will bring you people interested in your product or service, from these prospects (potential clients) you might get up to 1 sale for every 10 - 30 of them, if you follow up them properly in the next months. Prospects and Customer's follow up has some special rules that are explained here: http://www.easy-home-business.com/improve/sales-follow-up.php

It is important to be aware that writing classified ads and sales letters is a promotion system that will not give you immediate results, but in the next months.

Classified ads are important because they let you reach a market niche that you won't be able to find other way. That's why every prospect that you get through this means is a great treasure.

The trick of writing classified ads is to put as many classified ads as you can. You can do that one by one in free places like my Free Classified Ads web page, or with good automation software like Becanada

HOW MANY FREE CLASSIFIED ADS MUST YOU PUT?

Do not expect good results with your easy home business with classified ads placed on less than 200 sites.

The ideal is to have 5 to 10 different classified ads and place them in different categories (business opportunities, home jobs, etc.) but the most important part is the quality of your classified ad. One good classified ad will give you much more customers than 10 bad classified ads.

If everyday you put your classified ad in 6 different places, in a month you will have 180 and in a couple of months your classified ad's campaign will be really working.

To put a classified ad will take you from 7 to 10 minutes each, for 6 classified ads you will need to work 1 hour per day. With an automation program like Becanada this will take you not more than a couple of hours a month. You can read more about Becanada here: http://www.becanada.com/$/?rbsoftwa@kagi.com

THE HEADLINE OF YOUR CLASSIFIED ADS AND THE TITLE OF YOUR SALES LETTERS

The headline of a newspaper, it says the same that's said in the main article; and a classified ad, is a condensed form of a large ad.

The headline and/or the lead sentence of an ad are the most important parts of the ad. The title is the most important part of a sales letter.

When your classified ad is surrounded by hundreds of other classified ads, the only thing that will make anyone read your classified ad is that you can "grab" their attention and entice them to read.

If you don't capture the attention of your reader with your headline or sales letter title, anything beyond it is useless effort and wasted money.

What happens if you don't have a headline? In classified ads, your first three to five words serve as your headline.

What should you say in your headline or sales letter title?

* Ask a question. A question seem to attract the reader's attention, and one he sees the question, he just can't seem to keep himself from reading the rest of the classified ad to find out the answer. I.e.: "Do You Suffer From These Symptoms?"
* Appeal to the envy. "You'll be the envy of your friends" is a "reader appeal" that you can use whenever appropriate, because everyone wants to be well thought of, and will read into the body of your classified ad copy to find out how he can gain the respect he wants.
* Use colloquialisms wherever and whenever possible, use words that are not usually found in advertisements. The idea is to shock or shake the reader move him to take notice of your classified ad. For example: "Are You Developing A POT BELLY?"
* Use comparative price headlines: "Three For Only $3, Regularly $3 Each!"
* Offer a strong guarantee: "We give you an year to try, and your money back if you don't earn $50,000"
* Offer status and prestige this appeals to the necessity of belonging to a special group, or recognition necessity
* You: Whenever, and as often as you can use the word "You" in your headline, and throughout your classified ad copy. Your classified ad should be directed to "one" person, and the person reading your classified ad likes to feel that you're talking to him personally. Whenever you sit down to write an ad copy you should picture yourself in a one-on-one situation and "talk" to your reader just as if he where in front of you.
* Don't get cute: People care much less for the art of the classified ad than for the benefits they will get if they buy. So don't put in it a lot of unrelated graphics and artwork. All graphics or artwork you use should be relevant to your product, its use and/or the copy you've written about it. Graphics should not be used as artistic touches, or to create an atmosphere.

RULES OF MARKETING COMMUNICATION

* Know your audience
* Know what your audience wants
* Make a clear statement that they will get what they want if they answer your ad
* Put a time limit to your irresistible offer
* People that read classified ads and sales letters have only one idea in mind:

WHAT'S IN IT FOR ME?

* People read classified ads and sales letters to fulfill their needs and desires, so if they don't receive a clear image of the solid benefit they will receive from your classified ad or sales letter, they will pass it buy.

The vast majority of the classified ads and sales letters that you can read, say things like: "we are here", "we are great", "here's what we've got". It's no wonder why hardly anyone responds to them: they are not answering the most important question for your potential customers: "What's in it for me?"

BASIC STRUCTURE OF A CLASSIFIED AD or A SALES LETTER

You want your target prospect to take immediate action.

If you don't ask for action, you don't get action; so the basic structure of your classified ad should be: You'll get this benefit if you act now!

Everything else in the classified ad is an elaboration of this point. If you classified ad testimonies or images, they must talk about the benefit that the prospect will reach if he acts now!

WORK HARD YOUR BENEFITS

The average person is very aware that you are making a pitch in an effort to get his money, so the first thing they will feel is that you will lie if you need, in order to get their money.

So you must know that your prospects are on guard against you, and the only thing they want to know is what will they get from it, and you must show this right away in the clearest way you can find.

You must show your benefits using FACTS, not making general claims as "excellence guaranteed". Instead of saying "we have the fastest service" say "all products shipped same day of purchase". So you must take a look of each feature you have listed about your product, and make it a FACT.

FEATURES: Are descriptive words about your easy home business product or service: its color, size, weights, operating parameters and so on.
Your classified ad should not say how your product is, but what it will get for the people who buy it
No classified ad works using an offer without benefits as the primary ammunition!

WHAT TO OFFER IN A CLASSIFIED AD AND A SALES LETTER

The best offer is FREE. People are addicted to getting something for nothing. So in order to motivate your audience you must offer them something for free. What can you offer?

* A free trial
* Your brochure
* Sales literature
* A special report
* A subscription to your newsletter
* Whatever you have and can send out at minimal cost.

But it's not enough to say "We will give you FREE our Internet Marketing booklet" you rather say "We will give you FREE an Internet Marketing booklet that will show you how to earn $ 2000 in only 23 days". Show the benefit!

WHAT TO EXPECT FROM A CLASSIFIED AD

In most cases you can't expect to make a sale with a small classified ad, you can only motivate an action that will eventually finish in a sale.
What kind of action can you motivate:

* Elicit prospect inquiry
* Obtain prospect's e-mail address

ADVERTISING ATTRIBUTES

CONCENTRATION: Advertise in the same place time after time, until the ad starts to get response rather than placing it every time in a different place.

REACH: You want your ad to reach as many people as possible

FREQUENCY: Most people will not respond to your ad until they have seen it not less than 6 times. True absorption of your message will result only from repetition.

WHAT DOES PEOPLE WANT

People generally want one of more of the following things:

* Better health
* More comfort
* More money
* More leisure time
* More popularity
* Greater beauty
* Success
* Security.

So this is exactly what you must tell them that they are going to get, if they opt for your product or service

TEST YOUR CLASSIFIED ADS

You should never stop testing to reach good results with your classified ads, and the way to do it is:

Run the same classified ad in different places

Ask your customers what prompted to buy from you

Test the same classified ad with different headlines

THE SALES LETTER AND CLASSIFIED AD'S BODY

Once you have your reader's attention, you must follow with:

A quick enumeration of the benefits he can gain.

Try to put into your prospect shoes, and ask yourself: If I were reading this classified ad, what are the things that would appeal to me?

Write your copy to appeal to your reader's wants and emotional needs. Writing good advertising copy is nothing more or less than knowing "who" your buyers are; recognizing what he wants; and then telling him how your product will fulfill each of those wants.

Present the proven FACTS of your product (the more facts, the more credible the offer)

People want facts and/or excuses for buying a product - to justify to themselves and others, so you must help them to do it. You must assure him for his good judgment in the final decision to buy.

People tend to believe the things that appeal to their individual desires, fears and other emotions. In other words people believe what they "want" to believe, it's up to you to support his initial desire.

Reiterate the advantages, comfort and happiness he'll enjoy

Once you finish presenting facts, test results, sales figures, and/or other customer's testimonials summarize everything you've presented and then get into your demand for action.

Make them feel they already own the product

Draw a mental picture for your potential buyer. Let him imagine owning the product. Induce him to visualize all of the benefits you've promised. Give him the keys to seeing himself richer, enjoying luxury, having time to do whatever he'd like to do, and with all of his dreams fulfilled.

ASK FOR ACTION; DEMAND THE MONEY!

Lots of classified ads are beautiful, almost perfectly written, and quite convincing - yet they fail to ask for or demand action from the reader. If you want the reader to have your product, then tell him so and demand that he send his money now. Demand that he complete the sale now, by taking action now - by calling a telephone number and ordering, or by writing his check and rushing it to the post office.

Offer a bonus package

It will help you to induce action if you offer a big bonus package - absolutely free, simply for acting immediately! And Internet is full of free things you can give to your customers to tempt them. Offering a reward of some kind will almost always stimulate the prospect to take action. Many could just sign because of the reward, but if you ask them their e-mail address, you'll have the opportunity to follow up them and convince them about your main product. Of course the reward offered should be closely related to your product, or you'll get the wrong prospects.

Offer a solid guaranty

Another thing that will help a lot is a good guaranty like "If you're not satisfied, simply return the product and we'll quickly refund your money!"

Specify a time limit.

Tell your prospect that he must act within a certain time limit or lose out on the bonus, face probably higher prices, or even the withdrawal of your offer.
This is always a good hook to get action.

Make it easy

The easier you make it for him to respond, the more responses you'll get!

Once you do become proficient in writing your easy home business classified ads, you must never stop "noticing" how classified ads are written, designed and put together by other people. To stop learning would be comparable to shutting yourself off from the rest of the world.
Keep a copy of every good classified ad that you see and study it. You must keep yourself up-to-date, aware of, and in-the-know about the other guy - his innovations, style changes, and the methods he's using to sell his products.

If you do things properly you will get hundreds, thousands of prospect's reply. And how will you make them become your customers? With a good follow up campaign. And for that you will need a MLM Builder: http://www.easy-home-business.com/improve/networkmarketing.php

"AIDA" AD STEPS TO SUCCESS

I'm now going to show you step by step how to write a successful classified ad. Your classified ad should follow the mental process called AIDA. (Attention, Interest, Desire, Action)

ATTENTION

Your classified ad's main objective is to obtain a customer, but in order to do so; the first thing you need is to catch his attention. And how do you catch people's attention? With a good Title, a good Headline, or a good first paragraph.

There are many ways to call the attention explained in my Headlines chapter:

INTEREST

Once you have your prospect's ATTENTION you must drive him to your web site or obtain his e-mail address in order to be able to show him the whole easy home business (you can't do that in a short ad). The Title or Headline only gives them the reason why they should visit or want to hear more from you. You should give them the e-mail address where they can ask for more details, or your Internet's web site address.

How can you arise your prospect's Interest? Here you must use a strong phrase (not more than two) Remember that your objective is not to make a sale, but to make the people visit your web site.

What will catch your prospect attention? Your USP your Unique Selling Proposition that is The Main Benefit your clients can obtain from your product or service You can make your USP with an interrogative phrase like "Do you want to have a fastest Internet connection", a positive phrase "The fastest connection to Internet" or just trying to arouse curiosity. "Are you fast enough?"

You must offer your prospects something they would like to have to satisfy a real need or you must build their need and then offer your product.

DESIRE

Desire in classified ads works exactly as in sales letters!

The question now is: Does your prospect desire your product?

As there is no way for you to know the answer of this question, you must do all that you can to write your sales letter, in a way that make the answer an YES.

HOW CAN YOU AROUSE YOUR PROSPECT'S DESIRE?

Your sales letter must show your product advantages! Not only make clear what you prospect will get from it, make her imagine herself having those advantages

If she can imagine herself having those advantages, she wouldn't want to live any longer without them. But you must be careful! Many people confuse features with advantages, and this is a great mistake that can cost you a fortune!

It's not the same a sales letter that says "Our carpet renovator has 30% of silicones;" than "With our carpet renovator you will have the most beautiful carpets of your whole neighborhood. Everybody will ask you where did you get them"

Make your prospect live the advantages in a way she can't live without them.

"With our carpet renovator, you won't care if your grandson plays with the dog over the carpet, after they came from the garden, because you know you'll be able to clean it, in only 10 minutes and with ease

Imagine that you spill an ink pot in the middle of your carpet. What will it happen?

You will just dry it and keep on doing what you are doing, and when you are done, you will be able to clean it as new, in only 10 minutes, and without rubbing it!

You will be able to see that our carpet renovator dissolves the stains in front of your eyes!

Can you image the tranquility that you'll have, knowing that it doesn't matter what anyone spill in your carpet, you will always be able to clean it with ease?

You will not only feel tranquil, you will feel absolutely save!

Our enterprise is at your service, our goal is to make your life easier, our best guaranty is our customer's satisfaction"

To arouse desire with your sales letter, call the senses, make your prospect "feel", "see", "hear", "smell" and "taste" the advantages that your product or service will give her.

Then your sales letter must talk about your enterprise commitment with your customers.

Talk with your heart, and sincerely, that will give you the best results.

ACTION

Once you have their Interest you must make them visit your web site or ask for more, do explain precisely what they must do. And the best you can do is:

* Write a hypertext link to your web site and ask: CLICK HERE
* If you are sending an e-mail the easiest is to ask: REPLY
* If you use a banner, just ask for a click over the banner

EXPOSURE AND REPETITION

In order to have success with a classified ad and or a sales letter, you must put it in as many places as you can, so the biggest possible number of people can see it, and it must constantly be repeated.

Exposure and Repetition are the keys to sales letter and classified ads success!

If your classified ad has a success rate of 5% (every 100 people that see your ad, 5 visit your web site) If you show your ad to 10,000 people once, you will receive 500 visitors. If you show it to 100.000 people you will get 5.000 visitors. And if you show it to 10 million people, you will get 500.000 visitors to your web site and thousands of sales.

Why should you repeat the exposure? It's very easy to answer. If you show your ad once to 10 million people, you will get 500.000 visitors and if you show the same ad to the same 10 million people twice, you will get 1.000.000 visitors.

The secret of any ad is the repetition, the more the people see it, the more they believe in it. And the same happens with your sales letters.