SOLO PROFITS Multimedia Blog and eRadio Podcast

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Want to become an Internet entrepreneur with no cash investment? You can. This article by Angela Booth discusses five business models for your new blogging business. All have the potential to earn you a six-figure income.

Enjoy,

Dave.

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Copyright © 2006 Angela Booth

IF SOMEONE WERE TO TELL YOU that you could create a global business, completely for free, with nothing more than the tools you already have, and the investment of your time, you’d question their sanity.

Nevertheless, it’s true. If blogging appeals to you, you can create a viable Internet business within a few months: for free.

Blogging is a new development in online businesses. Essentially, it’s instant publishing. Because entrepreneurial blogging is so new, you have a great opportunity to build your business before others copy what you’re doing, so get started now, and start building your own online empire.

Let’s look at five business models for your new Internet blogging business. These five models can be combined if you wish – there are no rules in blogging. You can change the business model of a blog at any time, to a model which generates more income.

Each of these models has the potential to earn you a six-figure income. They are:

• Affiliate blog(s)

• Web publisher blog(s)

• Sales blog(s)

• Service blog(s)

• Blog network(s)

Let’s look at these models one by one.

Affiliate blog(s)

Many businesses develop affiliate programs, because they can recruit a sales force of thousands of people, with little expense. The appeal of affiliate programs for affiliate marketers is that you don’t need a product or service – you can start selling others’ products, on commission.

If you intend creating an affiliate blog, select the products that you’ll be selling before you create the blog. This is because you want to be sure that there is a wide range of products that you can promote. There’s nothing worse than developing a blog, and finding out that the well is dry: you’ve picked a niche where products rarely change, and in which the products are so standardized that there’s nothing new to write or podcast about.

Web publisher blog(s)

In this model, your blog is the online equivalent of a magazine. Just as a magazine has features and advertising, so does your blog. In this business model, your content is vital, because you’re counting on your content to attract advertisers.

If you choose to develop a Web publisher blog, you’ve got great models – the thousands of magazines which are published each year. Check out a couple of your favorite magazines. Usually a monthly magazine will have a theme for each monthly issue, with two or more stories devoted to this theme. The magazine publishes its editorial calendar a year in advance, so that advertisers can line up their advertising for a specific issue.

Sales blog(s)

In the sales model, you devote a blog to a single product, or range of products. When offline companies start blogs, their blogs are sales blogs – they’re using their blogs to sell their products. If you have products that you want to sell, a sales blog is an excellent business model. You could sell a product that you’ve created – an ebook, a DVD, or art work – or products that you buy from others, and resell.

If you’re already running a business, you could start an entrepreneurial blog to act as the marketing arm of the business.

On the other hand, if you don’t have a business, look into having products created for you, or buy products which you can resell on your blog. Look in your local Yellow Pages for manufacturing companies: you may be able to find products that you could resell at a profit. Of course, there are many wholesaling companies online, but the benefit of dealing with a local supplier is that you can inspect the products that you’re selling, to ensure quality. Your shipping costs will also be low, resulting in more profit for you.

Service blog(s)

While the sales blog sells products, the service blog sells services. If you have a service that you sell, then you could create a blog to generate customers for your services. Or, you could sell the services of other people, via a blog.

If you’re selling a service, you know that it’s hard to differentiate yourself from the thousands of others who are selling the same service. A blog is a way to do that. If you’re a dance coach, for example, you’ve got plenty to write about. You’ll attract lots of new business, and you can bring in additional income when you solicit your equipment suppliers to advertise on your blog.

Blog network(s)

Blog networks are groups of Web publisher blogs formed into a network. There can be half a dozen, or hundreds, depending on the ambitions and interests of the owner of the network. Blog networks usually derive their income from advertising.

If you want to develop a blog network, your aims will be to: develop a mission for the network, as well as a clear idea of where and how you’ll add blogs to the network, and where and how the revenue stream will be built.

So, there you have it. Five different business models for your blog-based Internet business. Now all you need to build your new Internet business is enthusiasm, inspiration, and time.

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Angela Booth is a copywriter and veteran career blogger. Her new ebook, Blogging For Dollars, helps you develop a lucrative blogging career, and gets you started as a blogging entrepreneur. The ebook will be available from August 2006. Read the book’s blog at http://www.dollars2blog.com/blog/

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Here’s a brilliant article from John Halderman.

Today, John explores our natural ability to model ourselves on the people and circumstances that surround us every day, and how we can reposition these things to integrate success traits into our lives.

At the end of the article, I’ve added links to a couple of excellent (and FREE) self-development resources that you may want to take a look at.

Enjoy the article.

All the best,

Dave.

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Copyright © 2006 John Halderman

WHAT IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX THINGS you have learned in life that you actually did very easily?

The language of your family. You grew up immersed in it, as everyone around you was speaking it; you automatically learned it by copying them. The fact that your specific language characteristics will vary depending upon the region of the country you were in is clear evidence that you learned from those you were around.

You actually became proficient with this complex skill set without even knowing you were doing it. Do you realize how powerful a personal growth and development tool you have that you are not exercising any choice over?

You are the product of the people and situations that have surrounded you during your life. Everyone and everything you have had contact with has had some kind of influence on your life.

Your thoughts, habits, how you perceive things, mannerisms, speech, opinions, beliefs, how you deal with situations, how you interact with people, the things you like to do and your emotional reactions all have been heavily influenced without your choice.

You have modeled much from your parents and others that you have closely associated with over the years, without even realizing that you are doing it. Now that’s efficient learning! Wouldn’t it have been nice if the learning process in your formal education was this effortless!

Now you may not like all that you have become, since you want to change, but you must admit you are definitely a good example of what you have been modeling all these years. If you make the effort to analyze how you are similar to your lifelong surrounding, you will clearly see yourself in those people and situations.

Is your dissatisfaction, low self-esteem, stress, anxiety or depression partially related to what you may have picked up from others in life?

What about a positive attitude, self-motivation, abilities for coping with stress, a deep self-awareness or goal setting habits? Have you been able to pick up any of these positive-thinking attributes from anyone?

All this time you’ve been using this ability to copy others unconsciously to construct who you are today, what if you could take command of the ability and do it on purpose? What if everything you did was an affirmation for specifically what you want!

Since you are so good at modeling, why not use that ability to help make the changes in your life that you desire by consciously choosing specifically who and what to model?

We all come naturally equipped with many powerful abilities that we are not totally utilizing, that if managed better, would support the happiness and satisfaction we crave.

Modeling or copying thought patterns and behavior others have already proven lead to success in their life can be applied to yours with similar outcomes. Just as the characteristics of any raw material, like steel, is the same no matter who is working it, thoughts and actions follow predictable laws.

Whenever you plant an apple seed, if you get anything, you will get an apple tree - always! Never a peach nor a rose. Specific thoughts and actions lead to known outcomes, there is evidence of this everywhere in this universe. Isn’t what we call science the study of how things work predictably?

Another factor that seems to work against your efforts to change and grow is also based on all that you have unknowingly accumulated over the years. This is your basic resistance to change what currently is.

Your life is what it is today and it will take some form of applied energy to change it. Take the example of a piece of steel; if left alone, it will stay in its current form. It takes some sort of focused energy specifically applied to change its form, like heat, force or pressure.

All things tend to stay as they are if there is not something affecting some influence upon it.

Now you are always changing to a certain degree whether you want to or not, but the part of our thought processes commonly called the ego, seems to work to keep things as they are.

So, change in your life will usually take some effort on your part. And the effort must affect all that you have accumulated up to this point.

The thing that many people have difficulty with is in figuring out what and how to change. This may seem odd until you think about how you perceive, analyze and interpret everything based on what you have developed into at this point.

You see, you are trying to do something completely new to you, using the knowledge, experience and mental tools you have used to support your current life. It’s like trying to make a light bulb before glass was invented.

Again this is where the value of modeling known success is evident, you can use the proven developments of someone else to shorten or eliminate the learning curve for yourself. Why go through the long arduous process yourself when someone has already done it.

I’m not saying you won’t ever figure these things out on your own, but how long will it take, if ever? You can choose to use your time and efforts towards actually integrating a known success habit or trait into your life, rather than trying to discover it on your own.

Be more like a scientist with your life, take what others have already proven and carry on from there.

Choose to make part of your life that which supports the life you want, with the help of others.

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John Halderman writes on effective methods for personal growth. Smash stress, anxiety, & depression -build self-esteem, self-confidence, motivation, change habits and experience happiness with effective self-improvement. Model known success traits.
http://www.designalifesystem.com/modelsuccess.html

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Recommended Resources

No 1. Firstly, from the highly respected and wildly successful internet marketer Jim Edwards.

Jim has just released a new ebook “Guaranteed Success Thinking” which he is currently giving away for FREE.

I’ve read it and I can tell you, it will do more to get your life and business straightened out than every other self-development course on the Internet.

Jim has also created a full-production mp3 audio of every single word and thought within the ebook and (for a limited period) I have the go-ahead to pass both on to Solo Profits subscribers at no cost. You can find the ebook and audio here (the link to the audio is on page one of the ebook).

Look out for an article from Jim about “Guaranteed Success Thinking” very soon.

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No 2. Next, Mark Joyner, is one of the most successful Internet marketers around. His FREE self-development course, Simpleology 101, will cost you a little time — about 15 minutes a day.

Simpleology 101 provides step-by-step instructions on how to get what you want out of your life and any business. Simple bite-sized instructions that will move you along to success with your dreams and goals. I highly recommend it. Take a look for yourself right now

The great thing is that you can use both of these resources together as they compliment each other perfectly.

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HI EVERYONE AND WELCOME TO SOLOPOD 2.

If you’re new to the online business concept and believe you don’t have a product to sell, listen to this quick update podcast and think again.
The play/download links are at the bottom of this post, past the transcript.

All the best,

Dave.

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Transcript from Solopod 2

If you have been researching or involved in online business for very long, you have no doubt seen a multitude of offers for “eBooks”, books, reports and training course on every subject imaginable.

Why? Because information is the hottest product on the market! (At the foundational level, it’s actually the Only product, but that’s another article.) Information cuts straight to the root of all selling, which is answering the customer’s question: “What will this product do for me?”

There’s another reason, though. Pure information is a product that doesn’t require a huge financial overhead to produce(other than the hard knocks you got in gaining the experience and information), and is easy and relatively low cost to deliver to the customer. That is what makes it such a great product for us, as entrepreneurs, to offer.

Everyone has life experience, training, and skills that others don’t have. Everyone knows something that others want to know, or can do something that others want to learn. That’s how I know you have an InfoProduct inside you, everyone does. Your first assignment is to decide which of your many gifts you are going to offer to the world!

Does that mean you have to be able to write a book? No. Not necessarily. I’m talking about what is known as USP…Unique Selling Position. Your USP might be that you have detailed knowledge about someone else’s product that you are selling as an affiliate. It could be that humorous way you present the information you have collected on some subject of interest, or the fact that you offer the best customer service available for the service you offer. You may offer the same products that others are also selling, but find your own unique market for them.

But whatever you decide to use for your information product, your USP, you need to find one. If you were to research the online marketers who are honestly making the money they claim to be earning online, you would discover that they all have a USP. Your USP IS your product, however you package and deliver it.

If you are working a Multi-level Marketing program or one of the BIBs (Business in a Box), you are not left out of this concept, but you may have to work harder to figure out how to be unique. You can still go for the niche marketing idea. Find a group of people who aren’t usually reached by these kinds of businesses, or aim your advertising at people in the countries that are just now going online.

You may, of course, actually write a book, eBook, or training course and sell it. Many are making good money doing just that. The list of helpful software and online publishers is growing every day. But even if you write your own product or design your own software, you will still need a well-thought-out USP to stand out in the crowd. It’s like your business plan — you need a firm foundation before you can build your future online success.

 

 Solopod 2 [4:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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THIS IS NOT THE BBC, it’s eRadio.

Well, I’ve finally done it. I’ve created what could fairly be considered the ultimate form of torture…me talking about stuff!

But, it had to be done. Why? Because multimedia is the future of the Internet and now’s the time to learn the ropes.

This new wave is set to revolutionize the way we do business online and I for one, want to ensure that I ‘m able to learn it, make the mistakes and pass on the sure-fire methods of using online multimedia to you as soon as possible.

Therefore, I’m “dipping my toe in the water” with the launch of this very first “Solopod”. Take a listen and let me know what you think.

The play/download links are at the bottom of this post, past the transcript.

All the best,

Dave.

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Transcript from Solopod 1

We live in a sea of information. And information overload is an increasingly common complaint. Part of the complaint arises because we get hit with different headlines that point to the same content. So we waste time on things that have no added value. Bummer.

When you email your list or put up content on your site, and assuming you want to generate loyalty, it’s necessary that you have content others haven’t seen a dozen times elsewhere.

If this makes sense to you, here are some ideas you can use to EASILY generate fresh content with a minimal amount of time and effort.

First of all, think about a subject in which you are interested. Let’s say it’s horticulture. Now if you’re not aware of it, let me put you in the picture. Most people do web searches from Google’s home page and stop there. Not at all creative. Not at all digging for information from which to develop original content.

So let’s go exploring…

1 - Google has lots of tools besides just web searches. They let you check the news. (http://news.google.com) As of this writing, there are 1,680 news items listed by Google on the word horticulture. Bet you could easily do a summary of some of these articles and create your own content. But let’s not stop there.

2 - Google also has “groups.” (http://groups.google.com/) These are folks who like to discuss *your* subject. So now you can go even farther. Look up horticulture in their groups. Now this information is potentially gold. Why? Because you can see what it is about horticulture that lots of folks are interested in.

Think you might be able to do a little research and come up with a free or even a for-profit report that gives them what they want?

Check out Google’s other tools, too. You can even get research info from universities through Google. Start here: http://www.google.com/intl/en/options/

3 - Next method: Do this search (keeping in the punctuation as written):

+horticulture +free +filetype:pdf

As of this writing, Google shows 196,000 hits for this query. What you get here are free downloads in pdf format about your subject.

Now you can’t simply copy and use it as your own information. You have to create your writing in your own words. But there’s no law that says you can’t summarize what you find in other people’s works. To make the point, you could even call your work something like: “Survey Report: Latest from the Horticulture Front!”

4 - Go to http://www.Alexa.com. Do a search on your subject, in this example, horticulture. It provides the exact same results as Google because it’s powered by Google. So why bother, right? Wrong. Because Alexa *does* provide value added information.

When you do the search, you don’t want to click the link that takes you to the listed site. Instead you want to follow the link that says “Site info.” When you do this, you’ll find a section called: “People who visit this page also visit.” This can be very valuable because it potentially shows *what the marketplace is interested in.* This can enable you to tailor your information product to what people want.

These are just some of the easy ways to branch out your explorations and find info to turn into profit.

Great searching…

 

 Solopod 1 [12:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

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ARE YOU TRYING TO START AN ONLINE BUSINESS? Are you overwhelmed with the many online business programs available or concerned that you’ll lose money by investing in them? While many offers sound too good to be true, there are some very good ones available - but how can you be sure? Learning to read ‘between the lines’ will better prepare you for what’s really involved.

Here are some common phrases used to promote online businesses and what they really mean:

#1 - Simple & Easy

Simple and easy depends on who’s speaking. A doctor may tell you it’s only a ’simple procedure’ but that doesn’t mean that you should attempt it yourself.

Many online businesses ARE simple to operate. If you understand how it works you will be amazed at the simplicity - but getting to that point will require time and experience. You may just need to try a few to get a ‘feel’ for the business before deciding which one is easiest for you.

Those who have learned from experience can look back and see how simple it COULD have been if they’d known what to do all along. Finding a trustworthy guide can be a great assistance to your business efforts.

#2 - Anyone Can Do This

Sorry - starting a business of any kind is stressful and requires a learning curve. If you are attempting an online business out of desperation or the belief you will make easy money you will face enormous obstacles. On the other hand, if you are truly seeking a business you can learn, work at and make a living from, you will find something online that fits your needs.

Studies of successful business people concur that those who make it have common qualities of persistence, patience and desire. These qualities are essential when trying to start an online business - do you have them?

#3 - Turnkey

The term ‘turnkey’ use to mean that a business was set up and ready to go. You will find the term in business classifieds where the new owner can just step in and start running the business. Unfortunately some marketers use the term to suggest a business is fully automated - that there is no work involved.

There is always work involved. If the business really is turnkey than you will begin work right away because it has already been set to go. If you want an automated business you will have to do the work to make it automated. Either way, nobody is going to give you an automated, turnkey business that makes money - they had to do the work, so why would they share it?

#4 - It Won’t Cost Anything

You absolutely CAN set up an online business with no money, but be prepared that a combination of no money and lack of experience will stifle your efforts immensely.

Most individuals who start or run a business with no money have learned how to make use of the best free techniques through experience. They have paid their dues by trying businesses that cost money. They have spent time in and around their industry or market and they’ve been able to see where they can cut costs.

If you are prepared to spend a LOT of time researching before starting your business you may be one of the few who does it right the first time. For most people though, expect to pay something towards your online business education before seeing results - you just can’t buy experience.

Online business obviously has its share of work involved, but finding the right one has enormous payoffs many people are willing to sacrifice time and money to achieve. Running your own business is satisfying and can give you more time to do what you really want to do in life.

Creating a successful online business is within the grasp of nearly everyone who is prepared to stick to it. Face the task of starting your business with realistic expectations while continuing to dream big and you may just surprise yourself!

All the best,

Dave

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MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE REALIZING that the Internet offers great potential to set up a healthy business for pennies on the dollar. This is good news for internet marketers - but it also means that they need to lift their game.

Why? Because the would-be “netpreneur” has access to way more training than ever before. It’s possible to get up to speed very quickly on what is needed to get started online. This, in turn, means that people quickly recognize what offers true value and what does not. They see so many sales letters that they become, to a certain degree, immune to the typical hype. They’re willing to spend - but they want value for money. They want to be treated like intelligent and discerning adults.

So here’s a message to all ‘gurus’ (and aspiring gurus) who are keen to get their share of the dollars waiting to be sent flying their way via cyberspace.

1) What does it take to make people want to buy “you” rather than some other internet marketer?

2) What might make people want to unsubscribe from your list?

3) And what pushes them into asking for a refund?

What Makes People Want to Buy?

• They buy if they can see that a product will give them new knowledge and understanding.
• They buy if the purchase will speed up business growth.
• They buy if a product will automate a task that eats into their time. (People quickly learn to spend their time on marketing and product creation, rather than repetitive tasks.)

Tip: Once newbies have been exposed to a few sales pages, it is not long before they learn to look beyond the sales hype. They study a sales letter carefully to work out what the product will “really” offer them. (Do they need this? Or will it duplicate something else they own?)

They also learn to look for value for money. Some higher-priced products are worth every cent. Some cheaper products add very little to what they already know.

(Note: Savvy internet marketers already realize that if they put together online interviews offering truly valuable information, they are far more likely to attract and keep new customers. A quick example: Jane Smith listens to a one-hour audio interview on search engine optimization and traffic. She finds out some really useful information she has not so far heard anywhere else. She decides that this guy knows what he’s talking about and shells out a couple of hundred dollars for his products.)

What Makes People Want to Unsubscribe from a List?

• Getting four identical emails trying to sell them the same product, because the sender hasn’t figured out how to move them from one list to another after they buy.
• Getting a ‘canned’ email sounding full of excitement about a new product or service - which turns out to be a duplicate of the email they get from six other marketers who are affiliates for the same product.
• Getting email from a product creator about anything under the sun because you bought XXX product from them. If your customers sign up for a newsletter, they expect mailings.

What Makes People Want to Ask for a Refund?

In the past, buyers tended to shrug and write off a bad purchase. But increasingly, people are prepared to stand up for their rights. If they feel they have not received value for money, they will ask for a refund.

So what makes them decide to ask for their money back?

• Software that doesn’t work as it is supposed to.
• Physical products (CDs, DVDs) that don’t work on their systems.
• An e-book that is full of content easily found in an hour’s net-surfing.
• An e-book that has skimped on content or that has been poorly written.
• An e-book that not only skimps on content but is full of links to up-sells to get the ‘really valuable’ information, or is full of affiliate links.

The last case, an e-book full of affiliate links or links to an up-sell…is something you should be giving away free as part of your viral marketing campaign. Charge for it and you risk your reputation for being a source of quality information.

Other things that bite into your customer’s valuable time.

• MP3’s that are streamed from a website rather than being downloadable.
• e-books that are in “.exe” format only, so the customer can’t print them out in one ‘hit’ (and can’t access them on a Mac computer).

Give your clients anything that they can listen to or read away from the computer. Most of them spend enough hours a day at the keyboard already. They’d rather load an audio interview into their MP3 players and listen while they go for a walk or relax in the sun. They’d prefer to print out an e-book and read it or mark it up while sitting in an easy chair.

Please, please don’t tether them to the computer!

And finally, about those “name squeeze” pages. People are very quickly getting tired of having to give up their email addresses just to get to a sales page. Do you want them to buy or not? These days, unless there’s a huge buzz around the Net and they want to see what it’s all about, prospective customers are just as likely to click the ‘back’ button on their browser, or close the window and leave.

After all, there’s always another internet marketer waiting to sell them a product. Probably one very similar to yours. Marketers who respect their client’s time and intelligence are the ones who will get their loyalty - and their cash.

All the best,

Dave.

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Copyright © 2006 www.eliasg.com

EIGHTEENTH CENTURY THINKER DENIS DIDEROT ONCE NOTED, “There is no moral precept that does not have something inconvenient about it.” The underlying truth of that statement is one reason some people seem to have difficulty operating an ethical home business. Ironically, however, those seeming inconveniences can actually turn out to be advantages. Those who try to short-cut real important business values aren’t doing themselves a favor on either an ethical or a financial plane.

The temptation to skirt ethics comes from our strong desire to generate profits and to experience personal success. Most people who operate their own businesses are very driven by their aspirations and when all that seems to stand in the way of greater profits is an ethical question, they may be tempted to turn a blind eye to what is right.

That willingness to overlook principles might seem like a solid business decision in terms of the bottom line. Even if it is, of course, its reprehensibility and contribution to the worst parts of our society should dejustify the unethical behavior. However, a closer examination of most ethical shortcuts reveals that the “easy but questionable” way usually isn’t the sound business decision in terms of the profit levels, either. That’s because our home businesses are based on our word and honor.

This is especially true of online enterprises, where our perceived credibility is largely determined by our history of clean dealings. Although it may be possible to grab a few quick bucks disingenuously, doing so is likely to have longer-term repercussions on one’s reputation that will cost more in the long run than what is immediately generated.

Additionally, the Internet never forgets! A questionable auto salesman may be able to last awhile, as advertising and blind luck may lead others onto his lot. Those who make buying decisions online, however, are already positioned to do quick research about those with whom they may be dealing. All it takes is a little bit of “Googling” to reveal complaints, allegations and criticisms of unethical players.

An ethical compromise in pursuit of fast money will haunt online vendors and service providers indefinitely. When I teach and mentor new online home business owners, I make a point of reminding them not to compromise their ethical standards. Not only is that important on some deeper level, it is also a core component of long-term success. Ethics breaches do nothing to help home-based businesses, but do risk destroying them.

As you grow your home business, remember that the inconveniences of maintaining the highest possible standards also supply you with the building blocks by which you can construct a recognized foundation for honesty and fair dealing. That kind of reputation can be the difference between barely eking out a living and being a home business success story. ———————— Elias Georgi makes it easy to build your home based business and earn a substantial income. Learn how to increase your income in the comfort of you own home with minimal effort by visiting: http://www.eliasg.com

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Copyright © 2006 Donna Gunter

WHEN I MENTION WRITING ARTICLES as a way to establish your expertise online and increase traffic to your web site, my clients typically exclaim one of two things: 1. They remind me how much they hate to write; or 2. They tell me that they have no ideas of anything they could write about.

Many people who hate to write love to speak. Instead of writing an article, you could actually speak about a topic, digitally record it, and have it transcribed and then sent to a freelance writer for editing. If you want to have your article recorded and transcribed at the same place, check out http://www.idictate.com. For a freelance writer who’ll edit your transcription, or to find someone who will write articles for you, check out ELance, http://www.elance.com and post your requirements and your budget at their site.

Please keep in mind, however, that when you hire a ghostwriter, your “voice” may be lost in the writing shuffle. Some of the more successful newsletter publishers write just as they speak, so I feel as though I get a true sense of who they are as a person as I read their material. In order to truly begin to create online relationships through your writing, you’ll want to involve yourself somewhat in the ghostwriting process so your uniqueness and personality are adequately conveyed in your articles.

The most common complaint I hear, however, is from clients who tell me that they lack a focus for their writing, or are at a loss for a topic for an article. Many of my clients marvel at the apparent ease with which I write an article for my newsletter each week. Trust me — it’s far from effortless! Many times I’ll begin writing an article about one topic, and another stronger topic emerges. I’ll then completely change my focus and write about the second topic instead. I’ll admit it’s not always the easiest process, but the glowing reviews I receive from readers about my articles make it all worthwhile.

There are some days when I sit down to write and I haven’t a clue where to begin. That’s when I start to review my “magic box” of writing tricks, and see what emerges. Here are the strategies that I keep in the box:

1. Write down 5 problems you’ve helped clients solve. As a service business owner, clients hire you to solve a specific problem they’re having. What are 3-5 most recent problems that you have helped solve? You can create an article that is a case study (with your client’s permission, or making it generic enough to hide the client’s identity) that becomes a learning experience for your readers, based on the original problem and the solution you provided to the problem. Many problems that clients present to you are problems that commonly occur, so your readers will love the “heads up” you give them about a particular issue.

2. Tell a story about a recent experience you’ve had that can become a lesson for your readers. One of the most interesting newsletters I read, David Frey’s Marketing Best Practices, http://www.marketingbestpractices.com, usually contains an article about a piece of collateral marketing material that David has received or seen. He shows a picture of the actual marketing piece, his reaction to it, and writes about how his readers can use that technique in their business. I love to read about what he’s experienced and how I might incorporate that technique into my business.

3. Create a Top 10 list. I like to write most of my articles in the form of a Top 7 or Top 10 list because it’s an effective writing method that lets readers scan your article for information, and read more closely those points in which they want additional information. It’s an ideal format for writing for online venues, as reading information on the Internet is different than reading a hard copy publication. Internet readers tend to scan information rather than thoroughly reading it, so short sentences and paragraphs and bulleted or numbered items in an article facilitate that process. And, if you can come up with at least 7 points about a topic, you can easily go in and fill in the blanks, and presto, you have an article. How do you think this article was written?

4. Talk about a problem or issue you’re facing and how you’re dealing with it. Many writers hate to get very personal with their readers and don’t want to share the intimate details of their lives. However, the more “real” you are with your readers, chronicling your highs and lows, your valleys and your missiles, the better your reader gets to know you and begins to like and trust you. You become a “real, live” human being to them who faces similar issues that they face. I get the most response to articles in my newsletters when I talk about my real-life experiences.

5. Write an article for one of your clients, based on a recent conversation you’ve had. Many times I’ll write an article that’s an expansion of a conversation I had with a client. The article focuses on a topic of the conversation, not the conversation itself. When I do this, I’ll get emails that say, “I feel like you were writing this article just for me!”

6. Write a response to or get inspired by something you have recently read. I’m a voracious reader and subscribe to more publications that I have time to read. However, there are a handful that I do regularly read, and it’s to those that I look for inspiration. Sometimes I may write an article on the same topic but put my unique spin and perspective on it, or I’ll write a rebuttal article, disagreeing with the point of view in the original article. Or, in some cases, I’ll get inspired and get a whole new idea from what I’ve read and write about that new idea.

7. Respond to frequently asked questions. If you’ve been in business for awhile, there are probably a number of questions that you answer over and over again. Instead of having to respond to the same questions constantly, write an article that answers some of your frequently asked questions.

8. Put yourself in the beginner’s seat. As I talk to people, I often forget that the info that I consider to be “common knowledge” and very basic is, in fact, new information to them. Picture yourself as a newbie once again. What do you know now that you didn’t know then? What questions did you ask? What knowledge do you have that you think everyone knows? Getting back to the basics can help bring all of your readers up to speed.

9. Write on a topic that you want to know more about. There are some things I’d like to try but haven’t yet tried, so I’m unable to write about my personal experiences with an issue. However, that doesn’t keep me from being curious about it, so I’ll do some research and see what info exists about a topic. When I do research, I write an article about what I’ve discovered so that others can benefit from my research.

10. Solicit your readers and web site visitors for ideas. I’ve seen a number of coaches/consultants set up pages on their web site in which visitors can ask a pressing question. I have just started to do this with http://www.askdonnagunter.com . This is an effective way to find topics for your article writing, as well as a way for you to get in touch with your reader’s needs.

Add these strategies to your writing “magic toolbox” to give you the push you need when you think you just can’t write another article. Once you’ve found your focus, the words will start to flow, and before you know it, you’ll have that next article for your newsletter or web site.

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Online Business Resource Queen (TM) and Business Coach Donna Gunter helps self-employed service professionals learn how to get more clients online at http://www.OnlineBizCoachingCompany.com . To sign up for more FREE tips like these and claim your FREE gift, TurboCharge Your Online Marketing Toolkit, visit her site at http://www.GetMoreClientsOnline.com . Read about running an online biz at our blog,
http://onlinebizcoachingcompany.typepad.com/online_business_coaching_/

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Copyright © 2006 Richard Grady

THE PROBLEM WITH SO MANY INTERNET BUSINESSES is that they are often run by just one person. But surely that’s a good thing right? Well, it can be - it means that you have complete control over everything you are doing and you know exactly what is going on with every aspect of the business at all times. BUT there is one big downside which is that each individual only has 24 hours in the day and this means there is a clear limit as to how much work you can actually get done in that time.

Don’t get me wrong, I am as guilty as everyone else who falls into this trap. I am a self-confessed control freak and for years I wouldn’t outsource any of my business tasks. If I wanted to do something, I would spend hours/days/weeks working out how to do it myself rather than letting someone else handle the work for me. The upside of this approach was that I did learn a lot but the downside was that I wasted a huge amount of time. Over the years I have got a lot better at outsourcing work but I still tend to only outsource small jobs rather than entire projects, with the rest of the work being completed by yours truly.

When I decided to create my most recent online venture, SimplyWholesale, I decided to adopt a completely different strategy. Not only did I decide to outsource the entire web design/build side of the project but I also took on a business partner on a 50/50 basis. My main reason for this major deviation from my ‘normal’ approach was that I just didn’t want to do a lot of the work which was required. After working online for close to 10 years, I had had enough of building websites, designing scripts and carrying out some of the other mundane tasks involved in setting up a new Internet business.

Getting rid of the website design and build was a considerable weight off my shoulders and it was/is fantastic to have a competent web designer at the end of the phone. Whilst I still carry out minor updates/improvements to the new site, if I need anything more complicated doing I simply send an email to the design team and it gets done for me. Of course there is a cost involved in doing things this way but the time saving and decreased stress levels are well worth it!

The main benefit I have seen however is from working with a business partner. I have worked with Dave (co-director of SimplyWholesale) in the past on various projects but this is the first time that we have committed the majority of our working week to one joint venture. Although it is pretty obvious that having two people working on the same business will double your effective output, it is only when you experience this that you realize how much difference this actually makes….

There are now large chunks of running SimplyWholesale which I just don’t have to worry about or even think about much of the time. These areas fall under Dave’s control and it is his job to worry about them. It works both ways of course and there are plenty of things that Dave doesn’t have to deal with because they are my jobs.

We all like to think that we are good at everything but the truth is that some people are far better at filling certain roles than others and there are many things that Dave can do a lot better than I can so it makes sense that he should do them.

When it comes down to it, the only way that a business (either online or offline) can continue to grow is by employing additional staff. Even with something as flexible as the Internet, where it is possible for a one-man band business to earn a substantial income with much of the work on auto-pilot, there will come a time when the owner runs out of time each week (or just decides that he doesn’t want to work as many hours each day).

Because of the way that so many Internet business start, it is so easy to get sucked into doing everything yourself. It isn’t like opening a shop for example where you know that you will need staff because you don’t want to be in the shop eight hours a day/six days a week. Many online businesses start off as tiny concerns run from a bedroom somewhere and gradually grow into ‘proper’ businesses. By this time, the owner has probably already fallen into the trap of doing everything and it can seem like an impossible situation to get out of.

If this sounds like you (or if you are about to start a new online business), spend some time thinking about how you could get someone else to handle some of your workload. You will probably be surprised at how much difference it makes to your income, lifestyle and business overall.

Remember, you don’t need to rush out and hire staff - how about training your husband/wife/partner etc to do some of your day to day tasks? Even if you manage to snatch back just a couple of hours a day, your business (and your life) will definitely see the benefits…..

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Richard Grady has been helping people earn online since 1998. To view Richard’s latest website, SimplyWholesale, visit http://www.simplywholesale.co.uk To subscribe to his bi-weekly newsletter, please visit: http://www.thetraderonline.com/newsletter.html

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Copyright © 2006 Cari Vollmer

IN YOUR MIND, WHAT DOES LIVING WELL MEAN TO YOU? Does it mean you have plenty of money to do whatever you want? Does it mean you get to spend your time as you wish? Does living well conjure up the image of beautiful cars and homes and luxurious vacations?

As they say, if you can dream it you can achieve it. However, a vivid imagination in and of itself does not lead to getting what you want. You also have to take supportive, concrete actions. In order to live well, it may be necessary for you to do some things differently then you’re doing today. Below is a list of three key points to keep in mind if you have the desire to live well but have no idea how to actually start doing so.

1. Learn How to Live Well

If you’ve never actually lived well, it may seem like a big leap to do so. But what if you could learn how to live well? You can!

There are dozens, if not hundreds of books, CD’s and other helpful sources of information which will teach how to get what you want. In fact, the entire personal growth/self-help industry is founded on the intention of helping people live better than they are today.

For example: If you dream of making a lot of money, but today you’re barely scraping by, there are several excellent books, CD’s and seminars that will help you learn how to make a lot of money.

Another example: If you dream of traveling the world, there are hundreds of books and publications that will show you how to travel the world, either on a budget or luxuriously.

The point here is if you want something, there is a way to get it. You just have to learn how to get it. Invest in yourself and your dreams. You and they are worth the time and money you’ll spend doing so.

2. Create Rich Life Experiences

Life is really just a series of experiences. Some experiences we learn and grow from and others set us back. Other experiences make us feel fantastic and some leave us feeling stressed out.

Instead of waiting for great experiences to fall in your lap, create your own rich life experiences.

Rich Life Experiences are experiences you create for yourself from a state of purpose. In other words, you decide what kind of experience you wish to have and then you make it happen!

For instance, if you’re someone who loves fine wines, create opportunities for yourself to learn more about different kinds of wines. Visit local wine tasting events and when you out grow that experience plan a trip to California’s wine country or take a class from a world renowned wine expert!

Rich life experiences occur when you take something you’re passionate about and find ways in which you can fully immerse yourself in your passion.

Creating rich life experiences for yourself will allow you to live life fully.

3. Keep Life Simple

LIVING WELL does not equal DOING MORE. On the contrary, living well may require you to cut way back and focus your time and attention on just a few select parts of your life.

Two great questions that will help you keep it simple are:

What do I really want? And,

If I could do anything, be anything or have anything I wanted, what would I do, be or have?

Now, brainstorm a list of at least 25 things. Then see if there are groups of themes in your list. For example, if you write down you want to travel to Paris, Africa and China; you can group all of these together under TRAVEL!

The themes you see on your list will give you a place to start focusing your attention.

Focusing your attention will give you more energy to do the things you really want to do because you won’t be pulled in too many directions doing things you don’t really want to do.

For maximum efficiency, pick only two or three things from your list to focus your attention on at any given time and then give those few things your all!

You can live well. Decide what living well means to you, learn how to get what you want, create rich life experiences for yourself and keep life simple.

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Cari Vollmer, personal growth expert, is the founder of LifeOnTrack.com and InspireYourDay.com.  For practical life strategies and success tips, sign up for LifeOnTrack.com’s FREE e-zine, LivingOnTrack, at http://www.LifeOnTrack.com

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