What is writer's block?

Well, I just can't think of a single darn thing to say. Oh well, I'm outta here!

Sound familiar? No! Oh, get real! We've all experienced this phenomenon when we absolutely have to write something, particularly on deadline. I'm talking about. . . . .uh, I can't think of what the word is . . . oh, yes, it's on the tip of my tongue . . . it's:

WRITER'S BLOCK!!!!

Whew! I feel better just getting that out of my head and onto the page!

Writer's block is the patron demon of the blank page. You may think you know EXACTLY what you're going to write, but as soon as that evil white screen appears before you, your mind suddenly goes completely blank. I'm not talking about Zen meditation stare-at-the-wall-until-enlightenment-hits kind of blank. Read the rest of this entry

Blogging 101 is mostly about the blogging vocabulary. To understand blogs, you need to know the terms blog, platform, domain, and web host. Once you have mastered these key elements of blogging, you can enter any conversation about blogging with confidence. After you know what exactly a blog is, you will be on your way to passing the final exam of blogging 101.

Blog is short for weblog, which simply means a series of online posts presented in reverse chronological order. That’s all! Most blogs are text, but there are also photo blogs and video blogs. The rest of blogging 101 has to do with the technical side of things. If you are setting up a blog, you will need a platform, a web host, and a domain. A blogging platform is a computer software program that allows you to write posts and to update your blog. Your platform is also what you use to design the look of your blog, from color scheme to font size. The web host is sort of like the virtual file cabinet where your blog is stored. Your computer communicates with the host when you upload or edit a post. The domain is the online address of your blog, and usually ends in ‘dot com’. Now that you know what a blog is, what a platform is, and what domains and hosts are, congratulate yourself! You have passed blogging 101.

The hardest part of writing is the first sentence. When you look at the whole project, it seems like an impossible task. That's why you have to break it down into manageable tasks. Think of climbing a mountain. You are standing at the foot of it and looking up at its summit vanishing into the clouds. How can you possibly scale such an immense and dangerous mountain?

There is only one way to climb a mountain – step by step.

Now think of writing your ebook in the same light. You must create it step by step, and one day, you will take that last step and find yourself standing on the summit with your head in the clouds.

The first thing you have to do, as if you actually were a mountain climber, is to get organized. Instead of climbing gear, however, you must organize your thoughts. There are some steps you should take before you begin. Once you've gone through the following list, you will be ready to actually begin writing your ebook.

Beginning Steps to Writing an ebook

First, figure out your ebook's working title. Jot down a few different titles, and eventually, you'll find that one that will grow on you. Titles help you to focus your writing on your topic; they guide you in anticipating and answering your reader's queries. Many non-fiction books also have subtitles. Aim for clarity in your titles, but cleverness always helps to sell books ? as long as it's not too cute. For example, Remedies for Insomnia: twenty different ways to count sheep. Or: Get off that couch: fifteen exercise plans to whip you into shape. Read the rest of this entry

How To Build A List

How many times have you heard, “The money’s in the list!” It seems impossible to browse an Internet Marketing forum or scan a list of “How To Make Easy Money” articles and ebooks without tripping over that phrase ten times. It happens to be 100% true.

Without a responsive, loyal list, you have no one to directly market to. You already know that, if you just send messages and ads blindly out into virtual space, nothing will happen. You do know that, don’t you?

Your solution to List Building involves several steps that you can master and use to start building your own loyal list of customers. When you send emails out, marketing one of your products to your list, quite a few will buy that product. Over time, as more and more learn to trust your credibility, the ones who actually click the Buy Now button will grow.

To start with, you need two different things: #1…Know who your target market is and #2…Know how you are going to capture their email addresses. You can identify your target market by using search engines and keyword tracking tools. You can capture your customer’s email addresses by building an opt-in landing page, commonly called a squeeze page by today’s marketers. Read the rest of this entry

By Jimmy D. Brown of "Affiliatenaire"

Using ezine articles is a great way to promote your favor

affiliate program.  What I'd like to do in this article is

provide you with a simple system for effectively writing

an ezine article that strategically promotes your offer.

There are five steps…

1. CHOOSE THE OFFER YOU WISH TO PROMOTE

This one is kind of a no-brainer. It all begins with deciding 

what you want to promote. What offer would you like to 

send traffic to.

    HINT:  You can promote your affiliate link directly, but 

    what works better is to promote a list at YOUR site which 

    you then use to promote your affiliate link over and over 

    again after the visitor becomes a subscribers.

2. DETERMINE YOUR "USEFUL, BUT INCOMPLETE" APPROACH.

I love to use what I have coined as the "useful, but 

incomplete" approach when using freebies of any kind. 

(Ezine articles, free eBooks, reports, eCourses, etc.)

What I mean by that is simply this: You provide your reader 

with "useful" information (something they find of value and 

are able to actually apply) but make certain that it is 

"incomplete" in that they can better use the information 

by making a purchase.

That's "useful, but incomplete." And it works like a charm.

The idea is to use your content to build up to your desired 

response. You provide the reader with content, and then 

you make an offer that allows them to fully utilize the 

content, gain extra insight from the content or maximize 

the content in some additional way.

Let me give you an example -

     If I wanted to promote an autoresponder service in an

     ezine article, how could I do it?  I'd write an article

     that explains how to benefit from using autoresponders.

     My article would exlain different uses of autoresponders

     and how the reader could profit from implementing the

     ideas.  

** I.E.  7 Ways To Create Revenue Streams With Autoresponders

Naturally, they will need an autoresponder service in order to

use the information, right?  And I just happen to know of a 

great service they can use.  More on that later.

OK, so that's an example of how to promote a SERVICE offer 

with your ezine article. What about a software product or an 

eBook?

Want some examples?

Good, because I've got two…

TO PROMOTE A SOFTWARE PRODUCT.  Let's suppose you want to promote 

a software program that creates "ecovers".  How can you do it? 

– Write an article outlining how important presentation of your

   offer is, and how creating a cover graphic can increase response

   rates by up to 1300%

– Write a step-by-step tutorial article for "do-it-yourselfers",

   explaining how to design your own graphics from scratch.  Then

   promote the software as a super-simplified way of doing it.

TO PROMOTE AN EBOOK.  Let's suppose you want to promote an ebook

that teaches advanced list-building strategies.   How can you do it?

– Write an article that covers the "basics" of building lists, 

   and then promote the eBook as the "advanced" tactics.

– Write an article on how to profit from a list, and then promote 

   the eBook as the "how to build the list."

See how easy this is?

That's how it works. Determine what your "useful, but incomplete" 

approach will be, and then… Read the rest of this entry