WRITING AND SPEAKING WITH ME

Before building a career in the area of e-book writing, you have to understand what is referred to as an e-book and what an e-book writer does. E-book is stored in digital format and unlike the usual paper. It is also known as electronic book. The text of any e-book is known as e-text. Features.

Nowadays the usage of e-books have increased many fold. In comparison with conventional books in the case of storage space, e-books need lesser space. If you have a kindle or a laptop, you can carry and read as many e-books as you want to (it depends on the storage space of your e-book reader and size of e-books), anywhere and at anytime. The case is not the same for paper books. Paper books need lots of space and carrying several books is not possible because of their weight.

If you want to save the nature, switch to e-books. If you begin reading e-books, the production of paper books will come down and that will help in reducing the cutting down of trees. You can write e-books on any theme, which are used in writing conventional books also. Fiction, research papers, autobiographies and reference books are a few of the categories. It is also possible to convert paper books to e-books, so that its easy to preserve them. Another good aspect of e-books is that there is no need to print them again and again.

Freelance Writing.

Part-time writing is a good alternative, if you are interested in writing. Whichever topic you choose for writing, through freelance writing option, you can earn a sufficient amount of income, at the same display your creativity on any theme you wish to. An e-book writer, just like any other writer, have to understand his.

If you do not plan to write on a fictional theme and are confused about the theme, do a search online or ask people on what subject interests them. Think on which topic, you will be able to organize your ideas with more ease and clarity. You can also begin writing short stories or short paragraphs before starting with the book.

The Style of Writing.

The language you must use as an e-book writer must be of personal and informal style, otherwise viewers might not read it. Plenty of alternatives available online might make it easy for the readers to search for another article. So as an e-book writer, you need to employ an informal style, as web users might not wish to read serious text. You should include chapters with proper headings with readable line spacing. Let your creativity be known to all through e-book writing, which can also help you earn a good sum.

I like to see celebrity biography when I was a child, once I saw the experience of Edison in his lifetime, I cannot forget it.

Like later in his life, his lab accidently caught fire, and everything instantly came to naught. This is all the efforts of his life, including those important experimental data and information. You can imagine a person who considered science as life when he suddenly lost everything, how painful he would be. Although the old man was very sad, he was not discouraged, and re-established his laboratory. Even the wife usually supported him tried to persuade him, his age is so big, do not spend so much energy building it. But Edison did not listen to the advice, and said that he would start again. So the old man firmly began to build up his laboratory, in order to make a very great scientific and human contribution. Of course, the new laboratory was established not after a very long time. Although the valuable information was destroyed, those experiences were in the experimenter’s mind. So Edison could set up as soon as possible.

From this story I often think: a person's life cannot always be smooth, and when life reaches a certain height, or have made some achievements, if you encounter some unexpected natural disasters or man-made things, you would lose the so-called glory and success. Many people would be sad, many people would recover from this, and immersed in the pain all day.

However, some people encounter this situation will be very sad, but they understand that bring down their body, which is helpless. So they choose to come out and start again as soon as possible from the kind of bad mood, with a more mature attitude to face all, to create their cause with their heart, and their own future. This is also because of their experience, contacts still in, so after they make efforts for a period of time, everything will go back to the past. I think at this moment they will cherish what they got.

So I think life is just like so. It is said to be "smooth sailing", which is just a blessing of the language. In practice this possibility is small. So when we are facing with setbacks and pressure, our hearts cannot be thrown in the towel first, we all know everything is done according to the situation, but we should make efforts to fight. Whatever the result is, we all have started again and have tried.

In a perfect world, you would have an unlimited budget to hire top speakers for your next meeting or convention. Since it's not, here are some tips on getting the most for your meeting dollar. Let me tell you about a project I worked on with the American Payroll Association that could be a model for you -- or at least expand your thinking about ways to use speakers.


APA's Executive Director/CEO, Dan Maddux had a week of speaking and seminar slots to fill. Instead of assigning each slot to a different speaker, Dan chose to maximize the contribution of a few top people, using three of them in three different ways. That's how Dan made 1 + 1 + 1 = 9. Three speakers used three ways equals nine slots filled. Here's how such a move can save your organization and money and let you "trade up" to speakers you otherwise couldn't afford.


Save on Hotels and Airfare

Cutting the number of speakers might or might not reduce the total nights lodging needed, depending on your schedule. However, you'll definitely save on transportation -- for instance, three round-trips versus nine.


Speakers May Reduce Fee

I can't promise you that all speakers will do extra presentations for the same rates -- they won't. But the speaker you hired last year might have been more flexible if you had only thought to ask, "After your keynote, could you do a breakout session?" Or," Could you emcee?" "Could you moderate a panel?" Even, "Our chairman is a bit nervous. Could you coach him on speaking?"


Speakers may give you a better price for three consecutive days at one hotel, rather than three separate dates months apart.


For example, for the Florida Realtors Association, I asked, "After my luncheon speech, would you like me to do a seminar on speaking skills?" They said, "Well, the agenda is already slotted in, but we'd love it if you would emcee our Top Producers' panel, the first breakout session after lunch."


For the California Interment Association, I was scheduled to present a two-hour seminar after lunch. I said, "What else is going on? Would you like to me to do a spouse program?" They said, "We've never had one, but we've invited spouses for a breakfast get-together." I added a 45-minute program that same morning. The only difference to me was that I had to go to the hotel a few hours earlier. Like most speakers, I want my clients to know I am there to serve them, not to pick up my speaking fee and run.


It's Easier to Get Sponsors

Trading up to big-name (or bigger-name) speakers makes it easier for you to get sponsors. Whenever people say, "We can't afford you," I always ask, "Do you have sponsors to help pay for your event?"


Who would sponsor your event? Consider approaching the exhibitors at your conventions, or whoever sells to your members or who wants good PR with the people in the audience. List these "angels" prominently in the program. I always make a point of giving sponsors a good plug in my presentations. For example, after my opening story for the American Cemetery Association, I quoted the founder of my corporate sponsor, Service Corporation International. Then I gave examples to reinforce my points by reading from their newsletters, and my walk away line incorporated their name. I always let sponsor know, "Don't worry, they won't have any doubt who paid for me," and make a joke about it in my speech.


Three Invaluable Bonuses

Having speakers on hand throughout your event gives you far greater flexibility in scheduling. Continuity can establish a powerful connection between audience and speaker, getting your message across in a way that a wide variety of speakers couldn't. Dan Maddux says, "We found that when we triple-booked those speakers, they become even more popular, really getting to know our people who always want them to stay around longer." Continuity, during an event or from year to year, means your speakers are able to notice and volunteer to help your organization in special ways you may not have thought of.


How It Works

Recently, 1,674 members of the American Payroll Association attended its Sixteenth Annual Congress in Nashville. Dan chose as keynote speakers Art Linkletter, Susan RoAne, Willy Jolley, Al Walker, and me, Patricia Fripp. He had little trouble getting sponsorship to help pay for these keynoters because of the success of his past conferences.


The Congress was scheduled to start on a Monday. Dan came up with the idea of offering an extra pre-Congress program on Sunday, "For Women Only." This isn't as sexist as it may sound because seventy-five percent of APA's membership is women. Dan figured that many could take advantage of cheaper Saturday night airline tickets, saving their company's money, so they might be open to an extra day of education and fun.


He called this extra program "Women on the Ladder to Success: Career Strategies for the Millennium," and used six presenters. Three were from within the Association and industry, including the current president. Three were professional speakers who were also scheduled to speak during the main Congress. Each of the professionals gave two talks at this separate Sunday session. I did "Women in the Workplace, the Evolution of Career women" and "Are You a Wonder Woman or Superman in Payroll?" (In a custom-made Wonder Woman costume I had made 20 years ago. The fact I can still wear it deserves applause!) Susan RoAne spoke on "Taking Charge of Your Accomplishments" and "Women Who Make Things Happen: Traits of the Savvy and Successful." Diane Parente's programs were "Your Passport to Image Credibility" and "Looking Your Professional Best Without Spending a Fortune."


Then, at the kick-off Monday session for the full membership, Susan was the keynote speaker with "Schmooze or Loose: How to Gain the Verbal Edge." She also presented a program for the vendors, "How to Make the Most of the Trade Show." Diane Parente delivered a breakout session on "Image, a Powerful Tool," and gave Dan's Board of Directors one-on-one consultation as a bonus. (17 in all.) I delivered the Congress's keynote speech, "Insights into Excellence," presented a marketing seminar for the vendors, "How to Nurture Relationships Once You Leave the Trade Show," and, as a break-out, conducted a workshop on "How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas."


Having booked the Sunday before the conference, Maddux thought of a way to use his talent pool for a Speakers' School on Saturday. Last year this program had been a success, but with a smaller audience of their speakers who talk on tax law changes, it had not justified a hiring a keynote caliber presenter to teach it.


As I was already going to be there for several days I was excited at the prospect. I suggested we invite his association members scheduled to give programs during the congress. He also invite the APA leadership from the State chapters who have to speak at their meetings and get no formal public speaking training. As far as I am concerned the more the merrier. I charge the same whether my audience is five or 5,000. After the session I helped the President and Woman of the Year totally rewrite their talks. They have now requested I train them at least 3 months before next yearís convention.


Synergy Makes Good Sense

Dan says "Using proven professionals in several slots so they develop a rapport with the audience is a better investment than bringing in a different speaker for each slot. In our case, two of the speakers, Diane and Patricia, had been so successful as keynoters the previous year that the audience was looking forward to seeing them again. This gave us the advantage of repeat role models, because our presidents turn over every year. The added fact that Patricia, Diane, and Susan had worked together before, and are best friends, gave us even more bang for our buck. We could never have put a dollar value on that kind of synergy.


"I need my speakers to deliver a message and be powerful role models. Patricia, Diane, and Susan are all self-made women over fifty, looking good, feeling good, and they've built their careers themselves. This is an important message for our Association audience."


More Bang for Your Buck

Dan Maddux was able to negotiate with his speakers for a lot of extras. Many professionals figure that, as long as they are there anyway and being well paid, their time belongs to the client. Therefore, they are happy to take on extra tasks.


The next time you are planning to hire a speaker, consider using him or her in multiple ways. It doesn't hurt to ask if the speaker would be willing to:


Deliver one or two "breakout sessions" or a spouse program along with the keynote at the same half-day fee.

Introduce other speakers.

Emcee the event that they are part of.

Help association Presidents of Board of Directors with their own presentations, either in advance or while the speaker is there.

Say a prayer at a meal.

Moderate a panel.

Sign autographs.

Appear in the sponsor's booth to make their sponsorship more of an investment.

Like most of my comrades in The National Speakers Association, I want to be memorable and to give full value for your meeting dollars. For the Hamilton Bank in Philadelphia, I even leaped out of a spaceship, wearing a Wonder Woman costume. (Getting into the spaceship was a little more complicated, but that's another story.)

There are two greatest assets in person’s life: your talent and your life. But the more talents you own, the less time you will have, so we can say that our life is the time in exchange for talent. If the passed days, our time is less, but talent does not increase, it is a waste of time. How can we use time efficiently? I have a few suggestions below:



Do the things that you are really interested in and be consistent with your goals. I find my "productivity" and my "interest" has a direct relationship, but this relationship is not a simple linear one. If I face the things which I am not interested in, I might spend 40 % of the time, but I can only produce 20 % of the results; if I encounter something I am interested in, I might spend 100 % of the time and get 200 % of the effect. To work hard at work, good health is important, but the real key is to change your psychological state rather than physical problems. When you really fall into your work, what you need is an attitude, a desire, and a will.



Next, you should know how to spend your time. Then pick a week, record what you do every 30 minutes a day, and do a classification and statistics to see in what aspects you spend too much time. If you want to make progress, you must first understand the recent status. After the end of the day, write down what you have done a day, and 15 minutes as a unit. Then make analysis after a week to see how the week’s time can be arranged more efficiently. And there are no activities accounted for much of proportion? Is there a way to increase efficiency?



Use time pieces and "dead time". If you have time to do the above statistics, you will find a lot of time to be lost every day, for example, waiting for the bus, queuing, walking, riding, etc., which can be used to recite words, make phone calls, and review homework and so on.



Do the big events firstly; that is, early in the morning you can pick the three most important things, and be able to finish them in the daytime.



You can try these methods that will help you save much time, and promote your talent.


Tory is sitting in a commodious room full of sunshine and writing what he has experienced in online mmo games. Tory has worked in a game company for nearly two year and he is sure to provide you the best articles

Clear designers are consistently in demand, and alike bodies after a academic clear architecture accomplishments can get gigs if they accept a acceptable portfolio to appearance off. Succeeding as a accomplished artist, on the added hand, is acutely difficult. There is a lot of money in the art world, but best of it alone goes to a few bodies – those who accept been best up on by the collectors and whose works can advertise for astonishing amounts of money.

Of course, the key to acceptable one of the few is art shows. Although few art arcade shows are absolutely lucrative, it is amazing how bound the fizz can advance if you get the eye of addition in the know. Secretly, anybody with an art appearance dreams of communicable the admiring eyes of a patron.

It is important to apprehend that there are some bodies who do absolutely able-bodied with art shows that baby to accepted tastes, but this can be a boxy life. You see, a lot goes into acclimation an art show. Each alone allotment can booty anywhere from account to hours to complete, depending on the action acclimated and the needs of the project. Add to all those hours of assignment the costs of acclimation an art show, the time it takes to arrangement with curators, art patrons, and added folks, the busline costs, and all the rest, and you accept a appealing chancy proposition. It isn't that art shows costs a lot of money for artists – they don't. It is aloof that they represent a amazing bulk of work, so it is important to aerate on that work.

A lot of bodies accomplish the aberration of bold that the best artists get the best art shows. This is not absolutely how it works. As a amount of fact, art shows accept a lot to do with networking. Like any added breadth of animal endeavor, it is all about the access you make. As an artist, booty the time to go about to altered galleries, celebratory which ones display art in a agnate attitude to your own. Talk to those galleries patrons, and don't be abashed to ask if they would accede acclimation an art appearance for you. Remember, it never hurts to ask.

Anxious to get started writing your sales letter? Good. I strongly urge you to begin with a plan. With a simple plan or outline in place, you'll be armed with all the essentials you need to create a powerful and persuasive piece.

It doesn't matter what your writing project is – book, report, or sales letter. Planning makes life easier. It organizes your thoughts. It gives you a roadmap to follow so you're never stuck at a dead end. A sales letter plan forces you to think things through up front -- before you write -- making the actual writing much easier and giving it a smoother flow.

It doesn't matter what your writing project is – book, report, or sales letter. Planning makes life easier. It organizes your thoughts. It gives you a roadmap to follow so you're never stuck at a dead end. A sales letter plan forces you to think things through up front -- before you write -- making the actual writing much easier and giving it a smoother flow.

When you get right down to it, a sales letter plan helps you:

• Gather Important Information
• Organize and Assess All Available Data
• Assemble Key Sales Letter Components
• Prioritize Benefits Based On Their Appeal To Prospects
• Confirm That The Important Ingredients Are All Present Before You Begin

A sales letter plan simplifies the actual writing. It gives you concrete material from which to work. It naturally dictates the direction you take, and it enables you to follow along a roadmap to the successful completion of your sales letter.

The more detailed your plan, the easier it is to write compelling sales copy. With a plan, you're never left wondering what to write next. All the essential information is right before your eyes -- making it quicker and easier to form interesting and persuasive copy.

"When it comes to writing copy, far too much attention is paid to the actual writing and far too little is paid to ferreting out facts about that which the copywriter is trying to sell."

Gary Halbert

Planning isn't just a means to an end, however. Yes, having a completed sales letter plan in front of you is very important. But the hidden value of your plan lies in the thinking processes that go into completing it. As even the most basic of plans takes shape, you'll discover valuable ideas, key points, and concepts to employ. A plan literally forces you to think things through ahead of time.

After you've used this method to write a few sales letters, you'll see how getting it all recorded on paper helps you tremendously.

Crafting a sales letter plan does take time -- perhaps this is why so few do it. But the time and effort expended always pays a worthwhile dividend. A plan gives you direction, power, and focus. It puts you on a straight path towards your goal.

So you're in class on the first day of the week attentively listening to your professor giving a lecture. In the morning announcement the professor informs the class that two months from now a research paper will be due about some ambiguous topic causing the entire class to moan in agony. After much disbelief and complaint the professor continues on with her lecture for the remaining of the session while you think to yourself, 'Two months is a lot of time.'

Wrong. Two months is definitely not enough time. Thinking you can procrastinate for something like this is what eventually gets you kicked out of school. The professor gave you a two months period to write this research paper because that is the average time it takes for someone to write a well thought-out, well written paper. If you think you can write an A-grade paper in less than a month, then you're either a prodigy or an idiot.

Considering that many of us are more or less well defined by the latter and therefore it is a much more responsible decision if we decide to start off on this project as soon as possible. But where do we begin? Well, first off we need to find a specific topic to write about. You can do this whenever you have free time because it doesn't require you to sit in front of your desk while you think of nothing. Just keep it in your mind as you go about your day when you have time to think of other thoughts. Once you find a topic to write about the hard part begins.

Now that you have a topic, you have to decide on how specific or ambiguous you want to write about your topic. To help you decide on this, you need to go about researching on about your topic and giving a day or two to see what is available on the internet and in print. If your topic barely has any information it might be a good idea to try to come up with a little broader topic making it a bit easier to write your research paper.

Once you decide on how thorough you wish to write your paper the time for research, as the name of the paper suggests, begins. This is the part where most of your time is spent. A good month or possibly even more can be spent on researching on what you are writing about. Many people think the research part comes easy, and it sometimes does. But the one fact people tend to ignore that is that not all the information given out there is true.

With faulty research you can write something in your paper that you may think it's true because someone else said it was while you were researching but that person may have been in the same position as yourself and was ignorant to the fact it may have been a false statement to begin with. To prevent this, it is better to find out about a fact and cross reference it multiple times with various dependable sources, mainly print as the internet has all kinds of faulty information.

Once you think you have enough material to write your paper you can now begin. Write your draft early so you have lots of time to revise it because your first draft is usually your worst draft. After you have had it edited and revised multiple times, once you feel with full confidence or the deadline is now you can at least hand in something that is college material.

So what's the big deal about copywriting for the Internet? It's the same as any other form of copywriting isn't it? In a word, yes. But in another word, no. Confused? Sick of all these questions? I had better myself explain then.

No matter what medium you are using, all copywriting should have one prime objective - create an effective message that appeals to the audience it is intended to influence. This golden rule applies to websites, brochures, and sales letters, even adding a nice message to Grandma's little pink birthday card. However, the Internet presents a number of unique challenges for a copywriter, even if the people reading your sales letters are the same ones reading your website.

Think about it for a minute. Do you read on the Internet the same way you read on paper? Not for long. First of all, there are comfort factors such as the monitor resolution, colours, glare, and a reading surface that doesn't move. Secondly, we are conditioned to read websites in a different manner. Online, we are quite comfortable scanning sub-headings, clicking on hyperlinks, and jumping between pages.

Thirdly, the majority of people looking at your business website are there because they seek a service that you provide. After all, they made the effort to visit you didn't they? The online reader can be impatient and demanding, and they usually know what they want before they click through he door. If your business doesn't impress them straight away, it's a quick tap on the keyboard to find someone who will. Even if you do provide the product or service they need, it doesn't take much effort to duck into your competitors store for a browse around. Website copywriting is a bit like speed dating – you have to make a big first impression and leave them thinking "I bet we'd be good together".

Readers of hard copy sales material don't have the luxury to pick and choose, so they become somewhat of a captive audience. After all, it takes a lot more effort to call or visit your competitors business in the real world. In addition, a brochure could sit on a potential customers desk for months, staring at them with puppy dog eyes, day in day out, until one day the customer decides to make some enquiries.

With these unique challenges in mind, here are a few copywriting pointers to help make your website a lean, mean, highly effective, sales machine:

1. Snatch their attention from the first paragraph
Most visitors spent less than one minute summing up a website before they decide whether to stay or go. There is no time for waffling paragraphs about who you are, where you live, and how your wife makes the best apple pie. You have to get to the point as fast as you can. If you don't convey your key message in the first few lines, don't expect many people to be around to read them further on.

2. Short paragraphs
If you want people to read your website, forget the long descriptive, romantic prose about the salubrious ambience of your pulchritudinous offer. They will only think you are stercorous (take my word for it, you really don't want to be). Short paragraphs are most effective on the web because they can be differentiated and skimmed at a glance. Visual layout is the key.

3. Make sure your copy flows
Reading online is straining enough. Flowing on from the point above, using jargon, formal language and/or trying to impress your audience with your knowledge of words containing more than ten letters will only make the reader irritated, frustrated and start to think about places or sites they'd rather be.

4. KISS
Remember the old adage Keep It Simple Stupid? Write as though your audience is a bunch of twelve year olds. Don't sound patronising, but don't assume they know anything about your business or what you do. They have arrived laden with buring questions, "What are you selling?" "Why should I choose you?" "Where are you?" "How can I get some of this?" "How much is it?"

5. Appropriately tempt your audience
A lot of hot and personal activity goes down on the Internet, but lets face it, the technology itself isn't causing readers monitors to fog up. The content is what makes things exciting. The Internet itself is just an impersonal two-dimensional screen. Good copywriting might not always be intended to get the heart racing, but it must connect with your intended audience to break through this impersonal barrier. Maybe you need a little humor, sophistication, cold corporate speak, personal touch, or yes, even something racy.

As a writer who works on multiple projects at any given time, I attempt to pin down a deadline from my clients even if one is not stated. Why? Because, the "I am in no hurry for these" statements invariably becomes, "are you done with the articles?" How embarrassing is that if I make the assumption that a project could be put off, especially if my client wants it now?

I have learned to do the following: as soon as I get a project I ask for a specific timeline for when the job should be completed. If the client wants to receive proofs by a certain time, they will. I will also ask them to return to me the reworked article by a certain time too, especially if the "final copy" deadline is fast approaching. No one likes to respond to a panicked, "where is my finished copy?!" statement especially if the hang up is on their end. Regardless of the reason, the burden falls on you, the writer, if there are any snags.

Fortunately, most jobs I do are "in progress" almost as soon as I accept the assignment. Generally, I start my research right away and then I start working on an outline of the article. Once satisfied with the outline, I craft a rough draft and, finally, I write my final copy. Sometimes I take a break between the various steps in order to get more information, give my mind a rest, or simply to attend to other matters.

So, if I receive an urgent request [or demand!] for the completed project I can usually respond very quickly with at least some of the work immediately. Human nature, being what it is, I can expect that even agreed upon deadlines will shift around from time to time. How I respond to these types of demands is indicative to how well I work with my clients.

Although it sounds strange to you, to hear your own voice over the P.A, in fact it doesn't sound any different to the audience than if you were talking to them in normal conversation.

The trick here is to be Yourself, if you haven't got the skill to project a warm friendly personality at the functions where ice breaking is required then being an entertainer isn't for you. The trick is to find a balance, most people would simply hire the gear - saving around 50% of a D.J's booking fee and throw a NOW Cd on - if human input and personality wasn't important to them. At some functions, if they pay for an entertainer and get a human jukebox who doesn't own a mic and just sits there playing music then they occasionally feel cheated!.

I can't stress the "BE YOURSELF", advice enough, don't put on a radio style zany DJ voice - that will sound false and doesn't fool anybody. If you are lucky enough to have a D.J training you, or are a young person helping an older mentor D.J then DON'T be tempted to become a clone of him or her. Adopt your own mic style (not a false voice), use your own tag lines but don't rely on the same cliche's 20 or 30 times a night - this becomes boring and predictable.

Don't rely on "that was", "This is" introductions all night. At some functions going out with a Radio Mic and creating banter with your audience is a great way to break the ice at the beginning of difficult, non formal functions - and a good way of enouraging them onto the dancefloor early on. You can relax the mic work and the frquency of them - once the dancefloor is filling.

Of course there are always going to be functions where you need more mic work than the last, and other functions where it is going to be little mic use, but the key is to develop a style and strength and confidence in your mic working ability and not to rely on non stop music alone to do the work for you.

Just be yourself, and talk normally into the microphone. The thing to work on is to speak confidentally and clearly and try to pace yourself. Speaking too fast will make what you are saying sound garbled, speaking too slow will make you sound like you are addressing a bunch of village idiots . Pretty soon, with a little time and practice you'll develop your own individual skill and style and that is the most important aspect, don't try to copy anybody else or put on a different voice, it will sound false and make learning and maintaining the technique a lot more difficult.

If being a comedian is not you, then avoid the jokes unless you are good at this sort of thing , forced comedy can sound false and you may find yourself laughing alone, after all the Client has booked a Mobile Disco and not a stand up comedian!. One of the best pieces of advice I was given my the D.J who trained me, was to "Stick at doing what you are good at and have been booked for, and if in any doubt then leave it out".

Spontaneous one liners are another matter, if something amusing happens, then share it - use the mic to get requests, make a fuss over other people celebrating birthdays / anniversaries - people like to have their 30 seconds of glory and hearing their name mentioned, over the mic

My advice to those nervous about public speaking for the first time, is not to be frightened of the mic or avoid using one - its your closest and most useful ally, at all functions. Don't talk all over the track, learn to pace yourself over the outro of the previous track and any intro of the next track - don't gabble - talk clearly into the microphone as if you were talking to a friend. With time you should be able to familiarise yourself with how themore popular tracks end and finish, this way you can talk upto the vocal, similar to how they do on the radio - stopping your banter at the moment the vocal on the next track starts. Don't rush to perfect this or gabble to do so, it all comes with time and practice. Keep it simple to start off with.

Start with the easy stuff first, just introducing tracks, and buffet announcements. Once you've built up a bit of confidence, you'll move on from the 'That was….. this is….' routine. Try and include your audience, invite requests, make them feel welcome. Even if you are having a difficult gig don't take it out on the audience and try and look like you are enjoying yourself, even if it's not going to plan. Don't worry about making mistakes on the Mic, we all do from time to time, but don't draw attention to it, or dwell on it it'll just make it worse - besides making mistakes shows that you are human and not a pre-programmed jukebox

Keep key information on the gig, such as the Bride & Grooms' names, Best Man Name etc on a piece of paper on the mixer, so that you can casually glance down if you have a sudden memory blank, but don't write your links down as a speech, otherwise it will sound like you are reading from a script and less natural.

Remember that once the dancefloor is full, you can ease off the mic a little, but keep doing the requests and don't forget that it exists. Learn to find the balance, too much talking can bore the pants of your audience, too little mic work can make people think that you aren't earning your keep!. There are functions where you have a full Dancefloor and it would be obtrusive to chat all over the music when people want to dance, equally there are more formal functions where there isn't the room or inclination to dance, and so a bit of light hearted banter to break the ice and the empathsis on the entertainment side of being a DJ is required rather than just continuous music

All of this will take some time, don't expect to develop a mic technique overnight just take it one gig at a time.

These days, there's widespread acceptance that a website is an integral part of the marketing plan of any business. Likewise, it's commonly accepted that web copy is a vital component of any website. But how much web copy is enough?

The pure volume of information available on the Internet is daunting – often counterproductive. There are approximately 550 billion documents on the web, and every day another 7 million are added. According to an A.T. Kearney, Network Publishing study (April 2001), workers take so long trying to find information that it costs organizations $750 billion annually!

Yet people continue to use it. Information gathering is the most common use of the Internet (American Express survey, 2000). And it seems work-related searches are amongst the most common, with 48% of people using the Internet to find work-related information, as opposed to 7% who use magazines (Lyra Research, 2001).

Interestingly, however, the average person visits no more than 19 websites in the entire month in order to avoid information overload (Nielsen NetRatings in Jan 2001).

So how do you ensure your site is one of those 19? How do you make your content helpful without making it overwhelming? That's what this article is about…

I've written several articles on WHAT to write on your website in order to make it helpful. (See http://www.divinewrite.com/benefits.htm, http://www.divinewrite.com/webbenefitwriting.htm, and http://www.divinewrite.com/webwriting.htm.) But that's only half the battle… Businesses also need to know HOW MUCH to write. Here are 5 quick rules of thumb to help you decide how much is enough.

1) Know your audience (Reader or Search Engine?)

Think about whether you're targeting human readers (potential customers) or search engines. This must always be one of your very first questions, as the answer will determine your approach to content.

In general, human readers think less is more. Search engines, on the other hand, think more is more (well, more or less…). In many ways, it comes down to a question of quality versus quantity. Human readers are interested in quality, whereas search engines are interested quantity. Human readers want you to answer their questions and make it clear how you can benefit them. And they don't want to wade through volumes of text. Search engines want a high word count, full of relevant keywords, and short on diagrams. (See http://www.divinewrite.com/seocopy.htm for more information on writing for search engines. See http://www.divinewrite.com/SEOCEO.htm for an introductory article on search engine optimization.)

You need to think carefully about your audience. In most cases, it'll be a trade-off. A high search engine ranking is important (or at least beneficial) to most businesses, so a happy medium is required. The following tips will go some way toward providing this balance.

2) Make it concise

Say everything you need to say, but always ask, "Can I say it with fewer words?" The literary world may be impressed by complex writing, but visitors aren't. Keep it simple, and keep it brief. Your home page shouldn't be more than 1 screen long. In other words, visitors shouldn't have to scroll. Subsequent pages can be longer, but try to keep them to a maximum of about 300-400 words each (approximately 1 scroll). A lot of people will tell you that you also need 300-400 words or more on your home page for a good search engine ranking. You don't. If you focus on the right keywords and generate a lot of links to your site, you can achieve a high ranking without losing your readers' interest by padding

TIP: For most businesses, a good rule of thumb is to make it conversational. Old school writers and would-be writers oppose conversational copy; don't listen to them. Unless you're writing for an old-school audience, feel free to write as people talk.

3) One subject per page

On this, both readers and search engines agree. Don't try and squeeze too much information onto a single page. For example, instead of trying to detail all of your products on a single Products page, use the page to introduce and summarize your product suite, then link to a separate page per product. This way, your content will be easier to write, your readers won't be overwhelmed, and you'll be able to focus on fewer keywords (so the search engines will get a clearer picture of what you do).

4) Make it scannable

According to a 1998 Sun Microsystems study, reading from a monitor is 25% slower than reading from paper. As a result, 79% of users scan read when online. So make sure you accommodate scanning. Use headings and sub-headings. Highlight important words and sections. Use bulleted lists and numbered lists. Use tables. Use statistics. Use meaningful indenting. Use short sentences. Most importantly, be consistent in your usage. Oh… and follow rules 2 and 3 above.

5) Use a simple menu structure

Try to keep your high-level menu (Home, About Us, Contacts, Products, Services, etc.) to a maximum of about 10 items (5-8 is ideal). If you have too many options, your site will seem unstructured and your visitors won't know where to start. In order for a visitor to want to come back to your site, they need to feel comfortable when they're there. They need to know what to expect. If they can't identify any logic in your menu structure, they will always feel lost. What's more, this lack of structure will reflect badly on your business.

The Internet can be an incredibly cost-effective form of promotion because the cost per word to publish is so low. Don't be fooled into thinking more is more just because it costs less. Audiences – even search engines – don't want everything; they just want enough.

Happy writing!

Comparison shoppers are the mortal enemy of pay-per-click (PPC) advertisers. When you're paying each time someone clicks your AdWords (or other PPC) ad, the last thing you want is a person determined to visit every site to find the best price, the closest location or the most secure guarantee. But, with many categories of products or services, it's bound to happen. There is a way to eliminate many of the lookers, however.

When you qualify your AdWords leads, you can reduce the click-through rate (CTR) of browsers and help direct only those most interested in your offer to your site. How is it done? By inserting text that will purposely eliminate arbitrary visitors.

Qualifying Your PPC Leads

Purposely eliminating visitors sounds like an awful thing to do, doesn't it? Perhaps, until you consider the fact that - once these visitors got to your site and found out the details of your offer - they'd most likely leave anyway.

Why not save yourself a click (and the money associated with that click!) and prevent the visitor from running up your monthly AdWords bill? This is exactly what Steve Jackson of Conversion Chronicles and I discussed awhile back. Since that discussion, I've come up with a process that will allow you to easily write pre-qualifying ads when you use these simple steps.

Step One

Outline the specifications of your offer. Be precise. List all the details of the offer, the price, length of time, physical location, size, etc. For example, say you have luxury cruise packages available. You'd want to list the details such as: packages depart from New York City and go to several destinations in Mexico including Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán from December 5-15 for a cost of $2500 per person.

Step Two

Go back and highlight anything that would be a deal breaker. This is a luxury cruise, so the cost of $2500 per person might be too much for most people. Quite often, cruisers are looking for the best deal possible.

Also, the cruise only leaves from New York City. The additional airfare cost might not be something your site visitors want to add to the cost of their trip. Or, it may be inconvenient to depart from New York City.

What about the dates? These cruises are only available on the dates of December 5-15. Your site visitors may not be able to take a holiday during that time.

Does the visitor want to sail to the locations on the itinerary? Maybe they've already been to Cozumel, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlán and are looking for a cruise to Cabo San Lucas.

Are there other factors that might force shoppers to decline the offer and move to another site? If so, list them here.

Step Three

Now, decide which bits of information you want to include in your AdWords ads. You'll want to test and track to see which combination of details bring the lowest click-through rates along with the highest conversions. For example, your ad might read:

Luxury Mexico Cruise 12/5
Tour tropical Cozumel, Puerto
Vallarta & more. Leave NYC. $2500pp
www.whatever.com

That would give a lot of information that would keep unqualified visitors from clicking through to your site (and running up your AdWords bill). At the same time, the use of words like "luxury" and "tropical" help the searcher visualize their wonderful vacation.

Another example could be a special shipment of microwave ovens. Let's go through the steps once again.

Step One

The specifications include: convection/microwave combination, built-in with light and vent features, 1200 watts, white, $900, available on the Internet only.

Step Two

Any of these could be used to weed out visitors. Someone may not want the convection feature. They want a countertop microwave rather than a built-in model. Twelve-hundred watts may be more powerful (and larger) than the visitor needs. Their kitchen may have stainless steel or black appliances, not white. Lastly, $900 could be more than they have budgeted for a microwave.

Step Three

Again, you'll want to test and track to see which tidbits of information work best to bring qualified leads, reduce CTR and costs, and improve conversions.

Your ad might look like this:

Powerful Convec/Microwave
Special purchase. Attractive range
built-in with 1200w. Only $900.
www.whatever.com

Rather than using generic terms to describe high cost or frequently compared PPC items, get as specific as you can with "disqualifying" copy. By weeding out those who would likely take one look and leave, you can save yourself a lot of money in AdWords expenses while increasing conversions.

When it comes to making the most of your website or blog, you will need to have top notch content. The bottom line is that content brings visitors to your site, and visitors bring profits.

In order to increase traffic to your site, you will want to use a good mix of keyword articles. These will go a long way in increasing your traffic from search engines. Not to mention the fact that keyword articles can also be very educational.

When looking to choose a keyword article company to help you out, there are three important things that you should keep in mind. These details are as follows.

1. A good keyword article company should be devoted to helping you succeed through quality content. This means that you will want to find a service that offers quality content, not just fluff. After all, people are going to be reading what you put on your site. If your writers do not do a good job you will not be making your visitors happy.

2. Even though price is not everything, you will want to take it into consideration. Think of it this way. If you need 10 articles a week, and one service offers them for $6 an article and another $8, you will be saving $20 total every week. Over the course of a month this is $80; and during the year $960. Surely you could find something to do with an extra $960. Remember, costs can add up; shop for the best price without compromising quality.

3. Search for personal service. When you order any type of copywriting project chances are that you will need to be in touch with the writers you are working with. This means that you should do your best to choose a service that will walk you through the process, not one that simply completes the work and sends it back without communication.

Overall, there are several top quality keyword article companies that are available to work for you. As long as you do your research and follow the tips above you should be able to find the one that best suits your needs.

Writing and submitting articles is an effective marketing strategy to deliver targeted visitors, increase your rankings and boost sales. However, it is easy to equate article writing with onerous tasks such as writing high school or university essays. The memories of the pain involved in this form of writing can take time to fade away. The good news is that after learning a few simple steps, writing your own articles isn't as hard as it appears.

One of the biggest hurdles most new writers face is finding ideas to write about. The easiest way to begin is to write about things you are interested in and preferably passionate about. You already have knowledge in these areas which can be shared with others. It is easy to under-estimate your own abilities in areas you are experienced in. Talented people are often surprised by the level of questions novices ask (it is important to remember that there is no such thing as a stupid question - only stupid answers).

Once you have decided on a general area, a good way to narrow the topic down is to focus on the problems that people have. Typically, people read articles because they want to be entertained or they want information. Writing entertaining articles is a particular and more difficult skill. However, writing informative articles can be as simple as sharing tips that you have learnt. A guiding principle is to expect the readers to be looking for "What's in it for me".

You may already know the common problems that people have in the particular field, but if not, a good source of information is to look at related online forums and note the most common questions asked. If you don't have all the answers a small bit of research can assist. Often the answers are readily available with a Google search which the readers could do themselves. However, you are adding value and convenience by providing a range of answers in a single document.

Most people don't like to read large documents from the Web, so unlike long essays, articles tend to be around 400 words long. If you break the article into an introduction, a small number of sub-headings and a conclusion you may only have to write about 50 words in each section. The sub-headings may be for authoring purposes only, but if they are relevant they can be left in the final article.

The first draft should be for your eyes only. Don't try to produce a final copy as you write. It tends to be much quicker to get your thoughts down and come back to edit later. The final step in the writing process is to proofread your article making sure that the writing flows and would be interesting to the reader. Ask yourself, 'does the article provide information the potential reader is looking for?'. It can also be helpful to have someone else proofread the article. This is also the time to remove spelling and grammatical errors.

If you still have problems writing you may want to do a search for 'article writing software'. There are many packages around which can make the process easier. Similarly, there are numerous e-books available on the topic and many of them are available for free.

Once you have written your article you may want to add it to your own website as an item that search engines love - a piece of original content. If you add an 'About the Author' section with a link to your website, you can also submit it to article directories. As other websites publish your article you receive another thing that search engines look for, one-way back links. Article submission can be a tedious process, but software and websites that can submit to multiple directories in one go exist to make the job much easier.

After writing your first few articles you will find it is not as daunting as it first appears. You never know, you may even want to offer your services as a freelance writer on the Internet as a way to make some extra income.

The funny thing about presenting and public speaking is that the majority of people will tell you they don't enjoy it and/or aren't very good at it. And yet regardless of who they are and what they do, most of the speaking they do on a day-to-day basis IS public speaking.

You see, mostly when we talk to ourselves we keep it as an internal dialogue that nobody else can hear. But whenever we open our mouths and actually make a noise in front of another person we're speaking in public – hence "public speaking". So why do so many people find it so scary?

I think it's the eyes. All those sets of eyes fixed on you..... BORING into you. It's unsettling. So would it be any easier if your audience was ignoring you and all looking the other way? What if they all dozed off so it WAS as if you were talking to yourself? (Have you ever been a Rotary after-dinner speaker?)

Whatever the reason, the fact is that before getting up to speak, even the most seasoned professional will have some butterflies, whether they choose to call the feeling nervousness or excitement doesn't really matter. Rest assured, we all experience it to some degree.

If I had one tip to pass on, if I was asked to tell you the most important lesson I've learnt over the years I've been presenting, it would have to be to stress the absolute necessity of being totally prepared.

Now this may sound obvious and I'm sure you've heard this before, possibly many times, and like a lot of important messages it tends to become diluted the more we hear it "Oh yes, I knew that, now what else?".

And yet, knowing this, some people will be outside in the car park seconds before they have to deliver their sales pitch scribbling it out on the back of a business card. I know, I've been there.

When I talk about being prepared, I mean you should know your talk off by heart. You should be able to give it verbatim, standing on your head, without even having to think about what comes next.

Now some of you may be thinking "Yes, but I don't work like that. I like to keep the spontaneity" or "Yes, but I want to tailor my talk to the occasion" or "Yes, but that would be boring because I'd just be on auto pilot."

But actually, that's not what happens. In effect, the opposite is true. When you know your talk by rote, it gives you the freedom to change it around, to add, to subtract without losing your direction. It's like driving from A to B. If your route is set from the outset and you know it well, you can safely veer off and browse in a few antique shops and have a pub lunch in a picturesque village off the beaten track and still get back to where you were to complete your journey. But, if you'd just set off in the general direction with no main route to which to return, you'd soon get lost if you were to be diverted and you'd have difficulty picking up that thread again.

You see, there are so many things out there that can throw the speaker, and lots of unexpected things can occur when you're dealing with the public. No matter how good you are, you will become distracted, so knowing your material to the nth degree is absolutely crucial.

If something happens that needs your attention, you'll have to stop and deal with it, but you can return to your talk with barely a glitch and appear calm, collected and hence the ultimate professional.

You see we all get nervous. We all stick our feet in our mouths sometimes. We don't ever operate in a hermetically sealed environment, especially when exposed to other humans. But prepare, prepare and over-prepare and not only will you enjoy the confidence of knowing that nothing can phase you because you know your material, but if you're forced off your chosen route for any reason you can return smoothly and appear to be the consummate professional speaker.

And after all, if you can't – or won't – speak about your business, who will?

Electronic mail is quick and easy but has not taken the place of regular mail (a.k.a. snail mail). And with mail service comes the need for envelopes. Envelopes are necessary to safely transport everything from personal correspondence to business proposals to wedding invitations to announcements and the like.
Envelopes come in a variety of different forms, styles and sizes. Just to name a few, there are commercial envelopes (think business size), window envelopes, open-end envelopes, self-sealing envelopes, remittance envelopes, booklet envelopes, square envelopes and so many more.

There are also specialty envelopes such as the ones used for greeting cards, wedding invitations, birthday/shower invitations etc. Depending on what type of correspondence you are sending, some items come with envelopes to match while others do not. It's always a good idea to shop around at a number of different places to find exactly what you require.

Envelopes come in different colors as well- practically every color of the rainbow if you look hard enough. While white is a standard color and considered the professional way to go, a great deal of packing envelopes with bubbles inside, are yellow. And holiday envelopes (such as for Christmas) can often be purchased at stationery stores in festive colors such as red or green.

When deciding on the most appropriate size and style for what you need to mail, take into account the shape and size of the item(s). Don't stuff the envelope to busting capacity. Always remember to leave enough room to comfortably seal the envelope. Allow each item some space to move around in!

A regular envelope is also referred to as a business size envelope. These are standard envelopes and are used on a regular basis by businesses and individuals alike. They can be broken down into two kinds- legal size and letter size envelopes. Incidentally there is a size of legal (business) envelope that is the most popular and that is the #10 envelope. This envelope's dimensions measure 4 1/8 x 9 1/2. This size of envelope is used so frequently because a piece of standard size paper, 8 1/2 x 11, when it is folded three ways slips effortlessly into a # 10 envelope.

There are also other sizes of business (also referred to as commercial) size envelopes as well. There is the # 11, #12 and #14. What happened to the # 13 envelope is anyone's guess. The measurements of each of the above envelope's are as follows: #11 (4 1/2 x 10 3/8), # 12 (4 3/4 x 11) and # 14 (5 x 11 1/2).

To describe three other types of envelopes briefly, square envelopes have no seams and therefore are often used to send items such as booklets, announcements about new businesses and promotional deals. As a rule this kind of envelope can be purchased in stock that is made with white wove and comes in two sizes, the 24-pound and the 28-pound. Another kind of envelope, called the A-series envelope is also a favorite of businesses and comes in 6 different styles, the A-2, A-6, A-7, A-8, A-long and the A-10.

These envelopes are very sophisticated looking and are available in three kinds of weights, 60, 70 and 80 pounds. Open-end envelopes, which also go by the name of catalog envelopes, are often used to mail items such as thicker booklets, pamphlets and magazines. They are good for items such as these for two reasons, they have a gummed flap and the flap opens on the side that is longer so bulky printed materials fit inside very easily.

In the very recent past, a friend of mine [Kate] was lucky enough to get her website listed (bookmarked) on Digg, a very popular social bookmark site. With her permission, I was given an excellent chance to overlook and analyze the traffic generated from these types of sites. Read on to discover the pro's and con's of social media site traffic, and how it could be utilised in your own website or online marketing efforts.

Firstly, it should be said that any sort of internet traffic, should not be considered useless. Visitors to your site should all be welcomed, as any visitor is a good thing. In saying that, however, it should be noted that traffic in all its greatness, is not created equally. Great differences become apparent when you start to analyze its source. The purpose of this article, is to take a much closer look at the traffic generated from social bookmarking, from the perspective of internet marketing.

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past 2 years, you'd notice a very big trend on the web--social bookmark and media websites have become "all that" on the web. Slashdot, Stumbleupon, Digg; any of these popular sites sound familiar?

This is where a lot of social bookmark traffic will originate from. In essence, these sites are driven and "controlled" by the users. Users or members choose which content they want to bookmark, and this will lead into viewing and discussing of said bookmarked content. Sites such as these are immensely popular, and flow traffic that the average website owner can only ever imagine having. Thats a lot of traffic, isn't it? But is it really useful?

All this traffic and hype must be a good thing, right? But is it really worth your time? Should you integrate active promotion to these types of social media websites? What about concentrating all your online marketing strategies on these types of sites? The question more at point is, what are the real pro's and con's of getting your website listed on the front page of sites like Stumbleupon or Digg?

As a website owner myself, I wanted answers, and I wanted them quickly. In addition, I wondered if utilising these sites could benefit me; i.e, could they help me generate more income online?

Recently, my friends listing on Digg enabled me to have a upclose look at these sites, and the effects they brought to a website owner. This was a chance for a first-hand, upclose study; I was not about to pass this up.

However, this didn't happen by chance. Kate took the action of placing the free "Addthis.com" bookmark to all her pages. You can also do this quite easily. Using this simple bookmark "button", you can start to attract these sites. However, be warned; a site featured on the front page of social media sites can almost instantly generate 100,000's of visitors to your website; this in essence is enough traffic that it may overload your server. Not good!

So be careful; active promotion to these social bookmark sites should only be taken upon if your servers or web hosting company can withstand the sudden influx of traffic.

With Kate's permission, I utilised Google Analytics and started to analyze these types of visitors and social bookmark traffic generated. Interestingly enough, some very important factors were realised. The Majority of this traffic will:

- Simply bounce back.
- Very few visitors will stay on your site; even for a short period of time.
- Very few visitors will actually go into the depths of your site.
- If you have a newsletter or similar, you'll notice that very few sign-up for these.
- If you utilise any type of marketing follow-ups, etc, very few will enter.

(In saying this, an unknown variable is the content of your site. Is it well written? Does it perform well? Is it useful or attractive to the visitor?)

Traffic from these sites does pose a very common problem, however; its temporary traffic, to say the least. The mass amount of traffic generated will usually only last a few days at most, that is, until your listing or bookmark is removed from the front page. Most of these visitors will rarely remain on your website for long, and the majority leave within seconds. In saying that, you may have a few sign-up's to your newsletter or Ezine, or visitors that explore your site. But keep in mind, this number will not be very high.

Social media site traffic can be likened to customers in the drive-thru sections of fast food restaurants; they come and go as quick as they came. The visitors will basically view your content, and before you know it, have already left, surfing back to the main site to venture onto the next item or listing. Social bookmark traffic will always behave differently, to a large extent, when compared to organic search engine traffic, or your newsletter traffic, for instance. Very differently.

Visitors from Kate's article posts will generally add up to 50 to a 100 new sign-ups a day; much different when compared to social bookmark traffic. In addition, readers and visitors to her articles are actually interested in her content, and therefore have been previously exposed to similiar content upon reaching her website. So in this case, there was no comparison.

The choice of traffic will always lay in the visitors generated from search engines, atleast when comparing to the traffic from social bookmarking sites. A question still remains, however-- is social bookmark traffic really all that useless?

Firstly, as previously mentioned, you need to remember that no traffic should be considered useless. Any type of visitor to your website should be counted as a good thing. Any website owner should realise that getting traffic and visitors to your website is a must; otherwise its game over.

When someone searches for a particular term in a search engine, and they end up at your website, this means that your visitor is there because you have what they're looking for. This type of traffic is essential to your website. Visitors like these are considered to be "targeted traffic"; that is, they're more likely to read your pitch-page, overlook your information, sign-up to a newsletter, or even buy a product. Additionally, they may also become repeat visitors. Traffic like this is ideal. These are the types of visitors you really want.

However, its not all bad news. Social media or bookmark sites do have a bright side.

How would you like the possibility of your website gaining exposure to millions of people? Sounds good, doesn't it? Even though you may not get sales, for instance, this traffic can assist in getting your websites name out there; branding it, creating a buzz.

If your website appeals to a more mass market, then you are even more in luck. Social bookmark traffic in this case can be an excellent source of traffic and visitors.

Social sites such as these also have another added bonus; gaining a link on high PR7 and PR8 websites, with high traffic flow, can't hurt your search engine rankings. After your website is featured on a social media site such as Digg, your link can also appear on a large number of secondary websites on the web, as much as 1000 or more. Much of this traffic will also be using the Firefox web browser, which is embedded with the Alexa toolbar-- what does this do for you? Your Alexa traffic rank will be improved. As much as 50% of the visitors hitting Kate's website we're running the Firefox browser.

Something worth pointing out, is that the traffic generated from Stumbleupon was much different. Longer stay durations were the common thing in this traffic, that is, this traffic behaved more like organic traffic. This could possibly be attributed to the fact that Stumbleupon is a higher quality site, and this was reflected from the higher quality of the visitors originating from there. This also made me come to the realisation that not all social media/bookmark traffic can be measured with the same stick. This experience also pointed me out to something important; the content featured on Kate's website is geared towards targeted visitors from search engines and articles, and is generally not suited to the mainstream net-surfer.

An idea to better take advantage of this type of traffic, is to gear your website and its content to more mainstream internet users. Whether or not this enables you to achieve a greater level of success, is largely dependant on what you offer and how it is offered. Another unknown variable, unfortunately.

In the near future, I hope to gain the chance to further study social bookmark traffic, and its long-term effects on websites. In specific, the effect it would have on keyword rankings and link popularity rankings in search engines; only then can I come to any type of real judgements. However, for now, my mind is being kept open, and the idea is being tossed up as to whether social media and bookmark traffic is actually worth the time or the effort. Is the time taken away from your usual day-to-day marketing efforts worth it?

Guess there is only one way to find out, really.

I have been writing professionally for more than two decades. I have worked as a professional writer and editor for newspapers, books and magazines for local, regional, and international audiences. My primary financial support has always been either professional writing (or editing) or the teaching of writing. In fact, my initial foray into writing for the Internet was not intended to be a profitable venture but rather a way to express myself when I made the transition to teaching writing full-time. I knew that after decades of writing daily that I would need that outlet. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that my hobby could actually earn more than my professional ventures? That is why I encourage my students and my writer friends to explore Internet writing for fun and profit. There are three good reasons for writers to spend at least a sizable chunk of their writing time writing for the Internet.

First, and foremost, if you are a writer then you need an audience. If you are reading this article then you know there is a huge audience accessing their reading material via the Internet. Unlike the reading audience of traditional printed materials, the Internet-reading audience is growing exponentially. More and more people are forgoing traditional newspapers, magazines, and books to subscribe to ezines, web pages, blogs, and RSS feeds. If you can find your audience on the Internet, then that is a very good reason to write for the web.

Another good reason for writers to transition to the web is that is where the money is today. While money can be made through the traditional avenues of publishing books, selling articles, or working as a writer for hire it is getting more and more difficult for established, proven writers to make a living and extremely difficult for newcomers to break in at a livable wage. However writers can start up their own business fast and cheap or work for hire to learn the ropes and build up their nest egg. Trying to do either of those things in the traditional publishing world will not find success.

Finally, or third, there is a niche for everyone on the Internet. Most traditional publishing methods are limited to a specific region due to the cost of printing and distribution. However neither is a consideration on the Internet, so writers can reach audiences around the globe. This means that what may seem a rather small niche (of say people who collect dachsund sweaters) may well find their audience is hundreds, thousands, or even millions. That means there is a need for articles and publications for these folks. As an avid dachsund sweater collector yourself you are an ideal writer for any publications currently serving this niche and if there aren't any then you have a wide-open field to start your own.

These three simple reasons should be enough for any writer to consider writing for the web. The Internet is a great place to break in and get started as a professional writer and the Internet is an even better place for the established pro to profit.

Profitable article writing is one of the most necessary elements online when focusing on fabulous returns online and making more money online. Profitable article writing is writing and submitting informative articles with the intent to create traffic, adding revenue to the bottom line, that part being the most necessary. With profitable article writing and making more money online, it is necessary that you follow proven ways online and yet still find ways to creatively innovate repeatedly, once again looking for fabulous returns online.

Article writing is considered an old yet very effective method of marketing and advertising. A lot of marketers both new and professional have had a taste of writing articles as a tool to market and promote a product or a business. Most of these article writers have common tips and techniques to give and suggest on how can one be an effective article writer.

Here are the necessary ways to get to fabulous returns online with profitable article writing:

• For fabulous returns online in profitable article writing and making more money online, you have to focus intently on necessary elements online, and be able to brainstorm effectively to come up with creative solutions.

• For fabulous returns online in profitable article writing and making more money online, you have to prioritize effectively and to get first things first consistently and be able to leave the unnecessary things for last, if ever.

• For fabulous returns online in profitable article writing and making more money online, you have to look at the big picture and creating an action plan to make things happen. What kind of results are you looking for? Set a goal and determine what it will take, in solid action, to get there.

• For fabulous returns online in profitable article writing and making more money online, you have to write new articles everyday and maximize your relationship with them daily.

• Article writing is not about writing it with highly stated lexical words. Writing is never at all about the usage and employment of “highly educated” choice of words. In fact, it is always been suggested that when writing any document form, a writer must use conversational, ordinary, and easy to understand words and always stay away from using highly technical ones. So, loose your worries about using big words in writing.

• Article writing is all about writing from what your inner soul tells you to write. People who read your article material will have a way of knowing and sensing your sincerity to reach out to them. When you relay information to people, they will now if what you are doing is all a masqueraded drama. So, when you write, follow your heart and soul.

• Article writing is all about perfecting your craft. There is no such thing as perfect article the first time you write. Your skill of writing continues to evolve as you go on writing. Make sure that as you go on writing, you develop yourself towards becoming the best article writer there is.

• Article writing is learning from others. As a writer, one of your sources towards having a meaningful, well written article is from other people’s point of view. Learn to learn ideas from other people most especially those people who have earned reverence from other writers. They have the experience and the wit to share.

For nearly two decades, we've been telling you about the value of talk radio as a means for promoting your book to the masses. As one of the country's top providers of radio shows around the country, we schedule anywhere from 50 to 100 interviews week in and week out. As a result of our close working relationship with the media, we know what works and what doesn't. Because we want you to succeed with talk radio, here are ten new "inside" tips to help you become the kind of guest every host wants to have on his or her show:

1. Be real. Present yourself the way that you really are. Don't put up a false or manufactured front. If an audience perceives you to be fake, your message will fail. Be REAL. Be who you really are.

2. Be sensitive about political views. If you are discussing a controversial political issue, always try to acknowledge that the other side has some good points. Remember that radio audiences are diverse. By "giving and taking," you will win credibility points with your entire audience.

3. Familiarize yourself with the current news climate. Stay up to date on current events and present yourself as the "expert" on your topic. Don't be caught unaware about a current or breaking news story that pertains to your book. Projecting yourself as knowledgeable will help to build your credibility with listeners.

4. Tie-in a local angle if at all possible. Whether you are talking to a radio show out of St. Louis, Detroit, or Sacramento, be sure to tie the local area in to what you are saying. For example, if your book is about the economy or real estate, talk about the unemployment rate or real estate values in that particular city. By localizing the message as much as possible, you draw your listening audience in even further, and more importantly, you keep them tuned in and interested in your message.

5. Do NOT use a cell phone. Always make sure to use a secure landline for all of your interviews. Cell phones are unreliable for on-the-air interviews and you stand the chance of getting cut off in the middle of your interview. Obviously, this is a major pet peeve of talk radio hosts as they now have to fill the time originally set aside for your interview. No host likes to have the timing and pace of his show screwed up. If your interview is cut short due to cell phone problems, don't expect them to put you back on the air or reschedule you.

6. Don't forget to hit on your key points. Sometimes you can get so wrapped up in the conversation you are having with the host or from call-ins by listeners that you lose sight of your main message. Try to always remember your main focus and don't get too off-topic.

7. Match your interview pace with that of the radio host. If the host is a "fast-talker," pick up the pace. If the host's style is slow and easy, do your best to adapt. By adapting to the host's rhythm, you'll develop a better camaraderie with him. The positive rapport between you and the host will keep regular listeners interested in your message.

8. Limit numbers and statistics during your interview. If you have a particular statistic that you think applies very strongly to your message, use it and hammer it home. But be careful…if you throw too many numbers at the audience, you will lose their interest and they will tune out.

9. If you are in the dark about an issue, don't fake it! If you aren't familiar with an issue the host brings up or don't know the answer to a question, don't be afraid to admit it. You will lose immediate credibility by pretending to know something when you really don't. On the other hand, your credibility goes through the roof when you are perceived by listeners as being honest.

10. Try to give your interviews an intimate feel. Remember that radio is a one-on-one medium. Talk to the host in a personal and conversational manner, and if there are callers, do the same with them. This will help keep the audience interested and they'll be more likely to relate to you.

Remember---your intention for every interview is to enlighten the listening audience about your book and interest them in purchasing it.

If you would like to hear more about talk radio and how it can help you successfully promote your book, call me or my husband Steve at 727-443-7115, ext. 208. Nothing beats a real-life conversation!

Call today – we're looking forward to hearing from you!

Warmest Regards,

Marsha Friedman, President

Over the years I've spoken to a number of authors who say they aspire to write a syndicated column. Getting syndicated is a great idea, albeit a challenging one. If you've thought of this no doubt most (if not all) of your competition has too. But don't let this discourage you; while syndication may take a while, it's still worth pursuing.

There are a number of tried and true ways you can enter this market, there are also a few "back door" methods that might work equally as good. The first thing you'll need to do however is get to know your competition. For this I recommend that you get a copy of The Editor & Publisher Annual Directory of Syndication. Sometimes you can get this in bookstores but I'd recommend just ordering it online at http://www.editorandpublisher.com. Explore this book carefully and you'll find that syndicated columns are listed by both the syndicated service that offers them as well as their topic. This will give you a good starting point in your research and since most newspapers now have on-line archives, you'll be able to explore past articles and see how these topics differ from your own.

Once you've explored this, define for yourself how your topic/angle is different from the ones you found during your research. Then once you've defined this, you can start targeting papers or syndication services with your query letter and sample articles. This is the traditional way of entering this market. For most it can be long and tedious and you might find that without prior "clippings" to offer them, the process takes even longer. In that vein, I'd recommend that you try offering your column locally first or to one paper at a time but not in a "syndication deal" but as a filler; newspapers will be a lot quicker to take filler items than to explore syndication options with you. By offering them consistent filler content (and saving those valuable clippings) you'll start to grow your level of experience, you'll build a reputation with the editor or editorial staff and you'll begin to get a sense of what does and doesn't work with printed media. An associate of mine did this, not with a local paper but with a paper she'd been offering her articles to, and after about two years of consistent submission she may be in line to fill the shoes of their in-house syndicated columnist who is retiring.

Once you have built some exposure for yourself and gathered clippings of your work, then it's time to start pitching your topic to syndicated services (some of them are listed below) or regional newspapers. For this you'll need a great query letter establishing your credentials and explaining why your idea is different from the others they might be considering, you'll need some sample articles (other than your clippings) and perhaps some letters of reference from some papers you've worked for. Submit this packet to newspapers or syndicated services that might be appropriate to your topic and then keep good records and do your follow-up just like you would if you were pitching the media on anything else. The same rules apply really, pitch and follow-up and stay on their radar screen.

So, at the end of the day when you find yourself successfully syndicated will you get paid for all your hard work – absolutely! What you'll get paid varies depending on how many papers feature you and whether you are working through a syndication service. Syndication services are great but they will typically take 40 to 50 percent of your sales. If you self-syndicate you get all the proceeds. While it's great to do this, keep in mind that you'll need to have good tracking systems in place once your column takes off.

As an already published author, syndication can be another great way to promote you and your book. Your book will lend you the credibility you need to get that column and from this ongoing printed exposure some lucrative publishing deals could follow suit. Syndication may not be an easy road but if tackled correctly, can be a great way to boost your promotion, expand your platform and get the kind of exposure you only ever dreamed of!

Major syndicates – check online for their submission guidelines

Copley News Service
http://www.copleynews.com

King Features
http://www.kingfeatures.com

Universal Press Syndicate
http://www.amuniversal.com/ups/index.htm

BONUS TIP: If you're trying to follow the comings and goings of syndicated writers, Editor and Publisher (http://www.editorandpublisher) is a great resource for that. Check out the "Departments" tab on their web site for the latest news on columns that might be coming available!

Are you wondering how to communicate with that new man in your life? Or maybe you are just wondering about the next man in your life? New or old, it's never too late to learn how to communicate in the language of love.

Maybe you've seen the tomboyish girl that somehow has men flocking around her. If you stopped turning green with envy for a moment, you'd notice why she was a man magnet. She just sort of fit herself into him, like a piece of a jigsaw puzzle that he didn't even know was missing.

Instead of rolling your eyes at that dazed and happy-in-love look he has on his face, why not look into how she did it? Learn these tips on how to communicate in a whole new way by getting to know his love language and speaking it fluently!

We all know that love is built on the solid foundation of communication. When we are in love we are on the same page as our lover. It's a special level of communication that people in love have.

Some call it chemistry, but really, in order to even get to the chemistry stage you need to know his love language. For a clue as to what that might be, we need to understand how he relates to the world around him.

Everyone perceives their world with three senses - sight, sound and feelings. Psychologists have discovered that even though we use all three senses, one of these senses is always more pronounced. It doesn't mean that it replaces the others, but if you pay attention, the more dominant one will reveal itself to you.

Asking questions is the easiest and fastest way to learn his language and since asking questions is the most common way to get to know someone or start a conversation, he'll never suspect.

He's just returned from a business trip. You ask about his trip. Pay attention to his answer:

1. If he's visual he might say: the weather was terrible. I didn't get to see the sun once!

2. An auditory guy will talk about sounds: we got the account, which was good. But the hotel I stayed at was too noisy.

3. He is a feeler if he answers something like: I have to admit; I'm not much into traveling alone. I get lonely when I visit new places.

Knowing a man's love language is the key in how to communicate with him in a way that will make him feel that you are the missing piece to his puzzle. You'll just fit. Of course, one question isn't going to tell you. You'll have to watch for a pattern to emerge.

Once you do find the prominent sense, you'll want to speak his language. Talking with your visual man will be all about what you saw on the way over, while the auditory fellow will want to know about the new CD you just bought.

It doesn't matter what your love language is. As long as you know how to communicate to him in his Love Language you'll soon be the envy of all the other girls. That is, unless you tell them your secret.

Writing "net friendly" articles does not mean we can automatically leave out any mention of our sources. There is a tendency for many writers to simply write their material and not cite their sources, particularly when it is obvious that a source has been quoted somewhere within the body of the article.

Generally, what I do when it comes time to mentioning sources for an internet article, I attempt to first find that information on the internet and, if it is there, I simply provide anchor links in my article back to that source. In addition, I try to link directly to the page where the information is listed instead of pointing someone to the site's index page. Why make it difficult for your readers to find out exactly where you obtained your information? Take them directly to the source, of course!

Other than that, I add the customary and appropriate resource information in my footers [or endnotes as some would call them] at the end of the article. Some may disagree with my methodology particularly with my anchor link citations, but it appears to be the best way to cite sources in this information age.

Remember: flexibility is the key when writing for the internet, but not at the point of failing to cite the appropriate sources when it is necessary to do so.

1. Review previous years' promotional budgets


2. Determine objectives and scope of program


3. Determine audience(s): membership, potential exhibitors, an industry or trade, general public.


4. Develop theme and corresponding graphics. Considerations should include purposes of individual pieces: who will receive them, tone to be conveyed, how they will be produced, how many colors will be needed, what layout format is required at each stage (from rough to comprehensive), and how much is budgeted for them.


5. Develop a schedule for the campaign.


6. Set promotional budget based on characteristics of membership, features of the venue, time of year, strength of program, and costs of attendance.


7. Develop promotional materials according to tested criteria: short and forceful sentences, convincing explanation of benefits to attendees, clear emphasis on important elements of meeting, and easy means of registering.


8. Plan for all items needed for the campaign to carry theme forward, taking into account costs of special effects like embossing or die -cutting; quality, grade, weight, and finish of paper; number of ink colors used; time for production; and quantity required:


a. pre-meeting letters and announcements

b. preliminary programs

c. registration and housing forms

d. promotional pieces for both exhibitors and attendees

e. invitations

f. follow-up mailings

g. final agendas/program books

h. badge inserts

i. tickets

j. on-site registration materials

k. signage

l. newsletters

m. lists of registered attendees


9. Solicit a minimum of three competitive bids for all printing, checking samples of paper stock, samples of work for other meetings, references, and explanation of other services each firm can provide.






10. Select printer(s), taking into account whether need is for "quick" or commercial quality, demonstrated ability of a single printer to handle all needs, availability of necessary equipment for jobs, and ability to meet deadlines.


11. Agree with printer on schedule into which extra time is built, and monitor deadlines for rough layout, submission of copy, preliminary approval, completed layout, final approval of blueline, and delivery of job.


12. Promote at previous year's meeting.


13. Release promotional pieces, press releases, and related materials in accordance with schedule, with news releases preceding membership promotional mailings.


14. Target local, national, international media as appropriate by type: trade papers, newspapers and periodicals of general interest, radio and television tailored to market.


15. Overall, control promotional costs through following measures:
a. Obtaining firm written bids for services

b. Providing clean, competently proofread copy to printers

c. Using standard paper sizes where at all possible

d. Using same paper stock for many pieces

e. Piggybacking print items using same color

f. Using standard PMS ink colors

g. Reusing graphics

h. Avoiding unnecessary special effects

i. Avoiding perforations in favor of dotted-line cutting guides

j. Coordinating printing times

k. Setting and enforcing firm policy on overtime

l. Minimizing number of copy changes

* Courtesy of Professional Convention Management Association

One of the most difficult tasks for the person who is in need of the services of a high quality author is determining just who can do the work. Being capable is one thing, being available to do the work is another thing.

There are several things that you, the hiring party, can do to ensure that you find a capable and available author:

1. Does the author have experience? Importantly, is he or she able to write on the proposed topic? A good author will have samples of his or her work readily available for your perusal. Do not assume that all of the author's work is posted online; sometimes "we" authors hold our best work back from the public due to fears of piracy or because of third party confidentiality.

2. If the author is to cover a topic outside of their areas of expertise are you willing to pay extra for the research the author may need to do in order to accomplish the task?

3. Is the author available to work on your project now or is he or she presently busy with other assignments? How tight is your deadline? Can you work with the author's schedule or is your schedule not flexible? Would you consider using the same author at a future date for a different project if no agreement can be made to do the current project?

4. Does the author have references? Can you get a person's name and phone number and contact them about their work?

5. How much does the author expect to be paid? Does the author list on his or her website a pricing structure? Can you get an ironclad estimate? What payment methods are expected?

6. Is the author writing as a ghostwriter or do you want the author to use his or her name and submit the articles to article directories for links back to your site?

As an author, before I accept any assignment I prefer to discuss over the telephone details of what the hiring party wants, what I can do for this person, and attempt to get a better feel for the job. I do not hard sell my work; if someone is interested in my capabilities then we move forward. If not, we both move on.

Many people feel uncertain when dealing with copywriters. Like any artform, writing is subjective; instead of black and white, most business owners and marketing managers see indistinguishable shades of grey. But copywriting possesses one key element that most other forms of art don't – a commercial imperative.

Because the copywriter's audience is driven by the realities of the business market, so too is the copywriter. Although the good ones love to write, they don't necessarily love to write about toilet paper and real-estate. Copywriters – in particular website copywriters – write because it's their job. And like any job, copywriting has very defined objectives and parameters which determine how the copywriter works, and the kind of material they produce.

So, if you need black and white, this is where you'll find it.

There are two primary commercial realities for a website copywriter. Understand these realities, and you'll understand the writer. Ignore them, and your job will take longer, be more frustrating, be less engaging, and earn you less money.

REALITY 1 – READER-FRIENDLY AND SEARCH-ENGINE-FRIENDLY
A website copywriter needs to adhere to certain guidelines to ensure your website is both reader-friendly and search-engine-friendly. This is black and white.

Because most websites rely on search engines for their traffic, your website copywriter has to write for two broad audiences: human and computer. This introduces a number of complexities because, quite often, these audiences want different things.

For instance, with humans, less is generally more. But with computers, more is more. Humans need to understand, so the fewer words the better. Search engines, on the other hand, are programmed to think that anything important enough to be ranked highly has to have a lot of words. A website copywriter must balance these conflicting requirements. Your copywriter will work faster and more efficiently if you don't demand too few words or too many.

TIP: If your site needs both humans and search engines, try not to set your heart on less than 100 words per page or more than 300 words. Generally speaking, somewhere in the middle is a nice compromise for both audiences.

And it's not just the number of words used that's important. Humans tend not to like repeated words, whereas search engines do. Humans will understand from your heading what it is you do, and if it's relevant. Mention it once, and they'll generally remember. Search engines are not so smart. They need to be told again and again. This is how they figure out how relevant your site is.





TIP: Don't ask your website copywriter to be a minimalist. The search engines won't like it. By the same token, don't ask them to simply jam every page full of hundreds of your primary keyword phrases, because your human readers won't like that (in fact, neither will the search engines). The trick is to expect each page to repeat one or two primary keyword phrases 5-10 times.

TIP: Remember, balancing human and computer requirements is time consuming. Try to have a clear understanding of the objective of each page before your writer starts. You'll get a much better product with fewer time consuming iterations.

REALITY 2 – BENEFITS, AUDIENCES, PRODUCTS, SERVICES, FEATURES
A website copywriter deals in benefits, audiences, products, services, and features. This is black and white.

These things may be painfully obvious to you, but they won't be to your copywriter. And although a good copywriter will be able to draw them out of you, they won't be able to accurately and comprehensively identify them alone.

TIP: Before you engage a website copywriter, make a list of what you do, who you do it for, and what benefits it gives them. Your job will cost more if your brief consists of one line, "I want to increase sales!"

When it comes down to it, a good website is written around benefits. Customers are only interested in how you can benefit them. This means benefits are the website copywriter's inspiration. By the end of the project, you'll be sick and tired of hearing your copywriter ask, "But what are the benefits of that to your customer?" You'll definitely thank them for asking though.

TIP: Don't confuse features with benefits. A feature is what you do or how you do it. A benefit is what advantage that brings to the customer. Your list should make a clear distinction between the two. This will save your copywriter a LOT of time, and save you a lot of money. Most importantly, it will MAKE you a lot of money because your website will engage your customer.

Website copywriting is an artform. But because it's an artform with a commercial foundation, it can be understood by anyone in business. And when you understand the commercial realities of the copywriter, the greys of the artform will begin to seem more like the familiar black and white of the nine-to-five. Then, and only then, will you be able to make the most of your website copywriter.