6 Steps To Super Pictures Of Your Vacation Rental Property

As an owner, you know all the intimate details about what makes your property so great. The challenge is in conveying those to prospective renters. Vacation rental web sites help by providing you with a custom web site for your property, and promoting it to family vacationers around the globe. So what can you do to leverage this worldwide exposure? Attractive and descriptive photos can take a good property listing, and make it great. And it is a lot easier than you think.

So a picture really can be 'worth a thousand words', as they say. But how you create the best impression for your property? Here are some tips from the vacation rental property marketing experts at GreatFamilyRentals.com:

1. Digital or film, either works

Whether you use a traditional film camera or a digital one does not really matter. Use what you're most comfortable with. Even single-use, disposable cameras (with flash) can take reasonably good photos. Both digital and film camera technologies are sufficient to capture images extremely well. We recommend 400-speed film for the best results from film cameras.

What matters far more is how the camera is used. Which brings us to...

2. Interiors - Plan the setting

Professional home photographers spend hours creating the right look before snapping the first picture. While we don't recommend similar time devotion, a little time making sure your property is presentable will pay off. You will likely take your pictures between rental sessions, after the property has been cleaned. Of course renters like seeing everything neat and tidy, but we've noticed that sometimes a less sterile view helps vacationers imagine themselves in your property - and that's what it's all about. Here are some ideas to make the interior of your property look less like a hotel room, and more like a vacation home:

- Set the dining table for a meal, including wine glasses and candlesticks

- Put out some board games or books on the coffee table

- On your deck or patio, put a beach towel and a couple of cold drinks next to those chaise lounges

All right, since you're taking pictures, the drinks don't really have to be cold, but you get the idea. Of course your property should be clean and neat, but making it appear more like it probably does when occupied, helps show the potential of your vacation rental.

Spend a few minutes choosing which rooms you wish to show. Common areas, like living rooms and kitchens are important. You might not think your kitchen is anything special, but that's not the point. Many vacationers like to see the kitchen's layout, even if they know what equipment it contains. Primary bedrooms are important as well, as they allow renters to visualize their sleeping arrangements.

If your property has anything out of the ordinary on the inside (a complete home theater, for example), it's a good idea to take a photo of it as well (and don't forget to include it in your property description). For many properties, views to the outside are important - so capture them, and at the best time of day.

Like any good Realtor would recommend, turn on all the lights inside your property before taking your pictures. Set your flash to automatic, so that it will fire whenever necessary. Set your zoom on its widest setting and move back to position yourself to capture as much of each room as possible.

3. Exteriors - Open your eyes

You probably don't think too much about how your property and the surrounding area appear. You've been in and out of your rental property hundreds of times. But take a few minutes and decide what you'd like to show potential renters - it could sometime make the difference between someone booking, and passing. Showing which unit is yours in a multiple unit building can be helpful. If your property is a house or detached condominium, the exterior appearance and setting can be a big selling point. Amenities specifically for your unit can be worthwhile showing as well, such as swing sets, docks, saunas, etc.

Aside from your particular property, there are probably other reasons to book your vacation rental. So show them! Include a photo of the beach your renters can use. Put one in showing how close the chairlift is from your front door. Show the pool, playground, fishing pond, hiking trails, etc. You may be wondering, should I only show features that are for my guests only, like a private pool? Of course you'll want to include these, but by all means you should include non-exclusive amenities as well. Potential guests want to know what then can do, where they can go, etc. The idea here is to give potential renters a sense of the setting of your vacation rental property, and the best things about the immediate area. All the more reason to book their vacation with you!

4. Maps, floor plans, etc.

Perhaps there some things about your vacation rental property that you'd like to show prospective renters, but you can't take a picture of them. Does your property have a unique or particularly expansive layout? In addition to the description you write, there is a way to include a floor plan in your listing. Just take a photo of it! Lay out the floor plan on a table with good light. Try to position yourself directly above the center of the floor plan, instead of at an angle - that way it won't be distorted. Sometimes standing on a chair can help. Lastly, make sure you hold the camera very still so that the image is not blurred when you press the shutter.

5. Labeling your photos

Here's another opportunity to include information about your vacation rental property. Don't pass up the opportunity to label your photos when you upload them! And include some descriptive text. Which sounds better to you: "Master bedroom" or "Spacious master bedroom with king bed and Gulf view"? If the seasons affect the views your property offers, like leaves on trees that block that mountain view in the summer, or the sunset that's only visible from the living room window for part of the year, you should label your photos appropriately. Such as: "Sunset view from balcony in August". Some might assume that these views exist throughout the year, so it's best to be explicit in this regard. Don't forget to label maps and floor plans, too, so prospective renters know what they're looking at. These are all opportunities to help get inquiries and sell bookings for your vacation rental property, so take advantage of them.

6. Processing issues

Unfortunately, all film processing is not the same. We prefer one or two day service from an off-site lab, compared to typical one-hour results. While we've gotten acceptable results from one-hour service at a drugstore, the off-site labs provide more consistent photofinishing quality. If you try one hour processing and aren't happy, you can always have a lab reprint your photos.

Sleep in Peace - Medicare Pays for Sleep Apnea Devices

Heavy snoring has largely been regarded as a nuisance by spouses and roommates, a funny facet by friends and usually ignored or neglected by the sufferers themselves. Far from this, snoring causes sleep deprivation in both the sufferer and the bed companion. Sleep deprivation, in turn, leads to a variety of consequences, from daytime sleepiness to generalized fatigue and sometimes, complications such as hypertension and diabetes.

The physical root of bad snoring is usually a condition known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a disorder in which the inner walls of the throat and nose collapse when breathing at sleep, causing the person to stop breathing for short periods of time, usually about 10 seconds. This may happen several dozens of times a night.

The negative consequences of sleep apnea arise mainly from two reasons: although not being awaken by snoring, a person with sleep apnea gets significantly less sleep than normal. In addition, the oxygen supply in the blood is severely affected during the apnea episodes. This contributes to a general state of fatigue, but also affects the way the body regulates blood pressure. A consequence of this disruption is a longer-term development of hypertension, which leads to a dangerously elevated risk for heart attack and heart disease.

Even though obstructive sleep apnea is so common and its consequences are so serious, few people seek help and get proper diagnostic. In part, this is because it is widely assumed that health insurance plans will not pay for such studies and treatments. This used to be true in the past, but a general awareness among the medical community led the public health experts to take the issue seriously. As a result, Medicare has decided to cover the costs associated to diagnosis and treatment of obstructive sleep apnea.

What to do? It is simple. If you know or suspect you may suffer from sleep apnea, either because you are aware of that or your spouse is having a hard time, go see your doctor. He or she will ask questions and decide whether a diagnostic test is necessary. In such case, you will be subject to a 'Polysomnography", a procedure that monitors your parameters while sleeping. Medicare requires this test to be performed at a specific facility known as "Sleep Lab". As in the movies, you will spend the night at this place, and the operators will test you.

Should you be diagnosed with moderate or severe obstructive sleep apnea, your doctor will prescribe a device called Continuous Positive Air Pressure (CPAP), a mask that gently blows air into your nose while you sleep, preventing obstruction from occurring. Both the polysomnography and the CPAP devices are covered by Medicare.

Knowing this, you should consider seriously about talking to your doctor if people refer to you as the "snorer".

Book Review - "Don't Worry About a Thing, Dear" Why Women Need Financial Intimacy

"Don't Worry About A Thing, Dear" is a 195 page softcover book by Helga Hayse geared towards women contemplating marriage or those who are already married. The cover image is an appropriate illustration by Edward Sorel, courtesy of The New Yorker Magazine, that shows Pan reading The Wall Street Journal while his wife sits at his side completely oblivious.

It's a fact that many married women allow their husbands to handle the family finances while they sit idly by and sign anything that their husband places in front of them. The consequences of this behavior is made clear by the author Helga Hayse. Hayse says in the book "Our willingness to let our husband handle the finances in the marriage impacts our own financial safety and our ability to cope in the event of widowhood or divorce." No statement has been more true.

This fascinating and immensely helpful book is a wakeup call to women everywhere. After meeting a financially strapped widow the author began to wonder how she would cope if her husband died. She interviewed hundreds of people on the topic of marital finances and each story was more heartbreaking than the last.

Hayse had her wakeup call and began the slow process of learning everything she needed to know about her marital finances. She and her husband began financial planning and shortly after all the documents were signed her husband died in freak accident at home. Hayse takes her experience from both sides of the fence to empower women to take control of their finances.

I found this book to be empowering and filled with information that most women never consider. Topics covered include premarital and postmarital agreements, death of a spouse, divorce and even remarriage. In addition to the generous advice shared there are questionnaires, checklists, worksheets, recommended reading and additional resources.

The author even includes a separate chapter for "For Husbands Only" that gently guides men to realize that they can show their love for their wife by beginning and completing the process of financial planning.

"Don't Worry About A Thing, Dear" Why Women Need Financial Intimacy should be required reading for young women in high school or college. No one wants to think about the possibility of divorce or the certainty of death but preparing women for either circumstance is critical and this book is an important tool for all women.

(c) 2009. Davis Virtual Assistance. All rights reserved. Reprints welcomed so long as full reveiw and by-line are reprinted intact with all links made live.

Book Review for Valley of the Raven by Ken Ramirez

Valley of the Raven is a captivating novel set in the beautiful foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain range. When teenagers Ty Dettin, his younger brother Seth, and their pal Tanner White set out for a typical dirt bike ride in the California Sierra Gold Country, they are unaware of the life-altering adventure lurking around the next bend. Tooling along in the spring sunshine, Ty and Tanner follow Seth onto an overgrown trail that leads to decrepit buildings, vestiges of the California gold rush days, when the land was ravaged for the sake of monetary riches. While poking around one of the shacks, the trio discovers a map buried beneath floorboards in a tin box.

The yellowed map appears authentic, providing a detailed sketch of a gold-filled cavern, signed by "Coop." Fueled with a desire to discover the gold, they set out to investigate.

In a strange and magical twist, the trio happens upon an elderly Native American woman, Nevar, who lives along the banks of a river in a remote and magnificent valley. She connects with them spiritually, most particularly with Ty, accompanied by her totem, the raven. Said raven, Kaji Taka, appears at all crucial points of the adventure, assisting and protecting the boys as they move closer to the awful truth of a pending scheme that threatens Six Hills and its pristine reservoir. Ty is touched by this encounter, haunted and somewhat frightened, but he cannot stop thinking about the old women and the strong urge to visit her again.

In a parallel effort to claim the gold of their ancestor, "Coop," recently released jailbird Curtis "Junior" Cooper and his brother Carl begin an expedition to mine the gold. Assisted by fellow ex-cons, Skinny, a chain-smoking expert underwater diver who watched his abusive father drown in the pond by his home when he was a child, and Steve "Eight-Pack" Hunt, a body-builder mechanic who resembles a big Swede, Junior and Carl plan to drain a pond that hides the gold-filled cavern.

Mr. Ramirez expertly weaves yet another theme through the novel, bringing us back in history to the life of Buffalo soldier, Clay "Coop" Cooper, a strong and upstanding black man who fought bravely for the American army, and with his meager savings purchased the land that includes the valley in which Nevar appears to them. He and his wife, a lovely Lakota woman named Maka, begin a life in the rich Sierra valley, and implement a plan to purchase as much of the land as possible, donating it to the people and forbidding it to be sold privately in the future. The diverse history of the Native American tribes, the Buffalo soldiers, and their plights are beautifully told by Mr. Ramirez, a teacher himself, through scenes in a classroom where his own teaching abilities become apparent.

When the boys and their friends discover the Coopers are planning something so dastardly the entire region is threatened, they push forward with great integrity and courage, in spite of the mind-numbing roadblocks that constantly impede them. Ty is drawn to a destiny ingrained in his part-Comanche genes, and moves forward on a path of sheer lunacy and utter heroism as he endangers his own life to save the land and people of Six Hills.

Mr. Ramirez has created a lyrical world that breathes with life. The boys' dialogue is natural and real. Their actions, fears, discussions, and reactions ring true, a testimony to the author's acute understanding of youth.

Aside from the engaging storyline, Mr. Ramirez's has painted enchanting descriptions of the countryside, as in this excerpt:

"As the sun crested over the surrounding granite peaks in the glorious morning scene reflected on the lake, its surface completely smooth, not a wave, not a ripple, a true mirror - Maka's Mirror. The sky and lake together burst into a flaming golden-orange, accented with large white clouds whose fiery bellies seemed almost metallic. A small flock of Canada geese circled the lake and then, with extended webbed feet and outstretched wings, skidded across the surface of the placid mountain water, their honking amplified by the stillness of the dawn. When they finally settled on the water, the wakes of disturbance rolled through the liquid canvas, sending splinters of color and sparkling reflections in every direction."

As the completely satisfying adventure escalates toward a pulse-pounding finish, Mr. Ramirez incorporates surprising, yet believable twists in his characters, all the while subtly sharing life lessons about responsibility, stewardship of the land, respect for people of all nationalities, and following one's destiny. The most important lesson deals with the insight that our natural world - with its sparkling streams, wildflowers, tall pines, and unspoiled wilderness - provides the true "riches" which transcend monetary wealth.

I highly recommend Valley of the Raven to readers of all ages. It will quench a deep universal thirst for adventure and heroism. My only question is this: will Mr. Ramirez grace us with a sequel?

How to Use Squidoo to Drive Traffic to Your Articles

Squidoo is one of the things that you cannot simply ignore when you're doing internet marketing. It's classified as content based marketing solution so you can be assured that it's very effective. As the site have amazing page ranking, it can boost your online visibility in no time and you know what that means! That would mean increased traffic for your blog and website.

Here's what you need to do to benefit from Squidoo:

First step is to optimize your Squidoo page. The good thing about creating Squidoo lenses is that you can easily change the name of your lenses and use the keywords that you're targeting to make them easier to find online. Target keywords that are extremely popular to your potential clients. Just ensure that these keywords are closely related to the content of your lenses. Use amazing titles. Be very creative when writing the titles for your lenses. The goal here is to capture the attention of your potential clients right away. Your titles must be gripping and extremely unique. What I suggest is that you make them benefit-driven or thought provoking. It's important that you give your target audience valid reason to check your lenses out. Offer great information. Your success in this endeavor will largely depend on the quality of your lenses. The key here is knowing what your target audience are looking for and writing your content based on their needs, demands, and preferences. As you're trying to position yourself as an expert in your niche, ensure that your lenses are extremely informative. Spill out trade secrets, insider tips, and offer expert advice as much as possible. Offer great reading experience. It's also important to ensure that your audience will enjoy reading your lenses. So, write simply and get straight to the point. Make them easy on the eyes by breaking down your content using short paragraphs, bullets and numbers. As much as possible, use conversational tone to engage your audience. Optimize your lenses. Do not forget to use relevant keywords on your titles and all throughout your content so your lenses will fare well on relevant search page results. It's best if you target one primary keyword and at least two secondary keywords per lens that are constantly being searched for by your target audience. Keep the acceptable keyword density in mind so you can make your lenses not just search engine-friendly but reader-friendly as well. Create lots of lenses. You'll be able to benefit really well from this endeavor if you write lots of lenses related to your niche. This will help you strengthen your expert status and will help you become more visible in the online arena. However, ensure that you maintain the quality as this is still the most important element in this endeavor. Link to your articles. Ensure that you insert links on your lenses that will take your readers to those articles that you've published in the online arena. You can send them to your blog, website, or on your author's page on various article marketing sites.

Scrapbooking Your Goals: How Scrapbooking Helps You Achieve Your Dreams

When I first started scrapbooking, I used the hobby as a way to document my family's memories, such as birthdays, Christmases, and more. But over time, I realized how powerful scrapbooking could be as a way to track my goals and dreams, more as a journal of progress towards the future than as a record of the past. I've always been a list-maker and goal-maker, so combining scrapbooking with my type-A personality was a natural next step.

Tons of research on the field of goal-setting has shown that writing down your goals is one of the most important steps you can make towards making your dreams come true. In fact, some estimates say that you more than double your chances of achieving your goals if you write them down. So think how much more likely you are to make your dreams happen if you create a vivid scrapbook around the topic! Not only could you add photos of what you want to achieve, you could also track your progress along the way. Here are just a few of the types of goals scrapbooking could help you achieve:

1. Weight loss/fitness. Popular scrapbooker Cathy Zielske has created a monthly layout, charting her progress towards a healthier lifestyle, since January 2010. She shares these layouts on her blog and has inspired many others to do the same. Each layout includes a before and after photo, and stats tracking her measurements and weight. It's amazing to watch her transformation!

2. House remodel. Remodeling a house is slow business. But if you can record the step-by-step movements towards completion, you can keep your spirits up along the way. Plus it's fun to go back after the whole project is complete and see how things used to be! You could include sketches, paint samples, photos, and more.

3. "10 Dreams" album. This is my latest project. I put together a small album including 10 goals, each on its own page. I look at it often to remind myself of some of the fun things I want to complete in the near future, including planting a vegetable garden and taking a hula-hooping class.

4. Race album. My daughter and I run road races together, so I started an album of photos from each race. Our goal is to complete 25 races by the time she graduates from high school. Since she's in fifth grade now, that's about three a year, which is completely do-able! But having the album waiting to remind us of our commitment makes us more likely to find opportunities to run together.