Writing Historical Fiction - George Washington Slept Where?

Ah as fiction readers and writers we all dream of far off exotic lands, interesting places and scenarios to explore, and fascinating people who live more exciting lives than we do (I am not sure but I don't think I ever read about James Bond sitting in his PJ's eating pizza at his computer, er.. not that I ever do...). Some even dream of far away times, whether as a science fiction writer one thinks of the future, or one thinks of past times. I know my wife loves reading about the middle ages. Me, I prefer the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Whatever time period, past, present or future, is your favorite or preference, you find many stories written about each period.

Of the three time periods, writing historical fiction is probably the hardest . For present day issues you can just write about the world around you. For futuristic science fiction and fantasy, well you make up the world and its rules. But when writing about the past, one has to be very careful and make sure you do your research.

Some questions you need to answer are:

• What and how did people eat back in your period?
• What did they wear?
• How did they get their goods?
• How long does it take to travel 5, 10, 100 miles?
• What were the social customs?
• What were the trends of the day?
• What were the major news stories of the day?
• What kind of houses, how did they heat them and how many to a room?
• What were the houses made of?
• And so on and so forth.

You see you have to be careful not to imbue your characters with modern day values or thoughts. True most of human nature hasn't changed over the last few million years, but our attitudes and how we believed the world to be was different even 25 years ago compared to today (Inter what? World Wide What?, yes I remember time before the internet PC's and GUIs, how did we ever survive back then?). People who read historical fiction know about and are interested in the period you will be writing about. And they tend to be very knowledgeable and if you try and pull a fast one, well they will suss you out and throw your book away, very fast. So do your research.

Be very careful when writing abut historical figures as well. You can't be making up new stories about them as you might end up being sued for libel (yes it seems even the dead have rights these days) by their heirs or historical societies. The best thing to do is create your own character who might have known the person, or served with them etc. They can have some interaction with the historical character, but no new made up deep dark secrets should be invented. Events can be used, but again be sure to stick to the facts, just stretch the behind the scenes, you just add thoughts of your character who was there, but not necessarily a major player in the history books.

What genre works with historical fiction? Well just about any if you really think about it. You can have a detective investigating the Boston Tea Party, or maybe a romance aboard the Lusitania, or maybe an adventure with the Crusaders, or a student of Leonardo Da Vinci's. Maybe even write a story, and go back and change a few tidbits here and there, and all of a sudden you are in the 18th Century court of the Czar of Russia! The ideas are endless, and only hampered by your imagination. Just get your facts right and you can do anything.

All in all writing historical fiction is a fun escape to a bygone era, one where you can wonder what it was like to be in a simpler time. Get it right and you can find unbridled success. Just be sure to take care and do your research or the readers will skewer your work.

Mahalo.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your writing,marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

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Recycling Your Content For Profit

The information age is wonderful in that it is easy to create information to share with others. But once you create all this wonderful information what can you do to make a profit with it? Well if the content you develop is of good quality you can always sell your content for profit. Here are a few ways to increase profits by selling your content

1. Repackage your web site content in to different products to sell. You could create speeches, audio books, classes, and video tapes with your content.

2. Divide your content up and use it for promotional articles. You could submit them to other web sites or ezines for publicity. Just add your resource box.

3. Allow people to link to your web site's content. This is a fast way to get hundreds of people linking to your web site.

4. Add to your content and create an ebook to sell. You don't want to sell your free content, but if you add to it you can. It's an extra profit stream.

5. Compile it into a free ebook. You could submit it to free ebook directories. Use it as a bonus for when people subscribe to your ezine.

6. Use your free content as a lead in product for your fee based content or private site. Just allow them the option of up grading to the paid version.

7. Place it on follow-up autoresponders from your web site. This is a great way to remind people to come back and revisit your web site.

8. Create a free bonus out of your content for your main product. When you add new content, remove the old content and create a bonus product with it.

9. Use the content to create a press release. This works well if you need extra information for your press release announcement.

10. Trade content with other web sites. It will give you the chance to get new content and promote your web site at the same time.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts as you learn to live the champagne life on a beer budget. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

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How To Profit From Twitter Without Really Trying

Do you want to know how to obtain joint ventures, meet people you can produce products with, get people to promote your products and jump start your business for low to no cost to you? Well how about Twitter? And you can do all of this now, even if you don't know anyone to start, even if you don't have any sort of list to begin with, even if you're a newbie, even if you're a Mac or Linux user, even if you can't attend seminars, even if ...., well you get the drift, anyone can do this.

 You're hearing about it everywhere these days, but do you really know how to get started using it? If you use twitter properly, you can:

 * Meet people who have lists and can promote your product.
 * Meet people who have the know how to move your business forward.
 * Connect with people like you, so you don't have that feeling you're in this all alone.
 * Avoid the bickering, arguing junk that goes on in forums.

 One thing I hate about forums is a few people post all the time and become power brokers, even if they're obnoxious, don't have any clue what they're doing and so forth. Forums also attract a lot of negativity. Twitter is a totally different and refreshing experience.

 So what are some the best tips on getting the most out of Twitter?
 1. Sign up at Twitter.com
 2. Keep the negative junk off Twitter - Don't use Twitter to try to get that refund or resolve disputes. The purpose is marketing. Use it to bring positive energy and meet people.
 3. Follow people who are in your niche.- Go to Twitter.com. Click on "find people." Type in names of people who write blogs in your niche, who have affiliate products and who are influencers.
 4. Make friends - Do NOT go onto Twitter pitching people. Make friends. Be a sociable person.
 5. Learn the art of the RT - RT stands for "retweet". There's a little icon that says RT. When you retweet someone's message, you're passing it on so the people on your list can see it. This is the ultimate form of sharing.
6. Observe for a week - Spend a week or so just watching others and learning what happens on Twitter before you jump in head over heels.
7. Share your positive energy -I said this before. But I'm going to repeat. Positive energy attracts other positive people.
8. Give first - Do NOT ask people to promote you or your product. GIVE first. Offer to promote THEM!
9. If someone really annoys you, you can go to twitter.com, find their name and on the right side is link where you can block them.
10. Offer viral ebooks and reports on Twitter. - Instead of blatantly promoting your product, it's better to offer a little report or ebook with a decent chance of others retweeting it.
11. When you run across a cool web site or resource tweet it to your list.
12. Go out of your way to promote others to your Twitter list. They'll reciprocate some time in some way.
13. When you find a good blog post on someone's blog, pass it along to your Twitter list.
14. Learn to Twitter on your iPhone or cell. Yes, you can do that too.
15. Understand that in the big picture your goal is to find people who have lists and can promote your products then make friends with 'em.
16. Inspire others to go for it and pursue what they know they should pursue but don't have the courage to do it. Be a cheerleader for people's highest and best interests.
17. Use Twitter strategically to meet and network with list owners.

 Do NOT end up twittering away time you really should be using to create products or do other promotions. No one really cares what you eat, when you have to go to the bathroom, etc.

 Use Twitter. Don't let it use you.

 Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts as you learn to live the champagne life on a beer budget. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you. 

Mahalo.

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What Should I Write?

What should I write? That is a question all new writers ask themselves. In fact this is one of the most difficult questions to answer.

The quick and dirty answer is of course "Whatever I Darn Well Please!" (I try to keep it on a PG level ;^D). But the real answer is a bit more complicated and needs to be looked at on various levels.

First of all it depends whether you are writing for yourself or for others. That is are you writing for yourself or are you writing on spec for others (i.e. an assigned article, book, SOP or manual for a business or product). If you are writing on spec for others then, well it is spelled out what and how you need to write. However if you are writing for yourself, then this is the article for you.

Then you need to determine what you like to read. As you read, ask yourself:

What is it about those books that you like?
Is there anything you feel you could do better?
Did you wish it ended differently?
How would you have liked the characters to interact?

These are just examples of the questions that should be going through your mind. If they do, congratulations you have found your forte, the almighty genre you've been looking for.

But wait, what if you find yourself doing this to two different genres? Well you are in luck, because having a choice is always a good option to have. The trick here is to write out stories in each one. Whichever one you find yourself writing more, and interesting stories, well that's where your true interest lies.

The thing is there is no "right answer" to the main question, you just need to follow your heart and see where it leads. Never write something just because it seems to be the current fad. If you do this and you aren't really interested in the subject, your writing will be dry, uninteresting and flat. Its like the bad book you read, the bad movie or play you see where the actors just seem to be going through the motions. Yes a lot of these do make it out to the public, but you don't have to contribute to the flotsam and jetsam of the art world.

Follow your heart, readers will know.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your writing,marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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Repurpose of Old Stories

When people are looking for ideas for their stories one of the most popular is repurposing old stories. What this entails is taking an old story, say romeo and Juliet, and making it more modern and spitting out West Side Story. Or maybe taking an event or story and try looking at it through another's point of view.

For example do you recognize this story?

A child is very god at building things, and wishes to be the top driver in the local race circuit. Two members of a secret and mysterious paramilitary organization comes by and takes him away from his mother, whom he loves very much and leaves her alone.

They put him into a special military school, and he watches them fight a few battles along the way. After he graduates he falls in love, but is told that in his special unit they are not allowed to have families or any attachments. He disobeys and marries his love after saving her in a battle.

Later he is harassed by his comrades because of his marriage and he feels isolated and alone. He also learns that his mother has been kidnapped and murdered by bandits and he was not allowed to save her. He finds solace in that the President feels for him and befriends him as he is a good soldier. His old comrades start a revolution and an aborted coup leaves them on opposite sides with his old friend and mentor.

His mentor kidnaps the wife and she dies just as she is giving birth to a son and a daughter. The old friend steals away with the children as the hero is left ding in a barren rock and lava strewn field. Wounded, burnt and in despair he is rescued by government forces who succeeded in putting down the revolution. He is permanently injured and scarred, but is able to function and becomes a top military leader.

Fast forward 18 or so years and the son is asking questions about the missing father and runs into the old friend, now in hiding. They go off on quest and the friend tells the son lies about the father and starts brainwashing the son to his own way of thinking and recruits him for a revival of the older revolution. He of course rails against the father, but call shim by another name so the son doesn't catch on to his true purpose. They hook up with a known murderer and smuggler and stumble across the sister (though they don't know nor realize it) who is running from the father, unknowingly. All the father wants is to reunite the family and have a strong family unit.

After a few battles the father informs the son that he is in fact is his father. This causes the son to scream in disbelief, because of his brainwashing by antigovernment forces. At the end he realizes that the woman he loves is his sister and in a final battle the son slays the father, but as he lies dying the father forgives his son, and vice versa. They express their mutual respect and the son gives his father a proper and respectful funeral service.

Recognize this story? It's the Star Wars saga told through the eyes of Anakin Skywalker/Darth Vader. Who says his point of view is wrong or invalid?

That is all it takes to come up with original stories out of older tales. Obviously one would change the names etc. of copyrighted characters. But think of the possibilities of taking historical events and put them through the eyes of someone who doesn't get written about.
Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your writing,marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

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Your journal can be your guidebook to lifelong success!

Are you keeping a journal? As a writer you should be and it can be your best friend.

A journal is a working tool that you can, and should, refer to each day. It can be a source of ideas and opportunities that will increase the power of your life and grant you a fulfilling year.

Here’s how to create one that’s truly powerful and will be a source of pleasure to work with.
To start, realize that you want your journal to be more than a diary. You want it to reflect the daily occurrences of your life, true, but you also want it to be a learning tool for both yourself and those who use it after you. You want to refer to your journal for ideas and strategies that you’ve thought of, but you don’t want to wade through the dozens or hundreds of pages just to find the idea you’re looking for.

So let’s start with the physical structure of your journal. Any collection of paper will do, but to get the very most from your journal, you should have a perfect bound book. That means we’re not talking about three-ring binder paper, or high-school notebooks. You can use these if you want to, but they’re not going to help you to achieve your goals.

The more professional your journal looks, the more likely you are to bring it with you everywhere.
By the way, if anyone asks you what it is, tell them it’s the most important life tool you’ve ever created. It’s your journal. Be proud of the fact.

Number all the pages in the upper right hand corner. Any location is fine, as long as you can get to a page quickly. Make sure you identify the book with your name and your contact information.
Yes, a reward will be offered for the safe return of the journal. As you create your journal, you’ll find it’s worth a lot more than you think it is right now.

Page one is the index of your journal. This will take two or three pages of your journal, so give yourself enough room.

On page four you have the section called General Notes. I’ll explain what this is in the next few moments. You’ll need to leave about seven hundred to eight hundred lines for the entire year.
And that’s how your journal starts. It’s just that simple. Now let’s get to the nitty gritty. At the end of the day (or the middle of the day or at the beginning of the day) whenever you’re ready to put something into your journal, just go to the General Notes Section, and write down the date. Now, what are you going to write about? Is it something that happened to the kids, or your business, or your family, or your cooking, or your leisure time, etc.? It doesn’t matter what it is. Just ask yourself what the main topic is for this item. Let’s suppose it has something to do with your weight-loss project.
Write down, “Weight Loss, Page 5”

Go to your Index page and just below the line that says, General Notes Page 1, write Weight Loss Page 5.

Now go to page five. Title the page Weight Loss, date the first line and write about your weight loss experience.

Hey, something just happened with your business. Go to the General Notes page, write the date on the next line and follow it with Business, page 6.
Business isn’t in the index yet, so, go to the index and write just below Weight Loss, “Business Page 6.”
Turn to page 6, title it “Business” and write down what you want to say.

When you get to the end of a page but still have more to say (but the following page is another topic) just write “Continued on page…” and then write the page number of the first available page. Go to that page and continue writing.

Of course, all of this last little bit could be eliminated if you were using a binder and could add pages, but it doesn’t look nearly as sophisticated and binder paper has a tendency to tear, fall out of the binder and get lost forever.

Of course every entry is interesting and it makes for a delightful hobby. It might even be more than a little interesting to those generations yet to come. But you’ve got to make your journal more than a collection of diary entries.

Every time you write something in your journal, you should ask yourself two questions: What can I learn from this? And, how can I use this immediately to improve my life?
These are two separate sections of your journal and they may well be the largest ones. You don’t have to refer to the event that caused the revelation. The fact that you’re writing the information down in one of these two sections means you’ve already proven it to yourself and verified it with your own experience.

If you fell to the floor because you used a chair instead of a step ladder you don’t have to write about the event a second time. Just say you must use the right tool for the job. What are you going to do? Each time you have a job to do, you’ll go though a written list of the right tools needed, and you’ll make sure you have them before you begin.

Go through a painful experience with the dentist? You now decide proper cleaning and flossing will become an absolute commitment not only for yourself, but for your family as well.

Within a couple of days you’ll start to realize just how helpful a journal can be to improving your life, your health, your wealth and to achieving your goals, too.

Every week, review these two sections. Are you maintaining those decisions? If you do, your life improves. If you don’t, it won’t. That’s the real magic of a journal.

So get it started and keep it going and you will find the joy and usefulness of this wonderful tool.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your writing,marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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Doing It My Way! Just Like The King and Ol' Blue Eyes

One of the best pieces of advice I ever received about writing is that one must be true to oneself. I know we've heard it all before, but what does that really mean? How can we truly be oneself? Will editors and publishers really like me if I don't imitate the latest fads?

And most important, Who am I?

That is one of the most difficult questions one has to answer. After all we are not just one or even two dimensional beings, but multi faceted and complicated beings. There are as many ways of doing things, writing included, as there are people in the world. The trick is to find your own voice and be true to yourself. Yes it is hard, but worth it in the long run.

The biggest problem beginning writers face is being pigeoned holed with a label that compares them to another more famous author. Sure if the author is popular one might be able to piggyback a few book sales off the other's reputation. But eventually one needs to differentiate oneself as the reading public will soon tire of imitators and stay with the original.

So what should one do? Well find your own voice! Don't be a copy cat! I know this can be difficult, especially if one is very fond of certain authors (myself I love Mark Twain, Douglas Adams and Rex Stout) and one finds they might think in the same manner after devouring their books. That is why one must branch out from their favorites when reading in their chosen genre. It ensures one will not just copy their heroes but can develop their own voice by being introduced to many different styles. Sure it may be harder but in the long run it will be worth it if you are true to your craft and yourself.

Yes the most difficult question one faces in any walk of life is “Who Am I?” and once you can answer that you are on your way to success in your writing career and life itself.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your writing,marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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Where Do Ideas Come From

Where Do Ideas Come From
(Hint: No storks involved)

Ah yes writing is a fun and satisfying pursuit, yet it is also one of the most frustrating and excruciating endeavors one can ever undertake. In a way it's just like Golf. The biggest obstacle and problem writers of all levels have is coming up with new and unique ideas. In fact the most frequent question I get is: “Where do you come up with your ideas?” The answer I give depends upon the questioner's sincerity, level of interest in writing and of course if I like them or not.

But how can one keep coming up with ideas? Is there a secret place where ideas are teeming, waiting to be picked like apples from a tree? Maybe there's a secret website or magazine just for published writer's that allows one to claim one idea a month for a year? Or is one born with them?

Ideas are the bane of all wanna bes, but it doesn't have to stop you, the true believer, that is one who truly believes in your writing ability and dream.

One treasure trove of ideas are Television and Movies. Yes these waste lands of the mind can actually be a goldmine for your idea generator. Let's face most of the junk on these days are just the same ideas regurgitated ad nauseum to the point of ridiculousness. Same with movies, and it is not like this is anything new. Let's face it there are no real new ideas out there, just adaptations of the same themes.

For instance take the story of “Jaws”. How many novels and movies have come out that repeat the theme, yet most are different enough that unless you take it apart critically you would think they are different stories (the movie “Grizzly” comes to mind as one that isn't so transparent as they even have the triangle of the Park Ranger, the Scientist and the grouchy old Helicopter pilot in place of the ship captain).

The trick is of course to take what you see and add your own spin, your own take, your own situation. It is easier than you think, if you give it any thought. There is a phrase for this technique, called:

Creative Plagiarism.

Yes it is legal and even ethical as long as you don't steal the exact names, places and language as the original. Compare say “Perry Mason” with “Matlock”, “Law and Order”, and “Boston Legal”. See any similarities? Of course. Are there differences? You bet! Would one confuse one for the other? Not really. But again they are basically the same as they are all lawyer based TV shows and they always end up with the main characters winning against all odds, based upon some small clue they pull out at the last minute.

Another example (possibly the most famous) is “Romeo and Juliet” compared to “West Side Story”. Again if one parses the two stories one finds that they are basically the same, but there are enough differences to satisfy all.

This works as well for the written word. Take an old TV show and rewrite it as a novel or short story. Modernize the characters, the attitudes and props and you have a new story. Did some movie or show eave you unsatisfied? Rewrite it in your own image.

Well this is just one of the many sources of ideas. Use these to kickstart your creativity, and once you start the creative juices flowing you will discover many resources for ideas you never realized existed.

Ideas are all around and easy to spot if you train yourself to see.

Mahalo.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your writing,marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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Ignite Your Profits And Sizzle Your Way to Success

Profit is the only reason one is in business. Sure there is always talk about having fun, enjoying what you are doing, benefit for society, etc. But let's face it if we didn't make money we would have to stop doing what we love and find a way to pay the bills. So one needs to find new ways to ignite sales, and therefore profits in order to keep on fulfilling their life's calling. So do you want to learn how to ignite your profits and start a sizzling fire to success? Well just read on and try these tips:

1. Create a memorable logo and slogan to brand your business on the internet. When they see your slogan or logo it will remind them of your business.

2. Multiply your marketing all over the internet by creating free bonuses for other business' products.
You just include your ad somewhere on the bonus.

3. Offer to buy advertising space inside electronic products like ebooks, software, subscription sites, etc. It will be cheaper than print insert ads.

4. Increase your sales by adjusting your product or service to attract other target audiences. This may mean redesigning or adding on to it.

5. Test the prices of your product or service. You may increase the perceived value by raising your price and a lower price may decrease your sales.

6. Use your product's features to support all of your benefits. Just because benefits are more important, don't forget to list the features.

7. Market yourself or business as an expert. Most people have been told throughout their life to trust and respect the authoritative figures in society.

8. Train yourself and your employees to be polite to all your customers, even if they're shouting Solve their problem quickly and it may even turn into a sale.

9. Give your visitors a good impression when they first visit your web site. Don't make the first thing they see at the top of your home page a banner ad.

10. Join online business associations. Most will give you a membership graphic to put on your web site which will give your business extra credibility.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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Electrifying Ways To Explode Your Orders

An order here, an order there, trickling into your business through your web site. Sure that may be all right for a big mall store or some other brick and mortar concern that doesn't focus on their online presence for their sales. But what about us that do our business online? That is just not good enough, so we are always looking for ways to expand our customer base and find new ways to increase orders. Here's a few electrifying ways you could try that can help with an order explosion.

1. Persuade visitors to link to your web site. Give them a freebie in exchange for them linking to your
web site. It could be content, software, etc.

2. Link to web sites that provide useful information or services for your visitors. If you have many useful links on your site, they may make it their start page.

3. Spice-up your web site's wording using plenty of adjectives. It gives your visitors a clearer vision of
what your explaining or describing to them.

4. Don't make your banner ads look like ads. Most people ignore banner ads. Design them to look like
content and have them click to read the rest.

5. Join affiliate programs that go with the theme of your web site. You'll just be wasting valuable space
and time if your visitors aren't interested in them.

6. Market your web site as a free club instead of a web site. This'll increase your repeat visitors and sales because people enjoy belonging to groups.

7. Interact with your online customers on a regular basis. This'll show them you care about them. You could use a chat room, forum or message system.

8. Check your web site links regularly. After people click on one link, and it doesn't work, they usually
won't risk wasting their time clicking on another one.

9. Give visitors a positive experience when they're at your web site. Provide them with original content
and free stuff. They'll tell all of their friends about it.

10. Share customers with other businesses that have the same target audience. Offer their product to your customers if, in exchange they do the same for you.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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Sure Fire Techniques To Get Inbound Links To Your Web Site

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a very important consideration all web site owners need to be concerned about when putting up their sites. There are many different factors involved in getting a site “Optimized”, keywords, titles, meta tags, etc. One of the factors search engines consider when determining relevance is how many quality inbound links come to your site. Here are some techniques you can use to get others to link to your site:

1. Offer other web sites free content to post on their web site. Include your link on all of your content. The content should related to your web site because it will be in front of your target audience.

2. When you visit a web site you've enjoyed a lot, write a review for the site. Write about the benefits you gain from the web site. Tell them they can publish it on their web site if they link to your web site.

3. Allow other people to publish your e-zine on their web site. Include your web site's ad and link in each issue you publish. This may also help you increase the number of people that subscribe to your e-zine.

4. Market your web site as a free web book. Design your web site with a title page, table of contents, chapters, etc. Just allow other people to give away the web book by linking to your web site.

5. Give your visitors an instant article directory. Tell your visitors they can instantly add a free article directory to their web site by linking to yours. Just place your ad or banner ad on top of the article directory for your main web site.

6. Allow other web sites to use your discussion board for their web site visitors. Just have them link directly to the discussion board. Include your web sites ad or banner ad at the top of the discussion board.

7. Start a members only web site. Tell visitors what's in your members only site and what it costs to gain access. Offer them a free membership if, in exchange, they link to your web site.

8. Offer your visitors a free sign up to your affiliate program. Pay them commission to sell your products or services. Just give them an affiliate link to track their sales. People will link to your web site to make extra money.

9. Create your own award site for other web sites. Give the winners a graphic or text link to place on their web site when they win. This will link your web site to theirs and draw more traffic to your web site.

10. Are you an expert on a particular subject? Offer people free consulting via e-mail if, in exchange, they either link to your site. People will consider this a huge value because consulting fees can be very expensive.

11. When you purchase a product and it exceeds your expectations e- ail the business a testimonial. Make sure your statement is detailed. Give them permission to publish it on their web site if they link to your site.

12. Create a directory of web sites on a specific topic. Give people the option of adding the directory to their web site by linking to it. Put your business ad at the top of the directory's home page.

13. Exchange content with other web sites. You could trade articles, top ten lists, etc. Both parties could include a resource box at the end of the content.

14. Allow people to download software at no charge from your web site, if they link to your web site. The software could be freeware, shareware or demos.

15. Trade other forms of advertising to people that link to your web site. You could trade e-zine ads, print ads, autoresponder ads, classified ads, ebook ads, etc.

16. Give away web space to people for free. Since you are giving it away for free, request they link to your site by placing your ad or banner to the site.

17. Join or create a web ring. A web ring is a group of web sites on a similar subject agreeing to link together. To find a web ring to join type keywords "web rings" into your search engine of choice.

18. Create an online club or association. Tell your visitors what's included in the membership and what it costs to join. Offer them a free membership if, in exchange, they link to your web site.

19. Allow people to use an online service or utilities from your web site if, in exchange, they link to your web site. The online service could be an e-mail account, search engine submission, web page design, copywriting, proofreading, etc.

20. Offer a free e-book to your web site visitors. The ebook should be related to your target audience. Allow them to give the e-book to their own web site visitors by linking directly to your web site.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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How To Keep Your Customers Away From Your Competition

With the fickleness of consumers one must always be on the lookout for the competition trying to steal away their customers. Of course we all think that we have the best of the best and there is no reason for people to look elsewhere, but alas they always do. Well here are some tips to help keep your customers happy and away from “THEM”.

1. Stay In Touch

Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Offer them a free e-zine subscription. Ask customers if they want to be updated by e-mail when you make changes to your Web site. After every sale follow- up with the customer to see if they are satisfied with their purchase.

2. Friendly Web Site

Make it easy for your customers to navigate on your Web site. Have a "FAQ" page on your Web site to explain anything that might confuse your customers. Ask them to fill out an electronic survey to find out how make your Web site more customer friendly.

3. Easy And Free Communication

Make it easy and for your customers to contact you. Offer as many contact methods as possible. Allow customers contact you by e-mail. Hyperlink your e-mail address so customers won't have to type it. Offer toll free numbers for phone and fax contacts. Don't forget your FaceBook, Twitter, and Skype accounts.

4. Teach Your Employees

Make sure employees know and use your customer service policy. Give your employees bonuses or incentives to practice excellent customer service. Tell employees to be flexible with each individual customer, each one has different concerns, needs and wants.

5. Impress Your Customer

Give your customers more than they expect. Send thank you gifts to lifetime customers. E-mail them online greeting cards on holidays or birthdays. Award bonuses or discounts to customers who make a big purchase.

6. Be Nice

Always be polite to your customers. Use the words Please, Thank You, and Your Welcome. Be polite to your customers even if they are being irate with you. Always apologize to your customers should you make a mistake. Admit your mistakes quickly and make it up to them in a big way.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

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Mesmerizing Ways To Create Sales and Reinforce Your Profits

The biggest concern that every business person has is how to create sales and reinforce continuing profits for their business. Yes even in difficult economic times people are still spending their money on goods and services, it's just that they are being a bit more judicious in their purchasing decisions. SO the trick is to get them to buy from you. Here are some techniques to try while you are creating/updating/tweaking your business plan:

1. Anticipate any objections your visitors may have about your product offer. You must research your target audience's needs and wants.

2. Remember not to use outrageous or unbelievable claims in your ad copy. People are too savvy online and won't believe you.

3. Pick a good name for your business and product. Your names should be memorable and describe the kind of product your offering.

4. Solve your customer complaints by being quick and friendly. The faster you respond, the more your customers feel you care about them.

5. Never think your customers are satisfied with their purchase. You should be constantly finding new ways to better your product and service.

6. Market yourself, as well as your product. You could write articles, ebooks, do free consulting, do speaking engagements, etc.

7. Find new target audiences for your products or services. For example, if you're selling coffee to stores try to also sell it to coffee shops.

8. Use the phrase "invest in our product" instead of the words buy or purchase. This makes prospects feel they're investing in their future if they buy.

9. Create offline affiliates to market your product. Have people sign up at your web site to sell your products through "house parties".

10. Use logos and slogans for your business. They make it easier for people to remember and identify your business.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and
sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

********************************************************************

For environmentally smart resources to help you with your Online Business check out

http://www.renspubhouse.cz.cc/products.html

Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be
environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!
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Finding New Products To Sell

So you want to start an online business but are confused as to what you should be selling. The easiest thing to sell would be a product or service of your own. But what if you don't have one what can one do? Well here are a few places one can search to find a product for their dream business.

Joint Venture Deals - Contact other business owners and ask them if you can sell their products or services. The products or services should be related to your target audience. You could set up a deal to just market them and receive a percentage of the profits.

Affiliate Programs - Join another businesses affiliate program. You just sign-up at their web site and they give you a link that tracks all your sales. Every time someone orders or clicks through your link you receive a commission.

Wholesalers - You can buy products at a large discount through a wholesaler. Just order the products from your wholesaler of choice. When you receive the products mark-up the price to the amount you want to sell them for.

Reprint/Duplication Rights - Some businesses offer you the right to buy licenses to reprint or duplicate their products. You pay for the license and then you can reproduce the product and keep all the profits. The license stipulations may vary from business to business.

Drop Shippers - You can sign-up to a drop shipper program from another business or wholesaler. When someone orders the product, you keep a percentage of the sale and send the rest of the order to the drop shipper. The drop shipper will then ship the product to your customer.

These are just five suggestions. Look around, both online and off to find opportunities that excite you. The sky's the limit and it all depends upon your attitude.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.


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http://www.renspubhouse.cz.cc/products.html

Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!

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How To Successfully Joint Venture Your Online Business With Offline Businesses

Too many times we in the online world forget there is a whole other world just outside our domains. Yes I am talking about the old style brick and mortar “Offline Businesses”. Believe it or not they can be very useful partner in a joint venture with you and your online business.

There are many advantages joint venturing with offline businesses. You could increase your target market by reaching audiences you couldn't advertise to before. You could get referrals from the offline businesses you joint venture with.

The key to joint venturing with offline businesses is to find ones that have the same target audience. If you're selling business software, you wouldn't want to joint venture with a store that sells candy. You won't be very successful. You would want to joint venture with an office supply or computer store.

Below are three possible joint venture deals you could set up:

1. Write a tip booklet that is related to your business. Make a deal with an offline store where they giveaway your tip booklet to their shoppers with each purchase. The store you pick should attract your target audience. The store could have something free to giveaway to attract shoppers and you could have your web site ad in the tip booklet.

2. Design a printed flyer for your online business. The flyer should include a description of your web site, e-mail address, web address and any other important information. Make a deal with an offline store to have them include the flyer in each bag of products they sell in exchange for free advertising on your web site.

3. Make a deal with a computer store to have them display your web site on the computers they display in their store in exchange for free advertising on your web site or in your e-mail newsletter.

Once you find a targeted offline business, contact them and present your joint venture proposal. Tell the business owner the benefits of the joint venture. Tell him or her why it would be a win/win situation for both of your businesses. Give them a lot of compliments about their business, products and services. Using all three methods above will greater your chance of having a profitable and successful offline joint venture.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



********************************************************************



For environmentally smart resources to help you with your Online Business check out



http://www.renspubhouse.cz.cc/products.html



Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!

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Innovative Ways To Create Income With Your Web Site

You have your site up and running. Your graphics and the color scheme screams cool and hip. You feel you are on your way to the top. But you are missing one important element in the mix. Creating income from your site. If you are wondering how you can do that, well here's a few suggestions you might want to try:

1. Sell advertising space on your web site. You could sell banner or classified ads. If you want to make more money, sell sponsor ads that get top placement or the best exposure.

2. If you have enough web space, you could rent other people web pages. You could also give them away for free and make money by including your banner ad on the web pages.

3. Charge people a fee to access part of your web site. People will pay you money for your web site content if it's valuable to them. The content can be ebooks, reports, software, etc.

4. Sell your own products or services. They should be related to your target audience. You want to be able to take credit cards on your site and deliver your product to them as fast as possible.

5. Make money selling other people's products and services through affiliate programs. They'll give you a link to all track your sales. You could be paid per sale, click or sign-up.

6. Publish an e-zine from your web site. Have them subscribe to the e-zine right from your web site. You could sell classified or sponsor advertising inside your e-zine.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



********************************************************************



For environmentally smart resources to help you with your Online Business check out



http://www.renspubhouse.netii.net/products.html



Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!

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Marketing Ideas for Breakthrough Success

Marketing, broken down to its most basic function is to get motivated targeted traffic to purchase one's goods or services. Of course finding that traffic and getting them to take action requires lots of work. One of the best ways to come up with great ideas is to see what others are doing and customize the campaign to your company's needs. On that note I offer 5 ideas you can adopt and improve upon.

1. Offer to insert ads into your product package for other businesses. Just ask, in return that they do the same for your business. You should only trade insert ads with businesses that have the same target audience.

2. Offer a free daily class on your web site. The class should be related to the subject of your business or web site. This will get people to visit your web site everyday.

3. Do you have a product that doesn't sell good? Offer it as a free bonus for another businesses product or service. You'll get free advertising by placing your web site or business ad on the free bonus.

4. Place different emotional response ads for the same product or service all over your web site. One ad may hit their hot button to buy more than another ad.

5. Publish your newsletter in an e-book format. You could offer a larger number of articles per issue. It also allows you to include graphics with your newsletter. Your advertising revenue would increase because you could charge businesses for large color ads.

Of course there are no “Cookie-Cutter” tried and true methods, but if you tweak these ideas you will find them very helpful on your way to success.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



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For environmentally smart resources to help you with your Online Business check out



http://www.renspubhouse.netii.net/business.html



Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!

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Improve Your Customer Service, Improve Your Business

You built your web site, did your best marketing and got people to come and visit your site. Some even followed through and bought your product/service. But now that the sale is over what can you do to keep them coming back? Besides providing quality products/services the most important thing is your Customer Service. That's right people will come back if they feel they were treated well, if not they will be one and done. To keep that from happening here's a few tips you can use to keep oyur customers happy and coming back.

1. Stay in contact with customers on a regular basis. Offer them a free e-zine subscription. Ask customers if they want to be updated by e-mail when you make changes to your Web site. After every sale, follow-up with the customer to see if they are satisfied with their purchase.

2. Create a customer focus group. Invite ten to twenty of your most loyal customers to meet regularly. They will give you ideas and input on how to improve your customer service. You could pay them, take them out to dinner or give them free products.

3. Make it easy for your customers to navigate on your web site. Have a "FAQ" page on your Web site to explain anything that might confuse your customers. Ask them to fill out an electronic survey to find out how make your web site more customer friendly.

4. Resolve your customers complaints quickly and successfully. Answer all e-mail and phone calls within an hour. If possible, you the owner of the business, personally take care of the problem. This will show your customers you really care about them.

5. Make it easy for your customers to contact you. Offer as many contact methods as possible. Allow customers to contact you by e-mail. Hyperlink your e-mail address so customers won't have to type it. Offer toll free numbers for phone and fax contacts. Create LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter accounts and provide your account names so your customers can “friend/Follow” you (Be sure to friend/follow them back).

6. Make sure employees know and use your customer service policy. Give your employees bonuses or incentives to practice excellent customer service. Tell employees to be flexible with each individual customer, each one has different concerns, needs and wants.

7. Give your customers more than they expect. Send thank you gifts to lifetime customers. E-mail them online greeting cards on holidays or birthdays. Award bonuses to your customers who make a big purchase.

8. Always be polite to your customers. Use the words your welcome, please, and thank you. Be polite to your customers even if they are being irate with you. Always apologize to your customers should you make a mistake. Admit your mistakes quickly and make it up to them in a big way.

9. Reward customers a point for every one dollar they spend. Let's say customers can get a free computer for 300 points. That means customers will spend $300 dollars on your products and services to get enough points to get the free computer.

10. Build strong relationships with your customers. Invite them to company meetings, luncheons, workshops or seminars. Create special events for your customers like parties, barbecue's, dances etc. This will make them feel important when you include them in regular business operations and special events.


Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.



Mahalo.



********************************************************************

For environmentally smart resources to help you with your Online Business check out

http://www.renspubhouse.netii.net/business.html

Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!

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Effective Ways To Reduce Your Business Costs

All businesspeople are on the lookout for ways to cut down on expenses. The trick is to cut down in a way that doesn't adversely effect the efficiency of their business. Sure there are the usual suggestions (printing on both sides of the paper, tracking employee use of supplies, canceling free coffee services) that sound better in theory than in practice, but here are 10 ideas that just might work better.

1. Barter
If you have a business you should be bartering goods and services with other businesses. You should try to trade for something before you buy it. Barter deals usually require little or no money.

2. Network
Try networking your business with other businesses. You could trade leads or mailing lists. This will cut down on your marketing and advertising costs. You may also try bartering goods and services with them.

3. Wholesale/Bulk
You'll save money buying your business supplies in bulk quantities. You could get a membership at a wholesale warehouse or buy them through a mail order wholesaler. Buy the supplies you are always running out of.

4. Free Stuff
You should try visiting the thousands of freebie sites on the internet before buying your business supplies. You can find free software, graphics, backgrounds, online business services etc.

5. Borrow/Rent
Have you ever purchased business equipment you only needed for a small period of time? You could have just borrowed the equipment from someone else or rented the equipment from a "rent-all" store.

6. Online/Offline Auctions
You can find lower prices on business supplies and equipment at online and offline auctions. I'm not saying all the time, but before you go pay retail for these items try bidding on them first.

7. Plan Ahead
Make a list of business supplies or equipment you'll need in the future. Keep an eye out for stores that have big sales. Purchase the supplies when they go on sale before you need them.

8. Used Stuff
If your business equipment and supplies don't need to be new, buy them used. You can find used items at yard and garage sales, used stores, used stuff for sale message boards and newsgroups etc.

9. Negotiate
You should always try negotiate a lower price for any business equipment or supplies. It doesn't hurt to try. Pretend you are talking to a salesman at a car lot.

10. Search
You can always be searching for new suppliers for your business supplies and equipment. Look for suppliers with lower prices and better quality. Don't just be satisfied with a few.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and
sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

********************************************************************
For environmentally smart resources to help you with your Online Business check out


http://www.renspubhouse.netii.net/business.html

Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be
environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!
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Multiply Your Links, Increase Your Site Traffic

One of the best ways to increase traffic to your we site is to get it for free by having your site advertised all over the net by other people. Search engines love it when one has numerous relevant incoming links to a site. But how does one multiply their links so they can take advantage of this traffic?

One of most effective way to get people to link to your web site is by offering other web site owners the option of giving away your free stuff. In exchange, they link to your web site. Why would other web site owners want to do this? They may want give away a freebie to draw traffic to their web site. They also may not have the time, knowledge or skills to give away certain types of electronic freebies from their web site.

Your links will just keep multiplying. When a web site owner offers your freebie to his or her visitors. Those visitors may decide to also give away your freebie. And so on and so on... The more people that link to your web site the more traffic you'll get. Below are four of the most popular types of freebies given away on the internet to increase traffic.

Free Software

Offer free software from your web site. The software could be freeware, shareware, demos or even apps for smartphones that promote your business or service.

Free Online Services

Offer a free online service from your web site. The online service could be an e-mail account, search engine submission or e-mail consulting, etc. The options are only limited by your imagination.

Free Information

Offer valuable free information from your web site. The information could be a report, article, e-book, online audio recording or e-mail course, etc. be sure to capture email addresses with your autoresponder.

Free Affiliate Program

Offer a free affiliate program from your web site. The affiliate program could be pay per sale, click through, two tiered, etc.

Now, I know, there are many other ways to get links like trading or exchanging links with other web sites or joining a banner exchange. You can also do joint ventures or cross promoting. I feel these are not as effective as multiplying your links.

Try a few of these out, they can help you increase traffic to your web site if used properly.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

********************************************************************
For environmentally smart resources to help you with your Online Business check out

http://www.renspubhouse.netii.net/business.html

Fast easy resources to help you with your marketing, save a tree by not wasting paper, be environmentally correct and have some fun and learn something to boot!

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Expand Your Marketing, Expand Your Business.

Ah yes another new year is upon us and all the hopes, dreams and desires of increasing our profits and market shares dance gleefully in our heads.

If you are like most small business people you have spent the last week or so reflecting and taking stock of the past year. What worked? What didn't? How much profit (or loss) did you make over the year? What great breakthroughs did you have? Where could you have done better? How could I make even more money this year?

These are the main questions all of us in business have, but what is the one, simple, catch-all answer we are all looking for these days?

How we can make the most profit while keeping costs to the minimum.

And how do we do this?

Expand and focus our marketing efforts.

Yes marketing is the lifeblood of a business and without a good strategy and tactics one can only hope they fall into success.

But what is the right strategy, and what are the right tactics?

Well that depends upon what business you are in. different services and products require different strategies and tactics.

First of all you need to identify your Target Market. Who is your customer? Where do they hang out online and offline? What is the best media mix to reach them?

Second is to identify their buying buttons and push them. What makes them buy? Are your products and services a logic related or emotional related purchase? How many times would someone need to see your message before they buy?

Third is to create compelling copy to assist them in making a purchase from you. Do you have a compelling call to action?

Last is to follow through and follow up to build a relationship. Surprisingly this last step is one that seems to get lost and is the hardest to implement. Also what is the right amount of follow up and what is being pushy?

The are two ways to answer these questions.

First is the “Trial and Error” method, where you just blindly follow every scheme, plan, fad etc. that comes your way.

Sure you might hit a few successes, but for the most part you waste your time and money chasing ghosts. In marketing there are no “One Size Fits All” plan or technique.

The more sure way is to spend some time and research. If you can't do the research yourself, then outsource it to a professional.

Stop wasting your time and throwing away your money. Expand your marketing thoughtfully and you will expand your profits therefore your business.

Come back next time for more tips, tricks and techniques to assist you in your marketing and sales efforts. Remember we're all in this together and I'm pulling for you.

Mahalo.

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Having Quality Information Is Essential To Business Success

You need quality information to make a difficult decision, market research, help with your marketing and new media strategies, or maybe just someone to do some copywriting.

http://www.renspubhouse.netii.net/infoservices.html

Information Is The Life Blood Of Good Business, make sure you get some, and know how to get the word out.
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