How To Start Writing Articles Successfully

You have probably heard that writing articles is one of the best methods that you can use to promote your online business. You might resist the idea of writing your own articles, because you don't think you are any good at it, or perhaps you might think that it is too hard to find a topic to write about.

Well, in this article, I hope to share with you some tips on how to become a successful online writer --- even if you don't believe that writing is a task that you are prepared to tackle.

Now, let me share some information about me that few people realize...

I do not consider myself to be an expert on the subject of writing. And honestly, my English is not very good at all. It is really hard to tell, isn't it? Keep reading.

You see, I am from Norway. And as you might imagine, I speak Norwegian fluently. For me, English is my Second language --- not my first.

Despite my limited English skills, my articles consistently get reprinted on lots of websites and in lots of newsletters. I have even been published in ezines that have hundreds of thousands of subscribers! And, my latest article has only been in circulation for one week, and it already shows 220 results in Google.

I cannot think of another way of getting that many one-way links to my site so quickly and so easily.

How to Find Topics for Your Articles -

The first thing that you will want to do is to look at your website and ask yourself some very important questions.

What is the theme of your website?

What product or service do you sell?

Do you have a forum on your site? If you are stressing for an idea about what you can write, then use one of your forum postings. (I do this all the time. Sometimes, I can take my response directly from my forum, and I send my answer out as a stand-alone article to the various article directories.)

Do you find yourself answering the same questions over and again for people who are interested in your products or services? If so, sit down and construct your answer in such a way that it can be used additionally as an article to promote your website. Send your answer to the person who asked the question, and then release your answer as an article. I have spoken to many writers who have told me that this is how they got their own start writing articles.

These are only a few ways to develop the topic of an article you might write. You should always try to write about a topic that interests you, and that you think can benefit others to read. Don't hold yourself back with the excuse that you are not an expert in the field that you are writing about.

Everyone on the planet has something to contribute to others. There are things that I might know that you don't know, and I can share that information with you. And, believe it or not, there are things that you will know that thousands of other people including myself have no knowledge about. There will always be something that you can teach to me and others.

Finding the Time to Write -

You may think it takes a lot of time to write, and that you're not able to add this task to your already tight schedule. But, if you would only set aside half an hour every day to write, you'll soon have a couple of articles finished every week.

The Tools I Use When Writing -

Most text editors will have the features you need to write your articles. Writers use a wide range of software applications to help them with their writing tasks. Some of the applications that people use include:

* NotePad - Preloaded as a part of Microsoft Windows

* UltraEdit32 - http://www.ultraedit.com/

* Sun Office - http://www.sun.com/software/star/staroffice/

* Microsoft Word/Office - http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/

Personally, I use Notetab Light which is a free text and HTML editor. You can download this editor at: http://www.notetab.com/

Beyond your basic text editor, it is nice to have some kind of spelling tool to double-check your work. I strongly recommend that you do not rely too much on the software spelling tools alone. While good, these spelling tools seldom do a good job fixing even basic grammar problems. These spelling tools also miss words that are spelled right, but used incorrectly in the context of the sentence. Examples include: their and there, and week and weak.

When you consider the damage that a poorly written article can do to your reputation and your ability to sell goods and services from your website, it begins to make a lot of economic sense to have someone proofread your article before you release it to the public. The fees that you will be asked to pay for proofreading services will more than pay for themselves by presenting a stronger, more professional image for your website and business.

One place you can go to get good quality, proofreading services is: http://www.ideamarketers.com/services/proof.cfm

Or, if you plan to have your article distributed, and you would like to get it proofread at the same time, you can visit: http://thephantomwriters.com/x.pl/tpw/index.html

Places To Submit Your Article -

I will only list 5 websites here, where you can submit your articles:

- http://EzineArticles.com/

- http://ideamarketers.com/

- http://goarticles.com/

- http://contentdesk.com/

- http://submityourarticle.com/

If you would like to find a longer list of websites, where you can submit your articles, you can visit my forum at: http://everypleasures.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=17

It is my hope that having finished reading my article, you will decide for yourself to write at least one article for the purpose of promoting your own website. I hope I have given you the confidence to try this promotional method for yourself.

I honestly believe, if you would use this method just once, you will see positive results. If you use this method twice, you will see more good results. And if you are like me, and you write five or six articles to promote your online business, you will be sold on the value of using articles as a promotional tool.

Torgeir Sunnarvik is the owner and webmaster of http://www.everypleasures.com/ His site offer free ebooks,

ebooks with reprint rights and review of business ebooks. He is also the webmaster of: http://onlinestocktrading-blog.blogspot.com/

Delegate or Drown

Why waste your precious time working on tasks, which are definitely not your forte when you can delegate or invest your money on a product or service which will free up your time? You can then focus on the more important areas in your work and your life.

Debbie's Story

Debbie was the Director of her own computer company, employing four staff.

Debbie had a hectic lifestyle. She worked long hours, had three children and a husband to organise and on top of that was in the middle of a major renovation of her own home. To make matters even worse, she was also studying for a Bachelor of Computer Science!

No wonder she was stressed out!

Here was a situation where she had overburdened herself unnecessarily. She had far too much going on in her life and something was about snap!

Debbie was unable to sleep properly with all the worry and strain of juggling everything and had neglected her own self in the process.

Debbie looked tired and haggard when I first met her. She was 15 kg overweight and looked at least 10 years older than she really was. She had lost touch with what was really important to her. Debbie was trying to be superwoman!

She had taken on far too much and was forced to review her lifestyle (or lack of it) or she would either have a nervous breakdown or die in the process.

The Solutions

In working with my clients I always get them to write down all the activities and responsibilities they are currently involved in, both at work and home.

By writing them down you can clearly see what is really important and what isn't. You can also see where you fill up your day with unnecessary activity.

With Debbie there were many areas where she could free up her time to give her the time for herself as the number one priority and get some sanity back into her life.

Before Adding, Look at Subtracting

I suggested to Debbie that she needed to look at which activities and responsibilities she could defer, delete, delegate or outsource.

This is what she chose to do:

Defer her Computer Science Degree until the following year.

Organise a building company to project manage her home renovation. Up until that time she had been organising the whole project on her own!

Hire a babysitter with a car who could pick her kids up from school and run them around to their activities. The babysitter would also cook the dinner and do other light domestic duties.

Utilise her bookkeeper much more by delegating to her basic administration tasks, which she was very capable of doing. Her bookkeeper was only employed three days a week and was delighted to work an extra day assisting Debbie with other tasks.

Attend her local gym at 6.00 a.m. three mornings a week and once on the weekend. She also sought advice on her diet.

Within four weeks you could see the change in Debbie. She was more confident now that she has taken control of her situation. Her life was getting back on track!

The Final Word

It's really easy not to invest money in yourself.

Do you spend money on your car, your computer, your business, your home and other 'things' in your life?

Are you not worthy enough to invest in yourself? Is the price you pay for neglecting yourself really worth it?

What can you defer, delete, delegate or outsource so that you can have more time for living your life?

About The Author

Lorraine Pirihi, principal of The Office Organiser (http://www.office-organiser.com.au) is Australia's Personal Productivity Coach

Lorraine specialises in working with businesspeople showing them how to dramatically boost their productivity, reduce the stress and the mess in their lives and have more time for enjoying their life.

We Offer a Broad Range of Services and Products including:

Coaching for small business owners and professionals

Keynote presentations and workshops

Books, CD's, DVD's and on-line learning programs

Take action today! Contact Lorraine to discuss your specific needs at lorraine@office-organiser.com.au

Microsoft Great Plains Integration Manager ? Advanced Techniques

Great Plains Integration Manager scripting and translation - overview for programmer, software developer, database administrator, IT specialist

Microsoft Business Solutions main middle market ERP application - Microsoft Great Plains has multiple integration options: MS SQL Scripting (stored procedures and views), ADO.Net programming, Microsoft SQL Server DTS packages. You certainly can deploy such SDK tools as eConnect. However here we would like to show you how to program the simplest user friendly tool: Microsoft Great Plains Integration Manager.

We assume that you are familiar with Microsoft scripting technologies: Visual Basic for Application (VBA). You should be aware, however, about poor performance of Integration Manager. We recommend it for low volume of complex transactions. It is good tool, if you are importing about 100 transactions per day from text file (when you need to come through empty lines or something not matching the template to filter integration lines). If you have thousand transactions and performance is critical - switch to SQL Stored procs or Dexterity custom process server.

1. VBA Scripting ? Launch Great Plains Integration Manager, open your integration, right click->Properties, switch tab to scripts, open Before Document script. Now place this code in it:

If Left(SourceFields("F4"), 4)="THRU" Then

SetVariable "DocDate", Right(SourceFields("F4"), 8)

End If

If IsNull(SourceFields("F1")) Or IsNull(SourceFields("F7")) Then

CancelDocument

End If

It should mean that you can create DocDate variable and assign it the value from your query field. The second statement cancels document integration if certain condition met (when line is empty or is not actually integration line - something like comment record, etc.)

Now open Before Document Commit script and place this code there:

Dim MyTime, MyHour

MyTime = Now

MyHour = Hour(MyTime)

If Not IsNull(GetVariable("DocDate")) then

SetVariable "DocNumber", GetVariable("DocNumber")+1

DestinationFields("Document Number")="THRU"+GetVariable("DocDate") &"A" & GetVariable("DocNumber")

DestinationFields("Posting Date")=GetVariable("DocDate")

DestinationFields("Description")="Client Check "+ SourceFields("F1")

If Not IsNull(SourceFields("F8")) Then

DestinationFields("Check.Check Number")=SourceFields("F8")

Else

SetVariable "DocNumber", GetVariable("DocNumber")+1

DestinationFields("Check.Check Number")=GetVariable("DocDate")& MyHour&GetVariable("DocNumber")

End If

DestinationFields("Check.Date")=GetVariable("DocDate")

If Month(DestinationFields("Check.Date")+1)= Month(DestinationFields("Check.Date")) Then

DestinationFields("Check.Date")=DestinationFields("Check.Date")+1

End If

End If

Here you do two things. First you construct check number, using Date and time plus Document number. And the second is even more interesting - you alter check date.

In After Integration script place this code:

ClearVariables

It is good idea to nullify your variables.

2. Translation. Imagine that your are something like collection agency and you need to translate your vendors (from whom you purchase AR) into real vendors (banks). In AP integration open Destination Mapping, select Vendor ID, in the Rule Properties, click on the button next to Translation field, answer No, click on Translation tab and paste from Excel your translation list, something like this:

JOHNB BANKOFAMERICA

PETERP BANKOFAMERICA

MARTHAM CITIBANK

Now your vendors from integration file will be replaced with real vendors from Great Plains.

Happy integrating! if you want us to do the job - give us a call 1-866-528-0577! help@albaspectrum.com

About The Author

Andrew Karasev is Chief Technology Officer in Alba Spectrum Technologies ? USA nationwide Great Plains, Microsoft CRM customization company, based in Chicago, California, Colorado, Arizona, New York, Texas, Florida, Georgia, Canada, UK, Australia and having locations in multiple states and internationally (www.albaspectrum.com), he is Dexterity, SQL, C#.Net, Crystal Reports and Microsoft CRM SDK developer; akarasev@albaspectrum.com

Rock of Ages

William Jennings Bryan said: "Christians desire that their children shall be taught all the sciences, but they do not want them to lose sight of the Rock of Ages while they study the age of rocks."

It may seem incredible to those who do not know that the Churchians created the Devil as a means of keeping their flock in fear - who also think the Devil is a Pagan concept. The fear of death was not a Keltic concept and they weren't moved to assign all their wealth to some rich church when they approached death in order to avoid joining the Devil. Some Christian fundamentalists sell the idea that the age of rocks was a way that the Devil sought to lead Christians astray and these same people would have you teach your children the "Rock of Ages" has more veracity than the geology that proves we've had a long time on this earth to develop and learn what kind of Divine soul we are blessed with.

ASIATIC LAWS OF UNIVERSALITY IN THE 'STUPAS':

In other books I have explored the Dolmen and Round Towers of the ancient megalith Builders which resemble the symbolism of Man as represented in the steeple. They are part of the era after the truly great megaliths were built in places like Stonehenge and Poverty Point. The real meaning behind the form and structure may be similar though. Mircae Eliade was one of the Eranos Conference attendees with Jung and Campbell who I draw much insight from, in my studies. His scholarship is open and elucidative for me and I sincerely hope the reader will enjoy taking a journey with him to Barabudur. It is not easy for those of us in the present intellect-focused or faith oriented theology to integrate all aspects of how we might learn. Perhaps a simple suggestion to leave all preconceptions aside will suffice. So take off your 'thinking caps' and put your heart and soul on the front burner while the rose-coloured glasses of ego or faith diminish into the distance.

"On the subject of Barabudur, the famous temple on the island of Java and the most beautiful monument in Asia, whole libraries have been written. Purely technical explanations have been attempted taking account only of the laws of architecture; endless controversies have been joined over the religious and magical meanings hidden in that colossal monument. Dutch Orientalists and architects have published over the past fifteen years books of great value on Barabudur. The names of Krom, Van Erp, and Stutterheim must be mentioned. The last of these, in a work of 1927, laid the foundation for a true interpretation of the temple: 'Barabudur is nothing less than a symbolic representation of the Universe'. From this intuition Paul Mus's investigations start. The beginning of his book consists of a history of the controversy, an exposition of the principle hypotheses, and a critique of methods. Examined in turn are theories of the most illustrious India specialists, art historians and architects. Then Mus undertakes to discuss the problem. It must be remembered that this gigantic volume is preceded by an 'avant-propos' of 302 pages in which the author establishes the validity of his methodology. In order to justify the symbolic function of the Javanese temple, Mus emphasizes a truth often remarked by Orientalists: that if the Buddha was not represented iconographically for several centuries, it was not due to incapability on the part of Indian artists, but to the fact that a type of representation superior to images was essayed. 'That would not have been a defeat of plastic art, but rather the triumph of a magical art.' When an iconography of the Buddha was adopted, the symbolism was poor by comparison. The 'aniconic symbol' of Enlightenment (the wheel, etc.) was much more powerful, more 'pure', than the statue. Ananda Coomaraswamy also has published evidence for this thesis in his 'Elements of Buddhist Iconography'. (12) The conclusion to be drawn from this is that Buddhists, as well as Hindus (and Asians in general) {As well as the Sauk Indians we showed are from the area of the Great Wall and were Buddhists before the loss of magic represented by the change to graven images or iconography.} before Buddhism, used symbolism more effectively, precisely because the symbol was more comprehensive and 'Active' in the magical sense than plastic representation. If the Buddha was considered to be a god (as he was, in fact, immediately after his demise), then his magical 'presence' was preserved in anything emanating from him." (13)

A human statue or even a Gothic building representing the Temple of Solomon such as the Templars built into European cathedrals, does not convey the same representation of the 'Universe' or cosmos that runs through the veins of all living things. Many ancient beliefs were aware that spirit was within minerals and plants too: we are not this attuned and it is hard for us to see the vectors and lattices of energy in all things. Those who have read the 'Tao te Ching' or 'I Ching' understand a little of these energies that interact and CHANGE or grow with purpose. The 'Wheel of Life' in the Tarot is meant to capture some of this magic just as the dreams of North American Indians have been captured in the circular artistic wheels that sell in all so many souvenir stands. But it will be a long time before man again understands his exquisite interconnectiveness. We know too much to see such elegant simplicity of the spirit that is all around us. The Buddhists say 'All is Within' and the completion of the phrase is "the UNIVERSE!" I honour all myths that assist the 'oneness' in respect of the creative or intelligent design that so many insist is GOD. Here is an excerpt from my book Cherokee People (will return) to consume or cogitate upon.

In a moment we will return to my encyclopedia for more on the Zodiac because the mounds are a way of connecting to the cosmic energy which comes to earth and through which it passes and is part of. For the moment let us re-visit our present book's early academic (Kenyon) as he actually (surprisingly) opens doors to the trepanning, skull deformation and 'Obscene Ritual' (Skull & Bones and the Bush family of Nazi leanings) of the Dragons and other Illuminized cults of elites.

"Let us return, finally, to the burial mounds of Ontario. These appear to be related in some complex fashion to the neolithic revolution. Their primary function, in all probability, was to mark the locations of sacred places and to establish territorial occupation. The sites they occupied were used as ceremonial centres for the loosely organized bands that occupied the surrounding areas (cf. Speck 1915). After spending the winter scattered throughout the band territory in small family groups, the people would assemble at a traditional spot, probably in the spring when fish were spawning or in the fall when beds of wild rice would be ready for harvesting. Only at those periods would food resources have been sufficiently abundant to maintain the entire band at one place.

These assemblies provided an opportunity for social interaction on a broader scale than would have been possible throughout most of the year. It was during such periods, too, that the chiefs and other leaders of the group would discuss band affairs with the various family heads and elders. But above all, such occasions provided an opportunity for all of the band members to participate in those rituals and ceremonies that reaffirmed and sustained community sentiments.

The nature of the ceremonies themselves cannot be determined at present, although we are offered a few tantalizing clues as to the subject matter around which they revolved. Most of the available data are derived, of course, from the burials found within the mounds and in submound pits.

In Northwestern Ontario, {Site of the Nipissing magi and Mediwiwin group who are influenced by Masons of the Christian Mystery School Complex or Rosicrucian Dragons.} the skulls that have openings in their occipital regions are reasonably clear evidence of power transfer. The individuals whose skulls were opened would have had some unusual and highly valued personal characteristics; the occipital openings made it possible to remove their brains and to transfer those characteristics from the dead to the living. This would have been accomplished through a religious ceremony that included eating the brain that was the seat of such wondrous powers. {I detail this in many books - and the modern Thalami research that is showing merit to the Cosmic Thought Field.} The eating, of course, could have been either actual or symbolic. {The Communion and Eucharist is derived from the earlier rituals of this sort. Only the most powerful elites get to eat the thalami for the much needed melatonin, iridium and rhodium.} In either event, the highly valued qualities would not be lost to the band through death but would be preserved through reincarnation. {The living cells as close to still living as possible are most needed and some of the old seers would end their lives during this ritual as they would have known throughout their life ? it would happen.}

Such practices were probably much more widespread that the archaeological evidence would suggest at first glance; for we know that highly valued characteristics are often located in organs other than the brain. {Thus the Biblical 'Devoted Ones' shown in Cahill's Gifts of the Jews were harvested for hearts too ? as in the Aztec rituals and Moshe who also became impacted by these Dragons like the Prince of Palenque.} Our own western European culture, for example, locates many of its most highly prized characteristics in the heart. The point is that power transfer was probably much more widespread than current data suggest, simply because the removal of most organs for this purpose would have left no skeletal evidence?

One of the major ritual acts of the people, however, was the building of the mounds themselves. For it is almost certainly an error to look upon mound-building primarily in terms of engineering. {Especially the lesser and more mundane imitations of the period he is focused upon.} We must see it, rather, as a by-product of sociological processes; that is, we should look upon mound-building as we look upon the performance of a ballet or drama in our own society. Theatres may arise as a result of our interest in such cultural pursuits but the significance of a ballet or drama resides, surely, in the performance itself. The play's the thing! Once the mound was built, of course, it would have served, as it does a theatre, as a backdrop for other rituals. For once again, it is through such rituals and ceremonies that human groups are bound together and that individual lives are shaped to ancestral patterns.

The masked and painted skulls from Hungry Hall were part of one such ritual. And when it was over, the skulls, like the props of a drama that had run its course, were tossed rather carelessly into the corner of a grave." (14)

Author of Diverse Druids

Columnist for The ES Press Magazine

Guest 'expert' at World-Mysteries.com

Succeed with a Positive Mental Attitude

"Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude." ? Thomas Jefferson

Without a doubt, Mr Jefferson offers priceless advice. Indeed, a positive mental attitude is awesome in enabling you not only to reach your goals, but also to lead a more fulfilling life.

Maintaining a positive mental attitude can take you to heights you find unbelievable. And the good news is that there is no rocket science involved in developing a positive attitude.

When you consider, for example, a world class athlete, you will see that he or she is totally focused when training, as well as when competing. There is no first place for anyone who does not have a positive mental attitude.

Sure, it's easy to say you should have a positive mental attitude, but how can this be achieved practically?

Here is an idea you can use. Find a newspaper or magazine article of an account where someone overcame great odds, or just a story that you find inspiring. Now, when you tend towards feeling negative, or when you feel things aren't going axactly according to plan, read the article. Do this regularly at the start, and as time goes on, you reduce the number of times you read the piece. And read the same piece every time. You will be amazed at the results.

Your mental attitude towards your goal, and towards life itself, can mean the difference between success and failure. When things don't go according to plan, ask yourself: "How bad are things REALLY?" You'll find that just by asking this simple question (and answering it honestly) your attitude will be boosted considerably.

And remember the words of Mr Jefferson, "nothing on earth can help the man [or woman] with the wrong mental attitude."

Colin Dunbar is the creator and owner of eaziGOAL.com - the complete goal setting program: ebook, workbook and software. Author of Invest In Yourself, he also publishes the award-winning "eaziGOAL Times". Subscribe today.

Saturated Fat Diet Piles on Pounds Around Organs

Having a large amount of such "visceral fat" is associated with increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes, said Dr. Kerry Stewart, an associate professor of medicine at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland.

It's not clear if switching to a diet containing more unsaturated fats, like those found in vegetable oils, will reduce or prevent the accumulation of visceral fat, Stewart said.

However, there are many reasons to eat diets low in saturated fats, including lowering one's risk of heart disease and high cholesterol, according to Stewart.

"Our study would suggest that less visceral fat is another reason," Stewart said.

The research was scheduled to be presented Sunday in Chicago at the American College of Cardiology's annual meeting.

In the study, Stewart and colleagues asked 84 people between 55 and 75 years of age to record their diet over a three-day period. The participants were nonsmokers who did not have heart disease or diabetes and lived a sedentary lifestyle.

The researchers then performed abdominal scans to measure the amount of visceral fat, and measured the patients' waist circumference relative to their hip size.

The bigger the waistline in relationship to hip size -- those with potbellies, in other words -- were more likely to have high amounts of visceral fat padding organs.

And a diet higher in saturated fats with respect to unsaturated fats was associated with more visceral fat.

Visceral fat, unlike fat that accumulates just under the skin, is not visible. According to Stewart, men tend to have more visceral fat than women, even though they might have the same amount of fat in the abdomen. This might partly explain why men develop heart disease at a younger age then women, Stewart said.

This study is part of a larger one that is examining the effect of exercise on the heart health of middle-aged and older people and will also assess the effects of exercise on visceral fat levels.

Joel Mosley is a graduate of The Masters College with a degree in bio-mechanics and has been a professional trainer in the fitness industry for the past 11 years. He has been a certified personal trainer for 9 years, with one year as the #1 trainer at Gold's Gym Santa Clarita. Joel was a Santa Clarita Spectrum trainer for 1 year, and at Santa Clarita Athletic Club he was one of the most desired and requested trainers, always listed in the top 3 trainers for 4 years straight. Joel has maintained his own in-home private personal training business in Santa Clarita for 5 years. He was an amateur boxer in Michigan for 6 years, was a junior Golden Gloves champion, and has been a professional boxer (state licensed) for 3 years. Joel has UCLA certified training, CPR certification for adults, babies and children, and is certified by AFAA. Joel's private clients have increased their bone density by up to 13% (2-3% is considered "good" by the medical community). As an actor, Joel has appeared on such shows as Battle Dome (UPN TV) and Extreme Gong.

More info - http://www.bodyscienceusa.com/

Wedding Invitation Tips and Advice

You're well into planning your wedding and have finally decided on the design of your wedding invitation. The wording has been chosen and the guest list is well on its way to completion. Here are some additional wedding invitation tips and advice that you should also be aware of.

* If children will also be included as guests, you can choose to write out their individual names on the addressed envelopes or put "and family". For example:

Mr. and Mrs. Bob Simpson, Cathy and John
or
Mr. and Mrs. Bob Simpson and Family

* If the children are older teenagers (say 16 years of age or older), you may wish to send them an individual invitation, just like you would an adult.

* If you don't wish to include children at the ceremony, do not include their names or "and family" on the outside of the envelope. It's suggested you add "Sorry, but children are not invited", "adults only" or something similar somewhere on the invitation to make it clear. If you wish to include them at the reception, but not at the ceremony, you could note this information on the response card?or on the invitation itself at the bottom in some fashion.

* When issuing invitations to a guest who is single, it is polite to put "and Guest" on the outside of the envelope so that they have the option to bring along a companion. For example:

Mr. Ralph Jones and Guest
or
Miss Sarah Campbell and Guest

* Be forewarned. Usually 7% to 10% of the guests who respond with a yes will not actually attend the wedding. In addition, 20% to 30% won't make it to the reception. This can wreak havoc when budgeting for a sit down dinner. You may want to consider a buffet style dinner instead.

* In some cases, you'll want to invite people to the ceremony, but not the reception or vice versa. If so, then you will need two sets of invitations printed. One that includes reception information and one that doesn't.

* If you don't receive a reply from some guests by your reply date, do not hesitate to call them. It is important that you know how many are attending so you budget accordingly.

* If you decide to order invitations, be sure to do so at least 4 to 6 weeks before they are scheduled to be mailed. If you plan on mailing your invitations around the 15th of March, order them between February 1st and 15th.

* Double, even triple check everything before it gets printed. This includes invitations, response cards, envelopes, wedding programs, etc. whether you're doing them yourself or your having them professionally printed. Check for spelling errors especially.

* Always order extra invitation envelopes and response card envelopes. There will inevitably be a few mistakes when addressing these and you'll want to have a few extras on hand.

* You should mail your invitations at least 6 weeks before the wedding date and indicate that you would like a response at least 3 weeks before the wedding date. So if your wedding date is July 1st, mail your invitations by May 15th and ask that they respond by June 7th. This will give guests time to receive their invitations and reply by mail, which in turn, gives you time to firm up catering plans, seating arrangements, etc.

* If your wedding is going to actually be held on a beach or other outdoor area, be sure that you let your guests know this, so they can dress appropriately.

Rose Smith has been providing helpful information on wedding planning for many years. For wedding theme ideas, articles and resources, visit her website Wedding Themes and More at http://www.wedthemes.com. Visit Wedding Planning Guides for a full range of wedding planning books at http://www.wedding-planning-guides.com