Are You Making These Press Release Mistakes?
November 27, 2007
You’ve done it. Gotten that press release written. Now you’re ready to send it out to your carefully chosen list of media contacts.
But before you hit that “send” button, take a moment and run your press release through this checklist. Remember, you only have a few seconds to catch the attention of busy journalists and editors — don’t blow it over an easily corrected mistake.
Some of these may seem painfully obvious. Alas, even the obvious gets overlooked from time to time (even from professionals ? I know, I’ve made my share of mistakes) so it’s always a wise idea to take a few moments to double check that your release is up to snuff before sending it out into the world.
1. Is your release newsworthy? In other words, does it answer the question “Will this interest my readers?” Remember, media people are interested in one thing ? keeping their readers happy. Make sure your idea is something that will do just that.
2. Is the headline compelling? Will it encourage media people to actually read the story? If the headline doesn’t interest them, chances are they aren’t going to take the time to read the rest of the release. And you’ve just missed your opportunity.
Broaden Your Customer Base: Submit Articles!
November 27, 2007
If you are going to be writing articles to promote traffic to your website anyway, why not make them available to be used in other people’s e-zines? This is a great way to have your work spread around the Internet to reach new customers. Of course my work can be found in my own free e-zine, but that really limits the people that read it. I advise possibly swapping articles and/or ads with another e-zine to double your visibility to subscribers. This process can be studied in greater detail by visiting http://www.e-zinez.com.
Another way to get your work published is to submit it to http://EzineNewsWire.com or http:www.ezinearticles.com. Here publishers can find your article to use in their e-zines. In return for using your work, subscribers will read your bio and have access to your web address which appears at the bottom of all your articles. The outcome of this new publicity will be more traffic to your site, which equals more business, would doesn’t like the sound of that?
How Publishers Use Reader Reports to Make Contract Offers
November 26, 2007
How Publishers Use Reader Reports to Make Contract Offers
by: Melissa A Rosati
Congratulations!
You’ve cleared the first hurdle in commercial publishing. Whether through an agent or your own submission, the editor is interested in your book proposal (a package that included your proposal, one or two sample chapters, and your biography). The next step in this delicate dance is the Reader Report: a market feedback tool used by an editor as part of the publishing decision process.
A “reader” is someone the editor trusts for his or her commercial acumen. In other words, readers help the editor decide if your book concept is salable. The editor solicits opinions from an eclectic mix of readers, reflecting different tastes and topic viewpoints. For example, two people might be interns or editorial assistants within the publishing company; authors from an unrelated field; professionals within your industry; avid readers interested in the topic and who are friends with the editor. Typically, your proposal is sent blind to the reader, meaning that your identity is anonymous.
In a Reader Report, the editor asks questions that focus on salability and the target customer.
1. Identify the primary bookstore category.
Writing Sites: Why You Might Like to Give Them a Try
November 26, 2007
Writing Sites: Why You Might Like to Give Them a Try
by: Joy Cagil
Journalists are familiar with the panic of deadlines and novelists can identify with the horror of blank pages. Then, what about the desperation of those who feel the urge to write and do not dare or do not know where to go? This is where the online writing sites come in with enormous possibilities for people who enroll in them.
With the onset of the internet, we have the option of allowing ourselves get in contact with other writers and possibly make it to the storefront of the writing community worldwide. Better yet, the interactive relationship among writers helps us build skill, confidence, and an enhanced appreciation of the writing profession.
Internet writing sites do not have to be a showcase for our writing, although some are just that; they accept writings on a sporadic, selective, or random basis. Others only give advice or reviews. Some are just friendly places. Most, if not all, caution their members against scrupulous businesses, agents, and greedy unethical publishing practices. Most combine a few of those things. They are, generally, pleasant and highly encouraging, and it pays any writer or a writer-in-the-making to be a part of a writing site.
How to Format Your Email Newsletter
November 26, 2007
When subscribers’ email readers (programs) receive your text newsletter, they will display it in all kinds of ways. Not only are there different programs, but each one has several customization options.
One of the problems arising out of this diversity is line length. In extreme cases, recipients will get one extremely long line for each paragraph, because their email programs have not wrapped the lines (ended each line after a specified number of characters and moved the text onto a new line). In other cases, the lines may be too long for comfortable reading.
How do you deal with this? Opinions vary, again. Some publishers recommend you hit the RETURN key at the end of each line (hard returns), to make sure the text wraps. Others advocate setting a line length (65 characters or less) in the Preferences section of your email program.
If you do use hard returns, use a fixed-space font like Courier or Monaco. That way you can simply set your margins to an appropriate line length and hit the return key at the end of each line. If you forget and use a variable-space font (like Arial or Times), your readers will get all kinds of variations, since many of them will use different fonts. You can also change your fonts back to something you like again after putting in the hard returns.
Scents Bring Inspiration For Writing
November 25, 2007
Scents Bring Inspiration For Writing
by: Thomson Chemmanoor
Inspirational writing is a part and parcel of the art of writing. Inspiration is indeed needed for writing. Without any inspiration, it is quite difficult to get ideas and thoughts to write. This is more so for articles or written matter that is more dependent on imagination, than facts. So follow these tips to get some hints on the secret of inspirational writing!
Whenever you feel stressed out or blocked while writing, it is most important to perhaps go for a short break or have a change of scenery. This helps a lot as the mind feels diverted, and refreshed, to start afresh on your writing, and thus produce inspirations for your writing! If you have the habit of typing your first drafts, it is better to hand write them for a change. Feel the difference once the ink of the pen melts into the paper while you let your creativity flow! Inspiration abounds here.
Getting Paid for Your Articles
November 25, 2007
If you’ve been writing web articles to help promote your business, you may also wonder if you can write articles and get paid for it. What type of articles will land you some extra cash, and what control do you have over the resubmission of your content once you hand it over to the editors?
Type 1. Magazine and Journal Articles.
These articles are at least twice the length of a typical web article, in-depth, highly focused on a topic, slightly academic and ethereal in nature, and often have extended quotes from authorized experts. These are the articles that you read in your magazines and journals. REALLY GREAT WRITERS write these - that is why they get paid the big bucks.
Payment:
You can get paid anywhere from maybe $35 to $2,000 depending on the size of the publication and your reputation as new or a seasoned freelance writer.
Other Important Info:
- Requires a Cover Letter. You must “pitch” your work to a… well, let’s call them Elitist group of editors. The less known your name is, the harder you will have to sell yourself. There is an exact procedure for writing a cover letter - I recommend that you do research on it because if you get it wrong you’re tossed right into the trash bin no matter how fabulous your article topic is.
Increase Your Visitors By Writing Articles
November 25, 2007
If you want to increase the amount of visitors to your website, start writing articles. There are many reasons why writing articles is a must for any serious webmaster or for people who want to maximise the full benefits of the internet.
How did I learn about the power of writing articles?
One evening I was searching for a few things using the search engine Google. The second search had as number one in the list of results, an article that had been written about the item I was searching for. I read the article which at the bottom had a live link to the author’s website. I duly clicked on the link to have a look at what he offered. Then it dawned on me, what a great way to get seen and attract more visitors.
I wrote an article on here about a week ago. It was called “Stuttering and its effects”. If you type those words into Google, I come up as number one, or I did as of 10/07/2005.
There are further benefits. One of which is the added backward links you obtain when other people add your article onto their website or newsletter, plus extra visitors this way.
Hairdressing Is A Job For Life
November 24, 2007
Hairdressing Is A Job For Life
by: Mark Hammond
Do you remember how years ago people used to refer to certain careers as,”A Job For Life”. For instance,Banking,Insurance,Engineering,Armed Forces to name but a few of the industries that used to guarantee job security .Of course a lot of people reading this will no only too well there simply are not those type of careers available in this day and age. With government cut backs,computerisation,Internet wars,big public companies having to keep share holders happy it’s a tough world and anyone growing up in it now do have to think carefully about there future.
There is hope. Hairdressing is one of the few industries that once you have trained to be a qualified hairdresser and with a couple of years experience on the salon floor the world is your oyster.
Top Ways To Create Ideas For Your Next Highly Read Article
November 24, 2007
Top Ways To Create Ideas For Your Next Highly Read Article
by: Nial Robbins
If you want to make money online a good strategy that won’t cost you a dime is to write articles that relate to your product or service.
Search Engines are constantly on the “look out” for freshly written content that has been submitted online. So how do you come up with ideas for your next article? Here are several suggestions that may help…
* Hang out in online forums. Watch what people are talking about. Look at the questions they are asking. The topics that are bringing the greatest number of visitors would make for an excellent article.
* Take a look at what information is being broadcast on TV, radio, newspapers, and online. This information is usually a hot topic.
* Read blogs. What are people posting about? What kind of comments are they leaving? What questions do they have? Blogs are the hot internet marketing medium right now and you can literally find them everywhere on any topic. This is an excellent source for your next article idea.
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