An In-Depth Look at Army Divorce Rates
An In-Depth Look at Army Divorce Rates
Raleigh, NC-The largest divorce firm in the state, Rosen Law Firm, says they're not surprised by the sharp increase among Army divorce rates and that more needs to be done to counsel the spouses left at home and those deployed overseas."There's a huge difference between typical divorces that we see on a daily basis and the military divorces that we're seeing," says Janet Fritts, a divorce attorney with Rosen Law Firm. "The majority of civilian couples we deal with have stopped communicating somewhere during the marriage, but military couples have been communicating in more ways than ever before."Divorce experts say young military marriages, co-ed military units, financial decision-making, and the bureaucracy of being a military officer's spouse are just some of the factors contributing to the already established problems of spousal absence and combat stress among military families."Allocation of finances is a huge problem because so many military members have no control over their finances when they're overseas and their at-home spouses are spending the monthly checks the way they see fit, sometimes on their new love relationships," says Fritts. With deployments being more frequent and for longer periods, infidelity is another reason why the Army divorce rates have sharply increased. "A lot of times it's the women who remain on base to take care of the children and when her husband is gone for 6 months to a year, she may inevitably make new relationships with the men on the base," says Fritts.Military couples are usually far away from their families and they are not reminded of their marriage vows because they are so isolated on base or overseas. Fritts also explains the growing co-ed military units are not helping either as more military members are establishing relationships with the opposite sex during wartime.Statistics show the largest increase recently in Army divorce rates are among officers, a position which Fritts describes as having an enormous responsibility. Coupled with the weight of being an officer, the pressure of being a military officer's spouse also adds to the problem. "When they're left by themselves on the military base once their spouse deploys, a lot of spouses stop playing the game of being nice to the other military officer's spouses," Fritts explains. "Once the deployed spouse returns there's a lot of disagreement on the roles played and the bureaucracy of military officers and their spouses."Rosen Law Firm
4101 Lake Boone Trail, Suite 500
Raleigh, NC 27607
www.rosen.com
"Divorce is Different Here"With offices in Raleigh, Charlotte, and now Chapel Hill/Durham, Rosen Law Firm is the largest divorce firm in North Carolina. Founded in 1990, the firm is dedicated to providing individual growth and support to couples seeking divorce by helping them move forward with their lives. Our staff of attorneys, accountants, and specially trained divorce coaches expertly address the complex issues of ending a marriage. Our innovative approach acknowledges that divorce is so much more than just a legal matter. Specialties include child custody, alimony, property distribution, separation agreements, and domestic violence relief.For more information on Rosen Law Firm, or for an interview, please contact: Alison Kramer, Director of Public Relations, Office: 919-256-1542, Cell: 919-523-7104, akramer@rosen.com, http://www.rosen.com
Entering Business Aviation, Part II: Pay Rates for Flight Attendants
Entering Business Aviation, Part II: Pay Rates for Flight Attendants
Pay. You know that aviation pays better than commercial, in most cases a lot better, but you aren't sure what the going rate is for a corporate flight attendant. It might surprise you to learn that pay rates vary widely depending on the type of account, your location, your responsibilities, experience, and more.Over the years I have discovered that the pay range is not set in stone. Typically, fractionals pay less than charter operators [Part 135] who pay less than owner accounts [Part 91]. Are there exceptions to this rule? Of course. Other factors as mentioned above can play a significant role in determining what you will make. These include:* Location: business flight attendants based closer to major metropolitan areas command the highest salaries. New York and Los Angeles are the two most trafficked areas for private flying. Between corporate moguls and Hollywood celebrities, the two metropolitan areas produce some of the most significant amounts of flying in business aviation. If you are located in Pocatello or Burlington the chances of you finding work in the first place are remote, unless a fractional operator hires you and allows you to airline to reposition for your flight.* Responsibilities: So, what are you? Will you be treated as a passenger who serves other passengers or will you be expected to manage the entire cabin from the cockpit door on back? Is there a difference in service? Yes, but in the perception of the company doing the hiring there may not be. The written job description may differ from what the job actually requires. It may take several interviews for you to find out if the company places value on your culinary expertise, your safety training, your related job experience, etc. Generally, those companies looking for someone with "no experience necessary, will train" will pay less than those who state they want an employee who is up to date with their training and has flown for a number of years.Other questions to keep in mind: How often will you be flying? Will you be flying between set cities or traveling internationally? How may days per month? How many soft days v. hard days will you have per month? Will you be on call? Will you be expected to work in the office on days off? Will you be expected to "look after" children a/k/a play the nanny role when not flying? Will you be supervising other flight attendants?* Experience: The more experience flying corporate, the better. Companies should reward you based on your business flying background, safety and security training, culinary expertise, world languages if flying internationally, management skills, people skills, etc. Some companies require that you act as a personal assistant to the CEO. Extra compensation should be expected for these additional responsibilities.So, what is the pay range? These figures are not absolute, but the U.S. salaries that I have heard for corporate flight attendants falls into three general categories. These are some generalized salary ranges:* Fractionals: 33K to 43K, corporate experience not always required. These companies will train you to their specifications. One of the big pluses for fractionals is that you can live mostly anywhere; at least one company will allow you to airline to meet up with the aircraft [they also let you accumulate and keep your airliner miles].* Charter: 45K to 75K, depending on location of aircraft and your experience. Much of what I've heard as the quoted salary is in the low to mid-50s range. Indeed, the NBAA supports this data with a recent survey showing that the average corporate flight attendant is paid just over 53K per year.* Owner: 25K to 100K+. Let's not kid ourselves. There are companies that will expect you to jump through hoops to fly on their aircraft and for peanuts [and you know they don't serve peanuts to their passengers!] On the other hand, if you are a chief flight attendant your salary will probably start at 75K and can easily exceed 90K. The higher salary can be expected when you have a "VP" title and be in charge of several flight attendants. Oh, by the way, don't forget that you will be flying in addition to your office duties... guess who has to cover for sick employees when no one else can be found?100K+?! Let's just say that this amount is unusual, but I did confirm 110K for one flight attendant flying internationally some time back. Generally, never expect anyone to reveal their salary to you... why should they?What about flying contract? Wow... you had to ask. If I told you that you can expect an average of $300. - $350. per day plus per diem would that suit you? The amounts being paid for contractors vary just as widely as they do for full time flight attendants. I have heard of flight attendants flying for $0 just to get the experience and hours [how could a company conscientiously allow that to happen? Okay, stupid question!] I've also heard of a flight attendant making $600 per day flying internationally. Contract rates vary widely and depend, again, on your location, responsibilities, experience, etc.Questions to ask yourself:* What am I worth? If you think that the job merits 60K per year, then you need to make a case for earning 60K per year. If the company insists on paying 35K, guess what? You won't make anything near 60K, you'll be crossed off their list and the person settling for 35K will get the job.* What will I settle for? Can I justify the lower salary just to get some work? If I have flown for years and are willing to take a 20-25K pay cut, will I be able to live on the lower salary? Can I expect to renegotiate my salary once hired [don't make me laugh...]?* What benefits can I expect? 401(k), medical, dental, vacation, sick/personal days, and the like are some of the expected benefits when working full time. Other considerations: do they pay for uniforms? Is there a uniform allowance? What about salary reviews/job performance reviews? Is there room for promotion? Can I ever transfer to another account? Will they pay for my training? What is their policy on job termination/severance? Is this a family friendly environment?The more you know about your needs, wants, and desires before you are interviewed, the better opportunity you will have to be adequately compensated. Find out what is important to you: i.e., lower salary v. living where I want; job security v. higher pay; public visibility v. anonymity, etc. Stick with your principles and act upon them while negotiating your next position. One final question to ask yourself once a job offer has been tendered: can I live with myself if I accept this position?Matt manages the Corporate Flight Attendant Community at http://www.corporateflyer.net and http://www.cabinmanagers.com The Aviation Employment Board is his most popular site at http://www.aviationemploymentboard.com
How To Improve Your Open Rates And Click-Thru Rates In Your Email Campaigns – Email-Marketing
How To Improve Your Open Rates And Click-Thru Rates In Your Email Campaigns
In this article I will give you several tips that can help you in improving your open and click-thru rates.1) Open rateIn order to your email campaign be successful the first necessary thing is that people open and read your email newsletter. Online publishing is very similar to traditional publishing. When you buy a daily newspaper, you probably don't read everything. You don't have that much of free time and not every subject is equally interesting for you. If you are a sports fan you will read the sport section but you might skip an article about latest movies . In most cases you will decide what you are going to read upon subject titles.Same thing with email newsletters. One of the two most important factors that influence whether or not your subscriber will open your email newsletter will be your subject line. In order to have good open rates and click-thru rates you have to know your audience. Your message has to be well targeted.There are several rules you have to follow in order to make effective subject lines.Subject linesYour subject lines should be short and snappy to get attention of your subscribers. Many people receive dozens of emails every day and some other people that have web sites and often make posts on different places like web forums, discussion lists, publish articles, can get more than 100 emails per day. So your message will have a very big competition in your subscriber's inbox. That's why your subject line has to grab attention of your subscriber. This doesn't mean that you have to use usual spam techniques. On the contrary. Avoid using words FREE, GUARANTEED, Make Money Fast, Limited Offer and other get-rich-quick schemes words. Not just because of your subscribers. If you use these words it is most likely that your emails will never even reach them. Their ISP will take care of that with their spam filters. Also don't capitalize every letter and don't put several times exclamation. You don't need to shout, people will "hear" you if you know how to "tell" them your message.So your subject line has to be short and snappy, best thing is that you include one title from your articles in your subject line. It can be some breaking news or exlusive interview. People like to read breaking news or exclusive interviews that can't be found anywhere else. Also, people often read how-to articles (for example - How To Choose The Right Email Marketing Software) or so called "number" articles (for example ? 7 Tips For E-publishers On A Shoestring Budget).Good thing is that you put your newsletter name in brackets, at the beginning of your subject line in order to be easily recognized from other emails in inbox.Please bear in mind, that your subject line has to be consistent. What do I mean by that? Of course that you will change the title in your subject line but you have to find the best subject form and stick to it. For example:[NewslettterName] Your Subject Title, Issue #x, DateDon't forget, in order to make effective ads and this apply to subject lines, as well you have to remember 3 words ? test, test, test! You have to experiment with different models and find out which work best for you.From fieldBeside Subject line, From field is another info that your recipients will see in their inbox. People have to trust you in order to decide to read your emails. You don't open your doors to every person who knocks, don't you?If you are well-known person, trusted expert in your industry, for example some reputable Internet consultant and you are the only person that is involved in creation and publishing of the newsletter put your name in From field. If several people are involved in that process and if it is a corporate newsletter, use your company name.Most important thing with From fields is that you don't experiment with it. Choose one From field and stick to that. It is very un-professional that you often change your From field and beside that, in that case, your open rate will decline.Useful tip is that you ask your subscribers to make a filter rule for your email newsletter, based on your email address, From field or some part of your Subject line. For example, they can put [YourNewsletterName] in a filter rule for your newsletter or your From field name so every time they get the email newsletter that matches that rule it will be moved to a specially designed folder, for example YourNewsletterName. So this way your newsletter won't end in their Bulk folder. That is also one of the reasons why you should be consistent with your From field and subject line.2) Click-Thru RatesClicks come once your email newsletter is opened. With good open rate you have finished only one part of the job. Now, your newsletter has to be well designed with appropriate content and concept, and most important, well targeted in order to have a decent click-thru ratio (CTR). You have to know your audience. You can increase your CTR if you put your most important articles and ads at the top of your email newsletters. Don't write too long articles. It is better to write articles where you will list several tips. Also, don't overload your newsletter with ads. People want to read useful things and not lots of ads.Also, you know that a picture is worth more than 1000 words, so it is good that if you publish a HTML newsletter that you include photos that will be relevant to your articles and that are clickable. Click-Thru rates get higher if you give some value-added services to your subscribers. You have to make a good relationship with them. Treat them well, write useful articles, give exclusive discounts to your subscribers and they will show their appreciation.Different types of email newsletters have different click-thru ratio. Click-Thru ratio is important, but it is not the most important. Just because many people click on your follow-up article or offer doesn't mean that they will actually buy your software or service. In some cases, lower CTR can get you more sales than some good CTR. Think about that next time you start your email campaign.Dejan Bizinger is a Contributing Editor for Infacta. Infacta is email messaging services company providing powerful, yet easy-to-use award-winning Group Mail, software for sending highly-personalized email messages and Group Metrics, software for email tracking. For more information visit: http://www.infacta.com