How to Get Ideas for an Article?
October 31, 2006
Are you short of ideas? There are times when we are in the mood of writing an article, but suddenly may feel lost without ideas, wondering what do we write about. Does it apply to you?
I had many such occasions and found the following simple tips most useful.
1. Browsing the net
Just use your hitech machine which is awaiting to execute your commands. Type the words “article ideas” in your favorite search engine and click. You will be amazed to find the number of articles the search engine has picked up for you. Just scanning some of them will help you to refresh your blocked mind and charge you with a number of ideas. Don’t forget to immediately jot it down in your Notepad before they disappear from your mind.
2. Newspapers and Magazines
There is a tremendous amount of information lying in the Newspapers and Magazines. Scan them thoroughly since quite a few of them may have been overlooked . The daily newspaper provides you with a lot of relevant information on current topics. The writer in you will get inspired and bring out excellent articles in minutes just by reading them.
Got an Idea? Turn it into a Novel in Thirty Days or Less!
October 31, 2006
People can’t believe I did it, but I did. I wrote my first novel, The League, in about 30 days. I never spent more than two hours on any given day, unless I wrote then went back to edit. I also found and signed with a publisher in one month (see my article, Whatever It Is, Publish It Now, for details on this). Friends, family, and colleagues are fascinated when I tell them this. It’s not possible, they say. Then, I enlighten them.
The secret to writing a novel is quite simple. You don’t have to be John Grisham or Danielle Steel, either. In fact, you really need basic writing competence. Although I have years of experience in writing (I was a journalist for three years), I don’t consider myself on the level of the aforementioned novelists, in terms of style and eloquence. What I am is a storyteller. I look for ideas that are unique. I look for a niche. Take Grisham, for example. His niche is courtroom drama. He uses his experience as a lawyer, takes a new angle on a case, and turns it into some type of conspiracy that no one has considered.
How to Grow Your Ezine Subscriber List
October 31, 2006
Your ezine subscriber list is a very valuable group. They are interested in your product of service. They *want* to hear from you occasionally. They are interested in what’s new with the subject and have asked to be kept in the loop.
When I built my first website, I was mistaken thinking that just because I put a form to capture email addresses, people would fill it in. Very few did.
Why not? They had no reason to. No motivation. No return for giving out their information. I wrote a small time management workbook and offered it to subscribers. After they clicked to join the list, they were directed to a .pdf version of the book. As soon as I provided a reward for signing up, my subscriber list grew by leaps and bounds - almost 400%! I was so excited!
Then I sent out my first newsletter to these folks. Lots of them bounced; they were invalid email addresses. These readers were willing to type in a little box to get a reward, but the prize came too easily.
Distribute Your Self-Published Book - Part 1
October 30, 2006
Where is your book now? With a distributor? In a book store? Or, did it already die an early death after a few months?
New self-published authors often believe they need a distributor to sell a lot of books. They want to use Ingram or Baker & Taylor because they think they need to get their book into the “brick and mortar” bookstores like Barnes and Noble.
Authors go through many hoops and snags to accomplish this– what I call the “traditional publishing nightmare” of inefficiency and lack of support for authors. Usually the author only gets around 10% royalties and has to pay back all promotion expenses such as book signings. So many hoops, some give up. So many authors I speak with who have gone this route still have hundreds, even thousands of unsold copies littering up storage space. Talk about discouragement.
Distributors Can be Dangerous to Your Book’s Health and Your Wallet
One author wrote, illustrated, and marketed six beautiful children’s books. Her books were well reviewed and received. For some time, the profits rolled in until her distributor went bankrupt, owing her $160,000. After she stopped crying, she decided to take her books on the road-to local fairs and talks where she could KEEP all the profits.
Three E-zine Alternatives You May Not Have Considered
October 30, 2006
During the free e-zine publishing teleclasses I offer every month, I always get a few people who say to me, “You know, publishing an e-zine sounds great, but I just don’t think I have the time to do it on an ongoing basis.” Or, “I’m not sure if I’ll have enough content to publish an e-zine.”
If this is your case, you may want to consider one of these e-zine alternatives. These can still help you achieve your goal of establishing credibility, staying in touch with your prospects, and capturing your Web site visitors.
For the first two alternatives, you’ll need an e-mail autoresponder. This is like a fax-on-demand system that sends out e-mails automatically when others request them.
The great thing about autoresponders is that you can preset the timing of a series ahead of time. For example, you can schedule message 1 to go out immediately once a person signs up for the list. Message 2 could follow two weeks later. Message 3 would follow two weeks after that. Get the idea?
ALTERNATIVE 1: THE “EVERGREEN” NEWSLETTER
If you don’t foresee yourself writing fresh new content every week or month that you publish, why not make your newsletter “evergreen?”
A Checklist For Drafting Business Letters And Emails
October 30, 2006
Write Right - You have an all important business letter or email drafted, proof read and waiting to be sent. Before you dash it off, use this self questionnaire to ensure that you have written to Express and not to Impress.
=> Is it actually necessary? Would a phone call or personal visit do?
=> What is the purpose of the document?
Is it to - Request information / Clarify a stand or position / Pass on information / Request action from your reader/s. State the purpose in the first paragraph, preferably in the first line.
=> Is the document addressed to the correct person?
=> Do I need to send copies to anyone?
=> If I want something, have I said by what date?
=> If requesting action, am I doing it politely?
=> Have I provided all the necessary information, facts and figures?
=> Have I made any assumptions? If yes, get them verified.
=> Is there a clear understanding of what the next step is going to be?
This is known as the HOT POTATO because it will cause some reaction or movement from the reader. An example of a HOT POTATO -
Top 7 Writers Sites for 2005
October 29, 2006
If you dream of turning your book into a best seller, or you’re looking to become a best selling author in your field, then these sites promise to help you do just that.
Whether you are a reader or a writer, you’ll find something here that will help you build your writing career, or lead you to a great book.
Book Bonuses - http://www.bookbonuses.com - Have you read a good book lately? If not, this site will definitely encourage you too.
If you’re a writer, you’ll definitely want to contact the site owner about your writing. This site offers a newsletter with over $300 in bonuses just for signing up, and you’ll find out about some of the best titles, and authors, when you read the newsletter.
Author’s Den - http://www.authorsden.com - Although this site requires a membership, it’s free to join. If you want to promote your writing, you can sign up for a premium membership that is an absolute steal. You’ll also get your writing in front of readers who are looking for what you have to offer. Not to be missed.
Power Keys To Writing Power-Packed Marketing Copy
October 29, 2006
In order to maximize your sales efforts and fully seize your greatest profit potential, these essential elements are a “must-have” and “must-apply” in all of your action-driven marketing communications.
Value-Added, Benefit-Rich Headlines Make The Difference
A bold, mouth-watering headline is considered by many a marketer to be the most important element of any super-effective marketing copy. Studies show the right headline can significantly increase response results to an offer exponentially.
Did you know that only about 20% of your required prospects ever get beyond the headline to read the full body of the copy? It’s absolutely true! So therefore, you must appropriately invest the time and brain power to make your headline sing.
Avoid the witty or cute rhetoric routine. Why? Because it always places too much attention on your company’s sensibilities rather than applying the laser-focus upon your potential client’s real needs and honest desires.
The secret is that clients are far more interested in reading about “themselves” and their world than about your company and how big or great you think you are.
How to use Articles to Boost Your Online Presence
October 29, 2006
Writing articles is one of the best ways to get free targeted traffic to your website and isn’t as hard as you may think!
You don’t need to be an expert on the topic you are writing about. Just pick an area that is related to the theme of your website, do some research using a search engine and before you know it you will have more knowledge on that subject than most.
Here are a few tips for writing your article:
· Think up a catchy headline to attract readers. If you’ve not re-written your headline at least a few times, it could probably be better!
· Try to keep the length of your article to around 500-1000 words
· Keep paragraphs short and to the point ? lots of white space makes your article easier on the eye for readers
· Don’t waffle ? people can become bored quickly on the internet and it’s easy to go and read another article instead.
· Don’t forget to spell check your article and if possible get someone to proof read it for you.
Publish It Now! No Matter What It Is
October 28, 2006
Do you want to publish something? An article, a non-fiction piece, a short story, a children’s book, the great American novel? What are you waiting for? You may be answering that it’s just too competitive. Competition in the writing industry is fierce, no doubt, but many good writers have piles of work collecting dust in a box, sitting in the corner, or in file upon file, tucked away in a desktop PC. You may be one of them, and their problem and yours is not the competition. It’s the approach.
Ten years ago, publishing anything from a 500-word article to a suspense/thriller was a cumbersome task. The problem was the overwhelming procedure of querying an editor, waiting for a response to the query, tossing aside numerous rejections, then sending off your work after the query. Then, someone actually asked to see the work, only to decide they didn’t like it, after all. All of this might take a total of four months, and all you have to show for your efforts is frustration and disappointment.
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