Uk Talent Agencies

November 28, 2008

Ten Top Reasons Authors Need a Web Site

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 6:03 am

You may think, “Why not let other Web sites sell my book?”

That’s a good plan to get started, but one of the dangers is that
Online publishers or book-selling sites may not pay you on time,
pay you enough, or just go by the wayside because of low profits.
They pay around 30% royalties for print books and 50-70% royalty
for eBooks, and send you checks periodically through the mail. If
you have your own Web site for your informational products, you
will get to keep all of the money after expenses–always a great
advantage, and you will be seen as a market leader in your field.

1. Enhance your Online and brand presence with your particular
“branding”–why your product or service is the right choice–why
you are the preferred expert over your competition. For instance,
the one who says I can help you make your book dream a reality,
faster, cheaper, and easier. How? Through designing every part of
your book to sell copies–before you write a single chapter applying
the essential “hot selling points,” and how to write each chapter
much faster with less editing using the “fast-forward” technique.

2. Enhance product awareness. When your targeted visitors come
to you site to see your free articles and tips, the will become
aware of the products you offer. They may not buy the first time,
the second or even third time, but if you keep your site updated
with new information every week and mark your site that you have
done so, your visitors will keep coming, and up to fifty percent
will buy.

3. Boost your leads fast. When you entice your reader with a
testimonial or a free bonus report to leave their email address,
you will be able to continue to stay in touch with them. Allow
them to download a free chapter or excerpt of your eBook.
Illustrate with benefits and a testimonial why they should sign
up for your free ezine.

4.Reach new customers worldwide. Once you get up on the Web,
many people will come to your site from all over the world.
Your ezine or teleclass can connect with people outside your
area because your subscribers or participants think so much of
you that they forward the good news to their friends and
associates. Only targeted buyers come bringing a much higher
rate of sales.

5.Add a new sales channel. Maybe people know you or your
products offline through networking groups or other business
ventures. A Web site makes you even more respected, and Online
people expect you to have a Web site because they love the
convenience and speed of Online ordering.

6.Increase your existing sales channels, such as post cards,
talks, book signings, or radio interviews where you do business
with an 800 free order telephone number. Offer improved
customer service and support because so many people like to buy
Online.

7.Reduce support costs. You would spend far more on rent for a
real office and need more equipment and furniture plus more
support staff. Online marketing is far easier, cheaper and more
effective than the mail, telephone or fax.

8.Reduce the cost of doing business. In your home-based virtual
office, you will have much less overhead. For eBooks, you won’t
have to spend time or money on postage, packaging, or mailing.
You reduce your dependence on other sales channels such as the
brick and mortar bookstore, which only take your book through a
distributor or wholesaler. All of these folks take a hefty
percentage to greatly reduce your profits–up to 90%. Online
bookstores will accept your eBook or print book readily by your
filling our a few forms and agreements.

9.Increase your profits up to ten times. When you sell your eBook
or product to an Online Book-selling site, you may receive a
commission up to 70%. When you sell your print books Online,
they will give you around 30% royalties delivered by check every
few months. These monies support the author, not the unwieldy
publishing monolith who spends most of its time and money on
big-ticket authors.

10.Reduce your marketing time because email communication is short,
fast, and gets to the point quickly. You don’t have to spend time
buying stamps and special envelopes and stationery. With a virtual
assistant, you can look like Barnes and Noble reaching many
thousands of Online buyers by putting ongoing attention and
maintenance on your site.

If you are like me, you will enjoy keeping track of your increasing
sales each month. You will enjoy staying in touch with your buyers.
When they order on your site you can keep track of them, put them
in your address book, and send them follow up information, free
bonuses and requests.

About the Author

Judy Cullins: author, publisher, book coach
_Write Your Ebook or Other Short Book – Fast! _
_Ten Non-techie Ways to Market Your Book Online_
_Quadruple Your Web Sales in One Month with Free Articles_
http://www.bookcoaching.com/products.shtml
Subscribe to FREE ezine “The Book Coach Says…”
mailto:Judy@bookcoaching.com?subject=Subscribe

Succeeding in the Business of Freelance Writing

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 3:38 am

Something that’s always surprised me about the freelance writing business is just how many writers there are out there who don’t seem to realize that they’re running a business.

<strong>Succeeding in the Business of Freelance Writing</strong>

Of the freelance writers who send quotes to prospective employers through my website, http://www.WritingWorld.org, it never fails to surprise me just how many make no effort whatsoever to try and “sell” themselves. Some simply post a quote and nothing else: no information about themselves, no indication about their skills and experience, nothing. Others post a quote with a short message saying, “I don’t know what a ’search engine optimized article’ is, but please pick me anyway”, or “I have no experience in this, but hopefully I’ll be able to do it.”

Needless to say, the writers who don’t bother to sell themselves never get the gigs. So why don’t they make the effort? Because they fail to realize that they’re running a business.

Some – not all, but some – of the freelance writers we encounter seem to have somehow picked up the idea that all they have to do to succeed is to be good at writing. Unfortunately, it’s not quite as simple as that: to really succeed as a freelance writer, you have to be good at selling yourself. And you have to be aware that you’re running a business.

<strong>Marketing Your Freelance Writing Business Online</strong>

If you really want to run a successful freelance writing business, think about getting a website. Most businesses these days have websites: they’re the ideal way for customers to find you, read more about your services and get in touch.

This is another area, however, where a lot of freelance writers fail. Because not just any old website will do. Sure, there are some very professional looking websites out there, run by freelance writers – but there are just as many sites which seem designed to frighten away clients rather than attract them. Amateurish design, tacky animations, clashing colors and even, God-forbid, music, are all the sign of the amateur freelance site.

<strong> Getting Your Freelance Writing Website Up and Running</strong>

While it’s tempting to try and put together a website yourself, unless you have a really sound grasp of website design, this tactic can really backfire. An amateurish website tells your visitors that you’re an amateur business, and that you don’t have enough faith in the viability of your business to invest in a professional website. All of these things are red flags to clients, who’ll go elsewhere in a heartbeat.

Get yourself a professionally designed website – and if your budget can’t stretch to an entire website, consider signing up for a personal profile at WritingWorld.org, where for only $25 per year you get your own page, complete with downloadable resume, writing samples and client testimonials.

Your WritingWorld.org profile also gives you your own WritingWorld URL, which you can give to prospective clients, or even market in the same way you would promote your own website, using pay per click ads or other methods.

About the Author

Amber McNaught is the owner of http://www.WritingWorld.org, where a one-page personal profile costs only $25 per year.

Amber also runs Hot Igloo Productions Ltd, which offers affordable website design: visit http://www.hotigloo.co.uk

November 27, 2008

Self-Editing Your Writing

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 3:07 pm

Much of what I do at my “day job” involves editing what others have
written. Eliminating typos, repairing damaged grammar, replacing
missing or misused punctuation–I relish editing, in a roll-up-my-
shirtsleeves and rub-my-hands-together sort of way.

Often I get to transform a garbled attempt to communicate into
something that’s clear, concise and, well, readable. Change a word
here, slice a few there, and I can add pizzazz to something that
started out flat and lifeless. I like to think of myself as a highly
skilled word surgeon, deftly able to remove extraneous verbiage with
my scalpel–er, pen–and often performing complete paragraph
transplants with total success.

That is, until it comes to performing surgery on my own writing.
Then I frequently feel like a word surgeon with fake credentials.

There are times when I simply cannot see how even one of my golden
words could be improved, much less removed. How dare editors impose
restrictive word limits? If I’d thought that any words weren’t
necessary, I wouldn’t have written them in the first place, right?
Maybe, for me, editors will make an exception. Once they read my
incredibly crafted piece, they’ll bend their own rules, run it as
written, even thank me for ignoring their guidelines…

Or, more likely, they won’t run the piece at all. If they do,
they’ll whittle it down to size themselves, and who knows what damage
they’ll cause? Not all editors can call themselves word surgeons,
you know. Some treat our writing with all the delicacy of a
demolition crew clearing the way for a new super highway.

So if we want to keep what we’ve written intact and adhere to
editorial guidelines at the same time, we need to self-edit. But how
can we objectively view anything that we’ve subjectively written?
How do we unemotionally apply our editor’s scalpel to work that we
poured our hearts into?

I believe the that the first step in self-editing is to leave what
you’ve written alone for a while, to detach yourself from it.

Recently, I wrote an essay specifically for the “My Inspiration”
section of the National Association of Women Writers’ newsletter,
“NAWW Weekly.” In its original version, my article weighed in at a
porky 900-plus words. The editor’s word limit? Six hundred, maximum.

Eliminate over 300 words? Where? Squelching my first impulse to
submit it in its entirety, and my second impulse not to submit it at
all, I let the essay sit for several days. When I returned to it, I
immediately found several wordy phrases that I could painlessly
delete. Rewriting other sentences from passive to active voice
reduced the word count even further (while grammar sites and books
deal with passive/active voice at length, there’s a nice summary here:
http://www.english.uiuc.edu/cws/wworkshop/grammar/active.htm).

Yet, even with these changes, my piece remained too lengthy. Did I
really want to slice it down further, at the risk of losing my reason
for writing it? What, precisely, *was* my reason for writing it?

That’s when I had an “ah ha” moment. I reviewed the essay again, and
I began to find entire paragraphs that, although nicely written (in
my humble opinion!), did not *directly* contribute to the main
point. Although these paragraphs provided additional background and
perhaps a dash or two of color, could the essay survive without
them? The answer was undeniably “yes.”

So, with nary a whimper, I wielded my pen/scalpel on those
paragraphs, which brought the piece under the word limit. This
enabled me to submit it guiltlessly, knowing I’d managed to walk that
line between respecting the editor’s guidelines and maintaining the
integrity of what I wanted to communicate.

Okay, I’ll admit that I *did* save the original version as well.
Perhaps I’ll submit the longer, more lush essay to another
publication someday. But I’m pleased with the edited one as well.
And yes, the essay ran.
(http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NAWWWeekly/message/45)

So what did I learn from this exercise that I want to share with you?

1. First, go ahead and just write what you want to write.

2. Then leave it alone for a while. At least a day or so, maybe
longer.

3. When you reread it for the first time, eliminate the obvious
flaws. Cut out unnecessary phrases. Rework long, rambling sentences
into shorter, sharp ones.

4. Ask yourself why you are truly writing the piece, and whether
every paragraph contributes to your reason(s) for writing it. Delete
those that don’t make the grade. To assist you through this most
difficult step, focus on the fact that you want to get your work
published. This enables you to let go of any sentences that stand in
the way of you and your goal.

Finally, to help ease the pain of self-surgery, save your original
work under one document name, and your edited result under another.
You may be able to use those discarded paragraphs in another piece
down the road.

About the Author

Mary Anne Hahn has written numerous articles on writing, the writing life,
business and career topics. She is also editor and publisher of
WriteSuccess, the free biweekly ezine of ideas, information and
inspiration for people who want to pursue SUCCESSFUL writing careers.
Ti subscribe, mailto:writesuccess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com .

November 26, 2008

Useful Information on Video Production – Part One

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 7:02 pm

The wise old Chinese tale has an immense connotation; the statement illustrated the truth that we recognise an occasion considerably more if it is watched. Via video production or videography it’s viable to shoot a string of occasions.

Today in loads of company presentations, video footage is often employed. By implementing video production services it’s feasible to offer the crucial info to several different clientele to help please them. Online Video production is at present used for countless different tasks; however, a number of online video commercials & awareness related presentations are usually developed in order to achieve particular business goals. Maximise the value of your video content through Vidify’s video distribution partnerships.

Audio video presentations are currently in style and as a consequence are used in more or less any variety of company activity. Video companies at the outset generally interact with a particular client or a business that are looking to create a corporate video, a presentation or a collection of video clips. The complete occupation of video production is carried out by a number of freelancers; nonetheless there are one or two good video production companies around at the moment.

Input of music composers, cameraman & script writers are also very typical when creating online video productions. What’s more, advertising companies and PR companies have recently become involved with many aspects of video production.

Do you have the desires to purchase a new kitchen and call for 22500 dollar

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 5:30 am

Analyze to see if the bank who is willing to give you a loan is trustworthy. A moneylender in Glenview Illinois or so may have a total different actual loan rate for a 15000 dollar money loan then a merchant bank in McKinney Texas and that makes a big clear difference in your weekly pay backs. This is the reason why now you really need to check over and ascertain if you can have a money loan at a just percent rate. Be fresh today to examine if you have a nice offer or if you don’t with the bank that offers you a credit loan.

Translated in Dutch: Woon je in Hof van Twente of Aalburg en heeft u BKR codering. Lenen met een BKR registratie is nog nooit zo gemakkelijk geweest. Koop een andere woning met geldleningen zonder bkr toetsing, 231146 euro is geen probleem om te lenen. Van Spijkenisse tot Nederweert, financieren met zonder BKR registratie gaat hier altijd.

At present you can check into rates of interest quickly online and ensure if there are possible sneaky traps you should know about. It doesn’t matter if you live in Deerfield Beach Florida or in Cambridge Massachusetts a safe online investigation will unbosom you often lots of disorder. 4.7 percent interest rate may come out so just but will it stay the same after you have to redeem your loan. of the moneylenders wil show you a rate of interest that looks respectable but doesn’t feel comfortably or so after a while.

November 23, 2008

Promoting Your Online Writing Portfolio

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 6:15 pm

Dear Writing Reader,

One of the most popular questions from Authors on my site, Writing.Com, is: “How do I promote my Online Writing Portfolio outside of Writing.Com?”

Here are my top five tips for increasing the amount of exposure to anyone’s online Writing Portfolio:

Tip #1: Add your Online Writing Portfolio URL to your email signatures.

The simplest way to promote your Portfolio’s URL is to add it to the email signature of any and all email accounts you have. With just a few minutes of your time, you’ll turn any correspondence you have into referral generating machines! Here’s a couple quick examples:

Check out my portfolio!

http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

or

I’m an Author @ Writing.Com!

http://www.Writing.Com/authors/storymaster

Tip #2: Link to your Public Portfolio from your homepage or other sites you control.

Next on the simplicity ladder is linking to your public portfolio from your personal homepage or business website. You can provide your site’s visitors with a text link or create a logo for your online portfolio.

Ebay and other auction sites are also great places to get added exposure. The next time you list something for sale, don’t forget to add your portfolio URL and you’ll have your site’s visitor count on the rise in no time!

Tip #3: Directly invite family, friends, teachers, coworkers, publishers, agents, editors and more to visit your online writing portfolio.

Inviting your own family and friends doesn’t always have the highest appeal… Afterall, its not necessarily their opinion you want and you can ask them to read your writing any time you want. But, reading something online is different and often opens up someone to provide a better and more realistic critique of your work.

Plus, these real life contacts may be the one to forward your portfolio URL to someone else’s friend or family member who lends that helping hand or offers the right word of encouragement to brighten your day.

Teachers, co-workers, editors, publishers and other associates are also great people to refer!

Tip #4: Create business cards with your online writing portfolio URL and hand them to friends, associates and other people you may meet who are interested in reading or writing.

Anyone can create their own business cards. The least expensive route is to purchase ready-to-print business card paper sold at stores such as Staples, OfficeMax, Walmart and others. The paper is heavy cover stock and is perferated which makes each business card clean and easy to separate! If you’d like the whole thing done for you, Staples, Kinkos and others business shops offer complete and inexpensive business card creation services.

When you design your own cards to hand out, include basic information about your portfolio. Your Portfolio URL and email address are two things that everyone should include. You might also include a ‘tag line’ about your writing style or favorite genres. For example: “Specializing in Horror and Science Fiction” or “Writing Romance and Mystery Novels of Young Adults” or “Featuring the action packed adventures of ‘Jack Rubble’”.

Tip #5: Include your Portfolio URL when posting in relevant newsgroups, groups or discussion forums.

Posting your Public Portfolio URL on non-Writing.Com message boards, clubs and newsgroups can bring tremendous amounts of interest. There are countless online gathering places that focus on specific genres such as romance, sci-fi, fanfiction… or more general writing such as poetry or short stories.

Remember: Internet etiquette states that you should not post in a newsgroup or forum unless your post can stay on topic. Bulk emailing and other “spam” like tactics are NOT acceptable and will not be tolerated by most websites and webmasters!

Otherwise… Good luck and have fun promoting your writing portfolio!

~~ The StoryMaster

http://StoryMaster.Writing.Com/

http://www.Writing.Com/

About The Author

The StoryMaster is WebMaster of Writing.Com ( http://www.Writing.Com/ ). Established in 2000, Writing.Com is the online community for readers and writers of all ages and interests.

Whether you’re a casual reader searching for a good story or a creative writer looking for the perfect place to improve your skills, Writing.Com is the site for you! Over 295,000 members have joined and posted over 825,000 literary items.

November 22, 2008

Writing Your Articles: An Organized Framework For Success!

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 7:03 pm

Writing articles for an ezine, newsletter or as content for your web site can often be a daunting prospect. There you sit, looking at a blank page and saying to yourself “Where do I start?”.

The first step is easy. Don’t start with a blank page – try using a graphic organizer instead.

The article you plan to write is probably an informative one, giving your reader relevant facts about your idea, product, service or company. All you have to do is organize your information in such a way that the article develops naturally and without any conscious effort on your part.

This is where a graphic organizer can help you.

What is a graphic organizer? Despite the technical-sounding name, you probably use one every day – your calendar! Your calendar is a set of boxes by which you ‘organize’ your daily life. Now, supposing you had a graphic organizer to ‘organize’ the way you write your articles? How much easier would that be?

Just like your calendar, graphic organizers can be paper-based or computer-based.

Paper-based organizers can be drawn up quickly using your ruler, pencil and eraser. Computer-based organizers can be created using your word processor template features or by inexpensive whiteboard software, like NotateIt for example, that has been developed especially for the purpose.

Whiteboard software gives you amazing flexibility when you’re preparing your articles. The graphic organizer layout acts as a background and, over the top of that, you add snippets of text, images or even movies to the ‘board’ to build up all the relevant information. Then, you can move them all around, just like Post-It notes, to organize your ideas.

Have you found that research can take up a lot of your time when you’re writing articles?

Here’s a tip. Don’t do your research first – do it when you know what answers you need. By using a graphic organizer to determine what you know and what you need to find out, you’ll save whole heaps of time.

So, when you need to classify and organize information for your articles, try using a graphic organizer to build your framework for success.

(c) 2005 Lynda Blake All Rights Reserved

About the Author: Lynda Blake is a UK freelance writer
Resources used in preparing this article:
Whiteboard Software: http://www.notateit.com
and graphic organizers at http://www.notateit.com/graphic_organizer.asp

Source: www.isnare.com

Five Minute Miracles

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 2:35 pm

FIVE MINUTE MIRACLES

FIVE MINUTES … Is All You Need ……..to phone a friend ….. peel potatoes for dinner ….. pick the kids up from school ….. or write a few words that could earn you anything from a plastic pinny or ballpoint pen, to a dream house in the sun, a top-of-the-range sports car, or thousands of dollars in cash and luxury goods!

Even if just a few minutes a day is all you can spare, you can still be a well-respected, regularly published writer.

No special skills are required, you definitely don’t need a computer or word processor, a telephone or desk. And you certainly do not need lots of spare time ….. because you are about to enter the fascinating world of …..

THE FIVE MINUTE WRITER!

Short written pieces are in great demand all over the world, by editors and publishers, alongside other high-paying clients, both to fill space where a feature falls short of the published page, hence ‘filler’, and to lighten otherwise staid publications, such as medical journals and import/export bulletins.

Five minute writing covers far more enjoyable and profitable projects than most people appreciate ….. taking just minutes to produce ….. and covering everything from readers’ letters and fillers, to mini-articles, puzzles and quizzes, recipes and household hints, photographs and cartoons, to greetings card verses, competition slogans, and much, much more besides.

That’s why five minute writing is considered the best way to begin and develop a successful writing career, and why many established and very well-paid writers stay with this profitable medium, plus:

  • It’s very satisfying to see your work and name in print and the earlier that happens the sooner you become a professional writer, and the smoother the road becomes to longer, more profitable writing assignments.

  • Smaller pieces gets you know to editors who, having seen and enjoyed your work, are more likely to commission you for longer pieces later.

  • Word for word, rewards are far higher than for almost any other type of written projects, with the possible exception of creating winning slogans and tie-breakers for big-prize competitions.

  • No rejection slips, ever! What better start to a full-time writing career?

  • Complete pieces can be finished in minutes and spread over whatever time the writer can spare between other professional and domestic activities. Great for mother or carer, or otherwise housebound or restricted individual with a desire to write, but little time to spare.

  • No bulky equipment and research materials required, meaning you can write, any time, any place, anywhere. A notepad and pen is all you really need to get started on this amazing journey to becoming a well-paid writer.

  • Fillers can be fitted between longer assignments, offering a change of ’scenery’ and more frequent financial rewards.

  • Every single piece you write can be recycled in columns, articles, even full-length best-selling books, and can continue earning high rewards over months, years, perhaps forever.

It’s not a case of ‘cheap and cheerful’ for those who publish your work – they need you – to increase interest in their publications, reduce reading times, multiply circulation rates, and cut their overheads.

For that they’ll reward you well, and continue doing so, perhaps for the lifetime of your mutual existence!

Avril Harper (www.fillerfactory.com) is the author of ‘How to Be a Five Minute Writer’ and spends a great deal of her own full-time writing day creating short pieces for regular, high ticket rewards.

avril@publishingcircles.com

November 21, 2008

Seven Mistakes Newbie Ezine Publishers Make … And How You

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 8:01 pm

Today the incredible effectiveness of ezine marketing in promoting online business is an open secret. It has also become extremely easy to publish an ezine. And so any self- respecting e-businessperson has one.

With literally thousands of email newsletters clamouring for readers’ attention, it takes something extra-special to get your subscriber’s interest – and retain it long enough to sell them your product or service. Mistakes won’t be tolerated. And you won’t often get a second chance to impress.

In this highly competitive online business environment, let’s take a look at some common mistakes newbie ezine publishers make – and see how you can avoid falling into the same traps.

Mistake 1 – Not planning or setting goals

It’s a mad rush right from the start. After reading so much about how important an ezine was in promoting her new Internet business – and discovering that publishing one is a piece of cake – Jane ‘went right out and did it’. But after a month or two, she is drifting aimlessly.

The reason – she doesn’t have any way to assess the success of her e-publishing efforts. Is 20 new subscribers a week good? Or bad? With 15 sales last month from her 1250 ezine readers, is her conversion rate average? Below? Or above? More importantly, where does she go from here?

Solution – Stop and plan before surging ahead. Decide what your aim in publishing an ezine is. If your primary goal is to sell to your readers, the numbers that are important are your sales conversion rates, profitability and responsiveness of your ezine’s audience. If you want to extend your brand awareness, subscriber growth is the parameter to watch.

Lesson No.1 – Set goals and targets first.

Mistake 2 – Not selecting the right publishing frequency

In a fit of optimism John decided he would publish a weekly newsletter. It was fun and frolic for the first few issues. But then John found he was falling behind. He had under- estimated the effort each ezine edition would involve.

Now that his business was growing, he couldn’t devote as much time to his ezine. Soon he was forced to delay his weekly edition by a day or two. Or more.

Solution – Make a reasonable estimate of the time and effort you will put into your ezine. Try creating a few issues to get a feel for the process. Then choose a relaxing schedule. If you think you can publish a weekly ezine, go for a monthly or fortnightly one at first. If you think you’re ready for daily editions, begin with a weekly.

Lesson No.2 – Make reasonable estimates – and begin with a convenient schedule.

Mistake 3 – Not insisting on double opt-in subscription methods

Jane wanted more subscribers. And she wanted them quickly. Surfing the ‘Net, she found a service that offered to ’sell’ her 1000 ezine subscribers for just 30 cents each – guaranteed. Jane leaped at the deal before looking into the details.

And got bitten. The email addresses that she was sold had been ‘harvested’ from websites and newsgroups – without the knowledge of the owners. Furious at being ’spammed’, many sent her nasty email complaints. And one even reported to her ISP, which threatened to shut down her email account! Jane had a lot of explaining and apologizing to do.

Solution – Always get your reader’s permission before sending them your ezine. To make absolutely sure you don’t get blamed, ask them TWICE. This process, called ‘double opt-in’ is standard practice with ethical ezine publishers. When potential new subscribers sign-up for your ezine, they are sent a confirmation message. Only when they reply to this message – thereby accepting your offer – will their subscription commence. It is also good practice to keep a copy of this reply on record, in case of future problems.

See how we implement this concept on our monthly email newsletter, Ezine Launch Monthly at http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/ezlmonthly/

Lesson No.3 – Insist on a ‘double-opt in’ subscribing process. Keep all requests on file.

Mistake 4 – Publishing in ‘HTML-only’ format

John liked flashy, colorful email. With his always-on Internet connection and latest email programs, HTML-email looked great. So he published his ezine in HTML format.

The problem was that many of his readers lived outside the U.S. They had slow dial-up connections and old email clients. John’s ezine took them ages to download – and they could only see meaningless HTML code in their email viewer. Not surprisingly, they asked to be removed from his ezine list. Hundreds of potential customers were lost.

Solution – Know your audience, their capacity and requirements. If most of your readers don’t need – or want – HTML ezines, publish a ‘text-only’ version for them. And give them the option of selecting one.

Lesson No.4 – Publish in both ‘text’ and ‘HTML’ formats. Give customers a choice.

Mistake 5 – Not planning for explosive growth

A great ezine can grow very rapidly. Readers will recommend your ezine to friends. If you learn and follow even a few of the powerful strategies Paul Myers describes in his fantastic guide, The Amazing List Machine at http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/listmachine/, you will see explosive growth of your ezine list.

In an amazingly short time, you could have thousands of readers. By not planning for such growth, you will miss out on many opportunities.

Solution – Imagine a scenario where your ezine has 5000 readers. How will you market your business to them? Now imagine this number growing to 50,000 subscribers. What would you do differently? What tactics and strategies, offers and discounts, co-marketing and joint venture deals will you put together?

Lesson No.5 – Set the substrate in place – so you can move fast when the time comes.

Mistake 6 – Not automating everything

When your ezine has a few hundred subscribers, handling administrative duties manually is easy. But once this number grows to thousands, you could get bogged down with these tasks. This leaves you with less time to do what matters – marketing and growing your business, launching new products.

Solution – Automate everything – right from the start. From the very first subscriber-contact (sign-up request) until the last (unsubscribe request), all administrative tasks can be set on auto-pilot using software and technology. Auto- responders, database mining, mail-merging and powerful software programs can leave you, the ezine publisher, free to concentrate on important issues.

Lesson No.6 – Take advantage of technology. Make things easier on yourself with automation.

Mistake 7 – Not optimizing ezine profitability

It is the rare ezine publisher who can look back a year after launching his/her ezine and say “There’s nothing I would have done differently”. And more often than not, the regrets are about not making the most profit out of their efforts.

Ezine publishing throws up numerous revenue streams. Advertising, sponsorships, direct and indirect sales, paid- subscriptions and joint venture partnerships are just a few of the ways ezine owners can make money. But in many cases, owners are unaware of the power of their ezine as a marketing and profiting tool.

Solution – Invest time and effort in learning about ezine promotion and profiting from the various online resources and books. Here is a short list of the very best ones:

Yanik Silver’s 33 Days to Online Profits – http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/33days/

Lee Benson’s Ezine Tactics – http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/ezineprofits/

Jim Daniel’s Make Your Living Online – http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/jimdaniels

Corey Rudl’s Insider Guide To Marketing Your Business On The Internet http://www.EzineMarketingCenter.com/imc/

Lesson No.7 – The more you learn, the better your leverage.

Make no mistake ! Your ezine’s profitability will skyrocket.

Good luck.

About the author:

Dr.Mani Sivasubramanian has been building profitable niche
minisites since 1998. He recently launched “INSTANT NICHE
MINISITES” – a Web-based tool you can use to ‘point-and-click’
your way to creating niche marketing websites.
http://www.InstantNicheMinisites.com

www.InstantNicheMinisites.com
ideas@ezinemarketingcenter.com

Pilates Exercises – Can They Give You The Body You’ve Always Wanted?

Filed under: Uncategorized — admin @ 4:23 pm

Pilates exercises are a favorite fitness choice for many people including movie stars like Danny Glover and Gweneth Paltrow, professional dancers, and even some professional baseball players. Why this fascination with Pilates? What can it do that other forms of exercise can’t?

I began doing Pilates several years ago when I was searching for a different look for my body. I had been exercising for many years when I began to experience a level of dissatisfaction with the way my body looked. While I was lean and muscular, my body had a packed, crowded look to it. The more I used weights, the thicker my muscles looked. In addition, no matter how many crunches and reverse curls I did, I still had this abdominal bulge that would not budge. It drove me crazy.

I began to yearn for the body I had as a dancer – trim, strong, with elongated muscles. That’s when I stumbled upon Pilates. The people who did Pilates exercises had the long, lean look that I craved. So I began to do Pilates exercises and I have never looked back.

What are Pilates exercises all about?

They focus on your core.
Pilates focuses on strengthening the core of your body – the deep abdominal muscles and pelvic stabilizers, the back, the butt, and also creating flexibility in the spine. This continual focus on the core has helped me get rid of my belly bulge and also develop ’six pack’ abs .

They work your entire body as one unit.
Many people ask how Pilates exercises relate to yoga poses. In many instances, the poses overlap. However, while in yoga you often hold a pose, in Pilates you are always moving. In addition, no matter what area of the body you are focusing on, you are still engaging your entire body. For example, if you are doing an exercise for your legs, you simultaneously hold in your abdominal muscles and maintain proper body alignment while executing the movement.

They focus on quality, not quantity.
Pilates exercises are focused on quality, not quantity. With some exercises such as The Saw, you might only do 2 or 3 repetitions. In most cases, you will usually only do 10 repetitions of any given exercise. Yet because you are focused on the quality of each movement, you get a greater benefit from each exercise than with traditional strengthening exercises.

They focus on muscle balance and coordination.
Many people who do weight lifting have muscle imbalances. Strong muscles get over trained and weak muscles get more strained. That is because muscles are worked in isolation. With Pilates, you use many muscles at the same time. You also stretch and strengthen muscles during the same exercise. This helps correct imbalances and develops better body alignment. In addition, you learn how to more effectively coordinate movements in your entire body, which will help you as you go about your daily activities.

They focus on body awareness.
In Pilates, you are always focused on your body – your alignment, your breathing, the way you are doing your movements. This increased body awareness can help you maintain better posture, it can help you relax muscle tension through proper breathing, and it can help you reduce stress.

They are energizing, not exhausting.
With traditional weight lifting programs, your body often feels depleted after you finish your workout. An interesting thing about Pilates exercises is that after you do them, you feel more energized than before you started. The combination of deep breathing, high quality, low quantity movements, helps your body function better as a whole. The result — you have more energy to go about your day.

I love doing Pilates. I have seen dramatic changes in my body and I exert much less effort than I did when I was using traditional weight training programs. I have significantly strengthened my abdominal and back muscles and I have improved my overall posture. I also look better in a bathing suit.

Try doing some of these exercises for yourself. When you do, I’m sure you’ll be hooked on them too.

Della Menechella is a yoga and fitness enthusiast who has been involved in fitness for over thirty years. Her website http://www.beauty-fitness-yoga-source.com/ is filled with practical information about how you can make yoga and fitness a positive part of your life. Visit the site and get your free meditation e-book.

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