Twist Your Skills in a Different Direction

Many of us have a plan of what we want to do with our writing such as publish a book or write for a publication or get our work out to others online. You’ve worked hard to learn the skill of writing.

Could you take your writing skills in a different direction and find more opportunity and success?

It has happened in my own writing life. At first I wanted to write books yet I wrote magazine articles, radio scripts and many other types of writing. In the midst of heading one direction with your writing, it’s easy to lose sight that your writing skills can be used in a variety of ways.

Today I wanted to write you about one of these other ways. Picture it: Working from home by making your living on eBay^®. No more boring corporate meetings. No more rush hour traffic. No more office politics.

Sound good?

Then you may want to consider starting an exciting career writing and selling products on eBay^®. (Click Here to learn more.)

You can get started in three easy steps...

Step 1 Find a product source.

The key to making money on eBay® is to find low-cost products that you can sell for a tidy profit. Thus you need to find a source of cheap or even free products.Here are three such sources:

• Troll yard sales in your neighborhood. Go early for the best selection. Go later for the best deals on remaining merchandise.

• Look for deals on www.Craiglist.org. Be sure to check out the “free” ads section.

• Find closeouts and other specials. This is where you get good deals on new merchandise, by buying in bulk, buying closeouts, buying from stores that are going out of business, etc.

Step 2: Write good auction titles and descriptions.

Those who make a lot of money on eBay^® know that good photos, compelling auction titles and exciting auction descriptions make all the difference in the world. It takes writing skill to create compelling titles and interesting descriptions.

For instance, just consider these two statements:

Bad Example: “Realistic doll moves her eyes and even cries.”

Versus…

Good Example:“Your daughter’s eyes will light up when you give her this doll! She’ll have so much fun playing with this realistic doll, because the eyes move and the baby even cries.”

See? The first is just a statement of fact and features. The second statement weaves features and benefits together, which makes the description more exciting. And exciting descriptions compel people to bid, which means your auction ends at a higher price!

Step 3: Sell on the backend.

Once your auction ends successfully, you collect your money and ship the product. But this isn’t the end of your relationship with your buyer.

Indeed, it’s just the beginning. That’s because your next step is to include a flier in the shipment, which will promote additional related products to your winning bidder.

Tip: You can also write and send out postcards in the mail later on. And you can offer your customers a freebie – like writing a free downloadable report – to join your online mailing list.

Example: Let’s suppose you’re selling children’s dolls. You can write fliers then send them out to promote additional dolls, as well as accessories such as doll houses and doll clothes.

Now that you have a good handle on how to get started on eBay^®, it’s time for you to discover the secrets of finding low cost products, getting more bidders and having auctions end with high bid prices. You can find all these secrets and more inside the 31 Day Guide to Making Money on eBay^®. This 60-page resource gives you the step-by-step help that you need to start writing in this direction.Get your copy here.

If you are thinking about trying out the 31 Day Guide to Making Money on eBay^®, this is a great time and you can do it RISK-FREE. Get this guide, read it and use it for up to 60 days and you can return it for any reason, just send me an email and I will refund your money. It’s that easy. Get your guide today.

Three Ways to Grow with Audio

How are you making the most effective use of your time? Each of us have the same constraints of 24 hours in a single day. When that day is gone, the time has forever disappeared. As I look at my own life, I see huge blocks of time which have been wasted in mindless activities.

As a writer and communicator, I'm committed to continually growing and learning more about my craft. Audio products provide another way to learn new skills and ideas. Here's three ways that I use audio (and you can use them too):

1. Turn off the radio in your car and instead listen to an audio CD. I drive every day a short ten or fifteen minutes to my mail box. During this brief time in the car, I could listen to my radio or sit in silence. Each idea has value but instead what I've been doing for years is to listen to a brief portion of an audio. I've heard entire audio books in these brief amounts of time because I'm listening on a consistent basis.

2. Add the audio to your favorites on your iPod and listen to it while you take a brisk walk or another form of exercise. As writers, we spend hours sitting at our computers. The exercise will help clear your thinking and work your heart and lungs. Plus if you take your iPod along, then you can listen to an audio recording. It depends on the audio but the stimulation may work well into your writing. It does for my writing and I highly recommend it as another way to grow in your craft and make good use of your exercise time.

3. Decide to take 10 to 15 minutes each day and listen to an audio on your computer. Whether you take a break in the middle of your day or end your day listening to the audio, you can grow from the experience of listening to an audio product on a regular basis. I've listened to nonfiction and fiction books as well as many teaching CDs. The time spent listening to these audio CDs has helped my own writing life—and I know it will help yours as well.

To help you grow in your writing, I've created an audio: Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams Audio Workshop. I packed the CD with the maximum amount of information that it will hold. Also I've added the MP3 file when you purchase the physical CD along with a number of outstanding bonuses. This product comes with my no questions asked love it or return it for a full refund 30–day guarantee.

If you have a question about publishing, I hope you will ask it for my free teleseminar on Tueday, November 1^st. I'm giving a free 26–page Ebook, Follow the Characteristics of Success, which is a chapter in Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams — and I've never given it away before this event. If you can't make the exact time, then please sign up because everyone who registers will receive the replay information so you can download the audio to your computer or iPod and listen to it on your schedule.

I hope you will begin to make use of any down time with a few minutes of an audio product. It will help you keep growing as a writer and communicator. It is certainly working for me and I know it will work for you.

A Valuable Article Habit for Writers

Many people have used the adjective “prolific” when they speak of my body of work. It is true and in the printed magazine world (more than 50 publications) and the book world (more than 60 books with traditional publishers) and in the online world (more than 1,000 searchable entries in my blog).

I've encouraged you to build your own platform through many different tools and resources. People continue to get great value from my free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. If you don't have it, use the link to get it now, and then print it and read it.

Also I've been an advocate for repurposing your content and getting as much mileage as possible from it. For example, I've taken magazine articles published years ago and reworked them and sold them as reprints to a different publication or used them on my online newsletter. Or I've taken my blog articles and used them in my personal newsletter, Right-Writing News. Or I've used this same material and reworked it to become a chapter in a published book. This skill of repurposing your content is a valuable skill for every writer to learn and consistently practice. In a tiny way, I started an area with articles but it hasn't been changed in some time.

Recently through two resources, I've learned that I've been missing out on even more exposure and online traffic to my site. While I've been repurposing the material within my own resources, I've not been getting the articles out in the broadest possible way to build additional traffic and exposure. Many of my blog entries could be stand alone articles which others can use in their blogs and electronic newsletters. This type of exposure doesn't happen in a vacuum. You have to set it up right and I haven't. But I'm going to change with a new and consistent plan.

I've created a new location for these articles on my personal website (follow the link). At the moment, I only have a couple of articles on this page but I'm committed to regularly growing these articles. Also I will be submitting these articles to several of the top article sites to get additional exposure for them.

While I'm just getting started on this valuable habit for writers who produce excellent content, I want to give you two resources that will explain a systematic approach for authors to distribute their content. The first is a three CD audio program from Bob Bly called The Article Marketing Kit. For two of the CDs, Bob interviews Wendy Montes de Oca.

The content on these CDs is excellent and well worth listening to them several times. You will learn how to use Content 2.0 to distribute your free content so you can generate massive traffic, establish your reputation as an expert in your niche, build a large and profitable opt-in e-list, cement your relationship with your subscribers and increase orders, sales, and revenues online.

During the Content 2.0 teleseminar, Bob and Wendy will walk you through the five critical steps of effective content syndication:

1-Syndication partners and networks.

You'll learn the identities of web sites and partners who can offer your content to their visitors and members. Also they show you how to submit your articles to these places.

2-Online press releases.

Every article can and should be reworked into a press release that you can post on PR web sites such as PRbuzz and PRLeap.

3-Network communities.

Discover how to use Twitter, Digg, and many other social media to drive traffic to your content and your website.

4-Article directories.

Wendy and Bob review which article directory sites are important and how to submit articles to them.

5-Relevant posts.

Post excerpts from your articles on relevant blogs, forums, and bulletin boards - with a link to the full article. Bob and Wendy cover a great deal of other information in this course and you can learn more of the details at The Article Marketing Kit.

The second excellent resource in this area of Wendy Montes de Oca's new book, Content Is Ca$h. Last month, I included an excerpt of Content Is Ca$h. In the introduction, the author clearly identifies her audience: "This book is ideal for marketers, editors, bloggers, solopreneurs, freelancers, consultants, copywriters, and webmasters." (Page 8).

Whether you are a brand new to the concept of repurposing your content or an experienced marketer, practical wisdom and insight to apply to your daily business is packed into the pages of this book. The author writes with authority and depth of knowledge. Many people are not leveraging their content to increase their earning power. They need to apply this information to their business.

It is a resource that I will be reading and re-reading in the days ahead to apply the pages to my writing life. I highly recommend CONTENT IS CA$H as a tested resource.

Beware of the Hard Sell

Editors Note: I wanted to give you a taste of Barbara Techel's book, Class Act. I requested an excerpt. In this article, she gives sound advice for every book author when it comes to the hard sell. WTW

By Barbara Techel

As an author, you have two reasons for making appearances: Primarily to spread the message you were passionate enough to write about in the first place, but also to sell books. The reality is that, in order to continue spreading our messages, we must sell our books to finance the effort¬. If we’re lucky, we’ll leave behind a pleasant or at least worthwhile reading experience, as well. But we must be careful not to let that need overshadow the needs of those who invite us to speak in the first place.

Many authors get caught up in a heavy-handed sales pitch, when what the audience expects is an informative, entertaining or inspiring talk about a subject they’re interested in. There is nothing that turns an audience off so much as feeling they are captive to a sales pitch, so do everyone a favor and avoid this pitfall.

Instead of thinking about sales, when doing a presentation anywhere (but especially in a classroom), think about bringing value to your audience by sharing your message, your author story, and your book in a way that either teaches a valuable life lesson or inspires or encourages in some way. The impression you leave is what will create awareness of your message, interest in your books, and put you in demand as a speaker.

Be very careful to keep your sales language so subtle that it’s almost invisible. This is especially important when talking with young audiences. You do not want to blatantly market to children…or to people of any age, for that matter. There are ways you can gain book sales from your appearances, which I will cover in detail later in this book, without any hard sell.

Barbara Techel is the award-winning author of the Frankie the Walk ‘N Roll Dog book series. She has shared her story of hope and inspiration about her dachshund, Frankie, who is in a wheelchair, with thousands of children and adults since 2007 with over 300 author appearances to her credit. Barbara is also a speaker and publisher. Learn more about her work at: www.joyfulpaws.com

Excerpt From Class Act, Sell More books through School and Library Author Appearances By Barbara Techel [Joyful Pay Prints Press, Paperback]

Sell More Books With This Book

Millions of books appear in print each year. Check the link in the last sentence if you don't believe me. Many authors are unsure how to generate sales for their books. Barbara Techel can show you the path to sales and success through school and library appearances. CLASS ACT emphasizes schools and library settings but also is ideal for any author who wants to speak since she mentions civic groups like Lions Club and Kiwanis.

As Techel writes in the introduction, "In this book, I share everything I wish I'd known when I started out promoting my new books…One of the best ways for you to promote yourself and your book is to get out there and do it. That may sound funny, but it's easy to think your way into an endless cycle of not knowing where to start, and so being afraid to get going. When it comes to book promotion, especially to libraries and classrooms, action is your friend. You've already taken a great first step by buying this book. Read it through, and then begin talking with teachers you know, or friends of teachers. Let them know what you're up to, and what you have to offer. Also with the Internet and other technology we have at our fingertips these days, we have so many options available to help us connect with these potential presentation venues." (Page 7-8)

Key details are covered in this book such as how to put together your presentation, how to locate speaking venues, what to charge, how to pitch and promote. Then Techel includes successful organization and business steps when going to the venue. She also covers details about how to do remote computer presentations using Skype.

As a book author and publisher, I found this book a comprehensive how-to guide book which covers the details. If you are an author of any type of book (nonfiction or fiction) (children or adult), I encourage you get this book and follow the advice. As they say, "The devil is in the details.” CLASS ACT includes the details that you need to successfully sell more books with personal appearances in the classroom or libraries.

Answers for Your Proposal Questions

You pitch your book idea to an agent or editor. They ask for a proposal since these publishing professionals do not read manuscripts but read proposals.

Then you run into a snag and have a question. Where do you turn for answers? Or maybe you've been submitting your manuscript and getting little response or only form rejections from agents and editors.

You believe your idea is a solid one for consideration yet something is off and you don't know where to turn with your questions.

I've got good news. It's likely you are asking the same question that others are asking. Many years ago, King Solomon said, “There is nothing new under the sun.”

As an editor and literary agent, I've answered the same questions from different writers from different parts of the country. Thursday, October 13th I'm hosting another teleseminar about the creation and marketing of book proposals. I'll be answering your questions for a full 70–minute free event. If you can't make the live event, still register because it will be recorded and you will receive the replay information which you can download to your computer or iPod.

In addition as a resource, I've created a new Ebook, Book Proposal Basics. When you register for the teleseminar, you can get this free 24–page resource.

If you don't have a question, that's OK. I encourage you to go ahead and sign up. Just put “no question” in the box asking for a question and you will quickly reach the confirmation page where you can instantly download the free Ebook.

I look forward to answering your questions about proposals on the call.