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Despite progress we always have those among us who believe the “old fashioned” ways or products are better. It has to be said that in some instances they are correct. Sadly, with each passing generation, some of this old fashioned wisdom disappears.

Progress is so contemporary and so closely a part of our daily lives that we sometimes fail to recognize that we, ourselves, may fail to keep up with what is happening. Things that we would have considered very modern because we witnessed their creation only a few years ago may already be “old fashioned” to high school students.

In the medical world, treatment that might have been popular for a disease in 1986 may be completely outmoded in 2006. Even medical discoveries of the 1990’s may be old fashioned today.

However, over the years, and for generation after generation, a great number of home remedies for many illnesses have managed to stay alive. They have been passed down from elders to youngsters in each country throughout the world. Many of them are strikingly similar although they may have originated on separate continents among completely alien peoples.

This area of medicine is commonly called “folk medicine.” Few people will have failed to have come into contact with this term at one time or another. Usually folk medicines are the “old fashioned remedies, the cure that “Grandma used”; the wisdom of the oldster who remembers when “My old friend Betty would have died if they hadn’t used that old remedy! Yes sir, even the doctor had to admit it worked.”

Periodically there seems to be a revival in folk medicine. We appear to be now experiencing such a time as more people are becoming concerned, not only about the high cost of medicine, but also the increasing discoveries of side effects.

Basically most folk medicine is closely associated with herbs, food, oils, minerals and components found in any household. Techniques and methodology of folk medicine are especially adaptable to home use.

It is not difficult to understand how many of these medicines and treatments originated and why they were popular. Among pioneers and peoples where doctors were few and far between, or nonexistent, medical aids were the products of experience and necessity. People used what they had at hand. Sometimes what they “had at hand” are still used by our most modern medical experts.

For instance, over two centuries ago an English woman herb doctor used a concoction of over twenty herbs to treat symptoms of dropsical. Dr William Withering of Shropshire in England became interested in her success and, after considerable research, concluded that the foxglove in her treatment was the answer to her success. Medicine, derived from foxglove, is still considered an excellent treatment.

Nature has given us many natural remedies, with little or no side effects. I am sure, with more research in this area, she would be more than willing to give up more of her healing remedies.

Many people suffer from some sort of shyness. They may fear that their actions will be scrutinized by others, and as a result, they have difficulty facing certain people or specific situations.

However, shyness is a condition that can fairly easily be overcome. In this article, we will look at a few techniques that can help you get rid of your shyness:

1. Try self-affirmation. Every day, as soon as you get out of bed, stand in front of a mirror and say, “I feel great! I feel fantastic!” This technique may seem a little silly at first, but it really helps: after a while, your mind starts to believe what it has repeatedly heard.

2. Make sure that you always look your best. There are no fancy tricks involved here, you just have to follow a few common-sense principles. For example, regularly take a shower, get a haircut, and put on a nice, high-quality suit. Also, make sure that your shoes are always polished! Knowing that you look good will help you build your self-esteem.

3. Acknowledge your shyness. There is nothing wrong with telling other people that you are a little shy –in fact, this can be a wonderful way to break the ice! If people know that you are shy, they will take that fact into account when they interact with you. They will appreciate your honesty, and when they are talking to you, they will understand that you’re not impolite or uninterested when, in fact, you’re only being shy…

4. Constantly try to improve yourself. Take up a new hobby and acquire new skills, and you may discover that your “worth” has increased –both in your own eyes and in the eyes of others. For example, you could learn a new language to improve your mind, or you could start working out to improve your body. Whatever initiative you take, people will admire you, not only for the results you will achieve, but also for the simple fact that you had the courage to set a step in the right direction!

5. Learn how to deal with rejection. No matter how hard you try, there will always be a few people that won’t like or accept you. As the song says, “You can’t please everyone, so you’ve got to please yourself.” Once you have accepted this fact, you will discover that it does not have to be the end of the world if a person doesn’t like you.

To a very large extent, shyness is “all in the mind” –once you start to behave with confidence, you are, in effect, no longer shy!

Whether you are marketing on-line or off-line, your potential customers are scared, scarred, and skeptical. Consumers, today, are quite resistant to sales messages.

In the mid 70’s, a store could run a “10% off” sale and people would flock in. Then the big stores got into the discounting mentality. Now it is common to see “70% off” sales - especially in jewelry. The consumer is not too long a fool. These promotions do not produce the wanted response anymore.

Repeated, high powered sales events create a downward spiral. Eventually you cannot offer a big enough “deal” to get the public excited. The big three car makers played this game for three years. By January 2006 they found themselves in deep financial trouble. They had borrowed customers from the future by offering a bigger, better sale every couple months. It is a deep grave from which to crawl out.

Successful businesses, now and in the future, will be practicing “soft marketing”. To make sales today, marketing efforts have to come in under the consumer’s sales-pitch radar.

Many of the big companies have known this for some time because of their on-going marketing analysis. You can take advantage of their research for free.

Look at Coca-Cola for example.

Coke was famous for their flashy, high-powered TV ads. Today you seldom see such ads. Have they cut back on their marketing expenditure? No. In fact, they are now spending more using soft marketing techniques. Most people do not even realize they are being advertised to. That is the beauty and power of soft marketing.

Here are two ways Coke is using a soft marketing approach to build profits and market share.

1. You may have seen Coke products displayed on TV shows and movies. “American Idol” is a popular TV show, with about 35 million viewers. The three judges are a big part of the success of the show. In front of each judge is a tall Coke cup. These characters, in effect, are recommending Coke to their viewers. Coke pays a lot of money for this and sells a lot of product based on this endorsement type advertising.

2. Coke brings new loyal customers in the “back door” using nostalgia products. Coke collectibles are a huge market today. And once caught up in the hobby of Coke collectibles, a person, and the whole family, become avid Coke drinkers. And Coke is being advertised to everyone who enters that home.

Coke’s soft marketing techniques have made them almost bullet-proof in the soft drink market. They have built an image of being the most popular soda. Since it is human nature to want to be on the winning team, swarms of new customers are joining the group every day.

Here are three powerful soft marketing tactics you can start using today.

1. Become known as an expert. Credibility and trust are the two most important ways to succeed in any business. Write and submit articles and press releases. If you cannot write, hire someone to do it for you. There are several good writing service web sites on the internet. They are very cheap. Also, you should join a “Private Label Rights” content site. They provide already written articles that you can put your name on as your own. This is pure gold for on-line or off-line marketing.

If you have a business on Main Street, your local newspaper should be your best friend. Do whatever you can to develop a relationship with them. You may or may not be able to get your news articles and releases printed for free, but even buying the space will return big dividends.

2. Give away a free report on the topic of your product or service. Your local newspaper will probably give you some free editorial space in the beginning if the report is of interest and free to their subscribers. A real life example is a realtor in this area that offers a free report - “10 Ways To Get Top Dollar For Your Home”. It reveals what is valuable, and what is not, when getting your home ready for sale. With this he becomes the expert in the consumer’s mind and a person who cares about them.

You can get a book or report written for you for a few hundred dollars by the same on-line companies that ghost-write articles and press releases or from your “Private Label Rights” membership site. This realtor has been using the same report for over ten years now. It is estimated this report has generated about $1.6 million in profits.

3. Partner with related, non-competing businesses. One dry cleaning operation partnered with clothing stores in the community. The store, when selling a garment, would give a gift certificate to the customer. The gift certificate was good for a free first-time cleaning and pressing of that new garment.

The customer thought the store was paying for the dry cleaning. The fact is the dry cleaner was giving the service for free. The customer saw the store as being a “hero” and the store saw the dry cleaner as being a “hero”. Both stores gained a load of new and repeat customers.

Use these soft marketing strategies or think up your own to fit your product or service. Have some brainstorming sessions with other energetic, savvy business people, like you. The resulting ideas will amaze you, and your traffic and profits will increase as if by magic.