#I have to message each seller individually now

[beet1031]

just bought something off Etsy for the first time and like,,, why did no other human being, including the website designers themselves, tell me that the website straight up doesn’t ask for your address and you gotta sort that shit out yourself??? Like holy shit I feel like an idiot for not noticing until after the purchase but also that feels like it straight up shouldn’t be allowed

[sergiovinazzi]

Stolen - Lando Norris x Reader (Chapter Two)

2.9k words, rated E for everyone :)

Lando’s voice, amplified by the TV speakers, echoes around the humming Red Bull garage. “I’m fine but I’ve been better. I can say that I’m not in perfect condition, I’m not gonna lie. Some work to do mentally of course. I talk about that a lot, and mental health and mental strength is very important. I’ve not been sleeping that great and so on… not ideal and I’m feeling a bit sore, but I’m not the guy in the worst position after Wembley. I’ll work on it, I’ll make sure I’m in the best shape possible, and I feel like I can still go out and focus on what I need to do, and that’s the main thing.”

Your mind races as you listen to the boy plastered across the many screens revisit his experience at Wembley. He sounds awful; something about his cadence making it even more obvious that he is really, truly shaken up. The wavering pitch, awkward pausing, fumbling for words; everything about the way he presents himself is serving as a brutal reminder that being physically unscathed is no indicator that harm was not dealt. Even as the interview moves past the topic of last week’s Euro Final, you notice the shift in demeanor and your heart aches. You worry that bringing the watch to him is a bad idea, that it could prompt unbidden memories and disquieting feelings. You understand how big of an event Silverstone is from your dad’s tangents alone, especially for an English team with an English driver, so you reevaluate whether your decision to come was selfish, one made solely to alleviate your own sentiments of guilt rather than to verily right your believed wrongdoings.

On the journey to Silverstone, your dad had made multiple attempts at lessening your stress, even opting for variations of the if he steps out of line I will put him right back in his place father speech. Unfortunately fruitless, your father’s attempts mean you remain just as anxious as when you had first discovered that you managed to obtain a stolen wristwatch.

You’re not sure whether it’s the crisp morning air or your nerves that sends chills across your flesh, but your attempt to ground yourself subtly doesn’t go unnoticed by your dad as he passes you in the garage.

“Time is ticking,” he informs you, a smirk playing on his lips. “No pun intended.”

You roll your eyes in an attempt to downplay your apprehension, but your voice gives away any and all signs of the false confidence you hope to portray. “Can you do it for me?” you plead.

“I can’t just stroll on over to the McLaren garage without an invitation or proper reason, especially not a couple hours before free practice starts. It doesn’t look good.”

“It’s not like me walking in there instead would look any better,” you retort, gesturing to the Red Bull logo plastered across the chest of your black polo. “Your branding isn’t what I would call subtle.”

“Look, the McLaren team are a good sort. They’ll help you out if you just explain the issue and show them the watch. I’m sure Lando will understand too, he seems like a pretty nice bloke,” your dad reassures you.

Sighing, your eyes meet the floor, fingers intertwined with each other as you fidget incessantly. Before you can speak up in further defiance, however, an additional set of footsteps grow nearer and you freeze at the voice which speaks up.

“Christian, how much longer until our media slot?”

You lose your breath momentarily, locking your gaze onto your shoes as you wait for the person to pass by.

“About five minutes, Max,” your dad replies. “We were just about to head over.”

When you hear the footsteps grow fainter, you risk looking up, thankfully being met with only the observance of your father. You don’t even realize that you’ve tensed your body until your dad points it out.

“Relax,” he says. “He’s not going to say anything here, especially not on a race weekend.”

Nodding, you feel your shoulders ease up but you remain quiet.

“Anyways, like I said, our media briefing and interviews start soon and we’re after McLaren this weekend so they should already be back in their garage,” he says, realizing that you still appear troubled by the task ahead of you. “I promise you, everything will be fine. Just go over there and I’ll meet you back here when we’re done. The quicker you head over, the quicker you’re done with it and we can all move on." With that, your dad walks away and you reluctantly leave the Red Bull garage, adjusting your shirt as you straighten up.

You take a brief glance at your phone, turning it off after you try one last time to keep the picture of the boy imprinted in your mind. Eyes darting rapidly, you attempt to scan the paddock for anyone looking remotely like him while you make your way towards the bright orange and blue indicators of the McLaren garage.

The frequency of orange-clad individuals grows the further you stray from the safety of Red Bull’s garage, and you feel your heartbeat begin to increase. Worried that someone would stop you before you could approach the one person you had traveled all the way to Silverstone for in the first place, you quicken your pace.

You’re mere meters away when you spot him. Pushing past a few people while trying to keep your eyes trained on him, you watch as he turns around to talk briefly with the woman next to him.

Huffing, you muster up the little confidence you have and tap him on the shoulder.

His confusion is evident and the blonde woman next to him does not look pleased to have been interrupted. The silence is palpable as they stare at you, expecting an explanation for the abrupt ending of their conversation.

“Hi,” is all you can deliver. You’re at a loss for words while the woman next to him seems to lose what little patience she has with you. Everything you had rehearsed beforehand, gone. Your mind is foggy and your mouth feels dry as you try to compose yourself. “Um, can I talk to you for a second? It won’t be long, I promise.” Your voice breaks at the end and you wish you had never agreed to get on that stupid red-eye to Silverstone in the first place.

Lando offers a look of sympathy and then turns to the woman next to him. “Charlotte, could you just give us a second?”

Pursing her lips and turning on her heel, the woman walks away, heading towards the mouth of the McLaren garage. She’s far enough away that you’re out of earshot, but close enough that you feel her gaze linger as Lando turns back to face you.

“Hey, don’t worry,” he tells you with a smile. “We can take a picture if you want or I can sign some stuff for you.”

“What? No.” You shake your head, mentally slapping your palm against your forehead and forcing yourself to get a grip. Idiot. “Fuck, sorry, that sounded so rude! It’s just-” you rush to explain.

“Oh no, it’s okay!” he stammers. “I should’ve guessed from the Red Bull shirt anway.”

You both share an awkward laugh before you compose yourself and reach a shaky hand into your bag.

“This is going to sound so weird, but I was online shopping for a new watch the other day because I lost mine, and I’m pretty sure I bought the one that was stolen from you. I didn’t know anything about it, I swear. I just...well, here,” you say, offering the watch and its temporary box to Lando.

He looks at you, taking the box only to go wide-eyed at the contents inside.

“I have all the information that I was able to get, but the ad was taken off of eBay and I really wanted to do the right thing and give it back to you. Please don’t be mad.”

“What the hell?!” he exclaims, earning a few looks from people passing by and catching Charlotte’s attention once more. “Sorry, sorry. How did you get this?”

Amused, you laugh quietly while he studies the watch intently. “That was my dad’s reaction too. Basically there was a listing for it on eBay and it was sort of an impulse buy,” you explain. “I didn’t see the news coverage of what happened until afterwards and I felt awful. I’m really sorry you had to go through that, I genuinely had no idea.”

Shrugging, he plays it off. “Nothing I can’t handle.” It’s hard to miss his sudden change in attitude from the interview you watched moments ago and you can’t help but wonder whether he has your or the watch’s presence to thank.

There is a brief moment of silence between you both before he continues. “How much did you pay for it?”

“It was so cheap, honestly,” you say. “Nothing compared to the original price, I’m sure.”

Charlotte, alerted by Lando’s attention-grabbing reaction to being reunited by his watch, returns to where the two of you are standing. “Oh wow, did you find a replacement watch for him?” she asks you, clearly impressed by the apparent likeness.

“No, Charlotte”, he corrects her. “It’s my one. Look.” He hands the watch to his PR manager, who receives it so gently you think she’s afraid it might shatter in her hands. Flipping the watch between her fingers, she studies the small engraving on the underside of the face.

“Oh my god,” she whispers.

Lando nods. “It’s the exact date it was given to me, there’s no way anyone else could know that and make a copy of it.”

You feel the need to justify yourself to her. “It was listed online and I bought it before I knew anything about the situation. I didn’t even really know who Lando was until I saw what happened on the news, I swear.” You anticipate her anger or disapproval, preparing yourself to withstand the lecture you’re about to receive and mentally promising that, as soon as it’s over, you can run back to your dad and tell him you just want to go home.

But it doesn’t come.

“I can’t believe it!” she exclaims. “We all thought we’d never see it again and you found it on accident.” The smile she gives you sets your mind at ease. “Technically, this is a police matter now, so I’ll have to hand it over to the right people, but this helps us tremendously. Did you get any information about the seller?”

You explain the situation to her, about how the listing was taken offline but you have a printout of the messages and address the seller gave you, which you hand her from your bag. She lets you know that someone may get in touch soon to ask questions but not to worry, that it’s only a formality. Eventually, she asks if you’d like to watch free practice from a spot in the mobile hospitality unit, but you politely decline, explaining that you needed to get back to your dad in the Red Bull garage instead.

Charlotte smiles fondly at Lando and presses the brim of his cap down over his eyes. “Come on, you, we have to go and get ready now anyway.”

He takes off his hat, cheeks flushing as he makes an effort to quickly brush the curls lining his forehead, placing it back on and dismissing Charlotte with a wave of his hand. “Okay, just give me a minute.”

Once the two of you are alone, he pulls out his phone. “Do you have Venmo? I’ll pay you back, it’s not fair that you had to waste your money.”

“Oh, don’t worry about it.”

Lando seems unconvinced. “It’s really not a problem.”

“Seriously, it’s all good.”

“Well,” he continues awkwardly. “I have to go, but are you here for the whole weekend or...?”

You shake your head. “Just today. I’m not into Formula 1, I find it a little bit boring.”

“Seriously?! The fastest cars in the world and you’re calling it boring? Why even come to something like Silverstone if it’s so boring?” he feigns offense, doing air quotes as he imitates your apparent disdain for the sport.

Laughing quietly, you shrug. “I have family at Red Bull, so it was basically just luck and convenience that you were in the U.K. this weekend,” you clarify. “I don’t really understand Formula 1, that’s all.”

“Fair enough, it’s not for everyone I suppose,” Lando replies. “So who in your family works at Red–” The end of his question is drowned out by the sound of his name called by an evidently disgruntled, impatient engineer.

He sighs. “I’m sorry, I’ve really gotta go, but, um,” he exhales with a nervous laugh. “I still feel like I need to repay you in some way. Do you want to go get a drink after the race on Sunday? I’m busy for the next few days but Sunday night I’ll be free. Only if you want to, of course, I don’t want to, like, pressure you or anything.”

You laugh, appreciative that the nervousness was shared. “That– Yeah, that sounds fine. I’ll give you my number.”

He types your details into his phone before apologizing once more, thanking you again, and rushing off into the garage.

——

On Sunday, you let your dad believe he’s the one who convinced you to stay for the entire race weekend, but it’s the promise of Lando’s company later that night and the endearing text messages on your phone that prompts the desire to see this weekend through. You had spent the previous nights on your phone, going through driver and team Instagram accounts, as well as the F1 website, to get an idea of what to expect. Typically, it would pain you to look through motorsport news pages, especially with so many of the reports centering around Max and his vie for the championship as of late, but you manage.

You notice almost immediately while settling into your spot at the back of the garage that the energy does not match your own. You are enthusiastic and eager, while the rest of the team is stressed and rushes around you. Presumably, it’s because race day impacts their livelihoods and paycheks whereas it only dictates your family’s dinner topics, but, nevertheless, your excitement refuses to simmer.

Unfortunately, if it was weird for you to be seen at the McLaren garage before the first free practice, it would be infinitely more suspicious for you to be lingering around on race day, so you were not able to catch Lando at all since your initial meeting on Friday. However, you made sure to message him good luck beforehand, to which he thanked you and expressed excitement for your upcoming night.

“If you need anything, just ask. I’ll be on the pitwall,” your dad says, snapping you out of your whirring mind. He notices your obscure behavior, quick to comment on it. “Is it weird? Being here after so long?”

You nod, shrugging. “Unusual, for sure. So much has changed since the last time I came and watched, but I’m excited, though.”

“Well, it’s always good to have you here.”

Reciprocating your dad’s grin, you silently send him on his way. He exits quickly and leaves you to your own devices. Though, your own devices look to consist of impatiently waiting for the race to start and scrolling absentmindedly through your phone. Ironically, your boredom with pre-race antics appears to create quite the dichotomy against the chaos exuding from the garage you find yourself encompassed in.

Regardless, your attention is regained when frequent cuts are made to the drivers in their cars, and you recognise that the race will be starting soon. You are temporarily startled when the cars begin moving without hearing an official announcement, but quickly realisee that it is merely a formation lap and no one else around you seems to be paying all too much mind to it.

When the cars return to their positions on the grid, you watch eagerly as the lights flash and the announcers begin yelling. You keep your eyes trained on the orange car towards the front of the grid, watching Lando so intently that you almost miss what happens to the cars in front of him.

Your eyes go wide as you watch the events unfold: the Red Bull car out front collides with what you identify as a Mercedes, spinning and slamming into the barrier. Gasps chorus across the garage as the screens replay slowed clips of the crash as an announcement states that the safety car has been deployed. They replay it from every conceivable angle, your astonishment at the severity is present upon your first viewing, but it’s only after the sixth clip that it clicks in your head that the person in the car is Max.

“For the second time this season, Hamilton and Verstappen clash and tangle on the opening lap, but, this time, it is ending in dramatic consequences for the championship leader.”

If you had perceived the pre-race behavior in the garage as chaotic, this was a whole new level of absurdity.

People rush around you while orders are shouted and frustrations are verbalised.

Your dad is angry.

The last time you recall him behaving like this was when your younger sister had broken the wine glasses he had bought for your mother on their honeymoon. You, however, ignore his yelling and remain encapsulated by the TV, releasing a breath you didn’t know you were holding as the events unfolding finally, finally register in your brain.

Car number 33 is in the wall and out of the race, and your ex-boyfriend is inside, silent and unmoving.

____________

tag list @lovebynorth @its-astrotea-love

[dialovers-translations]

Hiya V-san!

So I know I can read them online and everything but I have this thing where, if I can, I always prefer holding a physical copy of what I’m reading in my hands, y’know? Idk why, I’ve just always preferred it that way.

I know some of the comics/manga is official and some are unofficial - I’ve been looking at bull offers on Japan Mercari for awhile now, thing is, the ones that seem like good deals… don’t seem to have the best picture quality when you zoom in and I can only see the binding of the books so I can only barely make out the titles of each DL book the seller is including in these specific bundles. + do you know if Young Blood will ever have (if not has) a physical copy release? Figured I’d ask while on the subject.

Would you happen to know where I can find a copy of all of the covers and/or spines of all of the official/unofficial manga/comic releases? I feel like if I had a picture reference of all of the for-sure releases it would help me narrow down my search a lot more. & you were one of the first/best DL help sources that popped in my head… really just images of what all the individual covers/spines look like or a list of all of the official/titles? Anything at all you could provide would be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious(<–not even gonna bother checking, I’m already 90% sure I didn’t spell that right) level helpful :)

Thanks for your question!

I feel a little bad having to say this after you typed out such a long message but the manga is honestly the one area within the DL franchise which I am the least knowledegeable about. ;; I've translated very little manga content pre-Young Blood. (Aside from the Twitter 4-koma manga) and I have never made a masterlist of the titles either. > <

I'm going to publish this ask in the hopes that one of my followers might be able to help you out.

I know @vampiretsuki knows a lot about DL in general so maybe they can help you? I believe they even made a post about the DL manga very recently!

One thing I can say, however, is that as far as I'm aware, no news about a possible physical copy of the Young Blood manga has been published by Rejet. So for now, this manga will only be available through a digital format.

[rachaelmac]

WINDOW POSTER

For my window poster I wanted to choose one of my logos to take forward to include in my window poster design. The poster is intended to be used in the stores windows to promote the brand collaboration. The poster can also be used in store in light boxes as part of the store design concept. The goal is for this poster to clearly show the new brand logo and the date and location of the city that it is launching in.

RESEARCH  

The idea of ‘window shopping’ is even more relevant at the moment, where smaller shops have to limit the number of customers in their store at any one time. Now, if there is a queue outside your shop, a potential customer may think twice before spending time waiting their turn. This means that an eye-catching window display is more important than ever.

What do we appreciate the most when window-shopping. It may be the layout of the items, the different colours and decorations used to complement the products. Perhaps it could be the recreation of real life situations or even touching and heartfelt messages used to advertise. All shop owners know the importance of using their shop fronts to encourage patrons to enter. Yet this wasn’t the case for British retail in the 1800s before the store display revolution. Shop windows were originally just an extra storage area for stock and not much thought was given to their appearance.

In the television program Mr Selfridge you may have been surprised to learn that the evolution of the window display was part of a radical change in the way we shop. Interactions between sellers and customers were very straightforward and transactional. In the show, when Mr Selfridge goes shopping for a pair of gloves for his wife, he is frustrated by the need to request to see each individual pair of gloves and requests that they are all emptied out on the counter for him to look at and feel. This sparks the idea for how he wishes his brand new department store to look and work for his customers. was credited with injecting life and creativity into the shopper experience. He introduced the art of shop window displays to the UK in 1909. He was one of the first to create window dressing displays to attract customers. The American millionaire’s aim was to “make an art of window display and upgrade window dressing”.

SALVADOR DALI

In New York around the winter holidays families, fashionistas, and ordinary passers by would flock to the impressively decorated department store windows on New York’s Fifth Avenue. Lush fabrics and mechanised displays delight viewers, and lure them inside to shop. From 1929 to 1980 Bonwit Teller was one of those dazzling wintertime stops, a high style ladies’ retailer on Fifth Avenue. But Bonwit Teller’s window displays were much more than glitter and women’s wear. In 1929 the store hired their first artist as window display designer: the eccentric Salvador Dalí. And a fascinating history of creative collaborations was born.

ANDY WORHOL

Warhol had been a commercial artists for many years. An illustrator specifically. In 1951 Bonwit Teller display director Gene Moore hired Warhol to provide artwork for the shop’s windows, as an extension of his work as a commercial artist. As an avant-garde Pop artist Warhol’s work was not being taken seriously in New York at the time. But 1961 brought his big break. The artist hung five paintings behind department store models and announced the significance of his own artwork – lowbrow subjects with a cheeky take on consumerism. The paintings were based on comic book strips and newspaper advertisements, and the stylishly dressed mannequins in front played directly with the idea of art as advertising.

RESEARCH BOARD

I was really drawn to bright vibrant colours and patterns. Looking back at my previous making I was keen to continue the theme through brand, concept and design. I wanted to really bring through the colours and patterns I had created. Ultimately this concept was to highlight sustainably fashion.

Below I pulled some images together that inspired me. These images where very natural based and I wanted to concentrate on the element of global foot print and sustainability. The use of printing, ink bleeding and using reusable backgrounds really inspired me.

CONCEPT BOARD 

DEVELOPMENT 

Before jumping straight into the design stage I draw up a few of my ideas and some layouts. If I don't start at this stage would struggle to really start anyway other that looking at the blank page hoping something happen.

A lot of my ideas where based around with incorporating my making from the previous post. I wanted the typography to be simple yet bold, to convey the message. Also for each poster to be made personal to each store that it is in also

For my first design I incorporated some of my making. As you can see this also has my logo before I developed it further. Like the logo at this stage the poster and logo looked pretty unoriginal. With restricted by me trying to somehow keep with the current identity of the brands and not make its own. Thee is defiantly lots of areas I can improve on. Mainly creating a better identity and more cohesive.

I then wanted to try include my making I had done as part of my branding and swing tags for this poster. Below is my previous making.

During my time developing my brand logo I looked to free handing some hand painted lettering. This was something that I also wanted to include in my design aspect of this window poster. As in my branding I didn't want all of the lettering to be hand painted just an element of the context in the message.

MESSAGE 

In my poster I had to have a think about what I wanted to include in it. What was the message ? Doing back to the start of my research on both brands the reason for choosing them was the message they both pushed as brands. This was to improve the carbon foot print and work towards a more sustainable way of fashion.  Some of the below there lines I looked at using.

“Working Together”

“A Better Further”

“Making Changes”

“ Together We Can Change”

After further developing my logo and branding I wanted to push forward on my window poster. Using my making that had became a huge part of my brand identity I wanted to work round this. Taking inspiration for some of my previous research I then started to play around with typography styles and placement. I could see it was starting to take shape. After some feedback from my tutor I had a better understanding in what direction I needed to go down. Perhaps I needed to look at painting some of my typography out similar to my branding just so that there was a connection. I also hadn't added in the brand logo so it didn't really has meaning as of yet. Time to go back and develop this further.

My final design I tired to create a strong message for the customer. This poster I the first thing they will see before they enter the store. I wanted it to have a clear message about the location the brand and the launch dates. Overall I am happy with the outcome if I had to make any changes I would develop the layout more.

[jasonndeans]

young gods - shane “dio” morrissey x reader

word count: 1,990

warnings: brief scene involving harassment and brief use of the f slur at the end.

chapter: 1/?

summary:  You weren't looking for anything when you met Dio, but you also couldn't take your eyes off of him. You were drawn to him, shrouded in black mystery and his softer side he kept well hidden under that duster. A part of you knew when you first saw him, he was destined to fly too close to the sun. At first, it wasn't really anything he said or anything he did. It was the feeling that came along with him. You'd never felt this way before, and the crazy thing is, you didn't know if you should. You knew his world moved too fast and burned too bright, but...how can the Devil be pulling you towards someone who looks so much like an angel when he smiles at you? Maybe he knew that when he met you, too.

Dio didn’t have much to bring with him on the day he took you up on your offer to live with you in your small New York City apartment; small, albeit big enough for two. He carried almost all of his earthly possessions with him in his pockets — the keys to his father’s ancient, barely running Honda, a pack of cigarettes, loose cash and change, and his trusty switch. The rest would have to be crammed into his car and hauled over, mostly consisting of clothes and shoes, thrifted or stolen. 

“I was wonderin’ when you’d rescue me from the Smack Shack,” he’d quipped, lips curling.

“The Smack Shack” is what he’d dubbed the worn-down, abandoned place he and his buddies — all of them pursuers of a list of drugs, some of them sellers like Dio — often crashed in when a softer, more secure sofa couldn’t be reserved for the night. Thus, The Smack Shack. You’d visited a handful of times despite the fact that it gave you the creeps. Dio had your trust, as did…some of his friends. The neighborhood just wasn’t the safest in Manhattan, needless to say, and there was no guessing what shady characters were looming about in these hollowed out homes. You’re just glad he’s out of there. And with you.

“Ohh, I rescued you, huh?” You’d teased back, your voice lilting in a sing-song tone. “I must be your knight in shining armor.”

He hummed in the back of his throat with a mock grimace, leaning forward to kiss you. “Don’t make me sick, birdie.” His lips were chapped and tasted of smoke, and as much as you detested the habit, it was something so purely Dio. A smirk played on his lips upon pulling back with decorated fingers idly tapping out a rhythm onto a tabletop of a squat little sandwich shop you worked at. “I seem to remember things differently.” Expectant, he cocked his head, casting a shadow of his star-shaped earring onto his neck -- one of many, many things that endeared you to the boy in black.

As if on cue, you turned sheepish with a duck of your head and a bashful smile cast downwards. He was referring to the day you two first met. Officially, that is. Along with the thrill of waitressing and constructing sandwiches, you worked behind a cash register at a record shop -- Empire Records. Music’s always been a constant comfort for you, in your ears when you needed a voice to scream your sorrows, your rampages or your little victories. You’d amassed quite the collection of records as you grew and your music taste with you for a player you’d fixed up and obtained from a seller when on the hunt for more important things like furniture and necessities to fill your then new apartment. You didn’t consider yourself to be one of those douchey vinyl connoisseurs, but you liked the place well enough. It was only a matter of time before you noticed the tall, dark, handsome boy who’d frequent the place without buying anything. He’d stick to the Industrial Rock or Post-Punk ailes and he definitely looked the type, decked head to toe in grungey black attire, adorned with silver jewelry and chains. Every so often the two of you would lock eyes, make slightly painful small talk about whatever was playing through the speakers. You even inquired once if he’d learned your shift schedule with how often he’d appear when you were working, and, leaning suavely on his elbows before you, he’d replied:

“Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t. That all depends...would you think I was a creep if I said yes?”

Perhaps a normal individual would confirm this, but you had to admit the guy was cute. Okay, he was hot with his dark eyes lined in black, brow piercing and air of confidence. So you smiled and shook your head. Dio smiled back.

You recall during one of your early morning shifts, Dio asked for your coffee order, motioning to the cup in your hands. You gave it to him and he advised against grabbing your morning coffee the next time it was scheduled on your calendar. With curiosity, you obliged and on that day and each day after, in he strolled with your cup in one hand, his in the other. So you carried on like that for a while, chatting over coffee, much to the dismay of your manager.

“Your boyfriend’s a distraction,” she’d remarked one day. “And a loiterer. I don’t care how dreamy he is, he can’t keep hanging around here if he’s not gonna buy anything.”

Admittedly, that caused your heart to sink a little. Yeah, you understood her frustration from a business perspective, but despite not even knowing this guy’s name, his gloomy presence brightened your otherwise dull work days.

When you transferred your manager’s message, Dio issued a breath of...disappointment?

“I don’t believe in money,” came his confession, almost hardly classifying as one what with how casually it was delivered. He chuckled at your raised brow. “Everyone’s a slave to these meaningless pieces of paper and metal, even you. ” A nail painted black pointed at you. “If I want something, nine times outta ten, I’ll find my own way to get it. Seems a little fucked up to work for the essentials for survival, don’t you think?”

For a moment, you sat with this new information. Yeah, it was a little fucked up to fork over hard-earned cash for things like basic needs, but how else was someone expected to live? Mulling it over, you sipped your coffee, once again brought by him. You shot Mr. No-Name-Kid a knowing look. “Am I drinking stolen coffee?” Your smirk couldn’t hide from him.

Dio only laughed.

One night as you closed up shop, you were disheartened at the absence of a certain trench coat clad “customer” in the store that day. You couldn’t place where this was coming from. After all, the two of you were only..what? Acquaintances at most? Names hadn’t even been exchanged, and yet you found yourself scanning the streets outside for any sight of him at the door; reminded of his face when bands like The Cure filled the shop.

Your sigh deflated you as you dug for your keys in your bag -- both to lock up and for your car. It was whatever. This guy had a life too and was under no obligation to visit you as you worked.  You turned the key to Empire Records, locking it shut and gave the doors a pull to be sure, Yup. All good. Nodding to yourself, you turned to locate your car in the lot next door. The night was brisk, pushing past the fabric of your cardigan as you walked an empty sidewalk. Under the glow of buzzing streetlights and neon business signs, you tugged it closer to you. The work day was dwindling, at least on this street, cars every so often rolling past. You’re about halfway to the car park when your ears catch a second pair of footsteps behind you. Your lips and spirits lift with the hope that they might belong to the heavy boots of Dio after all and you turn to greet him.

“Nice night, huh?”

This guy’s not Dio. His hoodie covers shaggy chestnut hair, hands in his front pocket as he trudges along. This dude reeks of weed and booze. You ignore him and continue on your path.

“Not a talker. Got it. Listen, honey, you don’t gotta clam up around me, I’m a swell guy. I’ll walk ya’ to your car, that’s where you’re goin’, right?”

Jaw clenched, you ball your cool hands into fists at your sides, keeping your car key poking out from between your fingers should this douche not get the hint. “I don’t need an escort, thanks.” Your reply is sharp, eyes remaining en route. Other than that, you try your damndest to ease calm through your body. Tempting as it is to dash to the safety of your vehicle, you’re not about to put any fear on display for him. You’re okay. Breathe. The lot’s less than a block away now.

Then a hand snakes its way around your waist.

“C’mon, baby, ‘m just tryn’a be a gentleman. Isn’t that what broads want?” His breath is rancid in your nose.

You jerk away, shooting daggers. “Offer declined, now leave me alone.” Now you pick up the pace with your destination in sight. You don’t make it far before you’re jerked back by fingers at your forearm that tug forcefully. The bastard opens his mouth to spew more drovel, but you don’t give him the chance to speak. Screwing up your face, you reel your arm back and jab him with your key in the ribs.

Pain sputters through his lips. No skin was broken (unfortunately), but he’s stumbled back a few paces and grabs where you’d struck him. “You bitch!” He spits, his glare glassy. “Fuck’s your problem?!”

You’re halted by a chilling mixture of fear and shock at your own actions, snapping out of it when the drunk stranger lunges forward. No time is wasted in absolutely fucking booking it now. He may be hammered, but you’re taking no chances. You pay no attention to the string of swears and slurs from behind you and finally reach your car. The vibrations in your hands make unlocking the door difficult, and glancing up you can see your pursuer drunkenly heading toward you.

“Fuck!” You cry. “Stupid fucking--!”

“If I were you I’d stop right there, you piece of shit.”

The familiar voice that hadn’t been there prior snaps your head up, scanning the darkness to catch Dio crossing the street looking more menacing than you’ve ever seen him. You could get in your car and peel out of there right now, but you’re frozen in place watching the scene unfold.

Your attacker finds his way to his feet again, looking dumbfounded at the character who’s walked onto the scene. “Who -- who the fuck’re you?!”

You catch a smirk on Dio’s lips under flickering streetlights. “That all depends on what your next move is, jagoff.” He looks pissed as all hell, though there’s a layer of calm to his words that stirs your stomach. Dio now stands in front of the other with his hands in leather pockets, like he’s provoking him. He’s always exuded this...intimidating aura, clad in all black and chains but you’ve never seen this side of him in action. Maybe now is a bad time to come to this realization, but you have to admit: it’s sexy.

“Oh that’s, ‘s cute,” Mumbles the brunette guy, snickering. “‘S this your boyfriend comin’ to the rescue? Looks like a fuckin’ faggot if I’ve ever seen--”

Dio’s boot to this guy’s crotch cuts him off in the middle of his “insult” and he crumples to the concrete with a groan; if that isn’t enough, Dio lands a second kick to his temple.

You can only stand there lamely with your jaw agape and watch him swagger over after he just knocked a dude in the nuts.

“Sorry I was late,” he says smoothly. “I was in a meeting. You alright?”

Stupidly, you blink at him in the low light. “I--um...I’m…” Real nice. You shake your head to jumpstart your brain. “Yeah, I-I’m okay. I’m good. Thanks. Really.” So he’d come to see you after all.

Dio nods, appearing grateful to hear you’re unharmed.

You two begin to speak at the same time and chuckle in unison. He falls silent, ushering you to continue. You look your rescuer in the face, unable to swallow a smile. You’d missed those eyes, seeming so warm in the cool of the night. “So, do I get to know the name of my savior?” You prod.

He laughs once, low in his throat. “Dio.”

[bekkathyst]

Hey so I have a question. I'm new to all this crystal buying stuff and was wondering: is it rude to ask crystal seller/commission from a crystal seller a specific crystal? For example, if I wanted a large snowflake obsidian tower, could I message a seller and ask them to find one? Would the answer to that question change if I put money down for the suspected price of the crystal as determined by the seller? I really don't want to upset anyone, and I trust you with my life to tell me honestly and accurately what the industry standard is for this. Also I'm kind of directing this question at you (since you're nice) except for a different crystal and still hypothetical because I don't have the money now, all just meaning I do want your opinion too. Okay hopefully that makes sense. I hope you and your family are having a lovely night 💜

Yes this makes sense! No worries at all. I really don't think anyone would perceive that as rude, though depending on the crystal seller they may or may not be able to do that. Some sellers are more busy or have more particular ways in which they host sales or whatnot so they may not be open to doing that type of thing. That being said, I truly don't think anyone would find it rude to be asked!

I've had people ask me things like that before, and the way I personally handle it is I keep an eye out for the item and try my best to find it, but it's not always possible. I also wouldn't feel comfortable accepting money upfront for a couple reasons (there's no guarantee I'd find the item, and I have ADD and am an extremely chaotic and forgetful person so I wouldn't want to have someone's money and then not be able/forget to deliver, etc)

But it really just comes down to each individual seller and what they feel comfortable with :) there's no harm in asking 💜

And thank you for the well wishes, friend! I hope you're having a lovely night as well!

[what-is-your-plan-today]

Riding On Ch 13: Healthy Competition

Summary: Mary decides she wants to compete in her first horse riding cotest, so the family take an outing and Frank gets a first-hand experience of the world Fliss once called her life.

Warnings: Bad Language words.

Pairing: Frank Adler x Fliss Gallagher

A/N:  This is very Mary/horsey heavy so apologies in advance. Thank you to @southerngracela​ and @icanfeelastormbrewing​ for the beta reading and ideas. 

Chapter Song: It’s My Life by Bon Jovi 

Series Masterlist //  WIYPT Masterlist

My heart is like an open highway, like Frankie said I did it my way. I just want to live while I'm alive

 October 2018

"Lissy, can I talk to you for a second?"

"Course you can sweetie." Fliss looked at Mary as she approached the sofa, Laptop in her arms. "Everything OK?” "Yeah." Mary nodded, “Just before, some of the other girls at the yard were talking about a jumping competition in a few weeks and I was wondering..." she sat down, perching her laptop on her knees "Do you think maybe I could take Monty?" "Do you wanna take him?" Fliss asked and Mary nodded. "Then of course you can" "Really?" Mary's eyes lit up. "Yeah, it's been ages since I went to a competition. It'll be fun!" "I wasn't sure I would be good enough." Mary shrugged. "Mary, Monty could do a jumping course with his eyes closed." Fliss smiled "and you're plenty good enough. Besides, it doesn't matter anyway. It’s about enjoying yourself. I take it you got the website there?" She nodded to the laptop. Mary grinned and opened it up. Fliss took it from her and quickly scanned the information. "FireAnt Farm Equestrian Centre, Tarpon Springs..." Fliss mused, quickly grabbing her phone to locate the area on Google maps. "Is it too far?" Mary questioned. "Nope." Fliss shook her head. "Probably take us 40 minutes in the wagon. I used to travel much further." "There's a lot of different classes to enter." Mary said, shuffling towards Fliss so she could see the screen too "I wasn't sure which one I would go in." "I'd put you in the beginners class." Fliss said "It's 40cm max height and you've jumped those plenty. And then....why don't you try a few flat classes whilst we are there? The schedule doesn't look like they would clash..." "Flat class?" Mary frowned "like dressage?" "Kinda, it’s about showing your pony off. You basically do a go round as a group in each pace on both reins and then you do a quick individual show. It’s easy, I used to do a simple figure of 8." "Oh. OK." Mary shrugged. "I never saw that before." "Well, let's have a look." Fliss smiled, opening up a browser to YouTube. She flicked her eyes over to Alex who was fast asleep and then spent the next 15 minutes or so showing Mary various videos of different kids showing classes on the Web. "So Monty is a Welsh Pony." Fliss said "so he doesn't need to be plaited…or braided, whatever. We turn him out true to type which means we just need to tidy his mane and tail up a bit. And as he's over 15 he can go in the Pre-Veteran class. So they look at how he moves and performs for his age group. Why don't you do that which is the 4th one in the morning and then do the junior rider. Then there's a long enough break before the beginners jumping." "So I get to do 3 classes?" Mary grinned and Fliss nodded. “Hey, it says here they're running a winter league." Fliss mused "Is that what you wanna do? Compete in the league or just the one off?" "A league like with baseball or football?" "Exactly that." Fliss nodded. "So you join up and it says here you get points immediately for just going in the class. They place to 6th position and award points according with the highest being 12 to first. Then the person with the moat points takes the Championship overall at the end."

She pointed at the screen “Say’s here the first one is on 3rd November and they run to March next year, so there’s 5 overall. What do you think?” Mary grinned “Bring it on!”

Fliss smiled as Mary gave her a hi-five.

“Why don’t you bring Bronson?” Mary asked, “Or Cap?” Fliss shook her head. “It wouldn’t be fair on everyone there.”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, I competed at a professional level” Fliss shrugged “It wouldn’t be very sporting of me if I entered a class full of hobbyists. I would have hated it when I was there myself. The only way I’d do it is if I went in and declared I was 'hors concours' or HC as it’s known.”

“Hors concours?” Mary repeated “What’s that?”

“It means that I’d be taking part without actually competing. So I might enter a competition to give a young horse experience or what-have-you but my marks would not be counted as such.”

 “Bronson is only 6.” Mary said “You said he had never done a jumping competition before.” “He hasn’t.” Fliss said, pondering “Maybe another time. This one we concentrate on you.”

Mary grinned and then Fliss turned her attention to what they needed to get her. They spent a bit of time looking at Tweed showing jackets, Mary deciding on the type of thing she liked before Fliss found a decent value second hand one on a local Equestrian Buy and Sell group on Facebook which Mary eagerly nodded at, the same seller also having a Navy Blue show-jumping jacket the same size.

“When you’re not growing so fast I’ll buy you brand new ones.” Fliss smiled, tapping in a message to the seller arranging to collect the items the following mornings. “So you have your DeNiro boots which we can polish, your short boots as well,  you have a hat that will be ok, it should be velvet but for the time being it will do...so we need canary and white jodhs… a show shirt, a tie…shall we take a trip up to the Tack Shack tomorrow?”

“Yes please!” Mary smiled “I have some of my pocket money saved, I can put that towards it.” “Put what towards what?” Frank asked as he walked into the family room. He dropped a kiss to Fliss cheek and ruffled Mary’s hair, causing her to scowl up at him. “More horse riding crap?” he nodded to the screen of the laptop.

“Mary is going to do her first competition in 2 weeks so we’re kitting her out.” Fliss smiled. Frank looked at her, then to Mary and smiled.

“That so?”

Mary nodded “I’m gonna do 3 classes. 2 showing and one jumping. So we already sorted my jacket and Fliss is taking me to the Tack Shack tomorrow for the rest of it.” “Why what else do you need?” “Jodhpurs, a shirt and a tie.” Mary nodded reeling it off. “Oh and a new hat at some point but Fliss says the one that I have will do…”

“Why do you need another hat?” Frank asked.

“Well strictly speaking show hats should be velvet or suede.” Fliss shrugged “But for this level it won’t matter.”

“Sounds like another bashing my card is gonna take.” Frank grumbled good-naturedly and Fliss swatted at him. He chuckled again and stood up straight from where he had been leaning on the back of the couch, heading to the fridge to retrieve his standard post work beer.

“Can I wear the same tie for show-jumping and showing?” Mary asked.

“Hmmmm possibly. We can get 2.” Fliss said. “One that matches your tweed and then you can pick whatever you want colour wise for jumping. Have a look on the website, see if there’s anything you like.”

Mary grinned and took the lap top off Fliss who stood up, stretching slightly. She headed over to Frank, slipping her arms round his waist.

“She’s excited.” He stated, watching Mary as she tapped at the keyboard. His chest was warm at the utter delight on the young girl’s face as she was searching different coloured ties. “What sparked her wanting to do this?” “Someone at the yard. She overheard them talking and asked if she could go.” Fliss smiled “She wants to do the Winter League” “They run a league?” “Yeah.” Fliss smiled “5 competitions in total. It’ll be good for her, a bit of healthy competition. I already managed to grab her 2 jackets. Both second hand but no point shelling out loads when she’s gonna grow out of them by the end of the season. Tweeds cost a fortune.”

“How much are the hats she was talking about?” he asked, taking a swig of his beer.

“Erm, her size probably about eighty bucks, why?” “Just get her one.” He said gently, dropping his voice “She never asks for stuff like this so…” “You big softie.” Fliss smiled, standing on her toes to give him a kiss. “I love you.”

“Love you too. And thank you.” Frank said gently, bumping his nose against hers.

“What for?” Fliss frowned.

“For this.” He nodded to Mary “Doing stuff that makes her excited and happy.” “You don’t need to thank me.” Fliss looked at him, and then for the first time she noticed the look on his face. He was watching Mary, his eyes not quite as full of their usual sparkle. “Frankie, what’s wrong?”

He took a deep breath and looked at Mary “Hey Stack, have you spoken to Evelyn this week?”

“Not yet.” Mary said “I was gonna later, why?”

“Why don’t you give her a call before dinner?” he suggested “You can tell her about your competition.” “Ok.” Mary shrugged standing up “But if you wanted to talk in private you could just ask.” “Ok I’m asking, scoot.”

She stood up and looked at him “You forget I know you Frank.”

“Oh, trust me I don’t.” he shot after her as she laughed, climbing the stairs.

Fliss turned to Frank as he sat down on one of the stools by the breakfast bar. “Honey, what is it?”

“I spoke to Greg before.” He looked at her as she moved to stand between his legs. “He still hasn’t heard back from her father about the adoption.”

“Ok.” Fliss dropped her hands to his shoulders as his rest on her hips “That doesn’t mean he’s gonna cause an issue.”

“No, but Greg’s twitchy, I can tell. I mean if the asshole wasn’t bothered about Mary surely we would have heard by now. It’s been almost 8 weeks.” Frank wrinkled his nose. “Baby there’s nothing we can do about it.” Fliss soothed “Yeah, if he protests it’s gonna be a little more agro than we thought but…well, we’ll just have to face it when it happens, ok?” “I know I just…well I was hoping this would be done for Christmas, that’s all.” “It might be yet, it’s not even November. Is there anything Greg can do?”

“He’s gonna send a chaser letter but other than that not really.” Frank shrugged before he sighed “I know you’re right, there’s nothing we can do but that doesn’t stop me worrying about it.”

“I know, because you love her. We both do. I’m worried as well but like you said to me, whatever happens we face it together.” She leaned down to give him a quick peck “Now, change of subject…you gonna come with us to the competition in a few weeks? Be nice for us all to go. Can be our first proper family outing.” “Will there be beer?” Frank pondered, his hand sliding down the outside of her thighs and back up again.

“Take a cool box” she smiled

Frank chuckled “Of course I’ll come. Wouldn’t miss her first competition for the world.”

******

October ticked into November, bringing with it a slight drop in temperature and still no movement on the Adoption. However, Frank and Fliss had pushed it to the back of their minds which in the grand scheme of things wasn’t that hard as Mary’s excitement over her impending first competition was infectious.

When Fliss took her to the Tack Shack and told her that Frank said she could get a competition hat, Mary had almost cried, giving Fliss a huge hug but reserving the biggest hug of all for her Uncle when she got home. She’d paraded around the family room in her show gear, showing off her outfit for both Fliss, Frank and then again for Verity and Bill, and on a video call to Evelyn.

She practiced with Fliss or Joanne every day after school. They taught her the ring etiquette, how to talk to the judge and also set up a full course for her to practice on, Fliss teaching her all about how the first round was about getting clear and the jump off also introduced the element of time. Fliss felt an overwhelming sense of pride as the girl improved day by day and found herself actually believing that she’d do pretty well when the day came.

The afternoon before the show was spent with one final practice and then Mary had to give Monty a bath. Whilst he was drying off she then loaded the wagon with her jackets, cleaned her tack and then carried that to the wagon too where Fliss placed it in the tack locker, locking it up.

Frank was under the bonnet of said wagon, checking the oil and the coolant to make sure it was ready for the trip in the morning when he heard footsteps on the gravel and he looked up to see Mary hopping up the steps into the back of the wagon.

“What’s she checking now?” he looked over at Fliss, straightening himself up and reaching for the rag that was tucked in the back pocket of his dirty jeans. Fliss didn’t reply, she was too busy scanning Frank from head to toe, and making no attempt to even disguise the fact she was blatantly eyeing him up “Earth to Lissy…” “Yeah, sorry…what?” she asked, looking at him, biting her lip.

He snorted as he wiped his hands on the rag, shaking his head “And you call me a pervert.” Fliss shrugged “I told you, the whole dirty mechanic things does stuff to me.”

“He will do stuff to you give him half a chance.” He grinned and she smirked, arching an eyebrow.

“You’ll corrupt our son.” She said, placing her hands over his ears, where he was positioned in the baby sling at her chest. “Mind you, he’s probably already scarred for life after your antics last night…” “Didn’t hear you complaining.” Frank smirked, “Quite the opposite in fact.” Fliss bit her lip a the memory of a particularly good round of sex the night before, which had resulted in her on all fours in the middle of the mattress. Looking at Frank she shrugged and he snorted, closing the bonnet of the wagon “All set.” He nodded towards it. “Oil topped up, coolant and water levels good…”

“So you didn’t find anything to fix, like I told you that you wouldn’t.” “Hey, I just wanted to make sure it’s safe for my girls, it hasn’t been anywhere in a while.” He shrugged

“Joanne used it yesterday to go to the wholesalers for feed and shavings.” Fliss looked at him.

“Yeah, well…whatever, I make no apologies for wanting to check anyway.” He smiled, taking the kiss she offered.

Mary jumped down from the back of the wagon and reached up to lock the back door before she trotted round and handed Fliss the keys.

“You happy you got everything?” Frank looked at her “Seeing as that’s like the five-hundredth time you checked.” “Don’t exaggerate.” Mary rolled her eyes as Alex made a noise and the 3 of them looked at him before Mary pointed “see, even he thinks you’re an idiot.”

“Rude.” Frank grumbled. After one last check on Monty who was sparkling white (Although Fliss knew they’d end up giving him another quick clean up in the morning) they headed home and after a quick shower Frank lit the BBQ outside. The family enjoyed a good grill for dinner, before Fliss disappeared upstairs and came back with a wrapped packaged. Frank frowned, as she handed it to Mary.

“Everyone needs one of those for competitions.” She smiled, as Mary looked at her, taking it gently.

“What is it?”

“Open it and see!” Fliss rolled her eyes as she sat back down on the seat, glancing at Frank who had Alex against his chest, his head resting on his shoulder.

Mary tore the wrapping paper off and gasped as she held up the pink gilet top. It had the Sandybrook Stables logo embroidered on the front right hand breast but it was what was on the back that had caught her eye. She looked at it, then to Fliss and with a stunned smile turned it round so Frank could see. It was a motif of a horse jumping her fence with ‘Mary Adler’ arched over the top in gold, cursive writing and ‘Monte Carlo VI’- Monty’s show-name- underneath in the same typeface. Small diamantes were scattered around the entire design which caught the lights that were dotted around the garden and Frank’s face broke into a huge smile as Mary looked at him, then to Fliss.

“Sally has one of these for Jackson…” she whispered “I always wanted one, how did you know?”

Fliss smiled “Sally’s mum told me you asked where she got it from. I thought I’d get you one. It’s a bit bigger so will fit over your jackets and a hoody if you need it to. You can wear it in the collecting ring and then take it off before you go in to do your shows and jumping.” “Lissy I love it, thank you so much!” Mary stood up and rounded the table to give Fliss a huge hug. Fliss kissed her head and cupped her cheek.

“You’re welcome sweetheart.” “Well, come on…” Frank nodded to it, “Let’s see it on!”

Mary grinned and shrugged the gilet on over her jumper and beamed, giving them a twirl. Fliss told her to stand still and took a photo of the front and the back if it, before setting her phone down on the table.

After a little more chat, given the fact they had a busy day they all headed up to bed. Frank tucked Mary in before Fliss popped in to say goodnight, Thor jumping up onto Mary’s bed clearly deciding he was staying there for the evening with Fred. Fliss closed the door and made her way to the master bedroom where Frank was led on top of the bed in his boxers, Alex sleeping in the basinet as his dad flicked through the channels on the TV.

“How much did that gilet set you back?” he asked and Fliss wrinkled her nose.

“I put t it through the account on company expenses as Sponsorship.” she shrugged. “I’m gonna order her a jacket and a hoody for Christmas.”

 Frank chuckled “You spoil her.”

“So do you.” Fliss shrugged and pulled off her T-shirt and jeans before opening the door to the en-suite.

“But if it makes you feel better, I got a present for you too, sailor…” she grinned, shedding her underwear and beckoning for him to follow her.

Frank blinked, smirked and jumped up off the bed, the pair of them giggling as he dispensed of his boxers and backed his future wife into the shower, shutting the cubicle door behind him.

*****

Fliss and Mary set off early the next morning, whilst Frank took a little more time making sure he had everything Alex needed before he headed out to his truck and keyed the location into his GPS. When he arrived he parked up, got Alex settled in the stroller and wandered down the yard. As he rounded the corner, he gave a blink, the place was packed with horses and people, all sorts of different competitions going on. After a little walk around he located their wagon and as luck would have it, Fliss and Mary were making their way back. He smiled, Mary was dressed in her older jodhpurs, and a hoody with her personalised gilet proudly donning her top half where-as Fliss looked every bit the cowgirl in her jeans, plaid shirt, cowboy boots and her hat.

“Hey!” She greeted him, giving him a quick kiss before she looked at Alex, her hand stroking his cheek.

“You all set?” Frank asked and Mary grinned.

“Yeah, we booked in, registered…I got my membership number...” she held up the laminated piece of paper with the digits 287 printed on “…and we got about 40 minutes until my first class.” “So we need to get him off the wagon, quick bush down and then you can get on to warm up.” Fliss said, nodding to the ramp. Frank moved the stroller out of the way and he and Fliss undid the latches, dropping it down as Mary hopped up and undid he partition. She brought Monty down and set about undoing his travel boots and his tail bandage, taking his tail out of the braid before she hopped up to get her brushes.

“She’s like a coiled spring.” Fliss grinned, looking at Frank who chuckled.

“Yeah, she doesn’t do anything by halves.” He smiled, looking around “It’s busy.” “First one of a season always is.” Fliss mused “There’s over 20 in her first class and 11 so far in her second. No idea about the jumping, I didn’t ask. I told her not to bother about it, as long as she enjoys herself…”

Frank smiled as Fliss gently touched his arm and set about helping Mary. 20 minutes later Monty was tacked up and Frank, from what little he knew about horses, had to admit they looked pretty smart. Her tweed was a dark green with a check pattern of brown and pinks, her show shirt was cream and the tie she was wearing was a green and pink striped one, matching perfectly. Fliss had braided Mary’s hair so it hung down her back and had secured it with a matching ribbon and as she jammed her new hat on she grinned at Frank.

“Looking good Stack” he smiled.

“Ok, ready?” Fliss asked.

Mary nodded and hopped up onto the small step at the back of the wagon, vaulting onto Monty, the pony simply standing still and observing his surroundings as if he did this every day.

Frank pushed the stroller as Fliss walked besides him, Mary slightly ahead as she made her way into the collecting ring. Fliss followed her in and Frank stood at the side, watching as Fliss made sure the girth on the saddle was tight enough before she nodded, spoke to Mary who also gave a nod and walked away from Fliss. Fliss stayed in the ring with her, gently giving her instructions, helping Mary to warm Monty in. And then Mary’s class was called. Fliss took the gilet off her before Mary looked over at Frank. He gave her a huge grin and a thumbs up and she smiled back before he saw her take a deep breath and follow another rider into the ring.

Fliss joined him and they made their way down a little so they could watch. Monty was easily the smallest pony in the class and Frank frowned.

“He looks tiny.” “He is only 14’2 hands high.” Fliss shrugged “But this is a veteran class, for horses over 15. So they’ll look at how he moves, not how he looks next to the other horses.”

“Oh.” Franks shrugged, turning his attention to Mary, then the two women stood in the middle “Are they the judges?”

“One is, the one in the hat.” Fliss said “The other is a steward. She basically shouts the instructions out and helps the judge.” Frank watched as the woman instructed the group to trot on. They did a few laps around the ring before they set off into canter. Mary’s face was set in concentration as thy ride repeated the action on the opposite rein before they all lined up.

“Now they do their individual shows.” Fliss said, her eyes focussing on the action in the ring. “This is what Mary was practicing yesterday when you showed up.” There were two horses before it was Mary’s turn. She walked Monty out of the line-up and stood him, perfectly square in front of the judge. She chatted to the woman who walked around Monty to take a look at him, before Mary set off to do her show. Frank glanced at Fliss and smiled as his girl was beaming with pride as Mary completed her show, foot (or hoof) perfect before she halted, saluted to the judge and then gave Monty a huge pat. She glanced over at Fliss who gave her a thumbs up, smiling.

All in all it took about 30 minutes to work through the class, and once the last person had done they all set off in a walk as the judge was muttering something, her eyes flicking along the ponies. Eventually she nodded and the steward walked out, pointing to a large bay. A few people started clapping as the Bay moved inwards to take first place, and then next was a smaller chestnut and then she pointed at Mary.

“Fuck, Frank she got third!” Fliss almost exploded as she started to cheer, Frank giving a grin as he also clapped, Mary’s face split into a huge grin as she took her place. 4th, 5th and 6th were awarded, rosettes were handed out and then the placings took a lap of honour before exiting the ring.

“Well done!” Fliss beamed at Mary as she grinned, looking at her yellow rosette “3rd out of 20! Mary that’s amazing for your first go!”

Mary nodded, taking a deep breath, the tears filling her eyes “I’m so happy!” she spluttered and Frank gave a chuckle, looping his arm around her, giving Monty a pat.

But that was nothing compared to her reaction when she won second place in the next class she was in, the Junior Rider. Fliss really did explode at that point, and Mary burst into tears, the judge looking a little shocked before she smiled at Mary, handing her the blue rosette.

After they’d calmed Mary down, they untacked Monty as there was a little wait until the jumping started and Frank headed off to grab them a burger from the fast food van at the far end of the yard. They sat on the ramp of the wagon, Frank teasing Mary as usual, before they heard a little cough and all looked up.

“I’m really sorry…” A woman spoke shyly “But are you Fliss Gallagher.” “Yeah.” Fliss smiled “Erm, hi.” “My daughter…she’s a huge fan. She followed all of the US team but you and Charlotte DuJardin from Team GB really hooked her in the 2012s and she’s…well, she’s hiding over there because she wouldn’t come speak to you.” The woman bashfully admitted and Fliss felt her cheeks growing red.

“Oh…thanks.” She said, “Which one is she?”

“The blonde over there…”

“Be back in a sec.” She smiled at Frank, standing up.

Frank looked at Mary, his mouth falling open “What just happened?” “Fliss is a horse riding celebrity Frank.” Mary shrugged. “She was a huge star until her accident.”

Frank turned and watched as Fliss spoke to the teen who was clearly in awe, and then smiled and nodded when her mom waved her phone. She posed for a quick photo before she turned and started to walk back towards them.

“I feel kinda sorry for her in a way.” Mary sighed.

“How do you mean?” Frank looked at his niece.

“Well, imagine finally doing the thing you always dreamed of, what you worked your whole life towards only to have it cut short.” Mary spoke, her mouth full of burger “Half the show-jumping teams around the world have people in them that are in their sixties you know. Fliss was only 28.”

Frank pondered for a moment as Fliss approached, he hadn’t really thought about it from that point of view before, nor had he even considered for one second that Fliss might still be recognised. Either way, he felt a little warmth in his chest as she flopped back down next to him, reaching for the rest of her burger.

“Can I get an autograph?” he asked.

“Piss off.” Fliss snorted as he laughed, dropping a kiss to her cheek.

Despite having enjoyed Mary’s flat shows, Frank did NOT enjoy the jumping. It scared the shit out of him. Fliss walked the course with Mary, now dressed in her jumping outfit of white breeches, navy jacket and a bright pink and blue sparkly tie as they examined the route she would take. And then far too soon in his opinion it was her turn to go in and he wasn’t sure he could watch.

“And entering the ring now we have Mary Adler riding Monte Carlo VI…” the announcer spoke on the tanoy as Mary trotted Monty in. The buzzer sounded and she picked up canter and pointed the pony at the first jump. Monty cleared it with ease and did the same with the 2nd, 3rd…all the way to the 11th leaving one to go.

“She clears this she’s in the jump off.” Fliss muttered. Frank took a deep breath, watching as Mary approached the small oxer and Monty took off. His back feet brushed the pole and Fliss held her breath, but thankfully despite rolling, it didn’t fall.

“Wait, that means she has to do that again?” Frank asked as Fliss clapped and cheered as Mary headed towards the gate to exit the field.

“Yeah, but not as many.” Fliss replied as she headed over to Mary.

Not as many, but twice as damned fast as Frank found out. The ponies where whizzing over the 5 jumps in the jump off, which were part of the course but not in order, the numbers being 2, 7, 5,9 and 8 the turns being tighter as the idea was still to go clear, but in the event more than one clear was achieved it went down to time.

The riders were in no order, and Mary decided to go a little further down the line so she could watch the others take the turns, a tactic Fliss suggested. By the time she was due to go in there were 5 clears already.

“Ok, so you’re gonna have to go for speed too.” Fliss said, looking at her “But the main thing is try and stay clear. If you want my advice, cut the corner between numbers 5 and 6. Everyone is looping round 6 to get to 9 but if you hang a right as soon as you’re over 5 you’ll have a few seconds off. Its tight, and he won’t have as many strides, probably 3 max, but let him take you ok?”

Mary nodded, swallowed and headed in. She took the first jumps easily and then after the 3rd did exactly what Fliss said. Monty put in an extra half stride, however, which threw Mary’s balance a little as he took off and for a horrible moment Frank thought she was going to fall but she didn’t, she regained her balance and turned, taking the last 2 jumps easily.

Mary secured 4th place in her jumping, the smile on her face was infectious and Frank found himself beaming along with them as they walked back to the wagon.

***** “Where’s Stack?” Frank asked as Fliss emerged into the room dropping the bag of Mary’s show clothing onto the sofa. Thor, who had been with Joanna whilst they had been out all day, flopped down onto the rug in front of the TV.

“She’s giving Monty some treats after he did so well today, and chewing Jo’s ear off about the competition. Jo said she’d watch her back over when she’s done.” Fliss smiled, reaching for Alex as he started to gripe “You hungry baby?”

Frank smiled as she settled on the sofa, undoing her shirt so she could feed him and he sat on the arm, looking down at her.

“She did so well today.” He said, “I never in a million years dreamed she’d be doing anything like this.” “Well, I did warn you the first time you walked onto my yard that once you have that horse smell on your hands, you’re hooked.” “Don’t I know it?” Frank grinned, kissing her cheek.

A little while later, Fliss finished up feeding Alex and peered down at him, the baby gazing at her, waving his eyes, his lips curling up into a smile and Fliss laughed.

“He’s smiling again.” She said.

“Sure it’s not wind?” Frank teased. “Err, no I just burped him.” Fliss said indignantly “They start smiling at 6 weeks, he’s smiling. I can tell.”

Frank chuckled and peered down, smiling at his baby and earning himself one back in return. He gently took him from Fliss so she could do up her top before he set him down and followed her into the kitchen where, upon examining the contents of the fridge, they settled on take out for dinner.

“So I know Mary did but did you enjoy it?” Frank asked as Fliss pulled a beer for them both out of the fridge.

“Yeah, yeah I did. You know, seeing it there, all those people competing…there’s nothing like that around here.”  “Got me thinking, maybe I could run something like that at some point down the line.” “Sandybrook Show huh?” Frank smiled as he popped the caps off their beers, settling down at the kitchen counter.

Fliss grinned “Yeah, it would be kind of cool to expand into stuff like that.” She took a drink “I’ve actually been giving it a bit of thought in general.” “What, competitions?” Frank asked

“No, expanding.” Fliss swallowed a mouthful of drink “The land at the back has always been available to me to buy, the old Farmer said he would give it to me whenever I want, and it would add another 10 acres to the portfolio. I could grow the yard area, more stables, more grazing, hold events like that one today…” she trailed off, frowning as she noticed the look on Frank’s face. “What’s wrong? Don’t you think it’s a good idea?”

“No, I mean yeah, I do. We always talked about expanding your business.” He hesitated “I guess I didn’t realise it would be so soon.” “What do you mean?” Fliss looked at him. “I’ve been up and running now for over 3 years.”

“I mean after Alex being born.” Frank said, his eyes flicking to where his baby son was asleep in the basinet. “He’s barely 10 weeks old Liss, don’t you think you’d be taking on too much?” “I’d manage” she waved her hand “I could recruit more staff.”

She could see from the look on Frank’s face he wasn’t convinced. She took a deep breath and turned in her seat so her body was facing his “Sailor,I can tell you’re not happy about the idea.”

“It’s not that I’m not happy.” Frank shook his head, and that was the truth. The fact she had such drive and want to build something better was amazing, he loved it in her, but he was struggling to find the words to voice what he was feeling about it. “Ok, I’m…just gonna come out and say this and I don’t want you to fly off the handle…4 weeks ago you were petrified of leaving Alex with your mom. You still don’t like being away from him now, and…” “Of course I don’t like it.” Fliss frowned “I’m breast feeding him, and-“ “Exactly.” Frank looked at her “So you take on this extra work, what are you going to do? You wanna put him in Creche, find a Childminder?”

Fliss shrugged a little “Mum said she would have him but I don’t want to put that on her, not every day. Maybe 2 days a week and then I don’t have to be at the yard all the time. Joanne runs things now and I can just…” Frank chuckled “I know you. Name me one day in your pregnancy that you didn’t pop in. You were teaching like almost until the day you dropped. And before you start I’m not saying that was a bad thing, far from it. You said yourself it kept you active and your brain engaged. I’m just saying there’s no way you’ll take a back seat. It’s bad enough trying to get you to stick to your Sundays off.” “I know.” Fliss nodded “But that’s something I’ll have to get stricter at.”

“Ok.” Frank took a deep breath “Whatever you say.”

Fliss frowned “Don’t do that.” “Do what?”

“Dismiss what I said.” “I wasn’t.” Frank shook his head.

“Yes you were, you just completely shrugged it off.” “No.” Frank said, his voice remaining calm “I said whatever you say. If you say that’s what you’re gonna do then…”

“Don’t you want me to do this or something?” Fliss asked and Frank took a deep sigh.

“Liss, we literally just went over this. I never said I didn’t want you to do it. Quite the opposite. I just…well I think it’s too soon ok?” he looked at her “Alex isn’t sleeping through yet, you’re tired during the day as you tell me when I get home. Hell, I’m tired and my job is nowhere near as physically demanding as yours not to mention the fact I’m not the one feeding him and…” he licked his lips

“You fix boats.” Fliss looked at him, a little sullenly “That’s physical…” “Not as much as I used to.” Frank shook his head “I’m based in the office a lot now, as you well know because you complain I don’t come home full of grease as much as I used to. We won’t mention the fact that I’m growing a little…how do I put this, softer round the edges now because of that, hence the weights in the garage”. He smiled, attempting to make a joke out of it as he could recognise only too well the look in her eye. It wasn’t full blown anger yet but if he didn’t cut the discussion off soon it was going to be. “Look...” he reached out and took her hand “We’re incredibly lucky. We’re in a position where you don’t need to rush back to work. My job pays well, your business brings you in a very decent turnover each month, we have savings…I just think that we should take advantage of that and you should take a few more months off, maybe look at going back in March, say. Take a full 6 off to be with him, enjoy being a mom.”

“Is that what you want me to do?” Fliss asked after a moments pause.

“This isn’t about what I want.” Frank sighed, his tone now starting to betray his frustration. “I can’t and won’t stop you doing anything, you know this. I just want you to consider your options, that’s all.” Fliss took a deep breath, gave a nod and pushed her stool back, draining the rest of her beer. “Where you going?” Frank frowned.

“For a shower.” She said simply “I need to get out of these jeans and this shirt.”

Frank gave a groan “Why do you do this?” “Do what?”

“Every time we have a slight difference in opinion on something you clam up.” He looked at her “Let’s talk this through, Liss. Don’t walk away.” “I’ve nothing else to say.” Fliss said, her voice ending in a little chuckle. “You’ve made your opinion on the matter very clear.” “Yeah, and now I’m waiting to hear yours.”

Fliss took a deep breath “I don’t wanna take 6 months off.”

“Ok.” Frank nodded “Then you don’t have to. I still think it’s too soon for you to be looking at expanding though.”

“I know what you think Frank, you told me.” Fliss shrugged “You don’t need to keep repeating yourself.” “I keep repeating myself because you seem to be completely and utterly dismissing what I’m saying.” Frank looked at her.

“For fucks sake Frank.” Fliss looked at him. “Stop talking to me like I’m one of the kids.”

“Well you’re doing a pretty good job of acting like one.” Frank looked at Fliss, his eyebrow raised as he felt his temper beginning to flare “And a petulant one at that.”

Fliss gave a chuckle of ironic laughter “Oh that’s rich, you calling me a petulant child. You’re the one kicking off because I’m refusing to entertain some stupid idea about taking 6 months off work”

“You know, a lot of women would kill to be in the position to be able to do that.” Frank looked at her and she shrugged.

“So?” she frowned “With the greatest of respects, I don’t care. Yes, I’m lucky. I get that but I don’t want to Frank!” “And I’m not saying you have to! Jesus Christ!” Frank groaned “When did I, at any point in this discussion, ever say you have to stay at home huh? You tell me exactly when those words left my mouth….” Fliss looked at him, and blinked as her mouth closed and she swallowed. “See, you can’t because I didn’t say it!”

“Well, you might as well have.” She glared at him “You’re trying to control my decision about what I feel is right for me…”

“You think…” Frank cocked his head to one side, as he felt a flash of angry heat rush up his neck to his cheeks at her words. His temper was really brewing now, the angry knot in his stomach growing tighter by the second. “You think I’m trying to control you?”

“Well aren’t you?”

“God damnit Lissy!” Frank’s voice was loud as he stood up from his chair, “You’re downright infuriating at times. No, that’s not what I’m doing. At all. What I’m doing is trying to have a sensible discussion with you.” “Well I don’t want to discuss it anymore.” Fliss’s voice raised “So, like I said. I’m going for a shower. Or would you like to discuss that as well.” “Oh for fucks sake…” Frank groaned his hands rubbing his face as he let out a frustrated noise, shaking his head. “You know what, I give in. Do what you want. Shower, buy more land, work, don’t work…just…whatever.”  

Fliss shot Frank a glare, and then a small noise from the basinet jerked them both out of the stare-down and Fliss headed over to pick him up. Turning she made for the door, baby in her arms.

“What are you doing?” Frank asked.

“Going for a shower, like I just said.”

“Well leave him with me.” Frank frowned, “What’s the point of taking him upstairs just to lay him in the crib whilst you shower?” “Because I want to take him with me.” Fliss looked at Frank. “I can leave the door open. I like him being there. Is it a problem?” Frank snorted, his hands on his hips as he looked at his feet “No problem.” He huffed out a little laugh as he raised his face to look at her “But you tell me you’re ready to go back to work when you can’t bear to be apart for the 10 minutes it takes you to shower.”

Fliss’ face fell and Frank felt a pang of guilt at what he had said, but in his mind it was true. She hated leaving him, and he didn’t want her to be in a position where she felt she needed to, whether it was to prove something to herself or everyone else. He’d never tell her this but he loved the homely feel of coming home and his future wife and baby son both waiting for him, either on the sofa or the sun lounger. It was a wonderful, caring, passionate environment that he’d never had before and if he was brutally honest he’d quite happily see her at home until Alex was back in school. She didn’t need to work, but she wanted to, he got that. And he would never stop her. But the fact was she was still on edge about their son being left with people and he could almost picture the melt down she was going to have if she rushed back.

“Fuck you” Fliss seethed at him, drawing him out of his thoughts as Alex began to cry, clearly picking up the vibes in the room. Frank sighed, shaking his head as Fliss began to soothe him

“Lissy, just…”

But she didn’t stay to listen, instead she turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, Alex’s little whimpers dying in his ears as she made her way up the stairs.

The argument made for a tense family dinner. They both tried their best to be normal, talking to Mary about her day, not wanting to but a dampener on it but as ever she was sharp. When Frank tucked her in, she asked him about it and he assured her there was nothing to worry about and that it was a silly disagreement which would be forgotten in the morning.

He hoped.

Fliss didn’t really speak to him much the rest of the evening, taking herself to bed early and she was flat out when he came up a little later. With a sigh he gently brushed the hair off her cheek before he kissed her temple and settled down himself.

He woke in the middle of the night, and still half asleep reached out to Fliss’ side of the bed but she wasn’t there. He sat up, blinking and then saw that Alex’s bedside crib was empty too. Frowning, he climbed out of bed and as he headed downstairs he could head soft baby cries from the family room.  

“Hey, everything ok?” Frank asked, opening the door and looking at Fliss as she was stood by the large window seat, gently rocking Alex as she tried to calm him.

“Yeah he’s grouchy.” She said, “I’ve fed him, he’s been changed…” “Want me to take him?” he offered and she shook her head.

"It’s fine Frank, I got him." "I mean, that is what you wanted isn’t it? Me, being a good little wifey-to-be and mummy, right?"

Frank blinked before he gave a groan “Really, do we have to do this now?” he sighed, shaking his head. “I never said that, at all.”

“What it sounded like to me.” “How would you know?” he looked at her “You were so focussed on your position that you didn’t listen to a damned word I said. Because if you had you would have understood my point of view instead of accusing me of trying to control you.” He took a deep breath “When are you going to get it into your head that I am not your shit bag ex?”

“I didn’t say that.” Fliss looked at him, shaking her head

“But you thought it.” Frank eyed her “I could see it on your face.”

“There you go again, presuming you know what I’m thinking.”

“Am I wrong?”

“Yes, you are.” Fliss looked at him “What I was actually thinking was how shit it was you couldn’t just support me with what I wanted to do.” “Baby, I do support you, and I’ll back you with whatever you want to do, but I’m not gonna lie to you and say I’m happy about something when I’m not.” Frank shook his head.

“How can you back me when you don’t agree with what I want?”

“Because that’s what being together is about.” Frank looked at her “It doesn’t matter what I think…” “It matters to me.” Frank let out a groan “We’re going round in circles…” he shook his head as Alex’s screaming grew louder “Look, why don’t you let me take him? You go get some rest, we can talk about this later.” “I said I got him its fine.” Fliss shook her.

���Oh for fucks- just let me help will you?”

“Go back to bed Frank.” Fliss blazed it him in the dim light of the family room, her brown eyes angry “You have work in the morning, I don’t. Remember?”

He words themselves were innocuous, but the sheer sarcastic way she said them wasn’t. Frank felt the weary anger from their earlier argument which he had been fighting so hard to keep buried, slowly seeping back into his veins. He’d tried to explain his point of view, over and over again but she was being too fucking stubborn to even attempt to see it through his eyes. As he watched her cradling their sobbing son to her chest he didn't have the energy to keep going round and round in circles, not at 3 in the morning anyway. So instead he gave into the frustration he was feeling, and shot a stinging barb, one simple word spoken with exasperation as he shook his head and turned to leave the room. "Bitch"

[reginaphalenge2001-blog]

Communication tips: One step towards human connection

By - Radhika Gautam ,Collegetips.in

    “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.”

– Ernest Hemingway

Communication in the most simple words is transmission of information from one source to another but when one has a deeper look , communication is much more than transmission of information. Communication is one of the most fundamental abilities a human possesses in order to survive and exist. We communicate everyday in different forms, babies cry to express their distress or hunger or a person can use words to communicate the information they have. Even though the baby cannot talk, they can express themselves by crying. How is that the case? How do we understand this very unclear form of communication? To understand this we have to understand the very basic forms of communications. 

Types of Communication and how to be better at them

There are 5 basic forms of communication. They are verbal, non-verbal, written , visual and listening. 

Verbal Communication: When we speak with others, we are engaging in verbal communication. It can be done in person, over the phone, over Skype or Zoom or any other platform. Some verbal exchanges are casual, such as conversing with a buddy over coffee or in the office kitchen, while others, such as a scheduled meeting, are more official. Verbal communications are one of the easiest ways of communication since the information present is in the simplest form it can be. Verbal information can be among a group of people or two individual people , it could take place over the phone or in real life. Verbal communication is nothing but the simple day to day conversations we have with people. How can one be better at communicating or understanding this form of communication? The key factors to keep in mind during this conversation are intonation , intonation is the pitch or tone one is using while mentioning a topic, it can be understood by noticing the emphasis or the feeling or emotions being expressed during the topic. These emotions or feelings are usually expressed by a person in a non-verbal format which can be understood from the next form of communication.

Non-Verbal Communication: We often say more with our actions than with our words. Facial expressions, posture, eye contact, hand motions, and touch are all examples of nonverbal communication. If you're having a chat with your supervisor about your promotion, for example, it's critical to pay attention to both their words and non-verbal cues. Non-verbal communication can be a little difficult form of communication for a lot of people considering that it’s mostly indirect and is to be understood without any verbal information. A much more simpler way to understand this form of communication is through a very realistic scenario everyone has to go through. Imagine yourself as a student who has scored bad marks in one of the subjects , your parents don't scold you but they say “I am sure you could have done better”. Regardless of this not being a situation for every person out there it is clear to everyone that the parent in this scenario is disappointed and is expressing it through non-verbal cues. People tend to leave non-verbal cues all the time while communicating or even when they are not communicating which brings us to our next type of communication.

Listening: The act of listening is rarely included among the various forms of communication. Active listening, on the other hand, is possibly one of the most crucial sorts of communication because we can't properly engage with someone if we can't listen to them. A very good example to understand how listening plays a role in communication is by participating in debates. A debate usually consists of two different parties with opposing views, each trying to prove their point. In a situation like this listening plays a vital role, you have to listen and process to be able to put your point further. Debate is usually the most academic aspect of listening , while processing any verbal information may it be during a lecture, an argument or even when you play your favourite song , listening works as the key factor to understand the information that is being communicated to you.

Written communication: Written communication is another form of communication. Whether you write an answer for your exam or an email or even a simple text to your friend. All of this comes under written communication, written communication is mainly used when neither non-verbal nor verbal communication can take place. The main objective of written communication is to provide correct information in the most concise manner possible, though that is not achieved most of the time due to poor communication skills leading to misinformation. What can one do to be better at written communication? Having a better knowledge of grammar and language definitely plays a huge role in this situation , it's important to know the punctuations to show the emphasis and importance of a message. Written communication can only be improved by having a better understanding of the language and grammar and for that it is really important for a person to learn the basics. Thus, one has to keep two things in mind: first, write well - poorly written sentences and careless typos make you appear unprofessional; and second, make sure the message's content is something you want to promote or be connected with in the long run.

Visual Communication: Visual communication is the last form of communication we will be discussing. We live in a visual world. Consider this , televisions are on 24 hours a day, Facebook is visually available with memes, videos, and images, Instagram is another highly visually consumed platform, and advertisers sell things and ideas through imagery. From a personal standpoint, the photographs we share on social media are intended to convey meaning ,to send a message. It is so we can communicate to people who we are and what we stand for. For example, A picture by a person can simply communicate “hey, look at me I am at this party.” While a seller could be posting an image of their product simply communicating “I have a new product for you people and I think you would be interested in it.” This is the main reason why visual life is so important in this age and era because most of the communication taking place right now is through visual platforms. In such a case it is important that a person is aware about the message they are putting out there. The message should be clear and understandable. While doing so make sure that anything you put in an image or video does not misinform your audience about what you stand for.

Conclusion 

Every day, we communicate in a continuous manner. We do it without thinking. No matter what you want to learn or which skills you want to improve, there is a technique for you. Becoming better at communication is not as difficult as it seems , as every other skill, communication needs both practice and patience to learn . There are several techniques to achieve the goal of learning communication, but persistence is the only technique to make it possible . In this developing world , Communication works as one of key skills for people aiming for success. 

Thank you for reading and to know more visit and follow:  http://www.collegetips.in/lifestyle/

[notebooknebula]

The Power of your Own Expert Positioning Book with Max Keller

https://www.jayconner.com/the-power-of-your-own-expert-positioning-book-with-max-keller/

Real estate investing success isn’t just about selling houses. It’s about selling yourself… to sellers and lenders.

Imagine what your business would look like with a consistent stream of deals… all from motivated sellers and private lenders in your market who… see YOU as the Clear Choice!

In this episode Jay Conner talks to former math teacher turned real estate investor, Max Keller about how he stopped chasing leads and struggling to compete for deals by positioning himself as the “Trusted Expert” with his own book.

Max also shares how you can copy his strategy to Stand Out from the competition…even if you’re not a writer.

You definitely don’t want want to miss this.

Especially if you are investing in a market packed with flippers and wholesalers… all chasing the same motivated seller leads.

Real Estate Cashflow Conference:

https://www.jayconner.com/learnrealestate

Free Webinar:

http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast

Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.

#RealEstate #PrivateMoney #FlipYourHouse

————————————————————

Jay Conner (00:00): Well, hello there! And welcome to another episode of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner. I’m your host, Jay Conner also known as the Private Money Authority. And what do we do here on the show? Well, we talk all things real estate. We talk about how to find deals, how to fund deals, how to sell properties fast, how to automate your business. And we talk about all kinds of real estate. We talk about single family houses, commercial properties, multifamily, land deals, self storage, and you name it. We talk about it, but if you’ve been tuning into the show, since we launched back in 2018 you know, that I have amazing guests here on the show today is no exception, but before I introduce you to my special guest, what is it about private money? Why am I known as the Private Money Authority?

Jay Conner (01:02): Well, back when I started investing in single family houses back in 2003 here in Eastern North Carolina, the first six years, I’ve relied on local banks and mortgage companies to fund my deals. And I got cut off like the rest of the world did in January of 2009. It’s that time I was introduced and learned about private money. And since that time, and by the way, I’m not talking about hard money. I’m talking about private money doing business with individuals, human beings, borrowing money from their investment capital or their retirement accounts by using self directed IRAs. Well, since that time I’ve starting to use private money back in 2009, I have not missed out on a deal because I did not have the funding. You know, we can talk about terms and creative financing, all we want to, but at the end of the day, most sellers are going to require all the cash.

Jay Conner (01:56): And so when you got money sitting on the shelf, you don’t have to worry about missing out on deals and my special guest today, that’s going to be a big part of our topic to talk about today. And that’s private money, Again, before I introduce him while we’re on the topic of private money, I’ve got a free invitation and gift for all of my viewers and listeners. And that is I just launched what’s called The Private Money Academy membership. And I have got a free 30 days for you to take advantage of that and access. You get me twice a month, live with coaching and training and talking about private money and all aspects of real estate investing. And so if you’d like to check out the membership and come check it out for free for a full 30 days, you can get on over to www.JayConner.com/trial.

Jay Conner (03:00): Well today, my special guest is a very, very good friend. We’ve known each other for quite a while now. And I’ve invited him to come on the show today. And we’re going to be talking about Deals Chasing You ain’t that pretty cool. When the deals are chasing you, you’re not having to chase them. Or also, as I said, we’re going to be talking about private money. Well, as you probably know, when it comes to residential real estate, well, most success for real estate investors are gonna tell you that 80% of their time is focused on two things. In fact, these two things are the most common two questions that I get asked when I’m doing training. And that is Jay, how do I find deals? And how do I get my deals funded? Where do I find the deals? Where do I get the money?

Jay Conner (03:52): Well, it’s no secret. Motivated Seller Leads are yes, the life blood of your business. I tell my coaching students and clients all the time, unless you’ve got consistent deal flow, motivated sellers coming into your pipeline in your funnel all the time, every day, you are not in business. So, in addition to that, if you are investing in a highly competitive market with a lot of flippers and a lot of wholesalers, well, competition for the seller leads everybody’s just fighting over those leads. Well, that means that generating motivated seller leads is really the main major part of the equation. You see, you also got to convince those leads to choose you over doing business with your competition. Now, in addition to that, when it comes to raising private money, well, a lot of lenders, especially new private lenders, they can be concerned about picking the right real estate investor to do business with over the right deal. So the question is […] believe it or not, the man himself, Robert Kiyosaki.

Jay Conner (05:56): And my guest was presented with the 2019 industry innovator of the year award. In addition to that, he’s fueled by his passion for real estate, and he’s a, still a teacher at heart, right? He teaches he coaches. And today he’s going on my show to share a strategy that’s working right now in some of the most competitive real estate markets across the country. And this strategy is yes, transforming ordinary real estate investors into being a trusted expert in the eyes of motivated sellers. And, one of my favorite subjects and topics, private lenders. So with that, my good friend, Max Keller, welcome to the show.

Max Keller (06:45): Alright. Hey, glad to be here.

Jay Conner (06:48): Glad to have you Max, and tell everybody, where are you coming from today? Where do you hail from?

Max Keller (06:54): Yeah. Fort Worth, Texas. So, you know, in between Dallas and Fort Worth and starting to cool down and things are going well.

Jay Conner (07:03): Well, here’s where I want to start. We’re going to be talking about deals chasing you. We’re going to be talking about private money, but before we jump in Max, I want people to hear your story because you’ve got quite the fascinating story. I mean, you know, you had some of the same frustrations, challenges and obstacles that a lot of real estate investors, you know, have faced out there and that is looking for and chasing motivated sellers. And, you know, it’s something that all real estate investors at one time or another, particularly when they were starting out can relate to. So we want to hear your story. Tell us about from math teacher to becoming a trusted expert in this lucrative house buying business.

Max Keller (07:50): Sure! Yeah, awesome. So, you know so it’s it’s 2017, well like transport there and things are going okay. You know it’s, I flipped nearly a hundred houses and, you know, I’m making money, but I’m getting the feeling like, you know, I’m only as good as my next deal. I’m in a very competitive market, you know, the Dallas Fort Worth area. And I need a lot of leads to run my business. And if I don’t, you know, have leads for my business, then I don’t have any deals. So, you know, no deals, no business, you know, I’m going back to being a teacher. So I knew that, you know, leads were Motivated Seller Leads, especially with true motivation was the lifeblood of my business. And, you know, Jay in a, probably a two, three hour span or, or two, three years, I had tried nearly everything. You know, I had tried you know, different websites band-it signs. I tried, you know, cold calling.

Max Keller (08:50): I had people in the Philippines cold calling, you know, yellow letters. Every list that I could find. So I worked, you know, pre foreclosure, vacant properties, tax, the link went on and on and on. And, you know, all these things worked, but they were very unpredictable. And I felt like there was a lot of waste. And at the time it wasn’t deals chasing you, you know, that’s what happened now. It was the total opposite. I felt like I was chasing people. And so I wanted to fix this, I wanted to solve it. So, you know, it didn’t actually take very long to figure out what the problem was. You know, Jay, the problem was, is I was basically sending out the same messages and the same mail to all the motivated sellers on these lists that all the other investors, you know, were sending out to.

Max Keller (09:40): So I was basically, you know, another investor in the stack of mail. Sometimes they would pick me, you know, sometimes they wouldn’t and when they didn’t pick me, usually it was because it was either a newer investor that was overpaying, or maybe it was a hedge fund. And so, you know, I’m glad I didn’t get into that trap of paying too much for deals. Cause that’s definitely a way that you can go out of business quickly, but I needed to, you know, I need to buy deals and I needed to play the game in order to, you know, to win. And so I just kinda kept sending out more of the same thing that wasn’t working as well. And my return on my marketing investment just kept going down and just kinda kept getting lower. And so, you know, back then it felt like a total grind and I really didn’t feel like it was that sustainable.

Max Keller (10:29): And you know, the whole reason that I left teaching was because I wanted, you know, more than just a grind, I wanted to get more out of life. I wanted to do big things with my family. And so I kinda, I went on this quest to find a better way and I didn’t want to continue the way that I was going any further. And it took me on this really, really unexpected journey. What happened was, I made a list of all the deals that I had done up to that point. And I was looking for the deals that met these three conditions. So they were, the deals had to be profitable, they had to be the type where the seller didn’t resist my offer. So they were really open to what I was doing. It was, I was like the consultant. That’d be fun.

Max Keller (11:13): You know, I didn’t want to, this is my home buying company, save your home buyers. And, you know, I wanted to have fun. I wanted to help people and I wanted to make money. So there was kind of good and bad news. The good news was, I’ll go with the bad news first, the bad news was is that most of my deals that I had done up to that point did not meet all three criteria. The good news was, is that when I did see the few deals that met all three of those, they were all they all had the same pattern and it was, they weren’t just motivated sellers. They were senior homeowners. And so I went on this quest to find senior homeowners, something kind of unexpected happen again. And then that’s what, that’s how it turned into, you know, having a new tool for private money lenders too.

Max Keller (12:03): So if it’s okay with you, if we have time, let me break down what happened with the motivated sellers and then how it transitioned to this discovery I made in the private lending space. Is that okay with you?

Jay Conner (12:15): Sure. Please tell us about it.

Max Keller (12:17): Yeah. So essentially what happened was I was like, okay, these are the motivated sellers, cause you know, I mean, you know, this well as anybody Jay I mean, you have to have a deal in order to have a private money or hard money or money problem, you know, if you don’t have any deals, so it starts with the deal, so that’s what I was doing, I was starting with the deal. And I saw this group of folks, seniors that were awesome, you know, there, but so I was like, how do I get more of them?

Max Keller (12:44): So I go and look at what list they were on. And what I found was, is that they didn’t fit the typical motivated seller like buy box or category. So they weren’t you know, they weren’t in pre-foreclosure a lot of them didn’t even have mortgages, you know, it wasn’t a vacant house, It wasn’t a tired landlord. A lot of the houses actually were in good shape, they just needed like cosmetic updating. And so I was wholesaling these houses and flipping them for really good profits. And and I was like, okay, well, if I didn’t get them from a list, where did I get them? And I found that most of the folks actually came by accident, either they got my postcard by mistake, or I was trying to buy a house in the neighborhood or I was rehabbing a house in the neighborhood or referral.

Jay Conner (13:26): And I was like, okay, well how do I get more of these folks? now that I know who they are, and why are they most importantly, why are they picking me? So I called one of the sellers, it wasn’t actually the seller she’s in an assisted living facility, but I called her son because I remember this particular deal I had about, I had an offer out. There were other investors they were looking at and one of the investors made an offer that was like 10 grand, more than mine. So I, this was six months after the deal closed. They went with me and at the time I didn’t make a big deal of it, cause I didn’t want to blow the deal up. But after the fact I called up the son, I said, Hey, you know, I’m Max, you know, Save Your Home Buyers.

Max Keller (14:06): Do you remember me? He was like, Oh yeah, I remember you. I said, Hey, at the time you had said like you had gotten a higher offer. I was just wondering like, I’m glad you picked me, but why did go with me and not the higher offer? And he said, you know, Max, when we worked with you, you know, we trusted you, number one. So trust is really key, trust is like the key to marketing. I’m going to teach a couple of things around that, you know, later on and give your audience a free gift that they can use to build trust, cause it’s huge. He said, you know, when I was working with you, there wasn’t pressure. You know, the other place was offering more, but they were just kind of like, you know, when are you going to hurry up and sign when are you gonna move out of the house?

Max Keller (14:49): And he felt like I genuinely cared, you know? And I did, you know, that was a huge eye opener. Like you had mentioned earlier, Jay, you know, I was teacher. So I was at these folks’ homes, I was teaching, I was trying to help them, I was trying to help the families. And you know, I had a really close relationship with my grandma. I took care of her for 15 years of last 15 years of her life. And she helped take care of me when I was little. So, you know, so, I had that bond and I felt like when I was going over to these folks’ homes, you know, it was like I was working with my grandma. So I knew this is who I wanted to work with. I knew why they’re picking me, but the problem is, I couldn’t find a really scalable way to do this, because I’m in these folks living room sometimes for two to four hours, you know, and I had another gentleman who’s helping me buy houses.

Max Keller (15:41): And you know, we’re explaining all these details, cause these folks, there’s a huge education gap and there’s a huge education gap right now for private money lenders too. And I’m gonna share what we’re doing about that. But wherever there’s huge education gaps, I learned this being a school teacher, it’s a huge opportunity, because if you can be the person to fill that education gap, then that person, that student, that motivated seller, that private lender, you know, really is appreciative of what you’re doing, and they, you know, reward you with the business. And so, I remember it very distinctly. I went to it was at a home, I’ was buying it in the evening and it was myself, the mom who lived there by herself and the daughter, she was probably like in her early sixties. And the daughter was like, you know, Max you’ve like helped our family out a ton.

Max Keller (16:31): Actually helped the family find a place for their mom to live in an assisted living facility. And she said, you know, you’ve liked helped us out tremendously. Why don’t you, have you ever thought about writing a book about all the stuff that you know. And I was laughing, I was like, no, I don’t think so, you know, I’m not, I’m a house buyer, I’m not a writer. And, I went back to my car and I thought about it and I was like, you know, that’s actually a pretty good idea. I had spent a lot of time learning about senior housing, cause I was noticing my seniors, even when I would teach them what to do with their house, you know, they still had other things they needed to know before they can move. So I would go and learn and, you know, start talking to people at these facilities and read online and just do my research.

Max Keller (17:17): And I was like, you know, I have, I noticed the more I learned, the more I can help my prospect, the more, you know, they appreciated me. And it was like setting me apart, I’d say 95% from my competition. So I was like, okay, this is a way with a book that I could take this to the next level. So that’s what I did, I basically just sat down. I wrote down a list of all the questions that I keep getting asked and you know, folks living rooms and and then wrote the pros and the cons of different options. And that was my first book, Home to Home The Step-by-Step Senior Housing Guide. And I just printed out a hundred copies of the book. I started giving it away and you know, what it did, Jay is the book became my new business card, but it became a lot more than that.

Max Keller (18:02): You know, it also became my new credibility piece. Now I would give people my book and I would have just like instant credibility. I would have, you know, instant trust with that motivated seller. And and I was really positioned as The Senior Housing Expert. And so, to make a long story short, I used the book, It’s been an amazing way to generate deal flow. How private lending got into the mix is that was around the same time that I started making the transition from hard money to private money. And when I was reaching out to private money lenders at first, it was a lot, you know, just a little background about me. I’m doing, you know, three to four deals a month at this stage. And you know, I need to get these deals funded for short term and for long term stuff.

Max Keller (18:51): I’m reaching kinda my limit at the community banks that I had been using. So I went to hard money and it’s very expensive. And so when I started reaching out to the private money lenders, you know, they saw me as a deal maker, but I was pitching, you know, my deal to them. And I was showing them my deal and why it was a good deal or not a good deal. And sometimes they would be really excited about it, but then sometimes they’d look at me crazy because the house is in rough shape. It’s not the kind of neighborhood that maybe the private money lender would, you know, want to live in. And so I was getting mixed results. And so, at around that time, you know, fast forward about 18 months later, I, the book system that we use for private money lenders got an award at a, like a real estate conference.

Max Keller (19:36): And Robert Kiyosaki was there to give me the award. And he, I gave him a copy of my book and it was a really, really cool moment. And a gentleman in Houston named Brad Philips had been doing the exact same thing with his Private Money Book that I was doing with my Motivated Seller Book. He wrote he was a police officer. You know, I think people who work in public service, you know, they do it more than just for the money, you know? And and so he had taken all the questions that his private money lenders had asked him about and, you know, did the same thing and wrote out pros and cons. And he was using it to source private money in Houston. And so he called me and we met through a mutual friend, somebody, you know very well. And we connected, and now that’s part of part of our licensed content that we have. So, you know, originally when I made my Motivated Seller Book, when my partner Brand made his book for private lending, we never intended for anybody else to use it. And you know, later on, I’ll kind of share some of the ways that we work with you know, real estate investors and how we help them, whether it’s deals or dollars build more of that trust and that credibility, you know, so their prospects see them differently, but that’s in a nutshell, that’s really kind of how it all happened.

Jay Conner (20:59): Well, you know, some people, don’t really feel all that comfortable or really that confident in putting themselves out there as an expert or referring to themselves as an expert.

Max Keller (21:14): Right.

Jay Conner (21:14): So, you know, from the standpoint of somebody selling their house.

Max Keller (21:18): Right.

Jay Conner (21:18): Or standpoint of a private lender, loaning money out, in their mind, really what is it that qualifies somebody to be an expert?

Max Keller (21:28): Yeah. That’s a great question. You know, so, people who are committed to being an educator and an advocate for someone else, that’s truly what an expert is. It’s, you know, that’s actually a requirement that we have for our students that we don’t bend on. You know, being an expert is not a way for, you know, shady, you know, people, real estate investors to, you know, take advantage of people. It’s really about it’s not about celebrity, It’s not about when people hear the word expert.

Max Keller (22:02): A lot of times they think, Oh, well, you know, they think about people like Robert Kiyosaki, or they think about people who have done thousands of deals. And they’re like, Oh, I’m not at that level. You know, it’s an expert is not something that a title that we put on ourselves, an expert is something that our prospects see us as. And it’s really about being an educator, being an advocate, and most importantly, putting yourself out there, to be found, you know, the folks that plug into what we do, they want to be out there to be the go to persons of people in their community have questions. They can answer them and they can help. And so it’s really more about being an educator and being an advocate and putting yourself out there. That’s truly what an expert is.

Jay Conner (22:49): So you’ve written a book about, you know, to give yourself credibility when you’re talking to a seller of a property.

Max Keller (22:58): Yes.

Jay Conner (22:58): You also now have another book when you’re talking with a new potential private lender that gives you credibility as a real estate investor to be trusted. So, how powerful would you say it is in having someone having their own book to use as credibility?

Max Keller (23:17): Yeah, so great question. So it’s very, very powerful, you know, I’ll speak from my own example. You know, when I think about all the different ways that I have used my book to get a, you know, return on investment, you know, the first step I did when I got my book was I started giving it away. And a lot of times when people think a book, they think sell the book, and, you know, sure, there’s, you know, folks like you know, Stephen King, I mean, you know, JK Rowling, they sell a lot of books and make money. But for me, you know, that would have been really, really shortsighted. I mean, I did put my book on Amazon and it did hit number one on a couple of bestseller lists, I mean, that was really cool.

Max Keller (23:57): I do get some sales from it, but the biggest thing that I get as a, as a home buyer, as a real estate investor. Is it gives me three things. It gives me expert positioning in the minds of my prospect. It gives me the ability to walk into an appointment and be really prequalified because the prospect has already read and invested four or five hours learning about me and my story. And most importantly, things that are really important for them. And it’s been an ultimate referral tool. You know, I didn’t write a book you know, to have something to sell. You know, I wrote the book in order to have something that, you know, sells me. And so I think that’s a huge, huge difference. And, you know, I’ve been giving it away and it’s helped grow the business.

Max Keller (24:47): And like I said, there’s so many ways, you know, one of them is it’s a referral tool. So, you know, it’s just kinda common sense that if you give somebody a book, you know, they see it as valuable. It’s actually, it has value to us whether they read it or not, because it’s almost like having a band-it sign in their living room, cause when they get the book, they just, they’re not gonna throw it away. So they keep it around. When they read the book, they get to be with us for four or five hours reading it and we’re not there. The other thing is like when their friends, whether their friend needs to sell their house their friend is interested in doing something other than the stock market, you know, when somebody knows the person who wrote the book on a certain topic, It’s just kinda human nature for them to say, Hey, well, I know this, I know the guy who wrote the book on senior housing.

Max Keller (25:38): I know the person who wrote the book on Private Money Lending, here’s his book, you know, and they give it to them and it’s, so it’s a really, really easy way to get referrals. But most importantly, you know, word of mouth, you know, right now we’re, you know, talking to hundreds and thousands of people and the Internet’s amazing tool, but nothing really replaces word of mouth. And I have not found anything that’s been, you know, better when it comes to word of mouth and spreading than a book. So it’s been, I’ll give you another example. Used to be, we went to appointments to buy houses and, you know, we were there, bunch of other investors were there to, kind of felt like we were a dime a dozen, you know, we’re another investor in the stack.

Max Keller (26:21): Now when somebody calls our office, the first thing we do is we say, Hey, do you have a copy of our book? And they’re like, your book? Sometimes they know about it, sometimes they don’t. They say yeah, Max, can you come over? You know, and they book the appointment. Or I, if I talked to them, I book the appointment. I said, but first we want you to read chapter three of the book. It teaches you how to sell your home, you know, pros and cons of each way. If you just still decide that you want to sell it after you read that chapter, you know, then just, no problem, if you decide you don’t, just give us a call and we don’t have to come over. And so we pay a courier to send it over to their house, so they’re getting an autographed copy of our book before we even show up, they read chapter three, but they also read the other chapters.

Max Keller (27:03): You know, now they’re curious, they’re not getting a lot of autographed books from authors. We’re educating them. The book is educational. It’s answering the questions that they have, and they’re having trouble getting the answers from somebody who’s really objective. And so what it does, and the reason we’re getting a lot of exclusive deals is because the people that they call before us, they call them and say, Hey, you don’t need to come over anymore. The people that they were going to call after us that are in the big stack of mail, they don’t call them because why would they call anybody else when they have the person who wrote the book on this subject? And so it’s a really, really big game changer as far as increasing conversions, because when we’re walking in, we’re already presold, and now it’s just sort of like taking the order and just working out the details of the closing and signing the paperwork. And so, I mean, yeah, it cost me a few bucks to send out these books and send a courier, but it’s just so, so worth it. So that’s some of the ways that we get business gains and how some of our students get gains from what we do.

Jay Conner (28:05): Well, no doubt having your own book is hands down a powerful marketing tool for sure. But I can hear our viewers and listeners in their mind right now thinking to themselves, okay, I’m a real estate investor. How in the world am I supposed to write my own book? Like, how do they start?

Max Keller (28:27): Right. Well, the good news about that Jay, is that if you’re thinking that or your audience is thinking of that, imagine what your competition’s thinking, you know, like they’re thinking the exact same thing, which is a good thing because traditionally, you know, writing a book did not have a very low barrier to entry. It was a pretty high bar that you had to clear now, and we’ve made it easy for real estate investors. We think, you know, easier than anybody else ever has, but essentially there’s really two ways to do a book. And it’s really kind of, the breakdown runs along the same lines as there’s really two types of real estate investors that reach out to us. And there’s the, there’s the DIY real estate investor and the ROI. So the DIY real estate investor, you know, those are the folks that like to roll up their sleeves.

Max Keller (29:16): They invest a lot of their own time into the deals, you know, get their hands dirty. And, you know, there’s a lot of trial and error with that method and it takes a little longer to get your return on investment. But if you know, folks enjoy the process and they get satisfaction from that, then there’s like nothing wrong with that at all. So that’s the first kind of person that we help. And I’m going to share here in just a minute specifically, how we help them. The second kind of investor that comes to our Business Deals Chasing You is, I call them the ROI real estate investor. So for them it’s just like, time is money. They don’t want to go to houses. They want to have you know, the acquisitions team go to the house. They don’t work on the rehabs themselves.

Max Keller (29:59): They have teams to do that, and they really leverage a team on all aspects. And so they can focus on just walking down more deals and acquiring more money for their deals. So for the DIY real estate investor, we created the first of its kind, it’s called The Real Estate Investor Book Writing Checklist. And so we sell this, but I’m offering it to your audience, a free copy. So you can go to the links that we’ll have at the end and check it out. And this is a tremendous resource cause what it does is it breaks down, you know, how to pick an audience, how to speak specifically to your motivated sellers, how to structure a book, how to overcome writer’s block. So if you’re DIY for all areas of your business, you can plug into this book that we created that is specifically for real estate investors who want to write their own book to get more deals or dollars. That’s what it is. And so we took all the learnings that, you know, took us hundreds and hundreds of hours to learn and provided a shortcut for you. So that’s one way. And then the other way is we have some licensed content that we allow for some different niches and for the ROI, we allow them to plug into our licensed content.

Jay Conner (31:17): So you got the, do it yourself, people writing their own books, and then you get sort of done for you?

Max Keller (31:24): Yes.

Jay Conner (31:24): Right. So you got both ways. Well Max, why don’t you go ahead and tell everybody how you can help them.

Max Keller (31:33): Sure. Yeah. So just go find out about us just go to DealsChasingYou.com/Conner and that’s with an ER and we’ve got a copy of The REI Book Writing Checklist. They can check it out, get a free copy of it. And then we’ve got some links on the website once they do that, they can go into our portal and they can see what specifically what we’re doing with the different niches. So yeah, just, you know, something to explore some of the checkout and and you can get some value from this book. Like I said, we’re offering it for free for a limited time. And so yeah. Check it out. And we got our contact info on there. If you have any questions about, you know, what it is that we do, and if we can help you, we you know, more than happy to answer any questions that you have

Jay Conner (32:21): For our folks that are listening on our, on the podcast, you may be on Google play or iTunes. Let me spell that website out for you. So it’s www.DealsChasingYou.com, And to get that checklist, is add a /Conner, Is that right, Max?

Max Keller (32:50): That’s correct.

Jay Conner (32:51): So again, let’s put that site up. www.DealsChasingYou.com/Conner, Are there any other ways that a real estate investor can use this book to grow their business?

Max Keller (33:12): Yeah, absolutely. So, you know, I had mentioned earlier about how, you know, this turned into a huge referral tool, you know, for me, it was just easy for people to, you know, connect me to other folks and kind of pass my book around. You know, and another one that’s really, really sort of like a little secret that people know who write books is speaking engagements. So there’s groups of people that are over, you know, your ideal prospect, whether it’s private money lenders or motivated sellers. And and they’re always looking for people to speak, whether it’s virtual or live. And so shortly after I published my first book, I had a church, a local church reach out to me. They had gotten the book from one of their congregation and said, Hey, we got a copy of your book. Would you be interested in speaking at our church?

Max Keller (34:02): And I didn’t. I said, sure. You know, and I didn’t have, you know, presentation, I didn’t have PowerPoint slides or anything. I basically, it was kind of a last minute thing. I just showed up to the church. I had a box of my books and I made sure that everybody got one and I just, you know, basically held up, I got a copy of my book right here. I just held up my book and I just taught out of it. And I taught what I knew. And it was awesome, because the folks were super engaged, you know, they’re just like leaning forward in their seat. And afterwards they came up and told me how much they really appreciated me. And they asked about my services specifically and actually booked a couple appointments that night to go look at houses, which was awesome.

Max Keller (34:45): And, and so, you know, I was really, really blown away that I had given them something that they really wanted and, you know, it was just a small local church, you know, but to me it felt like, you know, I headlined a big stage. I mean, I really wanted to do it again. And so, like I was saying event organizers, you know, they’re always looking for people to speak and being a subject matter expert, being an author makes it really, really easy for them to pick you. You know, I remember one time the organizer asked me what my fee was? And I was like, stuttering, I didn’t even know what to say. I was totally unexpected. And I was like a zero. And they’re like, Oh, okay, well, that’s great. You know, cause we had a budget for a certain amount and I was like, Hey, wait a second thinking about it.

Max Keller (35:29): I mean, honestly I would pay to speak there. You know what I mean? Like when you get a recommendation from the pastor of the church saying, you know, Max is the author, Max is coming to teach about housing. Everybody needs to show up. I had one church that printed out 2000 like flyers and put it in their church bulletin full color 2000 2 weeks in a row. And I didn’t pay for any of that. So that’s a really big deal. And then the other thing is it’s kind of interesting as celebrity, you know, I didn’t write this book to be a celebrity. I’m happy just being a home buyer. And I buy houses here in Fort worth and Dallas. And now I have a group of students that plug into our licensed content, but I didn’t do any of this to become a celebrity, but it’s just sort of part of it.

Max Keller (36:24): When you write a book, people look at you like the other people they know who have written books, like, you know, Dave Ramsey, or like you said, Robert Kiyosaki, I got to meet, you know, recently and you know, Barbara Corcoran and Oprah. I mean, these folks all have books and it is no secret that being a celebrity or being seen as a celebrity, even local celebrity has a lot of power behind it. And folks trust you more. They, they look at you more as the doctor prescribing them the medicine instead of just a salesperson. And so I get folks all the time that asks for a copy of my autograph and they get all excited and I still sort of like bewildered and I just never get used to it. And I say, okay, well, here’s what we’ll do. As soon as you sign the contract over there, you give me your autograph, then I’ll give you my autograph. And we all kind of have a little laugh. So it’s been a really it’s been a really fun journey and it’s been a really different way to buy houses and raise more money for my deals.

Jay Conner (37:26): Well, there you have it folks. I know you’re interested in learning about how to have your own book for your own credibility, for your own story. And you can get the checklist on how to do that yourself, or you can plug into Max and get it done for you. So that website one more time folks is www.DealsChasingYou.com/Conner, Max it’s been fantastic having you on the show, parting comments before we wrap it up.

Max Keller (38:01): Yeah. Just commend everybody for listening to you. You know, you run a really great program and I, you know, I’ve got some time to, we gotten to spend some time together and see your operation and it’s, first-class all the way. So I just commend everybody listening to keep focusing on their education and look forward to checking back in with you in the future and, you know, give you any sort of updates.

Jay Conner (38:25): That’s awesome. Thank you so much, Max. There, you have it folks. Another episode of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner. I’m Jay Conner, the Private Money Authority wishing you all the best. Here’s to taking your real estate investing business to the next level. And we’ll see you on the next show.

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If there was one criticism of Grand Theft Auto 4 that evidently stung Rockstar, it was the complaint that it lacked an endgame. Liberty City was an incredible location, cramming as a lot character into one particular city block as most open worlds handle in a thousand, but once Niko settled his final score, there wasn't substantially to do but cruise about waiting for the DLC. Mods are developed by Modders, and they zip up the files altogether or put them in the application kind which can be installed into your game generating it simpler for you to get these mods functioning into your laptop. These modifications which are not official and are made in the local files alter the game style and gameplay and bring new characteristics or take away them from the game.

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The Autopilot feature makes it possible for the player to leave the helicopter cockpit even though it is in the air and access the hold and even leave the aircraft.

There are plenty of various missions you can undertake in San Andreas, with varying degrees of reward for your troubles.

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It does a excellent job of organizing the restricted content, but the difficulty is just that -- it really is limited. Some characteristics are not operating yet and the principal draw to this web page would be to boast to the GTA neighborhood that you're further along in the game than other players are. And, do we genuinely want a web-site that promotes the game?

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What’s a lot more, GTA 5 is truly challenging on video memory. Attempt to set Texture High-quality to High with a 2GB graphics card and you’ll be warned that you’re exceeding the limits. Ignore the warnings, and you may perhaps be gobsmacked by the detail on skin, background textures and – specifically clothing – but the frame price will stutter all the time. It may well just about be bearable when you’re walking around, but get in a automobile and attempt a driving-heavy mission and you are in for a nasty shock. If you are a Pc gamer who’s spent the last eighteen months envying the console crowd when they all got stuck into the newest, greatest GTA, then rest assured that you can now play the definitive version. In undertaking so, it adds a handful of far more metres to 1 of gaming’s towering achievements. The scene of Grand Theft Auto 5 is set in Los Santos, which is based on the actual Los Angeles with its architecture, capabilities, and lifestyle.

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If you have noticed this alert message as effectively, then we want to hear from you in the comments, particularly if you utilised any sort of money glitches or other cheats. Once once more, do maintain in thoughts that when applying mods a lot of them fiddle with memory allocations, which may well effectively be identified by Rockstar as cheating when it comes to going online. Ideal stick to singleplayer when making use of something non-official. If you fancy mixing points up devoid of fiddling around in folders, see our list of GTA 5 cheats for a list of console commands which will let you bend Los Santos to your will. This GTA 5 mod brings Vice City into the modern day era, with a total remastering of Vice City from Lunchxbles.

Although playing the game, promptly press Left, More About GTA Online Money Generator 2020 LB, RB, LB, Right, Left, LB, Left. Enter a automobile just after enabling this code to encounter significantly less gravity. The Securicar will spill a large quantity of cash about it if blown up (normally containing involving $500 and $2000), but carrying out so with weapons will promptly attract a two-stars wanted level, regardless of exactly where it is performed. To stay away from this, the player can use 1 of the automobile-bombs supplied by Patrick McReary to blow up the auto, or harm it enough even though driving it that it will burst into flames and explode. The money that is ejected from the truck soon after explosion disappears quicker than money dropped by pedestrians on the street.

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Business spins SellingFacebook Profiles Work around show

Audrey Mitchell is a 23-year-old New York City move from London. She's a happy model working at KFC. As shown by her profile on Facebook, where she has 921 mates, she favors the New York Knicks, the film Me and Wonderful and the Contracting Youthful grown-up, and the St. Paul, Minnesota-based hip-ricochet pair Eyedea and Cutoff centers. She's at long last single, at any rate her Facebook Dispatch inbox is meandering eccentrically out completed frail men sending her stickers, emoticons, jabbing messages, and dick pics. She respects cupcakes. Also: She doesn't actually exist.

I comprehend this reason for reality analyzing the way that few snaps and one direct $13 bitcoin exchange on a Russian site to purchase Audrey Mitchell and her acceptably advanced impression. After the exchange, an educated embellishment presented a downloadable record containing the general phone number Audrey's record was picked under, a confusing word, and a picked birthdate — the exceptional of the fundamental affirmations get to the record.

Inside 30 minutes I was controlling everything of Audrey's page, appreciating pictures, posting notice, and exculpating upsetting messages. There was little to suggest that the page was inauthentic — or that its supervisor was a 30-year-old producer in Montana.

Across Facebook there are wearisome others truly like Audrey — joke records with nearly made records, a little posting history, and a photograph show of real individuals taking guaranteed selfies. They exchange hands a goliath catch of phony record business centers, where, for somewhat complete, any enchanted appearance expert, blackmailer, or savage can add up to a huge number of clearly human profiles fit for outsmarting Facebook's district.

Referencing before Congress in April in the conceivable aftereffect of the Facebook political race shock, President Cutting Zuckerberg told theme arranged specialists "you're not permitted to have a phony record on Facebook." Despite then these phony profile business spins keep on winning around show on the web.

"There should be millions [of addresses sale]," one Facebook account dealer made in Europe assessed to BuzzFeed News concerning the size of the phony records market. "I go to these goliath business living spaces and see a couple thousand [profiles] in stock relentlessly. I was unable to say in case it was a goliath number or a tremendous number now Facebook kills a couple and individuals continue to make them. Continually." Correspondingly, when insinuated the number from counterfeit records I could buy from them at one time, the seller stayed aware of me, "I could send 5,000 records immediately."

"I could send 5,000 records immediately."

Facebook uncovered to BuzzFeed News that phony records addressed routinely 3% to 4% of its 2.19 multi month to month dynamic clients during the last quarter of 2017 and first quarter of 2018, at any rate the course of action proposes that the records sold in such business conditions address scarcely any the phony records that Facebook screens. Know more here facebook账号购买

The association is inventively doing connecting with fake records. On Tuesday, Facebook expressed in a straightforwardness report that it hurt 583 million phony records and unlimited posts that included sex, spam, and scorn talk in the major three months of 2018. Regardless, then Facebook account business centers figure out some approach to manage supervise control work on show: A Google look for "PVA [phone-affirmed accounts] Facebook" returns various locales selling accounts that are picked with basic telephone numbers and are as such seen by the obliging relationship as bound to be certified records. These business places exist in direct infringement of Facebook's terms of association and revoltingly offer each and every advancement in this manner hoards for bypassing the collusion's advantage while utilizing counterfeit profiles.

While one record merchant uncovered to BuzzFeed News they had "never seen a business opportunity for taken records," it shows up, undeniably, to be the business districts have remained mindful of facilitators to try to take Facebook accounts from attested individuals. In one occasion reported by Erin Gallagher, an altered information essayist, an Egyptian maker broke into the Facebook record of a dead man to take and offer the profile to a business region. "In each record you get 20 pounds/individual who gets them since they need old records," the expert told Gallagher.

Facebook said it considers these phony record business centers, which the union notes are not novel to the stage. (A tremendous store of Twitter, Instagram, and email accounts are furthermore open for getting.) "We pleasingly outline online business spots to assist with upsetting cheats who attempt to sell counterfeit records. Our reenacted understanding developments assist with baffling goliath number of attempts to make counterfeit records every day, and we get customarily more once somebody tries to utilize them," Bill Slattery, Facebook's head of e-evil lead assessments, said in an explanation. Slattery in like way proposed that the phony records business centers might be detonating numbers or, a dash of the time, selling counterfeit data. "Since a record looks ready to move doesn't mean it's genuinely liberal or that it will if all else fails be utilized suitably without getting captured. We in like way work with law execution when fitting." The entire of the nine telephone demonstrated the veracity of records I bought from two separate business living spaces while looking at this piece worked and acceptably stayed away from declaration from Facebook while posting.

"A couple of days you will have a central number improvement demands."

The most major of the phony profiles ready to move are "softreg" accounts, which are genuinely auto-picked utilizing programming programs and have not a ton of additional things. These show up, plainly, to be bought in mass — in April, one Russian site was selling as much as 2,100 softreg addresses 5 pennies each. There are "stayed aware of" accounts, which are either really picked or made utilizing a softreg program and populated with mates containing a blend of bots and shared followback approaches. At long last, there are "made records," which request to have been set up some spot in the level of four and 10 years sooner. Across the business places, made records are completely more cutoff (running some spot in the level of $5 to $150 per account) as they're liberally less slanted to be hailed by Facebook's record seeing programming.

A Russian site called AccsMarket offers enchanted purchasers the chance to buy accounts chose as precisely on time as 2004 (the year Facebook dispatched) with 5,000 certainly genuine, non-bot embellishments for $150 each. Firmly when BuzzFeed News gathered check whether a record was preregistered and left apathetic or got from an authentic individual, the affiliation said just that the record was "deserted."

Now and again, it is dull where a phony record closes and an ensured single beginnings. In January, I purchased five profiles — including five procedures for colossal profile and photograph system pictures, in addition as Google Voice telephone numbers to request the records and outfit them with liberal characters — utilizing a made record business center. For each condition, the photographs gave were spellbinding pictures of clear individuals. A contrary picture look for one of Audrey's profile photographs uncovered that it seemed to have a spot with a Russian model named Yuliya Yanchenko, who didn't return a message proposing remark.

A Facebook profile seller uncovered to BuzzFeed News they all things considered buy pictures from a party in India that harvests photographs from places like the Russian individual to single correspondence site VK, which isn't recommended by Google and hence more hesitant to appear in an opposite picture search. The delegate uncovered to BuzzFeed News that they like to purchase photographs of join as one with ladies. "In the event that you post pics of a hot youth and send mate proposing Indian men, Center Easterner speakers, or South American men, they will see critical and some time later the total of their mates will demand you," the transporter said. "A few days you will have a beast number of pal demands."

For most purchasers, the key concern is that the phony records are reasonably ensured to the lacking eye and don't trigger Facebook's spam securities. To ensure the last started, epic levels of the submitted record buying questions offer express guidelines to "warm up" the records and cause them to show up, in actuality, to be tremendous. The site for AccsMarket tells clients they "should from the beginning play out some standard activities that a standard individual would do in the wake of picking. Model: balance the page, buy in a, couple of affinities, balance the page, fill in express photographs, make a couple reposts, remarks, and so on" The records carrier saw that one convincing approach to manage supervise direct control heat up a profile is to investigate political discussion. "I'd make the record attestation to be impeccable to Catalonian self-alliance and whenever you post anything about Catalonia and opportunity you get diverse enhancement mentioning from indepentists," the transporter said. "All them are Unimaginably vital and On an extremely essential level amped prepared for posting and sharing this sort of political radicalism."

Certain locale offer different insurances like VPNs, which cover IP regions and control evident record logins from various contraptions. A couple of fights even propose utilizing programming like RF_SCreater, a program that can pass on a phony checked duplicate of a Russian clear affirmation with the name, date of birth, nation, and city subject to one's own pheno

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Jay Conner - Real Estate Investing Successes

https://www.jayconner.com/jay-conner-real-estate-investing-successes/

Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority, talks about recent successful real estate deals.

#RealEstate #Foreclosures #PrivateMoney Come visit and try our four week FREE trial membership!

www.JayConner.com/Trial

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Well, hello there! And welcome to another episode of Real Estate Investing with Jay Conner. I’m Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority. And also the host of the show. And if you’re brand new to the show or never tuned in before, here we talk about all things, real estate investing. We talk about single family houses. We talk about commercial deals, lands, self storage, multifamily, you name it. But the majority of the time we do talk about single family houses and how to never miss out on a deal for not having funding. You see, I became known as The Private Money Authority back in 2009 because when my wife Carol Joy and I started investing in single family houses here in Eastern North Carolina, back in 2003, the first six years, we relied on local banks and mortgage companies.

And then I had a rude awakening in January of 2009. And that’s when I got cut off from the local banks with no notice like the rest of the world did when we had the global financial crisis going on. So I knew I had to find a better way and a more efficient way to get my deals funded. So that’s when I learned about private money. I was able to raise over $2 million in private funding from the time I started attracting the private money. So we know in the real world out there, even though there are many creative ways to buy houses and properties, at the end of the day, most of the deals are done and concluded by having all the cash ready to go.

So on today’s episode, I want to share with you four ways to get more offers accepted. Four ways. To get more offers accepted. But before I do, I have a free offer for you and you can’t be free. You see, just recently I launched my new membership site, which is called The Private Money Academy, and this is a monthly month to month membership. And we now have over 100 members that are showing up twice a month to have zoom coaching with yours truly, myself. And I’m going to give you in just a second, a way for you to have access, to enjoy the membership for a free four week trial, just to give it a trial run and see how you like it. The reason you want to take advantage of this is, first of all, I just mentioned. We have at least two live zoom conference calls a month where I’m coaching all the Academy members revealing my secrets to how we actually run this business in less than 10 hours per week. Netting over seven figures per year.

On each of the zoom conference calls for the Academy members. I have one of the members in what we call the Hot Seat Section. And in the Hot Seat Session, what we do is analyze their business, find out where they are, what their struggles and challenges are and how to overcome those. And then we put a plan together for the members to take their business to the next level. We also have a private closed Facebook group for all The Private Money Academy members to be a member of. And then I also have four different areas of training in the membership site, video training that we update every month. So if you would like to check it out absolutely for free, then after this show, get right on over to www.JayConner.com/Trial That’s JayConner.com/Trial Come on in to the membership and come join the fun and come learn a lot about real estate investing.

In addition to that, before I dive into today’s topic. I really appreciate it if you would subscribe so you don’t miss out on any future episodes of our show. And if you are tuning in on iTunes, we would love for you to not only subscribe, but rate and review and give us five stars. If you think we’re worth it. We’re on Google play and many other platforms. No matter where you’re tuning in from, we’re glad you’re here.

So let’s go ahead and jump into today’s show, which I’ve titled, Four Ways To Get More Offers Accepted. But before I go over those four ways, I want to, first of all, give you two underpinning principles that always helps you get more offers accepted regardless of the structure or the way that you have done so. Or that you’re going to structure a particular deal.

First of all, the way I do this business and the way I’ve done this business since day one is having a mindset of always creating win-win scenarios. It’s gotta be a win for everybody. And the way for you to create win-win scenarios is for you to have a servant’s heart. You see, if you have the mindset of I’m going to just come in there, you know, whether you’re looking to do a wholesale deal or you’re looking to, you know, make an all, you know, all cash offer and you’re just going to offer, offer, offer. You know, sometimes, it’s the price is not the, is not the main objective or the main motivating factor that seller has. You know, my students hear me talk all the time about when we are doing deals. There’s so many different people that win. We want to create a scenario to where the seller is going to win and they win by us solving their problem. We wouldn’t be in this business unless we had the opportunity to actually solve problems.

So we want a win for the seller. We also, if you’re going to use private money, we want for the private money lender to win by paying them a high rate of return safely and securely. When we go to sell that home, particularly if we sell that home on rent to own, then we’re creating a win scenario for that buyer because the buyer didn’t have any other way to buy a home until we came along and we have a program to where they can actually have a pathway on to home ownership. The American dream. And then we win as well because we are able to bring these solutions and these different structures together. Now, I just, I want you to really think about this win-win scenario. You see, sellers, whether you are meeting them in person or you are talking with them in person the very first time. The seller knows and can tell what your outlook is.

Are you there in that conversation just to make a deal? Or are you there to really fix their problem? You see, here’s what I’ve discovered. When my focus is on the other person and I’m really tuning into what they need and what their problem is that they’re wanting to have taken care of. And I’m really focusing on them. I don’t have to worry about me because you know, it’s like Zig Ziglar said, if you take care of enough, other people, helping them get what they want, you don’t have to worry about getting what you want in the overall scheme of things. You know, over the years we have purchased and invested in a lot of homes that were in foreclosure and I’m not talking bank and properties in this conversation. I’m talking about helping people that are in foreclosure, but their house or home has not yet gone to sale.

You see, here’s another example of creating Win-Win. When we have someone respond to our marketing and someone has received one of my letters, that’s in foreclosure. And they respond to us. One of the very first things that we ask is, do you want to keep your property? Do you want to keep your house? And if the answer is yes, then we’ve got us a checklist of 10 different ways that they can keep their house. And if any of those ways work, there’s nothing in it for us directly out of that deal. Of course, one of the first ways we talk about is have you talked with your mortgage lender about a deferment program to where payments that are in arrears can be put on the end of the note, and then you just start making payments currently right now.

So we go over these different ways. Unfortunately, most of the time they cause a financial distress and other reasons. The person is not able to bring their payments current or start even making payments on a timely basis. But at least they know we have these ways to offer. And if we can help them get what they want and that is keeping their home, then we do it. So that’s my first principle I want to share with you. Whenever you are beginning conversation with a seller, take on the framework and the hat of making sure that it’s going to be a win for them first. And then you’re not going to have to worry about yourself.

The second principle that I want to share with you before we get into the different ways of structuring these deals is I want you to right up front, tell the people, tell the seller what to expect in the course of you helping them out and possibly purchasing their house. For example, just this morning at 8:00AM I got a call last night from a individual that knew what we do here in the area of investing in single family houses. And they called me up and left a message last night. So I called them back at eight o’clock this morning, and we began the conversation. And here’s one of the first questions that I ask after we build a little bit of rapport. I ask the seller, I’ll say, well, tell me what your situation is. Tell me what your situation is, or just tell me about the situation.

Now, let me tell you what is so critical about you understanding and using that scripting of saying to the seller. Well, tell me about the situation. You see, when you say to someone, tell me about the situation, they could first start talking about the property and the condition of the property. The situation that the property is in. Or they could start telling you about the situation that they are personally in.

You see, when a seller contacts us and it’s an off market property, meaning it’s not listed in the multiple listing service. Then they have got a problem. Either the property has got a problem or they personally, or their family has a problem, or both. The property itself could be in distress. The people themselves could be in financial or personal distress, or both. The reason, one of the first questions I ask after building some rapport with the person. My question to them is, tell me about the situation. Tell me the situation. If they talk about the property, then I know that is one of their top motivating factors. And that is the property. They’re wanting relief of that property in some kind of way. Maybe they’re having carrying cost. Of course, they’re having carrying cost. If they still own it. Perhaps they need debt relief. Maybe the monthly financial burden of mortgage payments are just weighing them down. And you know, they just can’t stand it anymore.

I was visiting with a seller about a month ago, and that’s what it was. She had already moved into another home and still had the mortgage monthly payment, financial burden of the existing home. So when I said to her, well, tell me about the situation. First thing she started talking about were the monthly payments. So again, that’s one of the first questions you want to ask because when they answer that question, tell me about the situation. Then that’s going to tell you exactly what you need to hone in on as far as what the focus on, on solving their problem. So when I say tell them what to expect. This morning, as I was saying at 8:00 AM, when I was talking to this particular seller and we built a little rapport and you know, one of the first things they want to know is, well, how does your process work?

So after I had asked the question, tell me the situation. Well, let me tell you what her answer to the situation was. This is a house that’s located in Mill Creek, North Carolina. The situation when I asked that question, tell me about the situation. The answer was, well, there are six of us heirs to this house. It sits on the water. It’s got a nice water view, but there’s still some damage from hurricane Florence, which was a couple of years ago. And this person went on to tell me that they are the executor of this particular property and this person and the other five heirs had decided that they just want to liquidate the property and not put any more money in it. They don’t want to carry any more insurance on it. They didn’t want to pay any more taxes. And they told me without me even asking anything else beyond, tell me about the situation they said, we just want to get the mortgage paid off and not have the burden of this property anymore.

As a matter of fact, this person was actually responding to one of my probate letters that I had mailed out months ago, that my team had mailed out months ago. So I said, well, let me tell you how the process works. And so here’s how the process works. I said, first of all, I’m going to introduce to you. As soon as we finish this call, I’m going to do a group text introduction to Kim. Kim is our acquisitionist. And she’s been with us now for about 14 years. And Kim, what she does is she gets all the initial information on the property that you have. And then I ask, is it okay for me to send a group text to Kim and to you and get you two connected? So we can go in and get some initial information about the property. And the executor says, sure, that’d be fine.

I said, so after I introduce you all, Kim is going to call you, get some initial information about the property, and then we’ll do our research. We’ll find out what the after repaired value is on the property from our realtor. And then at that point, we will decide if it makes sense for us to schedule an appointment for my team to come meet you and whoever of your designee at the property and we’ll walk around and we will estimate repairs. And then from the time we estimate repairs, we’ll go from there and see if we can put together, listen closely. Put together a win-win scenario for everybody.

Now, again, that’s telling people and telling sellers what to expect. Now, there’s another very, very important part to telling people what to expect, because you see when you’re first having this very first conversation with a potential seller, there’s this skepticism that’s automatically built in. They don’t know what to expect. They don’t know how the process works. They don’t know if this is going to work out. So I want to tell you right here, and right now, how to immediately defuse any kind of stress or pressure that’s in the midst of this conversation, because I can tell you there’s already some type of pressure or distress from the seller standpoint, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place.

So here’s how you defuse the pressure. Take it off yourself if you’re brand new. And what I’m getting ready to say to you will immediately give comfort and peace and destress your seller if they are feeling stress. And here’s exactly what you say. You say, you know, I just want to let you know up front as part of our process and we’ve done many of these deals. You know, sometimes it works out for us to buy the property or in some way help you sell it. And sometimes it doesn’t work out for us to buy the property. And I just want you to know in either case that’s okay. Even if it doesn’t work out for us to buy the property or to negotiate or, you know, put a deal together. I don’t want to use the word negotiation with the seller because I’d already sets up like an inherent feeling of conflict. I want them to be at comfort and at peace. So I was like, even though, even if we can’t work out something together at the very least, I may be able to refer you to someone that can help you out of the situation.

You see that? I keep looping back to the word situation. So you see that’s part of explaining the process. Is telling them right up front, it’s okay if It doesn’t work out for us to actually work on this directly, but because my main cause and purpose and objective here is to help you with your situation. Well it works out for me to get something out of the deal or not is okay with me. My main purpose is in helping you out. Now let me give you another sub point about how this, how helping people out works out. And that is, you, God gave us two ears and one mouth, right? And the only way, not the only way, but the best way this is going to work out is if you become a listener like nobody else. I mean, when you increase your skill and talent of really listening, for example, back to the question, tell me about your situation. Now, when you say, tell me, when you asked him about your situation, you got to put on your listening cap and the taking copious notes, because the more they tell you about the situation, I can tell you what they are talking about. It’s what’s most important to them.

Now, as I mentioned a couple of minutes ago, a lot of the times, it’s not always about the price. Let me give you an example. Not too long ago, I was talking with a seller about, I was actually talking with the daughter of the mother that lived in the house. This was in a small home, over in Newport. And I was talking with the daughter and I said to the daughter, tell me about the situation. And here’s what the answer was to that question. You know, the first answer was there were six heirs on this home in Mill Creek. They didn’t want to do any more to the house. It needed repairs. The six heirs don’t want to mess with it.

When I’m talking to the daughter on this home, over in Newport, here’s the answer to the question and I’ve got my ears wide open. I said, tell me about the situation. The daughter says, well, my mother has been living in this home for years. In fact, it’s been living in this home for decades and she’s come to a point in her life to where she needs to move out because she needs to move to an assisted living area or an assisted living home. And she doesn’t know where she wants to go, but we know we need to sell the house in order to provide income and revenue to pay for the assisted living. I said, after she answered the question, tell me about the, she didn’t say anything about the property. It wasn’t the property. It wasn’t the upkeep. The problem to tell me about the situation was the mother needed to move on and did not know where they were going to go. And they needed money to start making that decision.

Since I had my listening ears on. Here was the way I structured the deal. I said, I’ll tell you what I’ll do. I’ll pay you all cash. Using private money. I didn’t tell them private money cause they wouldn’t know what I’m talking about. I said, I’ll pay you all cash for the property and I will let your mother live in her home for a another 90 days, three months, rent free. For you and the family to have plenty of time to find a place in assisted living area. And you can go ahead and get, you know, I’ll give you a partial cash upfront as a down payment before we, or earnest money before we actually close on the deal. So you all can all start. You can go in and start making arrangements on the move.

Guess what I discovered from that offer because I had my listening ears wide open. I learned after we closed, the daughter told me after we closed, she said, Jay, I just want you to know that I had another investor offer me more money than you did, but I want you to know the reason we took your offer was because you understood what my mother needed. My mother needed some cash now to go ahead and start finding the assisted living home to move into. And because you were able to work with us and give us some money up front and then close out a completely 90 days down the road, then we took your offer. Even though it was a lesser amount.

Now, let me tell you how I structured that deal. Okay? So I structured that deal with seller financing. So I told you up front in the beginning of this episode, that I was going to teach you four different ways to get more offers accepted. So this was a combination of seller financing and private money cash. Alright. So this is seller financing.

So number one way, I call it Seller Financing with Principle Only Payments or Seller Financing with Equity Payments. So this strategy can be implemented in many different ways. Seller financing with principle only payments or equity payments. That means the same thing. What that typically means is when the seller is selling a house that’s free and clear of any mortgages, have any notes or liens attached to it. Then I offer to make them payments that will go 100% towards purchase price until I cash it out.

Well, let me tell you what I did in this case. So you say, Jay, how can you give them money up front and you’d be protected? What if I take the money and run? Well, they can’t take the money and run. What we did is we went ahead and closed on the property at the agreed upon price. But all I did was a 90 day note. You see, they needed cash. In this case, $10,000. They needed cash $10,000 down to go ahead and start finding the assisted living area, moving and et cetera. So I had my real estate attorney draw up a note and a mortgage. And so I gave $10,000 down at that point of the down payment at my real estate attorneys closing office. Title was went ahead and was transferred to me.

So I own the house. I own the house. You never give a seller any money. Of course, all the money goes through the trust account, right? They get the money at closing. Alright. So now we have a note in place. And so I’m going to pay it off in 90 days. But as part of the agreement in this negotiation process, I’m not going to pay it off until the mother has moved out of a house. So you see, that’s how I structured that deal, making it a win-win scenario and giving the mother and the daughter exactly what was needed. So that’s number one, seller financing with equity payments, principle only payments, or in that particular case, a down payment that 100% of that went to purchase price. And then the balance was paid in 90 days. Now, where did that money come from? Private money, of course. But it was a combination of seller financing, a 90 day note, transfer the title and ownership at the time of closing and then paying it off with private money at the end of 90 days.

The second way that I want to teach you today on structuring deals is what’s called, Seller Financing with Interest Only Payments. Seller Financing with Interest Only Payments. This is also called Seller Financing by Your Seller Being a Private Lender. This is making the seller of the property, your private lender. Well, how in the world does that work? This strategy works when you’re dealing in higher end, higher priced properties, where the seller is very, very intent on getting their price. Okay. So I have a friend who recently negotiated a deal and the price of the property retail was $800,000. Well, the seller wanted full retail.

Well, they knew they could negotiate this deal, but they could only, they didn’t have private money lined up for $800,000 price. So they negotiated with the seller to sell to them with just interest only payments for 12 months. And for the, during that 12 months, that gives them. So it’s, you know, interest only payments can typically be less than principle and interest payments. By doing interest only payments that gave the real estate investor, my friend, plenty of time to locate a rent to own buyer on this very high end property over on the beach, it’s a resort property. And they can negotiate the deal. So that’s two ways to use seller financing, seller financing with principal only payments, seller financing with interest only payments.

There’s actually another seller financing strategy. I’ll go and share with you right now. I’m not going to have it displayed at right now, but that is, Seller Financing with NO Payments Until Cash Out. Seller Financing with NO Payments Until Cash Out. So when you have a seller, particularly on a free and clear property and they don’t need the cash flow, then you can, Oh, my podcast producer is brilliant. He’s already got it up there. Seller financing with ZERO payments. So you can negotiate the deal to where you buy it with nothing down and no payments until you find a buyer. And when you find the buyer, you use the buyer’s money to then cash out your seller, and then you retain of course the profit over and beyond the price that you all had negotiated.

So that’s two ways. Actually three ways. So now what is the next way? And y’all have heard me talk about this a lot. And that is Buying with a Subject to the Existing Note. Buying Subject to the Existing Note. So simply that is when someone will, they’re wanting retail value or they’re giving it to you at a discount. They’re willing to sell you their house, leaving the mortgage in their name, and they’re going to sell it to you, transfer the deed and you are agreeing to make the payments until you find a cash out buyer. Who’s willing to do that? A motivated seller who is interested solely in debt relief. You see the person I just told you about a few moments ago that I met about a month ago. They, that was their main motivation. When I said, tell me about the situation. And the situation was they needed a debt relief. So this strategy even works when a seller wants full retail price, where you can buy a house at full retail price, subject to the existing note, if and only if, the underlying monthly mortgage payments are less than what you can bring in per month with, you know, a rent to own monthly payment. So subject to.

And then the fourth way, of course, is Paying Cash with PRIVATE MONEY. Using Private Money. And I can tell you that this in the real world out there is the way for you to ensure, to never missing out on a deal because you didn’t have the funding. Most sellers, even though we’re talking about these different creative ways are going to require all the money. Now, if you’re wondering about how in the world, you can get private money, regardless of your credit score or verification of income, whether you’re a seasoned real estate investor or you’re brand new, that’s another reason for you to get involved and take advantage of the four free weeks that I’ve offered you. Of The Private Money Academy. So if you want private money for your deals, then be sure and get in the four week trial at www.JayConner.com/Trial.

Well, those are the four ways before I let you go on today’s show. I want to give you a strong negotiating tip and strategy on how to negotiate when it really is all about price with the seller. And that is I have got a formula. And for all of you that are in the Private Money Academy that I just offered with the trial. I have a formula that I share with all the Academy members that shows a formula to the seller as to how on average, they get only about 78% of their asking price when that is listed in the multiple listing service. So if you’ve got a seller that is just, you know, dead set on the price, then use this formula and showing them.

Here’s what I do. First of all. Well, here’s the price they want. If you put your house, if the seller puts their house in the multiple listing service at that price, first of all, national average, 6% is gonna come off of that. We’re already down to 94% of the asking price because 6% is going to go to the realtor community and commissions. Well doing business with a real estate investor, there are no realtor commissions. In addition to that, when you sell it in the multiple listing service, there’s always going to be, I say, always 99% of the time, there’s going to be a home inspection by the buyers home inspection company. And of course, what is the home inspectors job? The home inspectors job is to, is to point out every nuance of inefficiencies. And of course, anything that is not working that is intended. Well, I can guarantee you after the home, after you’re under contract to sell the house, when the seller’s under contract to sell the house and the home inspector comes along, do you think there’s going to be now more negotiation asked by the buyer of a house? Absolutely!

I rehab houses all the time. Carol Joy and I have rehabbed over 400 of them here in Eastern North Carolina. And after the home inspection, the buyer always wants more to come off of the price. In addition to that, how long is it going to take to sell the property with carrying costs? So while the property is on the market, then there’s carrying costs still going on. Mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, unexpected maintenance. In fact, I was talking to another seller this morning that it is his mother-in-law, his 91 year old mother-in-law that is wanting to sell the property. When I asked the question, what is the situation? The answer was the 91 year old mother-in-law and the family don’t want to spend money anymore to upkeep the property. And it’s just too much. And so just two weeks ago, and this may have been the cockroach that showed up for the most recent motivating factor of the seller.

When I’m talking to the son in law, he says to me, the hot water heater just went out two weeks ago. And now we and my siblings have had to replace the hot water heater. We’re done. We’re just tired of upkeeping this property, keeping the upkeep on this property and we’re ready for it to go. So again, the formula that I use on showing a seller as to what the real cost of selling a house, when in the multiple listing service versus selling to a real estate investor, many times can make the difference on whether you buy the house or not.

Well, there you have it. Not only the four ways. I think I did maybe five ways. That you can get more offers accepted. Remember the underlying principles that I went over with you as well. And that is, always creating win-win scenarios, telling people what to expect and making sure that you always have their interest first at heart. Because again, when you take care of them, you don’t have to worry about yourself. Take me up on my offer. Four weeks free trial in the membership. Jay Conner’s Private Money Academy at www.JayConner.com/Trial.

Thank you so much for joining in on the episode. If you found it valuable, be sure to subscribe, rate, and review, and I look forward to seeing you on the next episode. I’m Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority. Wishing you all the best. And here’s to taking your real estate investing business to the next level. We’ll see you on the next show.

[annainthewoods]

otgw comic masterlist

the list just keeps growing (which is wonderful!) and it’s hard to keep track of all the over the garden wall comics that have been coming out. here’s a list i’ve compiled to make things simpler.

note: for the sake of brevity i haven’t included information about the story content of the comics. please follow the links for more information.

that said, you are welcome to message me and ask any questions about the comics you like. please also send me corrections if something is wrong. thanks!

completed

over the garden wall (2015)

the very first otgw comics. first came a special, followed by a limited series of four issues.

publisher: kaboom!

written by patrick mchale with amalia levari

illustrated by jim campbell

individual issues:

four wayward soldiers (oneshot special)

#1 don’t tell papa

#2 the tale of fred the horse

#3 round the ol’ pear tree

#4 the woodsman’s daughter

all five stories are included in these compilation volumes: 

over the garden wall: tome of the unknown

tome of the unknown (limited edition, no longer available)

over the garden wall (2016-2018)

publisher: kaboom!

written by jim campbell, amalia levari, danielle burgos, kiernan sjursen-lien, george mager

illustrated by jim campbell, cara mcgee, george mager, kiernan sjursen-lien, jorge monlongo

this series has been refered to as “the ongoing series” by fandom to differentiate it from the 2015 comics. however the series is now complete.

it ran for twenty issues, which have been compiled into five volumes: 

volume 1 (issues #1-4)

volume 2 (issues #5-8)

volume 3 (issues #9-12)

volume 4 (issues #13-16)

volume 5 (issues #17-20)

rock facts

a 26-page zine released exclusively at san diego comic con in july 2017 with two different cover designs. only 500 copies were printed but the comic is still fairly easy to purchase online (i bought a copy of each variant from a seller on ebay)

publisher: kaboom!

written by ryan ferrier

illustrated by anoosha syed

cover a:

cover b:

over the garden wall 2017 special

the only special released alongside the ongoing series (so it says “no. 1″ but there has not been a no. 2). it includes the stories “mineral springs”, “odin’s bargain”, and “fiddlesprung and the deadly cold” and was released in september 2017

publisher: kaboom!

written by jonathan case, gris grimly, samantha glow knapp

illustrated by hannah christenson, gris grimly, cole closser

over the garden wall: distillatoria

a graphic novel released in november 2018.

publisher: kaboom!

written by jonathan case

illustrated by jim campbell

over the garden wall: hollow town

hollow town was a five-issue limited series which was re-published as one volume in july 2019.

publisher: kaboom!

written by celia lowenthal

illustrated by jorge monlongo

over the garden wall: circus friends

a graphic novel released on october 2, 2019. 

publisher: kaboom!

written by jonathan case

illustrated by john p golden

over the garden wall: soulful symphonies

a five-issue limited series, published as a trade paperback on august 25, 2020. it was originally set for release on june 30, 2020, but the date was pushed back, presumably due to coronavirus. 

publisher: kaboom!

written by birdie willis

illustrated by rowan maccoll

over the garden wall: benevolent sisters of charity

another graphic novel, released on october 13, 2020.

publisher: kaboom!

written by sam johns

illustrated by jim campbell

that’s all for now! as of sept. 27, 2021, there have been no new comic announcements. keep your fingers crossed and give the existing comics lots of attention online to encourage new releases!

i will do my best to keep this post up-to-date. feel free to help me out by messaging me when new info comes out. i hope you enjoy the comics :)

[anjalena123]

What are the cheaper, better alternatives to Mailchimp?

I was looking for free or cheapest alternatives and the first one I started using was Mailchimp but it’s not the best one for me.

Then I try GetResponse and find it the best and cheaper email marketing software. I am still using it. GetResponse is one of the most popular email marketing services.

With the addition of Autofunnel (now known as Conversion Funnel), GetResponse has become a great tool for building sales funnel as well.

GetResponse is a perfect tool for both beginners and professional marketers. It has tools to become an email marketing service, build a sales funnel, become a checkout software, or you can create social media ads using it.

It’s like a complete tool for internet marketers. Even if you require tools like drip automation, retargeting, and tagging for e-commerce, GetResponse has everything. You get a 100+ email template to match your brand and niche.

I’ve been a GetResponse user for a long time. I keep testing to multiple tools, but GetResponse is the best I’ve ever used. Not just me, but people that I’ve referred GetResponse, a bunch of clients, have never had any issues with it.

GetResponse allows you to build automation workflow, create autoresponders, retarget website visitors with drip campaigns, and more. You can even set up an e-commerce store using an in-built payment processor.

All in all, it does everything an internet marketer, blogger, small business owner, or e-course seller would ask for.

Here are some of it’s best features:

·

One of the best email marketing software that is beginner-friendly and equally powerful for scaling businesses.

·Conversion Funnel allows you to build sales funnels.

Webinar software integrated with GetResponse’s marketing platform.

·A checkout page with a payment processor already integrated.

Landing page builder with 50+ templates.

Marketing automation.

Opt-in form builder and integration with popular lead generation tools.

Retargeting automation workflow.

Drip campaigns.

Custom workflow builder with the visual editor.

·150+ email templates for various niches and industries

Facebook Ads integration and builder.

Unlimited email autoresponders.

GetResponse Email Marketing

The biggest challenge for any beginner is to setup automation workflows with email autoresponders. Most of the tools have a cluttered dashboard and a block-based automation builder.

GetResponse, on the other hand, has a visual automation builder.

Using the visual editor, you can create custom automation without much trouble. It’s easy, and with the help of pre-made templates, you can create autoresponder emails quickly and save tons of time.

The visual editor is fairly simple to use. GetResponse allows you to create autoresponder emails and use them in marketing automation.

You can set autoresponder cycles. A cycle will define how many days should pass after a subscriber is added to your email list.

You can choose which days the autoresponder is active. It could be active the whole week, only on weekends, and so on.

Well written emails should also look good, and based on your industry, how your emails look and feel will make a difference in conversions.

Take the pets niche, for example. Pet owners are extremely devoted and caring. They don’t compromise on quality. Emails that look basic won’t generate high conversions in such a niche.

What would work is an email written in a professional tone and looks like a pet lover sent it. And GetResponse has templates that’ll help you convert your emails in such a beautiful and personalized format.

GetResponse has email templates specifically curated for hundreds of niches and the purpose of your email.

You can choose from email templates designed for:

Selling products.

·Promoting services.

Educate subscribers.

·Welcome leads.

·Celebration.

Custom email templates are also a possibility. You can create a new HTML template using the CSS block-based drag n drop editor and save it for future purposes and repetitive use.

Speaking about templates, GetResponse has a landing page builder too. It’s not just a basic page builder. Just like emails, you have landing page templates too.

These landing page templates are also optimized for a high conversion rate. Host your landing pages on a custom domain or on a GetResponse URL. It’s your choice.

The pages connect with your funnels and email lists instantly.

You can upload media files straight to GetResponse to add them to your emails quickly. You get 2 GB of file storage.

Most of the time, you’ll send your email according to your regional timing. But your subscribers will receive your emails at their regional timing.

This situation results in a lower open rate and an even lower clickthrough rate. GetResponse has a feature called Perfect Timing.

Perfect Timing is a feature that allows you to send emails at the time that each subscriber is more likely to open and read your email. Perfect Timing is based on data collected by GetResponse.

When you use Perfect Timing, even when you click on send, the email isn’t sent instantly. GetResponse analyzes each subscriber, then according to the generated data, emails are sent when the response rate is recorded at the highest.

Their email marketing software is robust. GetResponse looks very clean and the dashboard is well organized.

In fact, it is the best looking and put-together email marketing dashboard.

You will easily find mailing list sats, email reports, automation insights, sales numbers, and other settings right on the dashboard.

There are two versions of API offered by GetResponse V2 and V3. The API V3 gives you slightly more control and access to commands over the connection at GetResponse.

If you’re looking to survey your audience, you can create survey forms to collect leads using GetResponse.

You can create multiple email lists inside your GetResponse account. Multiple lists can be interconnected using segments inside automation workflows.

Each list allows you to tag individual subscribers. This tagging function works on two things:

·Automation

Lead generation tools/Manually

Firstly, you can tag subscribers by creating an automation workflow. I’ll show you how to in the tutorial below.

Secondly, you can use a lead generation tool like Privy or Thrive Leads to tag subscribers based on the opt-in form they signup from. Or you can also tag them manually.

Unlike other email marketing services, GetResponse allows you to send a double-optin confirmation email twice. Suppose someone subscribes to your list but forgets to confirm the double-optin.

In such a case, you can resend the confirmation email by going to your mailing list. To resend a confirmation email, go to your mailing list.

Then click on the list name and click on the “Unconfirmed” link. This will open a new page where everyone who hasn’t confirmed their subscription will appear. Click on the three dots and select “Re-send.”

You get tons of options for optimizing your email marketing campaigns. GetResponse has an active A/B testing feature. Using A/B testing, you can compare two different emails and identify which one got more open rate and clicks.

A/B testing is a good way to measure the success of email templates, colors, text font, writing style, etc. It shows you what your subscribers are really loving and what’s not working.

I actively use A/B testing to check the difference between multiple subject variations. This one practice has helped to increase the open rate of my RSS digest emails. I highly recommend you to test two subjects every time you send an email broadcast.

To automate things up a little bit, there is an option to use a blog RSS feed to automatically send emails to your subscribers. Every time you publish a blog post, your RSS feeds get’s updated as well. Utilizing your feeds, GetResponse prepares an email and automatically sends it to your subscribers.

Set how the email looks, whether it will be sent immediately when a post is published or weekly as a digest. I use it for sending a weekly digest to my subscribers.

Transactional emails are triggered by emails. Emails such as account creation details, password recovery, cart recovery, checkout assistance are all known as transactional emails. Since these emails are sent to individual subscribers, they are not considered as a typical marketing email sent to bulk email subscribers in a list.

It runs a spam check every time you write an email. If it doesn’t pass the spam score check, you’ll have to edit the email content.

You can send a test message to check how your email will look when it’s sent to your subscribers.

GetResponse also shows you the global preview where you can see your emails getting accessed live by different devices. This will help you to identify any HTML or CSS issues within your template before they get sent.

All in all, GetResponse has tons of features. It might sound overwhelming, but the platform is very well optimized for ease of access, and it makes managing your email marketing campaigns swift.

GetResponse also has a mobile application to help you manage your email marketing and sales funnels on the go. The app is supported on both Android and iOS.

The GetResponse smartphone app lets you:

·Send emails and track statistics.

Keep in touch with new contacts.

Manage your mailing list

Get marketing insights

You can also create social media ads using their Social Ads creator. You’ll get the app download link once you register for a GetResponse account.

GetResponse Conversion Funnel

Conversion Funnel basically helps you to create a sales funnel, with no prior knowledge required. Unlike other sales funnel software, GetResponse Conversion Funnel is built for beginners and small businesses.

It consisted of beginner-friendly sales funnel templates and a shop listing platform. The sales funnel templates are what make Conversion Funnel so much interesting and popular.

Using the sales funnel template, you can build a complete lead-to-sale funnel optimized for high conversion in a few clicks.

You can choose from a bunch of templates depending on your need and industry.

There are three categories of sales funnel inside the GetResponse conversion funnel:

That means you won’t have to bother building a sales funnel from scratch if you are going to sell a product, promote a webinar, or looking to build your email list.

Beginners will highly appreciate the pre-built sales funnels offered by Conversion Funnel. It eliminates the guesswork, which is why most beginners fail at creating a highly successful sales funnel.

Using the pre-built funnels, you’ll slightly ensure the success of your sales funnel. Because these templates are built by successful email marketers and CROs. If your product/service and customer onboarding system is solid, these sales funnels will not fail.

All GetResponse Conversion Funnel templates are optimized for higher customer retention and high sales. You just have to fill in the blank and edit the sales funnel templates with your product information, services, and other stuff. It’s that easy.

GetResponse has over 30 conversion-optimized scenarios created by professional marketers.

That’s just not it. Conversion Funnel is a combination of additional features such as:

Social Ads creator

Lead generation form builder including exit-intent popup forms

·Product manager and listing – both physical and digital (you can use the product listed directly in your emails)

·Sales page optimized for a higher click-through rate.

Perfectly timed emails to recover cart abandonment (automatic setup)

For example, if you choose to build a sales funnel to sell products, the default settings will:

·Automatically retarget your email subscribers and online store visitors.

·Send autoresponders to create specifically for selling products.

·Automatically send confirmation emails (you don’t have to pay for transactional email)

Process credit card, stripe, and PayPal payments

·Automatically display and send upsell offers.

Automatically recommend new products based on past transactions.

If your goal is to generate more leads, use the lead magnet funnel. Prepare a checklist, an eBook, or a free PDF report and offer it on your website as an incentive in exchange for an email.

Using GetResponse lead magnet funnel, you can deliver the lead agent and nurture the subscriber.

GetResponse Support

When it comes to supporting, GetResponse is not the best.

Their platform is good, so I haven’t’ had any frequent issues. But I’m an online marketer, so I can tackle most of the issues on the front-end myself.

However, not everyone using GetResponse will be a professional.

GetResponse says they are the world’s easiest email marketing platform, and yes, they are. Most of the issues are solved quickly.

There is live chat support, 24×7 accessible. You can send an email for ticket support in over 8 languages.

Resolutions come pretty fast for normal, day to day issues. You won’t have any delays in getting an answer as well as done-for-you support.

But GetResponse support is quite weak at resolving complex issues. Their support staff is knowledgeable just enough to answer and solve front-end software issues and errors.

GetRespone Integrations

One of the many reasons people are afraid to migrate to a new email marketing service is integrating their current software with the new platform.

Many times, the only reason you might not shift to a more powerful tool could be as simple as this:

You are afraid to lose control and disrupt the sync among the software you’re using. You don’t want the hassle of adding a new tool and changing the way you operate.

Well, that’s not an issue with GetResponse. It integrates with 120+ software, cloud-apps, and web services. It also connects with Zapier to further integrate with over 1300+ apps.

It integrates with all popular and not-so-popular landing page builders, funnels and pipeline software, CRM, and chatbot software, just to name a few.

You can also connect it with a custom app using the newer version of the GetResponse API key.

GetResponse Pricing & Plans Basic $15 plus $49 professional $99

GetResponse Pros

Things that I liked about GetResponse are:

Intuitive dashboard, quick navigation across all marketing software and apps.

Powerful email marketing templates for various niches. This makes it easy to generate more conversion, even if you are a novice.

Marketing automation to personalize and automate your email communication based on your audience habits and preferences.

Straight forward sales funnel builder. Sales funnel templates are possibly the biggest advantage over its competitors.

Ecommerce store platform built-in. You can list physical and digital products right inside GetResponse and sell using the integrated funnel and email marketing automation.

Allows affiliate marketers to send raw affiliate links.

The landing page builder is quite powerful and has the qualities of a full-fledged page builder.

Integrates with PayPal and other payment processors. You get a built-in high performing checkout page as standard.

Social Ads creator to publish Facebook and Instagram Ads. It’s much easier to use GetResponse Ads creator than Facebook.

GetResponse Cons

Here are the things I didn’t like about it:

The support is decent, but if you need solutions to complex marketing requirements, you’d better be buying the enterprise or Professional plan.

Deleted emails are still counted towards the invoice for the month.

The form builder is quite basic

GetResponse Review: The Conclusion

Overall, GetResponse is a complete marketing solution, but at the core, it is one of the best email marketing services.

It is a beginner-friendly, has tons of powerful features, and allows you to create complex marketing automation workflow with ease.

With its Autofunnel Conversion Funnel software, building sales funnels and lead pipelines are easy as it gets.

If you’re a beginner or small business, GetResponse seems to be the perfect tool for you.

But, if you’re looking for something to scale your e-commerce store or a tool that allows you to customize content for your customers, you might want to consider Drip or Keap.

Start a 30 days free trial.