Do you tremble at the thought of having thousands of people listening to your every “uum” and “ahh”?

Not to worry. You’re definitely not alone.

There are lots of bloggers who rather kiss a toilet seat than start a podcast of their own. Yea that’s gross, but I get it – it’s quick and a lot less painful.

If that’s you than you’re probably thinking it’s harder than it actually is. You could start a podcast tomorrow if you wanted to; but just because the process is simple and straightforward doesn’t mean people don’t mess it up.

There are certain things that make a podcast “great” and there are certain things that makes a podcast “suck”.

I’m here to show you how NOT to suck. Check out these 10 common mistakes people make with their podcast so you can know what to avoid.

1. Not Using a “Special” Web Host

This was my very first boo-boo, so it makes sense for me to put it first. When I started my podcast back in December of 2010, I hosted my audio files with Amazon s3.

I thought everything was great until I got the first months bill. Apparently, I was getting thousands of downloads from iTunes and Amazon s3 charges for every gigabyte downloaded. Long story short, I switched to Libsyn and I’m only paying $15 a month for unlimited download.

That’s awesome.

2. Not Identifying Your Target Audience

This is another big one. Before you start speaking into the microphone, you need to know WHO you’re going to be speaking to.

Listeners don’t just listen to one episode, they download and tune in for all your stuff (assuming that it’s any good), so if you’re talking to skinny guys looking to gain weight and build muscle in one episode, don’t start talking to fat dudes looking to lose weight in the next.

Stick to one target audience and they’ll bond with you a lot quicker.

3. Not Having a Professional Podcast Cover Image

I’ve seen a lot of crappy covers on iTunes. I won’t name any of them here, but I suggest getting a professional podcast cover done if you really want to get serious about podcasting.

I listen to a few podcasts, but before they go into my iPhone, they needs to grab my attention. Nicely designed covers do just that and they increase the perceived value of your podcast.

Check out these covers:

• Smart Passive Income Podcast – Pat Flynn
• Self-Improvement Podcast – Timo Kiander
• Copyblogger Radio – Brian Clark & Copyblogger Media Team

4. Not Editing Your Recording

Although I don’t spend as much time editing as I did when I got started, it’s still something I feel is really important to the success of your podcast.

People don’t want to hear noise, or static, or really loud speaking (especially when they have headphones on). I recommend always speaking in the same volume , and running your recording through a Noise Reduction process while editing.

Your listeners will love you for it.

5. Not Making It Long Enough

I record 19 minute podcast episodes sometimes. Then there are days where I’ll go for 40 minutes. The point is to get your point across and teach your audience something new.

However, a 4 minute podcast really doesn’t cut it, unless you’re recording 3 or 4 of those every week. This is my own personal opinion, but I don’t think I’m alone on this one. Let me know what you think in the comments.

6. Not Using ID3 Tags

Big mistake. iTunes doesn’t read audio file names, you have to do the naming and the describing for iTunes in order for you listeners to know what they’re downloading.

There are free software programs that allow you to do this. You can edit the episode name, the author, the genre and even the cover that appears when they download it. I show you exactly how to get it done inside PFB.

7. Not Submitting To Podcast Directories

Some people think that once their podcast is on their blog, their job is done. WRONG! That’s just the beginning. A podcast becomes popular and gets lots of downloads when more people know about it.

Don’t just keep it on your blog, that’s like keeping it to yourself. Go out there and submit it to all the podcast directories and get found by thousands of people.

8. Not Having A Call To Action

The way I teach podcasting is not just the technical side, but also the marketing side. Podcasting IS powerful channel to distribute content and attract an audience.

But if you don’t tell your listeners to follow you back to your blog, join your email list, or take any kind of action, you’re not using it as the powerful marketing machine that it truly is.

9. Not Getting Specific About Your Topic

This goes hand in hand with not identifying your target audience. Jumping from one topic to the next, with no link between them, is the fastest way to;

1. Confuse your listener
2. Lose a listener
3. Get a bad review on iTunes

So, pick a topic an stick to it.

10. Not Using High Quality Equipment

There’s no need to buy a $300 microphone, but your listeners can tell the difference between a crappy $12 headset and a $40 USB condenser mic.

Remember, a lot of them will be using headphones and having them listen to a low quality podcast with lots of static will damage your credibility and authority. Look professional, sound professional and you’ll be fine.

 In Your Opinion, What Else Makes a Great Podcast?

…or what else makes a podcast suck, let us know in the comments below and please share this post if you liked it.

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I’ve brought together some of the most active and brilliant bloggers who use these social media sites as a way to either grow their audience or market their business.

…in a way, they all do both - and that’s exactly what you want to try to achieve with your own social media marketing.

The question was pretty simple:

“How do you use social media in your business?”

They only had 140 characters to answer the question, but as you’ll soon see the responses were excellent! You can take literally take any one of these 25 bite size tips and put them to good use TODAY!

Take it away:

Brian Clark @copyblogger

“Distribution of our free content, listening to our customers, prospects, and partners, and engaging in dialogue with them.”

Ana Hoffman @AnaTrafficCafe

“I use social media to show my readers that I am living, breathing, and accessible, and I don’t hide behind my blog.”

Pat Flynn @PatFlynn

“I use social media to connect with my audience on a more individual level. #goesalongway”

Chris C. Ducker @chriscducker

“It’s all about Real-Time Marketing for me. Jumping on opportunities as and WHEN they happen based on smart search monitoring!”

Srinivas Rao @skooloflife

“Pay attention the people who love everything you do, and treat them accordingly.”

Michele Welch @newbizblogger

“Focus on your target market (prospects & partners),connect w/ like-minded individuals,engage in real conversations & have fun!”

Chris Garrett @chrisgarrett

“Social media for me is part water cooler and partly to keep in contact with my my network. It’s only around 10% promotional”

Scott Stratten @unmarketing

“Relationships are my business. Twitter creates and nurtures them ”

Brian D. Hawkins @HotBlogTips

“The key to social media success is give twice as much as you receive. Quality counts, don’t be fooled by huge numbers.”

Mark Schaefer @markwschaefer

“Learn. Listen. Give. Help Others Authentically. Be Humble. And occasionally … Ask!”

Francisco Rosales @socialmouths

“As a method of distribution. Content is NOT king if nobody can see it. #shareyourwork”

Derek Fredrickson @derekfred

“Using social media as a focus not to “get” clients… but focus on adding value and getting clients “from” social media.”

Kimberly Castleberry @AskKim

“Share great stuff, promote awesome people, recommend good stuff, talk to friends and fans and occasional webinar promotions”

Spin Sucks @SpinSucks

“We use it to build relationships and to extend the conversation. The goal is to attract traffic and leads to our owned media.”

Michael Brenner @BrennerMichael

“At SAP we use social media to listen to customers, share relevant information, gather product feedback and to keep us honest!”

Brankica U @BrankicaU

“Three ways: Connecting to expand my network, generating traffic from sharing my content, promoting others by sharing theirs.”

Karol Gajda @KarolGajda

“That’s tough because I rarely, if at all, use it for business.”

Lewis Howes @LewisHowes

“You can use it to research, find your audience, become a useful resource to that audience and build a community raving fans.”

Tamar Weinberg @tamar

“Monitoring, responding, and customer service. it’s basic human relationship building ported to the online space.”

Mitch Joel @mitchjoel

“To make everything that we do as shareable and as findable as possible.”

Ashley Ambirge @TMFproject

“BEING REAL…”

Wendy Maynard @WendyMaynard

“Expand brand awareness, add value to people, network, find latest research, showcase our expertise, promote services.”

Jade Craven @jadecraven

“I use it as a listening post and curate the best links into round up posts. It establishes you as someone in the know ”

Marko Saric @MarkoSaric

“I use social media to find and connect with my audience and drive traffic back to my blog.”

Tristan H. @TheBacklight

“Different services work better in different niches. Ex: Pinterest is great for sites w/images, G+ is great for tech stuff.”

How Do *YOU* Use Social Media In Your Business?

Share your own tips and best practices in the comments section below so we can all learn from what you do. And be sure to follow all of these great bloggers if you’re not following them on Twitter already.

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So excited in fact that I made an infographic to go along with it.

Yes, I really feel it’s THAT good!

When I started this ebook project, I was just going to write all the lessons on my own, but I realized that there are a ton of people who have successfully wrote and sold ebooks.

These awesome individuals have gone through the research part of ebook creation.

They’ve battled the blank page. They’ve written thousands of words and they’ve sold their guides to their audiences.

We have a lot to learn from them and, fortunately for us, they were kind enough to offer their advice. I strongly believe in learning from those who have gotten the results you’re looking for.

…and these people have gotten great results. OK, let me stop talking, here are the:

14 Invaluable Tips For Writing Ebooks That Sell

1. Lisa from Niche Website Success says:

“Take the time to survey your core audience to ensure your book meets their needs.  We often assume we know what people want, but you never really know unless you ask.

Prior to writing my eBook, I used my email list to survey my subscribers.  The feedback was invaluable and inspired much of the content in the book. Not to mention, it’s a great way to win over your readers.  They ask.  You deliver.”

2. Steve from Steve Aitchison says:

“Ask your audience what type of ebook they would like before writing one word of your ebook.  I have made the mistake of writing an ebook, thinking, this is a great idea my readers will love this, only to find that they didn’t love it.  The ONLY way to find out what type of ebook your readers will like is to ask them.  You can do this in a blog post, an email to your subscribers, or use social media  better yet ask them using all three.

Another thing is, make your ebook look fantastic.  Presentation is everything and you want to give a professional looking ebook with a great cover.  A lot of ebook creators write their book in a word document and turn it into a pdf without much thought for presentation.  In this day and age of information overload, you need a great cover to catch the readers eye, a great title to capture their imagination, and a great presentation on the inside.  It’s well worth spending a few hundred dollars to get a professional to design your ebook once you’ve written it.

One last thing, get someone to proof read your ebook.  Again, I’ve made this mistake of not getting an ebook proof read only to find I get lots of emails pointing out errors in my book.  If you don’t get it proof read it shows you’re not willing to invest that little extra to make it look and read great, and this will come across to the reader.”

3. Farnoosh from Prolific Living says:

“I have written 7 e-books to date with contributions to many others. Some are free for download, some are for opt-in and others are for sale on my website on my own site and also on on the Amazon Kindle store, thanks to my husband’s professional help with formatting and producing them for Amazon and my excellent designers help with some of the books. My advice to you is not technical. It is deeper.

Why are you writing your book? What is the core purpose? Do you have a compelling message to tell the world? Do you want to make money and have an extra source of income? Do you want attention, notoriety, or the ability to tell others you have written a book? Do you want a sense of accomplishment?

Get seriously clear on your purpose so that you work to meeting that end goal and not be chasing every other reason out there to write an ebook that may or may not speak to your true reason. When you are clear on that, you will write your very best ebook. If you need a nudge, come talk to me. I’ll help you get clear. All the best and happy writing!”

4. Michael from How To Write an Ebook that Doesn’t Suck says:

“I’m sure others will talk about how to create the ebook or get the sale. I want to talk about what happens after the sale because of course you will sell SOMETHING. So here it is:

Focus on buyers, not freeloaders and not tire-kickers, but buyers. Buyers have already told you they like you and trust you enough to part with their money for your product. Make them happy and keep them happy and they will continue to do so, plus they will refer others to you.”

5. Scott from Scott Young says:

“The best piece of advice I can give is to develop the ebook around a benefit the reader will receive, not the topic you want to write about. A classic mistake many bloggers fall into is trying to repackage their free articles as an ebook, or write an ebook on a pet topic and hope it will sell.

This works some of the time, but a more effective strategy is to figure out something your audience members need help with that you can solve, write that book and explain how the book solves their problem.”

6. Tyler from Advanced Riskology says:

“Don’t write a single word until you’ve done your research and made sure your audience 1) actually wants what you’re about to create and 2) is actually willing to pay for it.

Let the research guide your direction, but don’t let it make every decision because you also have to create what’s interesting to you. There’s a delicate balance to strike.”

7. Amy from Blogging With Amy says:

“Don’t wait. If you have any thoughts of publishing an ebook, dive in as soon as you can. The publishing landscape is changing very quickly. Self-publishing will only become more common. Better to get in on it now.”

8. James from Men With Pens & Damn Fine Words says:

“The most common mistake I see with ebook writing is the slap-together approach. Some people think, “Hey, I have a bunch of great blog posts I wrote… I’ll just slap them together, call it an ebook and offer it for sale!” Big mistake. Huge. Cheap out on your ebook and you’ve just lost potential customers.

People might buy your ebook, sure… but will they read it, think you’re a credible expert and come back to your business for more? Will they become loyal clients? Repeat customers? Huge fans? That’s what really counts… and shortcutting the process is detrimental to your goals. So my advice is to plan properly, prepare for this large project (because it IS a large project) and do it right so that you reap the rewards.”

9. Ali from Aliventures says:

“You need to have a specific topic, and stick to that topic. This is particularly crucial if you’re creating a free ebook, or a low-priced one. Don’t try to throw in everything and anything about your area; don’t shoot for the “ultimate” guide. Just pick one straightforward, popular, topic and stay on track.

This makes the writing itself easier, and makes your ebook a more attractive prospect for the reader (who might be overwhelmed or unconvinced by a more comprehensive guide). It also leaves you plenty of room for the next ebook.”

10. Kristi from Kikolani, who’s also a Freelance Writer says:

“The one piece of advice I would give to someone creating their first eBook is to not get overwhelmed by it.  It’s easy to get obsessed with details, trying to make everything as perfect as possible.  While I would suggest getting an outside editor to read your work and catch any little grammatical things that you might miss, I wouldn’t get too caught up on other details.

You may not have the best cover graphic, launch promotion, mailing list, etc. as other eBook authors you have seen.  But if you wait for everything to be absolutely perfect, you may never publish your book at all.  Or worse, someone might beat you to your topic!”

11. Kelly from Sticky Ebooks says:

“Avoid kitchen sink syndrome. Most first-time ebook authors are tempted to include every single thing they know about a subject, but this can backfire. Instead of seeing this as added value, readers can become overwhelmed with information.

No one likes to read 400 pages of anything that isn’t War & Peace. So zero-in on a topic you know your audience is hungry for, and go deep on a specific slice of it.”

12. Marc from Marc Cournoyer says:

“If the goal is to create an ebook that will make money, then my advice is to test the market first before you invest your time in it. The simplest way do to this is by collecting emails with a squeeze page, making it clear you will be charging for it and how much.

Once you’ve collected a few emails, mesure conversion rate and decide if it’s worth it. Personally, I’d shoot for 5% or above.”

13. Tia from Your Life Your Way says:

“Jot down your ebook ideas, pick one to turn into an ebook, then give it a dedicated block of time to do your writing – whether it’s an hour a day for 2 months, 4 hours on the weekend, or 3 days straight, you’ve got to eliminate distractions and do the unsexy work of writing to get the shitty first draft. THEN you can go in and clean it up, make it pretty, etc.

But don’t forget that your most important work is to sit down and do it first. Yeah, sounds so simple right? Failing to do this = you’ll do what I did and talk about your idea for a YEAR, make half hearted attempts and
then sit down for 3 days and knock it out. Don’t waste that year, amigo. Start now.”

14. Henri from Wake Up Cloud says:

“I have so many things I think are extremely important, but if I had to pick one, I’d say it’s to outline before you start writing. I use a mindmap to flesh out each chapter and subchapter, so I know everything fits together, and with a mindmap it’s extremely easy to move things around.

When I finally start writing, the process is confusion-free, because everything is already in the outline. All I have to do is fill it with text.”

Check out the Infographic:

Embed this infographic on your own site

Copy this embed code into your blog post or web page:

<a href="http://www.hectorjcuevas.com/how-to-write-ebooks-that-sell"><img title="14 Ebook Authors Reveal How To Write Ebooks That Sell - Infographic" src="http://blogfilesonly.s3.amazonaws.com/write-ebooks-that-sell.jpg" alt="14 Ebook Authors Reveal How To Write Ebooks That Sell - Infographic" width="570" height="3500" /></a><small>Like this infographic? Get more <a href="http://www.hectorjcuevas.com/how-to-write-and-sell-an-ebook">ebook marketing tips</a> from <a href="http://www.hectorjcuevas.com/">Hector Cuevas</a>[dot] com.</small>

What’s Your Number 1 Tip?

If you’ve written an ebook before, leave your number one most valuable tip in the comments, so we can make this an even better resource.

…and don’t forget to share the post, and subscribe for free email updates here.

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I’ve been writing like mad for the past few weeks; and today I hope to shed some light on how to create valuable “ebook worthy” content for you own guide.

Let me start by saying that there are no “definitive rules” to writing valuable content, but your customers will have expectations that they would like you to meet.

…and you should definitely keep these expectations in mind while writing.

What you’ll find here are some of my best practices that should help you create better content that you can go on to sell.

Because that’s the point right?

IMPORTANT: Don’t let your Mind sabotage your own success.

I’d like to hear your thoughts about this in the comments, but there’s an obstacle that we have to conquer when creating value (products, blog posts, ebooks, membership sites, whatever) out of thin air.

In our minds we’re thinking:

• “can I really charge people for this information?”
• “is this really worth people’s time and money?”

This form of sabotage is called self-doubt. We start making up reasons why our information isn’t worthy. We start to doubt the value we can share with people because it seems easy to us.

It’s important NOT to think of yourself as your customer. It might be easy for you to do the things you’re writing about, but to others this information is golden.

You would be doing a disservice to your audience if you did not release this information and you would be selling yourself short if you just gave it away for free.

You are WORTH MORE than you give yourself credit for… you just have to believe that for yourself.

Moving on…

Let’s Review… On Week 1 We Said,

A Great Ebook…

• Solves a real problem
• Builds even more trust with your audience
• Takes a stand on your topic
• Over-delivers on your promises

FACT: I don’t write a single word without thinking about my customer first.

The most important part of a transaction is what happens after the sale. Think about it. After the sale is when you know if your customers like your product.

That’s when you know if the information inside gets them results. If you keep that mentality, you’ll strive to create the best, most detailed ebook you’ve ever created.

Here are 3 ways to ensure you write “ebook worthy” content…

Write With An Outcome In Mind

Ask yourself: “What’s my customer’s first step?” – Then write a page or chapter addressing that first step and ways to make sure they take it and accomplish it with ease.

Now, think of their next step… If you keep this flow, you’ll be well on your way to writing an awesome ebook with actionable content that gets them results.

Make Sure The Content Makes Sense

The outline you created on week #2 ensures you don’t jump around from idea to idea. Imagine reading an ebook about building muscle and the author is constantly jumping from diet to training routines and then fat loss tips, back to a chapter on more diets.

Not only is it confusing, but I would personally stop reading and probably not implement anything inside – which means the ebook sucks.

Teaches, Inspires and Motivates

We’re not in the information business. We’re not in the blogging business. We’re not in the social media business. We’re in the Results business.

If you follow the tips and ideas in this post and keep the mentality of what happens “after the sale”, you will begin to write content that causes action to take place. This action is what’s gonna get you testimonials, blog reviews, social media mentions, affiliates getting on board and more sales.

On To You..

What are you thought on self-doubt and how does it affect your writing?

Did you begin writing your ebook? How far along are you? Let’s talk about it in the comments section and please share this with your followers and friends.

Thanks :0)

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Why?

Because those two things can’t co-exist. A person who’s good at making money doesn’t waste their time coming up with reasons why things aren’t going their way.

1. They don’t dwell on low traffic days.
2. They don’t frown because their blog isn’t growing.
3. They don’t sit around whining and asking why things aren’t different.

People who are good at making money, are good at making moves. People who are good at making money continue moving forward no matter the obstacles.

People who are good at making money acquire the skills necessary to do what needs to get done. They don’t compare themselves to others and wish things could get better, they make the changes necessary to make it happen.

You Don’t Need Permission…

We come up with so many excuses for why we’re not having success – and very few of them are actually valid. The main one being, who am I to teach others about XYZ?

“I don’t have the credentials”

“I lack the formal education”

“I’m not certified to do this”

Bullsh*t!

There are internet millionaires who have dropped out of college and even high school. Look at Mark Zuckerberg. Dropped out of Havard and he’s worth millions.

There are plenty more interviews available online of successful online business owners who say their formal education has, in no way, influenced their business decisions.

They’re not building online businesses using what they learned at school, they’re using fundamental blog building and marketing strategies that they learned here, on the web.

The same web that you have access to. So, again… you don’t need permission. Become the expert right now – at this very moment and let go of that idea that you need something (or someone) to tell you, “You Can.”

Let go of that crappy excuse and start taking action – because action is the only thing that will drive sales.

• Not whining.
• Not Crying.
• And certainly not Excuses

So, Excuses or Money? Your Choice…

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Then give it a great title.

Of course there’s a lot more to selling than just naming your ebook, but the title plays a big role in how your potential customers view it.

The title and the ebook cover (which we’ll talk about in a few weeks) are the only things your audience see before they make a buying decision.

They don’t get to see the content so it’s up to the title, the e-cover, and your sales page to make them buy; and the trust you’ve built with them so far, right?

Today, we’ll be talking all about product naming and then I’ll reveal the method I used to come up with my ebook’s title.

Ready? Great, let’s jump right into the 5 tips to naming your ebook…

5 Quick Tips For Naming Your Ebook

1. Focus on Benefits, Not Features

When coming up with a title for your ebook, it’s important to think about your customer first. What do they really want to get out of this product? What is the main benefit that they’ll receive when they read it?

Answering these questions won’t give you a pretty title you can slap on your ebook, but you’ll at least have the wording. Also, remember to use your audience’s language when describing the problem that your ebook is suppose to help solve.

In other words… try to stay away from anything that will confuse them, and you should be fine.

2. Consider a traditional Title/Subtitle Format

The reason this style works well is because you can have a great title that grabs your reader’s attention, but it may be too short to really explain what they can get out reading it.

By adding a subtitle to the mix, you can grab their attention and then describe in much more detail what your ebook is about, and how it can help your audience.

This is the style that I’m using with my ebook. Later I’ll explain the method I used to get the title and subtitle combination that I now have.

3. Check out the Clickbank Marketplace

The Clickbank marketplace is filled with best-selling products in many different categories. I highly recommend checking out the titles or these products for yourself.

They don’t have to be in your niche. Here are a few best-selling products that I saw when searching Clickbank.

• The Magic of Making Up – How To Get your Ex Back
• Visual Impact – A workout for the lean Hollywood Look
• Rocket Piano – Step by Step piano lessons, Beginners to Advanced

Notice how these three products use the Title/Subtitle format. The titles are being used as attention grabbers, while the subtitles explain, in more detail, how the products benefit their customers.

4. Must be Catchy, Easy to Pronounce, and Easy to Remember

This goes along with everything else I’ve been saying. Use a catchy title that will make your audience stop, think and anxious to find out more.

Don’t use words that your audience don’t know how to pronounce or words that confuse them. Remember, a confused mind always says NO, and walks away.

And lastly, if you title is simple to pronounce, it will be easy to remember. Simplicity is the key here. Don’t go making up words or try to create the next Twitter brand.

5. The “Boil it Down” Method

For the 5th tip on naming your ebook, I’ll explain what the “boil it down” method is all about. This is what I used to come up with my ebook title and it may work for you as well. It’s pretty simple, really.

Step one is to write down exactly what your ebook is. Write it down as if you were explaining it to your long-time friend. Here’s what I wrote down:

This ebook is a step by step guide on blog design. It helps people design their blogs with useful and practical tips and tricks that increase website conversions.

Step two is to condense what you just wrote down into one sentence. Try to focus on key words that spark interest, while still being true to what the customer will get when they read the ebook.

Here’s how I condensed it to one sentence:

A complete step-by-step guide to creating and designing a high converting blog.

And lastly, step three is to Boil It Down to 4 words or less. This is the hard part. Again, focus on the key words that spark interest and grab your audience’s attention. This isn’t going to explain much about the product, but that’s OK.. the subtitle can take care of that.

Finally, my ebook’s title is: 13 Sneaky Design Tricks

and the subtitle will likely be: A Complete Step-By-Step Guide To Creating and Designing a High Converting Blog.

On To You: What do you think…??

What are your thoughts about ebook naming? Are you having trouble coming up with a name? Did these tips help?

If you already have a possible title for your ebook, share it in the comments section below, I’d like to see it. And of course, don’t forget to Share Your Progress On Twitter and share this post with your friends.

Next week I’ll be talking about how to create “ebook worthy” content. If you haven’t yet started writing then START writing. Don’t wait for all the post to go up before you get started. You can always go back to make changes to your ebook if you need to.

See you soon…

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I admit, I do jump around a bit from topic to topic, but for the most part I think you’ll get a lot of value from it.

I discuss the idea of creating a customer ascension model for your business, as oppose to just creating one-off products.

I talk about thinking about your customers needs first and picking a starting point that makes sense to you and your audience.

I talk about how the Kindle affects the prices of ebooks and why I’m not worried about it at all. I talk about the one thing you must do right in order to sell your ebook no matter the price point.

Like I said.. it’s a lot of stuff and I hope you enjoy it. Don’t forget to rate and review the podcast in iTunes, and join the thousands already going through my 8-part blog marketing course.

Click Play To Listen:

Other ways to listen in…

• Click here to download the mp3 | 17.8 MB | 19:17
• Click here to subscribe via iTunes
• Click here for the RSS feed (non iTunes)
• Click here for the show archive

If you want to get access to my 8-part Blog Marketing course Click Here to Get Started – I know you’ll love it.

Show Notes:

• Announcing The Profitable Ebook Project:
• Week 1: How To Come Up With An Ebook Idea People Will Gladly Pay For
• Week 2: How To Outline A Profitable Ebook In Less Than An Hour
• How To Write And Sell an Ebook – Project Page
• Click Here to Rate & Review the podcast

Similar Online Marketing Posts::

1. BMP 018: How To Get The Most Out Of The Profitable Ebook Project With These 4 Productivity Tips
2. BBP 016: Why Creating Your Own Products Is A Good Idea + Types Of Products You Can Create
3. BBP 008: How To Guarantee Your Blogging Failure & Ways To Avoid It

If that’s the case, then I don’t blame you.

But that’s highly unlikely. What is Triberr? It’s a web-based platform that gives small and medium sized bloggers a voice.

It’s a simple way for bloggers to share each others content. That’s it – simple but truly an amazing creation that solves a real problem in the blogosphere.

 Here are my TEN Reasons for joining Triberr Today

1. You get the power of numbers effect

2. Brings high quality visitors to your site

3. Increase ReTweets of your posts

4. Network with other Bloggers

5. Increase blog comments (not guaranteed if your content sucks)

6. Expand your reach

7. Join the “Big Leagues”

8. You get to find out what works much faster

9. It’s a semi-automatic tool (which I think is important)

10. Dino & Dan keep adding more cool features

 If You’re Already On Triberr, What Has Your Experience Been So Far?

Let me know in the comments section – and don’t forget to share this post and pin it on Pinterest. :0)

Similar Online Marketing Posts::

1. Twelve [No BS] Reasons To Take Massive Action Today!
2. Viral Marketing Ideas For Bloggers & Why Even Bother Doing It..
3. 12 Blog Post Ideas You Can Start Using Today

I’m also gonna answer the age-old question, “how long should my ebook be?”

There’s a simple answer to this question – but first, a quick update. The topic I chose for my Ebook was Blog Design & Conversions.

More specifically, “design tips and tricks to attract and convert visitors into subscribers and customers”.

The idea behind outlining is to create a path for your writing. You sometimes hear that when you outline correctly, 40-50% of the work is already done.

I’d say that’s about right.

Writing takes a lot of brain power and staying on track and being thorough in your writing can become obstacles. Outlining is the cure for these problems.

4 Important Reasons to Outline

1. It makes writing easier - Once you have an outline ready, you know what comes first, next, and last. This makes writing a piece of cake.

2. It helps your ebook have balance - A good outline helps you see where your ebook lacks substance. You can clearly see what sub-topics need more content.

3. It makes reading easier - Because you took the time to make sure the ebook has structure, it makes it easier to read and comprehend.

4. It motivates you to write - This is the first step in the writing process, so knowing that almost 50% of the work is already done, you’re more likely to sit down and write and follow the path you’ve already created.

The Outlining Format I Follow

I follow a pretty straight forward format when drafting blog posts and I’ll be using the same approach when outlining my ebook. (with a little variation)

My blog post outlines go like this:

Main Topic – Headline

Introduction Paragraph

• Sub-Headlines

Content Paragraphs

• Closing Sub-Headline

Closing Paragraph

As for my ebook, the only things I’m going to add to this outline are specific examples and action steps. Why do I suggest doing this? Because you want your ebook to not only teach, but motivate and get your customers to take action.

This is how they get results and this is how you get awesome testimonials – like this one.

So my ebook outline will be structured like this:

Main Topic/Title – Blog Design & Conversions

Introduction/Welcome Message – Introduce readers to the content, what they can expect and what the ebook is NOT about.

• Section 1 – Using Design That Attract Attention

Main Headline

Sub-Topics

Examples/Action Steps

• Section 2 – Using Design To Keep Attention

Main Headline

Sub-Topics

Examples/Action Steps

• Section 3 – Using Design To Get Some Sort of Action

Main Headline

Sub-Topics

Examples/Action Steps

 Of course, it’s gonna be longer than this. I just wanted to give you an idea of what I was doing, so that you can follow the same structure and outline your ebook as quickly as possible.

This is the brainstorming part of the process, so I highly recommend you put in the time and effort into your outline so that the writing doesn’t become an issue later.

“But How Long Should My Ebook Be?”

“How many pages should I expect to be writing?” – Before I answer this question, I want you to think of yourself as your customer. What if you’ve just bought an ebook for $29.95 and it was 13 pages long?

How would you feel about that? Probably not very happy.

Why?

Because for $29.95, you’d expect a lot more content and value, right? – Exactly.

Now I’m not saying that ebook length directly translate into value, because in some cases it doesn’t. You can, in fact, buy an ebook for $20, that was 192 pages in length, and get absolutely NOTHING from it.

The point that I’m trying to make here is that the content inside the ebook is what really matters – but you also don’t want to upset your customers by giving them less than expected.

So how do you know what’s “expected”?

I like to follow this simple rule. If the ebook will be given away for free, it could be however long or short you want.

If the ebook is going to be sold for more than $19.95, try to at least hit the 50 page mark to avoid any negative feedback from customers. (it also depends on your market and how much your audience is willing to pay)

• I’ve seen 72 page guides sold at $47
• 106 page guides sold at $39.95
• 92 page guides sold at $97
• and even 237 guides given away for free…

In the end, your goal shouldn’t be a page number, the goal should be to write the best content that those pages can hold.

You want people to GET RESULTS – isn’t that the whole point anyway..

What To Do Now: Write your Outline

Take an hour of your day and start writing your outline. (it really shouldn’t take you any longer than that if you follow the structure I laid out)

If you have any questions about pricing, outlining or ebook length, leave them in the comments section below – and don’t forget to Share Your Progress On Twitter..

Next week, I’ll be talking about naming your ebook. Talk to you soon..

Similar Online Marketing Posts::

1. Announcing The Profitable Ebook Project: Create A Profitable Ebook With Me In Just 7 Weeks
2. 3 Ways To Create Valuable “Ebook Worthy” Content Without All The Headaches
3. BMP 019: Creating A Customer Ascension Model & How The Kindle Affects Ebook Pricing

Pinterest has been the talk of the town for the past few weeks. At the time of writing this post, there are over 35,000 search engine results for the phrase “Pinterest For Business”.

Crazy eh?

Well, it’s for good reason.

After having read a lot of articles and seen some stats about this site, I can see what all the fuss is all about. There has been an increase in traffic recorded, which let’s be honest – is what we really care about.

We wanna know, how can we use this “Pinterest” to grow our audience and build our email list. (which I talk about extensively in my free email course)

But, since I can’t talk from experience because I have yet to use Pinterest myself; let me send you over to the articles that I found most helpful.

I’m done talking…

17 Free Resources On Using Pinterest For Your Business

Pinterest: Everything You Need To Know Is In This Massive Post
via SocialMouths.com

The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Pinterest for Marketing
via blog.HubSpot.com

7 Ways to Use Pinterest to Promote Your Business
via Business2Community.com

7 Creative Ways Your Brand Can Use Pinterest
via SearchEngineWatch.com

How Brands Can Use Pinterest
via Location3.com

18 Real-World Examples of How Brands Are Using Pinterest
via SakitaHolley.com

Pinterest: The ultimate guide
via TheBlogStylist.com

Pinterest and Blogging :: The Good, The Bad and The Huh?
via Thenester.com

9 Tips: Boost Your Business With Pinterest
via Inc.com

Three Ways to Use Pinterest for Business
via SpinSucks.com

5 Reasons Why Your Business Should be on Pinterest
via BrianGardner.com

How and Why to Use Pinterest for Business
via DucttapeMarketing.com

How to use Pinterest for Business
via Koozai.com

Ideas For Marketing Your Products Using Pinterest.com [InfoGraphic]
via LinchpinSeo.com

10 tips To Get The Most Out Of Pinterest For Your Business
via TheNextWeb.com

If You’ve Never Heard of Pinterest, You’re a Big Dork
via ReadWriteWeb.com

Should You Use Pinterest in Your B2B Social Media Strategy?
via Business2Community.com

Did I miss any good ones?

You’re probably not gonna read all of these, but if you’ve been wondering about Pinterest like I was a few weeks back, I would definitely start with these articles.

Maybe I’ll write a post about how much traffic I start getting after I actually start to use this thing.

Who knows…

Anyway.. share it and comment. Talk soon

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Where would you go for traffic?

How would your blog/business change?

It’s important to think about these things because nothing lasts forever.

There was a time, light years ago, when we thought MySpace was gonna stay on top as the powerhouse of social networking sites, until Facebook came along.

We thought K-Mart was gonna take over the world, until Walmart beat it at it’s own game.

Everything has a beginning and an end; it’s our job to prepare (and structure) our online businesses in a way that allow them thrive no matter what happens to these other sites.

Structure Your Internet Business To Take Heavy Damage

What kind of damage are we talking about here?

• Traffic sources going dry.
• Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, iTunes shutting down.
• Useful website tools being removed.
• Online services stop working (or get super expensive)

Any of these things can happen, and relying solely on them can be detrimental to your online efforts.

The possibility of all these sites shutting down at the same time is highly unlikely, but the point still stands – you can’t rely on them alone because you don’t know how long they’ll be around.

The key to structuring your internet business to take heavy damage is to build a self-reliant business. A business that relies on itself to keep running.

If you were to take my domain, hosting, blog content, products, and social media accounts away tomorrow – and leave me only my email list, I would be able to build another high traffic blog in a matter of weeks.

I’ll say it again:

Take everything away, but my email list, and I’ll build a high traffic blog in a matter of weeks – Tweet This Line

Why?

Because I own the asset that makes my blog and business profitable.

I own that traffic source.

No one else does – and you should own yours, too.

Think about that – then leave me a comment below telling me what you think…

Let’s chat..

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1. Grab My 8-Part Blog Marketing Course
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3. 17 Free Resources & 59 Tips For How To Use Pinterest For Your Business

Today I’m gonna share with you some quick and easy ways to do market research, so you can be sure that the guide you’re going to create will be something your audience actually wants.

Obviously, there are no guarantees in business, so there’s still the possibility that you’ll create something very few people will wanna buy. But you can take comfort in knowing that if you get a few things right, you will get some sales.

The first thing you gotta keep in mind is WHO you’re selling to, and the second is the PROBLEM they want to solve. If you can figure out what those two things are, and create something that speaks to them, then you’ll make sales.

But first… What Makes a Great Ebook?

Since we’re going to be talking about ebooks for the next 7 weeks (maybe even longer), let’s first dissect the makings of a great one. I’m sure there are many things that make a great ebook, but I believe these are the four main factors.

A Great Ebook…

• Solves a real problem – because if it doesn’t, your refund rate will go through the roof

• Builds even more trust with your audience – because it’s an expansion of the value you’ve already been sharing with them on your blog

• Takes a stand on your topic – because no one will care if you try to be everything for everyone

• Over-delivers on your promises -because this is the difference between an ebook that you keep to yourself and one you talk about

We’lll talk more about HOW we’re going to incorporate these things into our ebooks when we get to creating “ebook worthy” content. For now, let’s jump into some quick and easy market research strategies.

7 Amazingly Simple Ways to Do Market Research

1. Ask Your Readers

I know. I know. It’s obvious, but it’s also the easiest and most straight-forward way to gain valuable insights from your audience. You can ask them what they’d like to learn more about in your area of expertise.

You’re likely to get some really good responses; but you don’t stop there. In the comments sections, you can ask them to get more specific, so you can get an idea of what type of content they really want.

2. Create a Survey

If you have an idea of the topic you want to write about, then surveying your audience might be a better way to learn what interests them about your idea.

In order to get the most out of your surveys, make sure it’s easy to take. Try to ask close-ended question that your audience will have little to no trouble answering. Multiple choice and YES or NO questions would work best.

Here are a few examples;

• When you visit my blog you wanna learn more about ________ (follow by a list of topics)
• Do you think you would benefit from a product on _______ ? (yes or no)

You can however ask open-ended questions if you feel your audience would answer them. This sill give you a much better idea of what they want and the language they use to describe what they need.

Ask questions like:

• What frustrates you the most about ___________ ?
• Fill in the blank. “If only I knew how to ______, I would ________ .

3. Look Through Your Comments

There might be a brilliant ebook idea buried in your comments section.

People will often ask questions about blog posts you’ve written or make suggestions on topics they’d like to learn more about. (at least this is what I’ve found to be true on my site).

Although only a small percentage of your audience actually leave comments, and it could be that what one person is interested in might not be true for the rest, you can still use this information on surveys.

The point here is.. Don’t overlook comments, you might find gold.

4. Dissect Popular Posts

Popular posts are popular for a reason, your job is to find out what that reason is.

There may be a hidden product idea underneath the topic you covered in that particular post. It’s important not to jump to conclusions though.

Just because a post got a lot of retweets doesn’t mean people will PAY to get more of it. Simply add this to your idea list and try writing another post around the topic.

If it resonates with people a second time, you might have a good ebook topic on your hands.

5. What are your competitors doing/selling?

There’s no rule that says you can’t spy on your competition – (this is, of course, friendly competition, cuz mostly everyone in the blogosphere is super nice to one another)

If you know of another blogger who writes to your audience, then check out THEIR most popular posts as well. There’s a good chance your audience will resonate with an article about the same topic.

Also, look at their product line. Of course, you won’t know for sure if the product is selling well unless they share sales results, but they’ll at least give you an idea of the ebooks you can create.

It’s likely that your competitors did some research before releasing the product, anyway..

6. Is There a Complimentary Product You Can Create?

Maybe your competitors left something out. Maybe you can find a topic that was NOT covered by a popular product and Fill That Void.

This is often used when doing affiliate marketing, and trying to sell software. Software creators often create plugins or scripts without putting much emphasis on exactly HOW to use it effectively.

This is where affiliate marketers come in. They see a NEED that needs to be met and they fulfill it with tutorial videos and step-by-step action plans.

They often give this away for free in order to get more sales, but I know of a few bloggers who charge monthly for this type of information.

7. What Questions Are You Getting Via Email or Social Media?

Don’t just focus on your blog, think about the people who email you or contact your on Twitter and Facebook.

They have questions. No matter how simple the answer is, there might be a much deeper problem that they’re not asking about.

Think about how you can address all aspects of the questions they ask; there might be an ebook idea in there, too.

What I Suggest You Do Now…

Take a look at all of these market research strategies and pick one to perform your own market research.

If you get a lot of email, go back and read them. If you get a lot of comments, go back and do the same. If you have a large, very engaged audience, create a survey using surveymonkey and get an idea of what they want.

And then.. Click Here To Spread The Word.

I’ll reveal my Ebook Topic real soon, and next week I’ll talk about how to start outlining your ebook.

See you then… let’s chat!

Similar Online Marketing Posts::

1. Five Quick Tips For Naming Your Ebook… (My Ebook’s Title Revealed)
2. Announcing The Profitable Ebook Project: Create A Profitable Ebook With Me In Just 7 Weeks
3. BMP 019: Creating A Customer Ascension Model & How The Kindle Affects Ebook Pricing

If you have no idea what this project is about, go read this post and join the challenge.

The goal of the project is to create an ebook you can sell by the end of 7 weeks. But that won’t happen unless you make the time and put forth some effort.

This episode is about just that…

We’ll discuss how to get more things done in less time and I’ll share some of the things I do to stop screwing around and do the work.

Press Play To Listen

Other ways to listen in…

• Click here to download the mp3 | 16.6 MB | 17:59
• Click here to subscribe via iTunes
• Click here for the RSS feed (non iTunes)
• Click here for the show archive

If you want to get access to my 8-part Blog Marketing course Click Here to Get Started – I know you’ll love it.

Show Notes:

• 11 Tips to becoming a more productive blogger
• Announcing the profitable ebook project
• Click Here to Rate & Review the podcast

By The Way…

The crazy guys over at Copyblogger have gone insane. For the next 6 days, you can get the Studiopress Pro Plus package at a whoopin 10% discount.

At first it doesn’t seem like much, but when you consider it’s a hell of a deal already, saving another $30 bucks on top of that isn’t too shabby. This package includes all 44 turn key themes plus the Genesis Framework (which I love) …and it includes every theme they create in the future.

Just use the promo code TEN at checkout. Here’s my special link: StudioPress Pro Plus All-Theme Package

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1. BMP 019: Creating A Customer Ascension Model & How The Kindle Affects Ebook Pricing
2. Announcing The Profitable Ebook Project: Create A Profitable Ebook With Me In Just 7 Weeks
3. How To Outline A Profitable Ebook In Less Than An Hour

Yes, of course… you can monetize using AdSense and sell advertising space, but those models aren’t as profitable as selling your own digital information products; which is what I recommend.

Now, it may seem obvious to you that in order to get paid, you have to have something to sell. But you’d be surprised how many bloggers actually “Know” this information, but have yet to create their own product.

Do you fall into that category?

If you do, I’d like to introduce to you the Profitable Ebook Project.

The Birth of The Profitable Ebook Project

I’ll explain to you what this project entails but first I’d like to give credit where credit is due. Pat Flynn, from Smart Passive Income, came up with a challenge called the niche site duel with Tyrone Shum.

In this challenge he created a brand new niche site from scratch while sharing everything he was doing with his audience; Tyrone did the same.

They both encouraged their readers to create a niche site of their own following their same exact steps.

Awesome, right?

Corbett Barr, from Think Traffic, re-engineered that idea and started a project called The Million Dollar Blog Project where he’d start a blog (from scratch) and share everything he’s doing to build a popular and profitable site.

So… I thought it would be a great idea to use this same approach to help you create your first (or second) profitable ebook for your business.

What Is It Exactly?

Over the next 7 weeks I’m going to be creating a brand new ebook. This ebook will be sold some time in March (if everything goes according to plan). I’m gonna be showing you exactly what I’m doing step-by-step so you can follow along and create your own profitable ebook alongside me.

This is going to be a 7 week process, and every week I’m gonna share with you what I’m working on. The topics I’ll be covering are:

• Coming up with ebook topics your audience will gladly pay for
• Outlining your ebook
• Ebook length
• Naming your ebook
• Creating “ebook worthy” content
• Designing and styling your ebook
• Releasing your ebook to your audience

Why an ebook? Why not a full blown multimedia product?

Great question…

Right now I have two products. None of them are ebooks. The reason they’re not ebooks is because I strongly believe that giving customers access to information creates a better customer experience.

This is why I created membership areas for Podcasting for Bloggers and The Blog Planning Workshop.

But for the purposes of this project, I wanted to tackle something that I felt was doable in a few short weeks. Creating and selling an ebook made more sense to me than building an entire video-based product.

…that’s the answer 

The actual writing part of this ebook creation process is what’s going to take the longest time to complete. I have a lot of writing to do because I want to keep you up to date with what I’m doing as I’m writing my own ebook.

Seven weeks may not be enough time for you, but for some it might be more than enough. I want to encourage you to work as hard and fast as you can to get this done. It won’t be easy, but you’ll feel awesome at the end.

Remember, this ebook isn’t gonna write itself. Work is required for success, there’s no way around it. I just hope this project will inspire you to get started and create something that will pay you over and over for a long time.

The Only Thing I Ask…

This is 100% free. I’m not charging a penny for the next 7 weeks of in depth “ebook creation” content. But, in order for this project to help as many people as possible, all I ask is that you share the project with your friends and followers.

Facebook share it. Retweet it. Stumble it. Google Plus it – and anything else you can think of.

I’m sure that’s not a lot to ask. No money, just spread the word about the project and I’ll be happy :0)

The only question that remains to be asked is…

…Are You In?

Let me know in the comments section below if you’re thinking about participating. You can also announce to your audience that you have accepted this challenge and that they should be expecting a brand new ebook from you in the next 7 weeks.

This is good for a few reasons:

• You become accountable and your chances of following through increase dramatically
• You begin building anticipation with your audience until the day you release your ebook
• You’ll feel great about taking on this challenge head on..

If you have any questions about the challenge, please leave them in the comments section. If there are any additional topics that you’d like me to cover during the next 7 weeks, also leave those suggestions down below.

I’m excited…

Spread the word! Look I made it really easy for you. Just Click Here to tell you twitter followers that you’ve accepted the challenge.

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If you’re not asking for permission, you’re wasting your time.

This is something I’m glad I was told when I first got started blogging.

Don’t know where I’d be without it. I’d probably be designing banner ads that flash like crazy, in hopes of getting people to pay attention to me.

Not a good way to do business :/ (especially not in 2012)

What is Permission Marketing?

Let me first cover what it is and then why you should use it.

Permission-Based Marketing is the process in which a business obtains permission to communicate with (or market to) a prospective customer, before taking that prospective customer to the next step of the buying process.

In other words, permission marketing is asking people “if it’s OK” to send them emails or other marketing messages before asking them to buy.

Pretty simple right? Just get them to raise their hands..

The term was popularized by Seth Godin in 1999 and it has been my approach since day 1 of this blog (and the approach of many other successful bloggers).

The idea is that people that give you permission to send them promotional messages are a lot more attentive and receptive to those messages because they expect it.

You can get permission by giving them something for free in exchange for their contact information. This can be done through a simple opt-in form.

I’ll show you how I get permission at the end of the post.

The Evil Twin: Interruption Marketing

The way interruption marketing works is the complete opposite. This way of marketing revolves around numbers and lots of advertising; as oppose to permission based, that revolves around relationships and connections with your audience.

The foundation that interruption marketing is built on is the AIDA principle. Attention. Interest. Desire. Action. (learn more about that here)

Marketers who interrupt their prospective customers have to take them through this process in order for them to make a buying decision.

This makes sense since the traffic they receive are mostly cold visitors who don’t know who they are.

Without it, this approach simply doesn’t work.

Permission marketing, on the other hand, can use AIDA when sending out promotional messages, but only as an extra.

This approach to marketing is more relationship-based and your customers will respond to your messages a lot better without having to take them through the A.I.D.A process.

Don’t Waste Your Time Interrupting People

This is the sort of stuff that doesn’t get you noticed anymore. Instead of trying to be the loudest, trying to talk to as many people as possible, narrow your message and talk to the few that will listen.

Ask your visitors to give you permission to send the more value, (and marketing messages) so that you can start creating an engaged audience.

Create that free report. Create your lead generation process. Use Aweber as your email management service. And get busy building your internet business.

This is by far the best advice i can give you to start the new year. But I’m sure some of you are wondering…

How Do I Ask For Permission?

Really simple.

You see that form right below this article? Yea, THAT form. That’s the form you have to fill out if you want to get access to my free 8-part blog marketing course. It’s a course I created to give you a strong foundation on how to build an audience online using blog/content marketing strategies.

That’s what I’m offering in exchange for permission to send you more cool stuff.

Cool huh? …and also very effective. So do it!

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First, I ‘d like to talk about why I think this is so cool.

I’m big on creating clutter-free, effective websites that help you convert visitors into subscribers and customers.

I try to stay away from useless widgets and plugins that do nothing but send traffic away from your site.

The reason I think this Twitter tool is so cool is because it allows your visitors to follow you with 1-click, without having to be on Twitter.

Of course, they still need to have an account but, this button opens up a new window that tells them to login if they’re not already logged on. It doesn’t redirect them and once they’re done, they can close the window and they’re back on your site.

Cool, huh?

So, Here’s How To Add The Twitter Follow Button In 7 Steps

Step 1. Go To https://twitter.com/about/resources/buttons. This is the Twitter Resources page where the button gets created.

Step 2. Choose the second option. This is the Follow Button.

Step 3. When the button options open up, simply type in your twitter username. you can then select whether or not you want the button to show your username and the size of the button itself.

Step 4. Right next to the button options, you’ll see a live preview of what the button will look like on your site. Under this live preview, there’s a code – Copy This Code.

Step 5. Go to your WordPress dashboard and click on Wdigets. You can find your widgets section under Appearance.

Step 6. Add a new TEXT widget to your sidebar and PASTE the twitter code you’ve just copied inside the text box.

Step 7. Refresh your blog and BAM! Your visitors can now follow you with 1-click and they won’t have to leave your site to do it.

If You Loved This Tutorial – Share It!

I’d really appreciate it. Thanks

…oh and when you’re done adding it, be sure to follow me with just one click, so you can see how it works.

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1. 3 Cool Twitter Tricks That Won’t Help You At All, Unless…
2. How Kanye West Uses Content & Email Marketing To Build His Empire
3. Do You Really Wanna Triple Your Traffic? Consider This Before Trying Another Traffic Tactic…

I’m excited for 2012 and I wanna share that excitement with you by giving you something I’ve been working on for past week or so.

I thought I’d start off this year with a brand new report. It’s titled Landing Page Optimization and it talks about the 6 things you should keep in mind when building a landing page.

You probably noticed that my homepage has changed a bit since I last posted. It’s no longer a blog layout.

It now functions as a landing page and I’m happy to say that it has been very effective so far. The reason this report came about was because of my homepage redesign.

How To Download The Report

The report is 100% free, you don’t even have to sign up for the email list to get it. Why?

Well, first of all, I just wanna be cool. Plus, I know that giving it away this way, it can get in the hands of a lot more people.

And secondly, because I hope that when you read it and benefit from it, you’ll pass it on or tell your people about it.

So here it is: (right-click to save to your computer)

Click here to download Landing Page Optimization (PDF)

Author: Hector Cuevas

Format: PDF

Pages: 17

Rating: Freaking Awesome!!

Share this page if you like the report – I’d really appreciate it. Thanks

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Thousands of people making new years resolutions and thousands more hoping next year will be different.

I’d like to take a different approach – and I’d like you to join me.

There are three simple questions that I believe need to be answered.

These are important because they really helps sum up everything you accomplished this year and what you have yet to accomplish, without drifting off to “resolution-land of fairy tales”.

They also help you focus on the things that you should be doing that get you results. (when it comes to traffic, subscribers, income and size of your audience)

The 3 Questions are…

1. What worked? – So you can celebrate your accomplishments.

2. What didn’t work? - So you can avoid making the same mistakes.

3. What am I gonna do more of next year? – So you can have a much better year in 2012.

Answer these three and I think you’ll start the year off on the the right foot.  – and I know it’s still early, but Merry X-Mas and happy new year guys.

Take care…

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Guest post by Karol K from NewInternetOrder.com

Don’t worry, I won’t torture you.

I’m not gonna make you read half way down the article to find out what this quick and simple way to improve your writing is.

So here it is: start writing a journal (or a diary – whichever you prefer).

The whole thing is rather easy. There are no rules. No must-have elements before you can get started. No boundaries. No cost (usually). All you have to do is write at least one entry every single day.

But, how does this help?

How does writing a journal improve your writing?

Let me quote someone who’s a little more experienced writer than I am – Stephen King.

“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.”

Stephen says that a good starting point is writing 1,000 words per day, every day, six days a week. And there’s no requirement to write anything that makes any sense, hence, why a journal sounds like a very good idea.

Stephen also says:

“So okay – there you are in your room with the shade down and the door shut and the plug pulled out of the base of the telephone. You’ve blown up your TV and committed yourself to a thousand words a day, come hell or high water.

Now comes the big question: What are you going to write about? And the equally big answer: Anything you damn well want.”

It’s hard to argue with someone like Stephen… If you want to be a good writer (and ultimately a good blogger) you have to do one thing – you have to write, and you have to do it a lot.

Writing a journal will improve your flow, ease of writing and overall comfort of sitting in front of a blank screen or a piece of paper.

The more you write, the less you have to think about what you’re going to write; the words will usually appear with minimal effort on your part.

Writing a journal is so easy that anybody can do it, and at the same time it’s so underestimated that hardly anybody does.

Where to begin

First you need to decide if you want to write a journal using your computer or go the traditional way – pen and paper. But since it’s the 21st century you’re probably going to use your computer.

The only thing you have to do now is choose your software. If you already have any kind of word processing app then you are more than welcome to use it (like MS Word for PC or Pages for Mac).

I, however, don’t like to play around with all the files. You have to store them somewhere and (usually) make sure that no one else can access them because, let’s face it, it’s your private journal. This is particularly important when you’re sharing your computer with someone else (your spouse, kids, dog, etc.).

That’s why I use an online app – Penzu. It’s free, easy to use, cool, safe, and takes care of managing and storing your journal entries, so I encourage you to check it out.

What to write about

This is the best part. You can write about anything you want… For example:

• How your day was.
• Your opinion about something you’ve seen on the news.
• Your favorite food as of late.
• People you hate and why.
• People you think hate you and why.
• What your plan for taking over the world is.
• What your ideal day would be.
• What your fitness plan for upcoming months is.
• How you would name your dog if you had one.
• And so on, and so on.

Even though this is what you can call freestyle writing, there are still two things to keep an eye on if you want to improve your writing along the way!

1. Make sure to use proper English.

Just because there are no boundaries it doesn’t mean you have to botch every sentence.

2. Maintain a consistent flow of writing.

Even though what you’re writing might not make any sense to anyone else, it does need to make sense to you when you read it out loud. This is called “writing flow”.

Try not to jump from topic to topic. Stick to one thing and let your thoughts do the writing. It helps with your focus when you’re writing your next blog post, ebook, or website copy.

The main goal when writing a journal…

…is writing itself. You don’t have to fool yourself by saying that you’re going to go back and read the entries someday. That day rarely comes…

One of the most important things to keep in mind when using your blog as a marketing platform, is that publishing content on a consistent basis will increase your overall traffic and leads.

So even if the last time you see your entry is when you finish writing it, the sole fact that you wrote it, and kept writing every day will pay off. It will improve your writing. Period.

Now, do you keep a journal?

Well, I’ve got you covered with my Blog Marketing 8-Part Course . And there’s absolutely no charge.

This 8-installment email course and newsletter will show you the techniques and strategies you need to know when marketing your business on the internet.

Find out more and sign up for free here.

Here are some of the topics I cover inside:

• Content Marketing
• Getting Blog Traffic
• Effective Blog Design
• Conversion Strategies
• Creating a Sticky Blog
• Being Everywhere
• Multiple Income Streams

Just click here to sign up for free. See you inside.

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