here’s what you’re looking for: 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间

that headline is just one of them.

(and a picture of a puppy or little kid is another.)

as a publisher, editor, marketer and new media developer, i’ve been testing headlines and email subject lines since the days of (omigosh! am i really that ancient? sadly, yes.) hot lead type. i can still remember the acrid smell of molten lead at the the first newspaper i worked at.

but the techniques for grabbing readers’ attention have changed little. today, we can just quantify it better with open-rates and click-thru’s on emails and hits and pageviews for websites. so it was especially interesting to get this list, derived from one of my custom publishing clients, about the email subject lines that seem to work best.

attributes of headlines for the most highly read articles

1. x tips for… (i.e. 3 tips to win new accounting clients)
2. x ways to… (i.e. 7 ways to survive a down market for audit services
3. the top x… (i.e. the top 10 mobile products for cpas)
4. the ultimate … (the ultimate guide for winning presentations)
5. the do’s and don’t’s… (the do’s and don’t’s of online marketing)
6. how to… (how to win new business on the first meeting)
7. want to learn… ? (want to learn how to sell consulting services?)
8. the secret to… (the secret to converting small-business prospects to clients)
9. who wants… ? (who wants to close deals faster?)
10. little known ways to… (little known ways to save on your overhead costs.)

but be warned. the line between clever and cheap is dangerously slippery. as i think i’ve just proved.

p.s.: the picture accompanying this post is our own sunny. (ain’t he cute?)

smartphones boost personal productivity and client satisfaction.

how cpas stay connected:
join the study; get the answers.

by rick telberg
at large

accounting professionals love working out of the office. the vast majority of accountants do it to some extent, and some even spend more than 40 hours per work week working at client sites, while commuting or on business travel or in their homes on weekends and in the evenings.

and there’s a good reason for it: more than half of finance and accounting professionals tell me that working out of the office increases their personal productivity and improves client and stakeholder satisfaction.

the smartphone — which adds e-mail, web access and document management to the traditional voice-only cell phone — is emerging as the linchpin of mobile connectivity for cpas. many cpas say they rely on their smartphones like umbilical cords connecting them to colleagues, clients and family. and almost as many are seeking more powerful devices and more reliable phone service. read more →

cpa technology advisor readers pick favorites

palo alto, ca – paycycle, america’s #1 online payroll service, today announced that it has been recognized with the cpa technology advisor’s readers’ choice award. paycycle was selected as the top payroll service provider for 2007, leading a category that is one of the most crowded markets with over two-dozen notable program and service providers.

“i would like to thank all accountants using our service for helping us win the readers’ choice award. it delights us to see their powerful influence reinforcing that paycycle has found the right formula for payroll. the ease of managing payroll with the paycycle® online service has not only allowed accountants to add payroll to their services but also to do it profitably,” said julie lubetkin, director of paycycle’s accounting professional program. “our customers like the complete package that paycycle offers, which includes low, flat–pricing; different levels of client access; integration to leading accounting solutions; great customer support, and more,” continued lubetkin.

this recognition adds to paycycle’s recent accolades. paycycle was recently recognized as an “awesome quickbooks add-on” by the sleeter group and was also selected as one of the top 100 accounting products by accounting today.

flex scheduling emerges as secret ingredient in cpa job changing plans. which benefits matter most to cpas? join the study. get the answers.

by rick telberg
on finance

an old saying tells us that “time is money.” and that’s especially true for cpas and finance professionals who might be thinking about changing jobs in 2008.

paid vacations and insurance may top the list of benefits that cpas expect. but flexible work scheduling—the ability to take time off as needed for personal or professional reasons—is surfacing as the key competitive differentiator for job changers, recruiters and managers. by far, flex scheduling is the most often mentioned by accountants who cite newly emerging benefits.

“the valuable benefits may not be monetary but rather may be more flexibility in the workday, such as every other friday off and working nine-hour days,” said one senior corporate staffer.

flexible work scheduling leads a growing list of nontraditional benefits that practitioners expect from the perfect job. other nontraditional perks frequently cited include:
• eye care insurance plans
• health savings accounts
• legal services plans
• reimbursement for computer purchases
read more →

the average compensation for cas is up more than 13% from 2005 to $186,544

the survey found that the average compensation is highest for members in industry ($233,554), particularly holding/conglomerate at $293,370; mining ($298,296) and oil and gas ($286, 892); followed by professional services ($159,396); not-for-profit ($130,051); government ($108,716) and academia ($105,852).

understandably, the lower compensation in public practice is partially due to the requirement (with a few recent exceptions) that all cas must complete their training requirements with a ca firm. consequently, as the survey states, “a higher proportion of junior cas work in public practice. [but] members who stay in public practice and make it to partner will earn among the highest compensation of all members.”

more at “salary success.”

washington (irs) — the irs expects to be able to begin processing returns for the vast majority of taxpayers in mid-january. however, as many as 13.5 million taxpayers using five forms related to the alternative minimum tax (amt) legislation will have to wait to file tax returns until the irs completes the reprogramming of its systems for the new law.

the irs has targeted feb. 11, as the potential starting date for taxpayers to begin submitting the five amt-related returns affected by the legislation. the february date allows the irs enough time to update and test its systems to accommodate the amt changes without major disruptions to other operations related to the tax season. as the irs has said previously, it will take approximately seven weeks after the amt patch was approved to update irs processing systems completely.

although as many as 13.5 million taxpayers will not be able to file their returns until feb. 11, the effect of the delay may be lessened by the fact that under previous filing patterns only between 3 million to 4 million taxpayers file returns with the five affected forms during these early weeks in the filing season.
read more →

but the mix is changing for 2008

by hank berkowitz

“generating leads and closing sales are clearly emerging as top priorities for today’s b2b marketers,” said rick telberg, popular cpa insider™ columnist and co-author of beyond the click: matching online marketing tactics to sales cycle, a new report from bay street group research and aicpa custom media solutions.

read more →