The Hurbicide Guru

The Luxembourg-based Cordea Savills European Commercial Fund has bought over Edinburgh Quay 2, the joint venture development creation for a whopping sum of almost £21.1 million! Notwithstanding the fear of loss of appeal for potential investors, the development has made a yield of about 6%, and is expected to boost the financial sector.

Already an old player playing home to companies such as Pinsent Mason’s solicitors and Baker Tilly, Edinburgh Quay 2 is said to be one of the biggest commercial developments in this space. However, the financial sector of Edinburgh had invested its hopes on this development diversifying outside of the Exchange Area.

Almost 20% of the area of Edinburgh Quay 2 is still left to be occupied, owing to the credit crisis in 2007 throwing a challenge for developers in terms of shifting their shared office space. Reports mention that some tenants are currently contemplating vacating the general area as well.

The development layout, before being bought over by the Lloyds Banking Group, was situated near HBOSs former headquarters. Edinburgh Quay 2, now heading the development, claims that the building was in the bidding even before being largely advertised to potential buyers.

Sources from the commercial property department state that the development is risky business owing to its proximity from the offices of Bank of Scotland that have all the chances of being abandoned. These offices are likely to have no takers, and hence, would leave the entire surrounding area deserted with no visual appeal.

With real estate markets picking up across the nation, Glasgow too has begun to show the effects of the revival. Several development schemes are being drawn up for office spaces here which will bring additional business and activity here.

After the success of the Atlantic Quay project which brought in a lot of new interest to office space in Glasgow, the city council expects a repeat of this with its approval to yet another complex in the neighbourhood. The proposals for the Atlantic Square buildings were passed by council members recently paving the way for a multi use trio of buildings here in the IFSD area which will host offices, hotel and leisure space.

The buildings are to come up in the space between York Street and James Watt Street. Two of these will have massive shared office area to the tune of 161,000 sq ft and 66,000 sq ft. the third will be a six story hotel with 150 bedrooms. All three will be connected by a covered passage. Other than offices, there will be about 20,000 sq ft set aside for leisure and retail space and perhaps conference area as well.

The Atlantic Square building project is estimated to create about 2500 new jobs and will cost £100m to complete. The project will aid in the development of the International Financial Services District on the banks of the Clyde.

There are plans to make this area more accessible and attractive to local residents to enhance the social visibility of the locations. Such projects are expected to help fulfil the city council

Liverpool Vision and English Cities Fund will soon begin work on the third and final phase of the St. Paul Square development in Liverpool. The announcement came after Northwest European Regional Development Fund and the Northwest Regional Development Agency jointly announced a ₤9 million input to support the project.

The two agencies will each be putting in over ₤4 million for the development of over 100,000 square feet of prime commercial space, in the heart of the city at St. Paul square. The first two phases of the project were also funded by these agencies, and added over 250,000 square feet of shared office space, 50 new apartment blocks, a new public square and a car park with over 400 spaces.

The completion of this project will conclude the development of the commercial district at the heart of Liverpool, allowing companies to congregate there as a prime place to do business from.

Commenting on the development, Northwest Regional Development Authority chief executive Steven Broomhead said that with the final investment from both firms now in place, the project can quickly reach completion, thus allowing firms to congregate at the best business address in the city.

He added that Liverpool is a very forward thinking city and one of the best places to do business. He said that the final phase of the project was necessary to help reinforce that view to businesses in the area as well as those looking to come to the city, and believed the investment would yield returns in a few years, in spite of prevailing market conditions.

SEO, or search engine optimization is coding, or links that search engines look for when it searches for your keywords in a search.

Page ranking is what you get when you have employed SEO into your page, or web site.

Page rankings are how high up on the search list your site will be when people do a search.

Pages higher up on the list have gotten much more hits with visitors than lower ones.

SEO is a service that some web sites pay for, or they can employ coding, or links themselves when their site is designed. Any way you look at it, a lot of sites get noticed!

I admit, there was a time when I actually designed a web page that looked like it had been created on a typewriter.

I had worked hard on the page, but, I did not know anything about javascript, placing links, photos, or any HTML. People were nice to help me out, and not laugh at my page.

Sites without coding, or links are just like this, and SEO will probably never see them.

Your page may have wonderfully researched, and relavant information, but, no one will see it without links, or coding.

It is easier now, than over 10 years ago to get coding help. You can even find sites that will do the coding for you, when you enter your plain text!

A special occasion is just around the corner, but you can’t think of a perfect gift for that special someone. Don’t fret over what gift you can give. Give a basketful of little gifts that will multiply the joy of giving and receiving.

It is often difficult to choose a single gift that expresses your sentiments and also captures the fancy of the gift’s receiver. A gift basket can be tailored to suit a person’s tastes no matter what they might be.

Gift baskets are based on themes. Just think of an occasion and, there is a gift basket perfect for it. Does the person you are buying a gift for have a hobby or interest? Select items for the basket that have a sporty or hobby-like theme.

Among the favorites are the traditional fruit gift basket and the “”new age”" movie gift basket. Of course, the holidays are popular for Christmas or Thanksgiving baskets to bring out the flavor of the season. For personal occasions like birthdays, weddings and baby-showers, a gift basket can add that personal touch. And a corporate gift basket can sway the toughest boss or client.

The items in a gift basket complement each other. A gift basket is not just a present; inside that crisply wrapped basket is a wonderful experience filled with treasures and treats.

A knitting basket is a perfect gift for grandmother. The balls of yarn, brand new knitting needles a measuring tape and a book of beautiful patterns, all wrapped in a straw basket, will surely bring a smile to her face.

Shopping for a gift basket is easier than you think. You can choose from a wide range of ready-made baskets available in stores or online. Many stores offer you the option of a custom-made gift basket. Either way, you can enjoy the benefits of a professionally designed basket. So what are you waiting for? Buy a special basket for that special someone and let it speak for you.

Gift Baskets provides detailed information about gift baskets, Christmas gift baskets, corporate gift baskets, and more. Gift Baskets is affiliated with Unique Gifts For Women.

Writing copy has sometimes been compared to an “art.” While it
does take creative skill to write great copy that generates
results, there are some mistakes that you should avoid to make
sure that your copy is read and acted upon.

1.The copy is boring. Great copy will never be boring and will
always get the reader to read the entire message. It is engaging
and written in a conversational tone. It bypasses the readers
mental resistance to being sold and will always generate
results. That’s why the best copy that you read, is always the
ones that read like a good book. They tell a story and bring the
reader along your sales process. 2.The copy is all about you.
Copy that is all about the features of a product, or all about
your service will fall flat on its face. The reader will not
finish reading the copy and will in all likelihood toss the
letter in the trash. There goes your marketing budget to the
landfill. It would be more profitable to donate the money to a
deserving charity and have a press release written about how you
or your company is concerned about people’s welfare. No, your
copy must tell the reader “what’s in it for me,” WIIFM. You must
show the reader what the result of using your product of service
will be of benefit to them. They could care less about you, so
keep yourself out of it. Now, there are times when you must tell
about yourself or your company. And that is used to generate
credibility, not to make the sale, and it must come after
telling the reader the benefits of using your service or
product. Only then will the reader be interested in hearing
about you or your company. 3.Has no clear “call to action.” You
must spell out what you want the reader to do. If you want to
reader to fill out your order form, give them specific
instructions on how to do it. Tell them exactly what to do.
Don’t dawdle around and say, “Just fill out the order form to
get your…” No, no, no. Rather tell them that they need to give
you their name, address, etc. on the order form, and make sure
you tell them to “print” on the order form, that way it will be
easier for you to read. I’m not saying that prospects are dumb,
but you must give them specific instructions on what action you
want them to perform. 4.Has a week P.S. The PS is the second
most read part of your sales letter. Restate the benefits the
reader will enjoy by ordering your product or service. Throw in
an extra bonus here as well. For example, “Order in the next 5
days and you will also receive (fill in the blank).” And if you
want to make sure that you have a strong PS write it before you
write the body of your letter. That way you won’t be tired of
writing and scratch out a hurried PS. 5.Has no testimonials.
Without testimonials (and we’re not talking about the “Oh I just
loved your service” kind of testimonials) your copy has no
credibility. Why should someone believe what you are telling
them if there is nothing to back up your claims? Without
testimonials your reader will assume that you are hyping them.
That you are claiming to be something that you are not. You must
have testimonials to help your reader/prospect believe in you.
Survey your customers to get good specific testimonials so that
you can sprinkle them throughout your copy. These are just a few
mistakes that I’ve seen people make when trying to write their
own copy instead of hiring a qualified copywriter. A really good
copywriter will avoid these mistakes like the plague. Examine
the copy you have on your website or in your sales literature.
Does it make any of these mistakes? Chances are if it is making
any of these mistakes then it is making others that will jump
off the page to a well-trained copywriter’s eye. Don’t make
these mistakes yourself if you decide to tackle writing your own
sales copy. If you do, you will be doomed to fail at the outset
and you will be wondering why your copy isn’t converting more
prospects.

In this article, I am going to reveal a dozen words, which could
change your life. Why? Because Yale University researches have
identified the 12 most powerful words in the human language…
proven to attract attention and stir emotion within their
readers. Here they are…

* You

* Save

* Results

* Health

* Love

* Proven

* Money

* New

* Easy

* Safety

* Discovery

* Guaranteed

So how can these ‘proven’ ‘new’ words ‘you’ have discovered be
used to generate ‘results’ and make ‘you’ more ‘money’? It’s
‘easy.’ ‘You’ll’ ‘love’ the way you can ’safely’ integrate them
into your ads and sales letters. Plus, ‘you’ll’ ’save’ thousands
of dollars from burning a hole through your pocket from
ineffective advertising… ‘Guaranteed.’

Notice how easy it is!

Oh yeah, one more thing. Once you start implementing all of
these words into your copy… you may just find that the extra
‘money’ you make will help you to chill out. Consequently, many
people find their ‘health’ improves as a result
Let’s look at how we can change a couple of headlines I’ve seen
in ads and brochures lying around in my office around to
incorporate these power words…

Headline 1: The benefits of advertising on the XYZ Web Site

Could change to: ‘Discover’ the benefits of advertising on the
XYZ Web Site

Or: At Last… ‘You’ can ‘discover’ a ‘proven’ way to make more
‘money’ by advertising on XYZ’s ‘new’ web site

Or: You’ll ‘love’ this quick and ‘easy’ way of generating
greater ‘results’ through advertising on XYZ’s ‘new’ web site

Headline 2: Great places to stay. Fantastic locations and hot
deals

Could change to: ‘Discover’ these safe places to stay. Fantastic
‘new’ locations and hot deals

Or: Who else wants to ‘discover’ a ’safe’ and ‘easy’ way of
finding fantastic locations and hot ‘new’ deals?

Or: You’re ‘guaranteed’ to ‘love’ these great places to stay.
These fantasitc locations are ‘easy’ to find and you’ll ’save’
‘money’ with our hot new deals.

Can you notice how easy it is to incorporate the hot words into
your ads and sales letters?

A word of warning: These words are a tool… although just as
mild painkillers are not a cure for cancer… they are not a
cure for poorly thought out copy.

However they will certainly spice up your communications.

Yours in profits.