How to Market Your Small Business Online in 7 Fast and Easy Steps

Without completing each of these steps successfully..the chances of marketing your small business online dramatically decrease. There will always be exceptions but these seven steps should be considered your building blocks to your online marketing success.

1. Your own Website.

And by this I don’t mean a corporate/brochure style site which bores visitors and has them clicking away in seconds. No. You need to entertain as well as educate your visitors.

To do this best I think it is essential to have a WordPress Website attached to your main business website…or even on a separate domain. Don’t just name it blog! Give it a keyword rich, benefit laden title…tell them how your will make their lives better. Use the common terms others use to search for your business in Google [and the other search engines].

There is lots of advice online on how to set up a WordPress site. If you are unsure you can hire someone from a site such as Elance or RentaGuru.

The beauty of WordPress is that it is so easy to use. Non-techie small business owners can add fresh content, offers, audio, and videos to their site without having to pay a webmaster every time. Small business profits is as much about saving money as it is about increased revenue.

Oh, and of course, Google and Social Media love WordPress as well. More free visitors is always nice.

2. Add a means of capturing the names and addresses of your visitors.

Unfortunately, buying cycles are getting longer and longer. This means that people are rarely going to buy from you the first time they come across you.

So, to get around this you will need:

an optin/squeeze page an autoresponder [e.g. Aweber] a series of emails in your autoresponder a free gift valuable enough that visitors will be prepared to give your their info

This may sound daunting if you’ve never done it. However it is easy to hire someone to do it for you…or even better, learn to do it yourself. These are very low cost marketing tactics with excellent results when done right.

3. Generate some visitors to your site.

You can either pay for traffic or generate it using your own time. Either way there is no such thing as free traffic…you pay with time, money or both.

Personally, I think a mixture of paid and self-generated is best. It will depend for you on your present skills and whether you are time-rich or money-rich.

Pay-per-click [PPC] is the fastest way to generate traffic. You can have visitors to your site within the hour. Sadly PPC can be very expensive and there is a learning curve. But don’t get me wrong…well done it can be a gold mine..just tread carefully and test and track your results.

Add new fresh content to your site every week. Make it fun. Make people smile as they learn new stuff and they will reward you by staying longer on your site and coming back for more.

Use photos and videos. Get them involved with competitions and surveys. My favourite tip is this…see what your competition is doing and do the opposite. No one ever got wealthy following the herd!

Other tactics to consider:

Social marketing ezine ads swapping links get all your past and present customers to sign up put your website address on receipts, signs, and all your other marketing banner ads post articles to article directories.

The more you do of each the more success you’ll have.

4. Build relationships with your prospects who have signed up.

The way to do this is to talk about their problems and offer solutions. That will get their attention!

Make sure your personalize your emails. Tell them about yourself, your family and your business. Get them to see you as a friend/trusted advisor: give them tips and tricks industry news free info

5. Make them offers

When your have their trust and they know, like and trust you…they will no longer regard your offers with suspicion.

Keep in contact regularly…you need to decide what you feel is right…but a minimum of once a week.

Make them repeated offers: vary them different bonuses discounts bundle products and services together make sure every offer has a deadline new products and services ask them what they want and need.

6. Keep doing more of the same.

The fact is you will probably lose 20% of your list a month. Make sure you keep doing each of the first five steps…this will give you a list of hungry, loyal buyers. Subscribers who look forward to hearing form you. Who want to hear your latest tips, news, and offers.

7. Never lose sight of where your focus should be:

“How can I offer more value to my customers?”

The moment you forget them and start concentrating on only yourself…they’ll know. It will come across in all your communications and marketing. Put them first, and they will stay loyal, and you will reap the rewards.

The Power of Online Business Directories and How to Get Started Fast

More and more small businesses today are using online business directories to their benefit. If you run a small business, you likely spend a great deal of your time thinking about your marketing plan. online business directories can be a great addition to your current small business marketing strategy. Those sites can help your small business expand its website traffic, increase the likelihood that your website will be found by interested visitors and increase your bottom line. If you haven’t taken a look at those directories and considered how your small business could use them to increase its market presence, then now is the time to start!

What Are Online Business Directories?

There are many different types of online business directories available on the Internet. Each of these sites serves a specific purpose and can be used by your small business in specific ways.

An online business directory is a website submission service that allows your small business’ website to be added to a specific category where it can be searched for by interested visitors. Listing your small business on an online business directory increases your website’s visibility on the web and helps to create inbound links to your business’ website. This places make it easy for people to find what they are looking for. These directories can be accessed from just about anywhere that has an internet connection. This means that people could find your business’ website from their home, office or even while traveling.

Every website that is submitted to an online business directory is placed in a specific category. These categories can range in how they are organized. Some are organized by business-related categories, some are organized according to personal preferences and others are organized by subject. Each category consists of several websites relating to a specific topic. Each website listing features the name of the website, a direct link to the website and a short description of the website. Interested Internet visitors will be able to browse through the various categories in the directory and locate websites like yours that they may be interested in visiting. Essentially, those places make it easier for any visitor to find your business’ website.

How Do Online Business Directories Work?

The concept of online business directories is actually a pretty simple one. These webistes are very similar to the Yellow Pages in the real world, only these listings are only online. (Actually Yellow Pages.com is now one of the largest online directories as well.) A directory is just a listing place for a number of websites. Any type of website could be listed in an online business directory. Some directories are huge and cover every topic that someone could create a website for, while others are very small and specific to a specific niche.

Let’s use an example. Say you are a model airplane enthusiast and you want to find some websites that cater to your specific interest. You could look through a huge online business directory such as Google My Business and find several dozen websites that are related to model airplanes. Or you could look for an online business directory that is niche-specific, which means that the entire online business directory would be based on hobbies such as model airplanes. With a niche-specific directory you may find even more websites that are based on your specific interest than what you could find on the larger directories.

Since online business directories are organized by categories, finding websites that relate to a specific interest such as model airplanes is very easy. You could find information and websites about model airplanes in your local region too, if you use a regional-specific online business directory. So if you live in Phoenix you could find websites that relate to both model airplanes and the Phoenix area. These places will direct you to websites that you want to find. All you have to do is perform a search in the online business directory for a specific topic or browse through the various categories until you find the type of websites you are looking for. When you perform a search you will be given a list of all of the websites that relate to your search term. You will be presented with a number of links to these websites and each link will have a short description of what you are likely to find on the website. You can read the descriptions and choose to click on the website that best suits you.

There are many different types of websites that you could find under a specific topic as well. For example, if you search several of those sites for information relating to model airplanes you may find websites that are about building model airplanes, flying model airplanes, creating historically accurate model planes, tips and instructions about how to fly model planes, websites that sell model airplanes and charters and associations that you could join regarding model airplanes. These are just a few of the examples you could find using an online business directory. There are simply too many topics to list them all here.

You can see how anyone can use an online business directory to find websites relating to things that interest them. As a small business owner you can see how potential customers of yours are using those web sites too. Now that you understand how online business directories work it is time to see how they can work for your business.

How Do Online Business Directories Benefit Small Businesses?

There are many benefits associated with listing your small business in an online business directory. The more directories you can use to list your business the more benefits you will reap. Here are some of the benefits of using online business directories:

  • Exposure

Exposure is important for all business marketing strategies. After all, the more people who are exposed to your business the more people are likely to utilize your business’ services. If online visitors aren’t able to see your website or even know that it exists, then they probably aren’t going to purchase your products or services. Listing your business’ website in those sites helps your website to gain exposure. Thousands of people use these websites every day to find things they are interested in. These are people who are actively searching for websites that are directly related to your products or services. They are already looking- all you have to do is make it easy for them to find you. These sites will expose your business to more online visitors, which could increase traffic to your website.

  • Increased Traffic

There are several ways that these directories can help you increase the amount of traffic your website receives. For starters, the more exposure your website has the more people are likely to visit it. But these websites offer more than just exposure from potential viewers. They also offer exposure to the various major search engine crawlers like Google and even YouTube. This increases the chances that your website will appear on major search engine results pages, or SERPs, which will allow more people to see the website when they perform a regular search. Both search engine optimization exposure and exposure to more people who are searching for your website could result in increased traffic to your small business’ website.

  • Cheap Advertising

As a small business owner you already understand the importance of advertising. You know that it helps customers to find your business and recognize your name and brand. You probably have little room in your budget for more advertising right this moment. That is one of the major benefits of listing your business’ website in an online business directory. Online business directories are inexpensive to join and they offer a lot of exposure for the price. Some of these sites will allow you to list your business for free, while others will charge a minimal fee. Either way, you are getting a lot of exposure for far less money than you would spend on a TV or radio advertisement spot.

  • Professional Appearance

You want everything about your business to look professional in the eyes of your customers. A professional appearance enhances your status and makes customers more likely to patronize your business. Online directories help you to look like a professional business. When an online consumer sees your business listing in an online business directory, they will consider your business to be an authority on the subject and a professional place to do business. Unlike a search that is performed on a major search engine like Google, where there is little difference between the legitimate websites relating to a topic and the less than useful websites, those places are mostly legitimate websites. Online consumers are more likely to trust what they see on such sites.

  • SEO Benefits

Online business directories offer several search engine optimization benefits as well. Firstly, these directories offer you more inbound links. When an online visitor sees your website link in an online business directory, they will be able to click on it and be instantly re-directed to your website. This is a great way to increase traffic. It is a great way to improve your status in the eyes of search engine crawlers too. The more backlinks that a search engine crawler can find, the more relevant they will rank your website. This is especially true of authoritative sites. Being linked to a major online business directory, such as Google My Business, will give your website more relevancy in the eyes of Google’s search engine crawlers. This will result in a higher page ranking on the SERP. As you know, a higher search engine result page rank you get, the more people are going to click on your website link.

  • Increased Revenue

When more people are able to find your website it increases the chances that they will visit your website. When people visit your website they are more likely to purchase your goods or services. This means that these sites can help you increase your revenue stream. Online business directories are good for your bottom line.

  • Increased Brand Recognition and Customer Interaction

When an online viewer locates your website though an online business directory, they are more likely to remember your business’s name and directly interact with it. Online business directories can help your business stand out to customers as well. Overall, listing your small business in an online business directory will help you to create a more comprehensive and effective online presence.

Listing your small business’ website with several online business directories will help more people find your website, whether they are specifically searching for it or if they are just browsing. In addition to gaining exposure, appearing on those sites will provide major SEO benefits, which will help search engines find your site. Increased exposure and higher search engine rankings will result in more traffic to your website, which will result in higher revenue.

There are many different types of online business directories, from large global directories to small, niche and location-specific ones. Some examples of other types of online directories can include reciprocal link directories, free directories, paid directories, Business 2 Business directories, theme-related directories, small business directories and many, many more.

Why You Should Consider Listing Your Small Business in an Online Directory

Apart from the concept that online business directories will increase the amount of exposure your website gets and help with your SEO strategies, they are also a very effective way to directly target potential customers. Places like those make it easy for online users to find something they want. According to a study performed by Burke, 8 out of 10 people will use a print or online business directory to find companies or products they are looking for. The same study also suggested that 8 out of 10 people who use these directories to locate a business do so with the intent to purchase a product or service from them. This is a very effective form of targeted advertising. The customer already needs or wants your product or service and you can directly target them by listing your website in an online business directory.

Another reason why you should consider listing your small business has to do with your return on investment, or ROI. Since the potential benefits of getting increased website traffic are great compared to how much you will have to spend to list your website in an online business directory, you can see a great return on your investment in the form of increased revenue. You also want to keep your brand and your company name in the minds of consumers at all times, which is something else that an online business directory can help with.

What Online Business Directories Should You Use for Your Small Business?

Even though listing your website in many online business directories will improve your website’s exposure and SEO ranking, it is not effective to just SPAM your website into every single online business directory you can find. You will want to take some time to consider which specific site will give you the best ROI. The best option is to find a great combination of directories to join. If you run a small business, the best place to start may be with a local directory. This is because most people will search for businesses in their area they can patronize. Local market and niche-specific online directories can offer extremely targeted advertisements to potential local customers.

After your business is listed in these directories you can take a look at the larger and potentially more expensive general-interest directories. You will probably want to consider listing with the top 10-15 online business directories, as these will be used by a lot of people and will offer higher relevancy and authority in the eyes of search engines. Google My Business and LinkedIn are large general-interest directories that you will want to list your small business in. If your website sells tangible goods you may also want to consider listing it in comparison shopping websites and product listings directories. Studies show that 42% of consumers will look at a comparison shopping website before they decide to purchase a specific product.

The best way to figure out which specific directories your small business should be listed in is to start with your competitors. Take a look at your local and niche-specific options and figure out if your competition is already listed. If they are you need to be listed too. If they are not listed you may want to list your website as a way to beat them to the punch. In some situations it may not make sense for you to have a listing in a specific online business directory, even if your competitors are listed in it. Your goal should be to be listed in every relevant and niche-specific directory you can find as well as many of the major directories, but no so many directories that you appear SPAMMY.

In addition to listing your business in online business directories, you also need to maintain these listings. It is important for your online business directory listings to be up to date and accurate, or else you could just be wasting your time. If your directory information seems out of date your customers will probably look elsewhere.

It will probably take some time to see the results of listing your small business’ website in so many online sites, but eventually you will see results. The best way to find the perfect combination of online business directory listings for your business is to use some sort of tracking or analytics system. You will want to be able to see how many people clicked on your website links from within the directory and if your website has shown increased traffic since then. You will want to stop wasting your time with online directories that are not producing results and increase the time and effort you spend on sites that are productive.

Best Practices for Listing Your Small Business in Online Business Directories

Now that you understand why your small business should be listed in online business directories and have started locating the directories that you want to be listed in, you are ready to begin creating your business listings for submissions. Here are some tips and best practices for listing your small business in those directories.

  • Start by choosing local directories and directories that are niche-specific. So if you own a model airplane hobby shop in Phoenix, make sure you find a local Phoenix business directory and a directory that is related to model airplanes. If you can find a model airplane hobby directory for the Phoenix area, you are all set.
  • Once you’re in local directories, start searching for larger and more generalized directories. Pick directories that get a lot of traffic and that are listed highly on major search engines like Google. A higher search engine ranking means that the directory will be considered as both authoritative and relevant in the eyes of search engines, making any links you get through these directories more valuable to your SEO strategy.
  • Include all of the relevant information regarding your small business in your website’s directory description. This should include your business’ name, location, telephone number, contact information and possibly reviews, business hours and anything else that is relevant. Add in photos, maps or other interactive features if the directory lets you.
  • Try to keep your information consistent across all of your online business directory listings. This will help your website to retain its credibility in the eyes of search engines and will assist with your SERP rankings.
  • Try to make your business stand out by offering an explanation of your business or any specific message the customer should know in your description.
  • Keep all of your information up to date. This may mean frequently updating all of your listings several times per month.
  • Allow customers to leave positive reviews and use them in your listing if the directory allows it.
  • Always be professional and consistent with your business’ listings and message. This includes any information regarding your brand.
  • If you sell products or services to a local market, make sure your business is listed in a local business directory. Include geo-specific keywords and information. An example would be: “Dave’s Model Plane Shop” + “Phoenix”.
  • Optimize your website for SEO purposes and include the relevant keywords in your meta titles and listing descriptions. Keyword research is important.

Get Listed in the Top 10-15 Online Business Directories

Now is a great time to get your small business listed in the Top 10-15 sites. There are few other Internet marketing techniques that will offer so many benefits for such a small investment on your part. Listing your business in an online business directory will increase your website’s online presence and help more people find you, which can help you increase your business’s revenue.

Fast Web Design: How to Use Wix Templates

It may or may not surprise you to hear that the majority of traffic from the internet is derived from search engines. With that said, search engines should be the first place that you should turn to to promote your online presence. Ensure that search engines know that your site exists by submitting your link directly to them. Once that’s out of the way, the best way to improve your search engine presence is by taking the time to improve your SEO. Right know, the search engines that generate the most traffic are: Google, Yahoo, Bing.

Back in 2006, Wix came on the scene to change the way people create websites. Wix build a powerful yet simple solution that made the process fun and creative, without having to know the complex language that is code. Wix maintain an easy-to-use website builder with tons of capabilities and features to make running your business online easier than ever.

A customizable virtual dashboard that’s filled with handy shortcuts, information, tips, and more.

An Editor which was designed to help you create a rich and visually superior online experience for your clients and website visitors. It lets you tell your story in the most striking, compelling, and effective way, while providing top notch functionality and performance. The idea is to give you a tool that doesn’t require “a getting used to” but an intuitive and user-friendly plaform that helps you carry out tasks quickly and easily. The Editor makes it easy to customize your site exactly the way you want it. No creative limits or coding needed.

Hosting at Wix will keep your website safe and secure. Successfully grow your website and business with powerful web Apps and Services. Your website will look amazing on any device. Get a mobile version of your site in just one click. Make a great impression on your visitors with a custom domain. It’s easier than ever to get your business online with a simple and beautiful one-page template. There are many more features, Apps and templates which are updated frequently. Wix has something for everyone, so whether you’re a photographer, musician, small business owner, entrepreneur, or student, Wix provide all the tools and features you need to build an amazing online presence.

A Help Center that can answer your questions or you can go to the Forum to submit a ticket for specific questions to your needs with 24/7 support.

When it comes to eCommerce, a beautiful, professional website is a must. Customers will only purchase online if they think your website (and thus your business) looks legitimate. Make sure your website is modern and draws attention to the best you have to offer. You need a website that shows up when your customers are searching on Google and other search engines.

The art of ranking well in searches (know as Search Engine Optimization or SEO) can seem a bit complex at first, but there are quite a few steps you can easily take to give your own site a good shot at soaring to the top of Google. Get lots more SEO tips for your online store in the Wix Blog.

The Wix Blog provides us information on marketing our products. One approach that is somewhat neglected is to conceptualize your product more like a service. Because you want customers to see your brand as an integral part of their life. When real customer review your product, they are ultimately describing its functionality and its impact. In other words, they are describing what kind of service the product has given them and how satisfied they were with it. By showing your customers that their opinion matters to you, you extend your relationship beyond the selling of a product. You become a caring service provider. Good marketing takes into account not just the materiality of the product that it is selling but also the meaning that it bears. Consider all the different positive experiences that your product can create for your customer base and let these experiences guide your marketing strategy.

When you start your own business, you don’t get a handbook explaining the ins and outs of marketing. Subscribe to a trustworthy blog that provides detailed information and actionable tips on all things marketing for small business. The Wix Blog should be your first subscription, but don’t stop there. Dig deeper to find specific blogs and online resources that cater to your niche.

Having a comprehensive online presence demands more than just creating your website. It means managing, bringing visitors to your site, and marketing your products.

Potential customers often decide in an instant whether or not they like your business, simply by looking at your website. When it comes to your website, beautiful is more than screen-deep. To reach out to customers Wix created an easy way to manage all of your contacts, straight from your My Account dashboard. You can reach out directly to your most relevant target audience with updates, deals and coupons that interest them with Wix ShoutOut. You can easily create coupons for your Wix store or send out coupons and discount codes via ShoutOut, over email or on your social media sites.

To make life easier, you can use Wix to setup automated emails to everyone who purchases a product from your store for the first time.

The Wix Mobile editor can make your website more friendly for your users and make Google happy, since Google is penalizing sites that aren’t mobile optimized.

Want more people to discover your awesome site? The most crucial ways to promote and send more people to your website is by improving your page’s SEO. Guess what? The folks at Wix have thought of that too. Make sure your site’s SEO is completely covered by trying out the SEO Wizard. The SEO Wizard will crawl your site and give you an easy to understand report on how you can improve your site’s SEO.

There’s no one way to create a masterpiece of a website like any true art form, variety is part of what makes web design so interesting. With so many different elements at your disposal, website creators have countless opportunities to make something beautiful. When great images and great text come together, it’s a thing of beauty. Using a combination of boxes with images and colors, you too can play around with the Wix editor to achieve this result. One of the easiest ways to make your site look and function beautifully is by making sure that all of the objects on your page are neatly in place. A great way to do this is by organizing each of your pages by aligning your objects. Aligning objects on your Wix website is super easy – in fact, there’s already a grid laid out for you right in your Wix Editor.

Managing your site’s SEO is the most important thing. You can do to promote your website online. Good SEO can shoot your business to the top of Google pages and earn you a steady stream of organic traffic. Giving each page on your site a short, clear and descriptive page will give Google a better idea of what your page is about and help with your overall SEO ranking.

Having your own logo is one of the best ways to give your business a professional edge, plus it’s great for your SEO settings. The Google title, or Meta Title as it’s more formally known in the SEO world, is how your site will appear in search results. Having certain pages hidden from Google (or non-indexed in SEO terms) like password protected page is a great way to keep key web pages private. Google does not recognise images so by adding alt-text to your images helps search engines categorize your pics and understand your page better, which ultimately leads to an overall better SEO ranking.

Site crawlers take to your site to find keywords about what you have to offer when people use these keywords to search business just like yours. Every page on your website has a distinct role. Make sure to highlight those roles by emphasizing specific keywords on the titles and content of your web pages.

Even though Wix is not hard to use, many companies do not have the time or skill to bring their own website visions to life. This gives Wix Certified Webmasters the ability to use their knowledge to serve an important and potentially lucrative role.

Clients can save money on the hosting portion of having a website by working with Wix because they also offer affordable hosting for all of their websites. Additionally, designers who create sites on Wix.com and other similar platforms are likely to offer a much more affordable rate than those who create custom coded websites. Finally, because Wix is so intuitive, clients can easily learn how to maintain their own websites. They don’t need to rely on and pay a developer every time they want to change a photo, update text or add a new page to their site. A WixEd designer is great for small to mid-tier clients who want a great website without going over budget.

20 Fast Facts About Retractable Awnings

If you feel excited to read this article, you probably already know at least a little about the advantages of retractable awnings. If this piece looks totally random (“20 Fast Facts About Kibbles Cat Food”), then what you’ll read here will probably surprise you. Here is a shotgun approach to the specifications and benefits of modern awnings to catch you up on why they are attracting a growing consumer base.

First, a quick disclaimer: As you read, you may wish certain points were explained in more detail. Since this article is a sort of “beach read” of awnings education, you won’t find a ton of background information here. But if you’d like to hear these facts expanded upon, feel free to check my site. And now, here are some quick and dirty facts about retractable awnings.

  1. They are, in essence, over-sized swatches of water-proof fabric stretched on a frame and attached to your house. This is what you might call simple brilliance.
  2. They need approximately 6 inches of open, lengthwise wall (or roof) space to be installed.
  3. These awnings can be unfurled or retracted in less than a minute–either by hand or automatically via a remote control.
  4. Recent models have weather sensors that automatically lower the awnings on bright, hot days and store them when a heavy rain storm or gale-force winds could damage them.
  5. A phrase all home and business owners love: “No maintenance?”
  6. By controlling sunlight, awnings serve a very useful function: they decrease heat and cut UV rays.
  7. Awnings serve as an outdoor expansion of your business or residential space–and Do It Yourself-types like to design “outdoor rooms” with awnings that extend the styles and colors of the building interior.
  8. If you own a business or manage properties, retractable awnings can expand your seating capacity and raise property values without the services of an architect or general contractor.
  9. Next time you’re downtown, look around: there’s an increasing trend to use awnings as commercial signage for businesses.
  10. Awnings positively affect the interior of your home. When installed over windows, they cut glare by 94 percent and exterior heat by 77 percent.
  11. That means that they bring down inside temperatures by 8 to 15 degrees and reduce air conditioning costs by 25 percent.
  12. When it comes to real estate, each dollar saved on utility bills translates into $10 to $15 of resale value. If you do the calculations, you see that awnings can add one to two thousand dollars of resale value to your home. And that’s a conservative estimate.
  13. Realtors say that a building’s outside appearance is a huge factor in home sales. Awnings give your home strong curb appeal.
  14. They also create unique new atmospheres. Have you ever had coffee and conversation “in the rain?” Ever lounged in a hot tub while snow drifts down around (but not on) you?
  15. Retractable awnings let you sun-bathe, eat in the shade, enjoy a sun-warmed autumn deck and watch the stars–all in the same space.
  16. They can be “strategically” used to cover unsightly rough patches on your home’s exterior, like that place where the utility man botched the repair job.
  17. Awnings add more living area: eat, talk, and entertain.
  18. When awnings are installed over windows, they make cooler, more spacious rooms inside the home, because there’s no need to fight harsh sunlight by pulling the blinds.
  19. They make the most of patio, deck, balcony, and poolside areas, making them more than stretches of bleached-blond wood and fiery concrete.
  20. Retractable awnings are environmentally friendly. They reduce electricity use, comply with EPA guidelines, and are made with sustainable materials.

Now you have a basic idea of why retractable awnings are gaining in popularity. How does it feel to have a higher awnings IQ?

How to Write a Book FAST – Steps to Write a TIPS Book

Have you ever dreamed of writing a book that would establish you as an expert worthy of attention? Have you seen authors get attention at seminars or on TV and thought, “I wish that was ME”? Writing a book is easier than you think when you know a few insider secrets. One kind of book above all others is the easiest to write, and you’re about to discover how to write it–a TIPS book.

You probably already know that authors get all the attention. It’s because people innately trust authors. So if you are an expert in your niche, or if you are a business owner (which still makes you an expert) without a book, it’s time to write one. In fact, becoming an author is essential, and it should be moved off the “someday I’ll” list and onto the “Do it now” list.

Anything is easier when you have a system, so that is what I am about to share with you. I’m giving you the “easy button” steps to write a book. And remember, you don’t have to write 300 or even 200 pages to be the author of a “real book.”

You are an expert in something (probably several “somethings”), and no doubt you know some of the insider strategies or shortcuts that people crave. Everyone wants the easy way, right? If you have ways to save someone time, make something simple, or improve results, you have the makings of a tips book.

The easy path is to write a “tips book.” This is simply a whole list of tips with a few paragraphs about each one. I’ll show you how, step by step, right now.

I am going to give you a step by step trail of breadcrumbs to follow, but first, I know you have this question, because just about everybody does…

“How long does my book have to be?”

The answer is, “It’s up to you.” There is no Law written somewhere on stone tablets saying “this many pages maketh a book.” One of my books is 152 pages. Another is 32. They’re both books and they both make me officially “an author.”

If you go to an online bookseller and put “tips” into the search box, you will discover there are no rules. Whether you have 101, 369, 365 or 88, it’s still a book.

Example: A gifted cook could write a book sharing 65 simple baking techniques your grandma never taught you. Each page would have the tip and a few paragraphs of explanation. Why is this method for how to write a book so powerful?

Because – You have all the information you need already. There is no research. – It doesn’t take much time. You can write a tips book in a weekend if you wish. – When your book is done (which will happen in a very short amount of time), you will prove to yourself that you can write a book.

How to write your tips book, step by step:

1. Write the tips.

You may decide to use your word processor or use more “old timey” methods like a pad of paper or a stack of index cards. Just write each tip, in full or in your own shorthand.

2. Assemble the tips book.

Write each tip at the top of a page. Leave a few blank spaces and then write the explanation. You decide the length, but tips are by nature quick. So don’t get carried away.

Insider writing secrets – Write to one person not to “you guys.” Only one person is reading the book. – Make sure you give your reader a reason to visit your website, such as a free downloadable gift. – The end of the book is the beginning of a relationship, so make an irresistible offer to your reader at the end of the book.

Congratulations! You are on your way to becoming an author and being perceived as an Instant VIP.

How to Write a Press Release Fast

Do you want to learn how to write compelling press releases in as little time as possible? Then, follow these steps:

1. Have an in-depth understanding about press releases. It is very important to know that press releases are not advertising vehicles and that they should sound very objective all the time. They must carry newsworthy information and they must adhere to the universal guidelines set for news releases. You cannot just deliver the information you have using your preferred writing format as there is a standard format that you need to follow that is quite different from other written materials. Knowing the elements that you need to use in writing your press releases will increase the chances of your copies being picked up by media organizations.

2. Universal guidelines. You must write your press releases using the third person. You must sound like a news reporter delivering an important information to your audience in a very objective and easy to understand manner. Your press releases must contain a compelling headline, a very descriptive lead paragraph, the date of publication, company information, and contact information. In addition, your news releases must be brief, to the point, and relatively short (about 500 words). They must also be able to answer the who, what, why, when, where, and how questions of your readers. Knowing what you need to include in your press releases can surely make the writing process a lot quicker.

3. Proofread. So as not to ruin your train of thoughts, ensure that you proofread your press releases once you are done writing your content. Ensure that your information are factual and that your content is free from any type of errors that can be easily taken against you. Also, check the overall flow of your content. Make sure that you use the inverted pyramid technique when sharing the information you have so you can keep your readers interested all throughout. Also, tie your ideas together to promote better understanding.

4. Practice makes perfect. You’ll be able to write press releases much faster if you practice on a regular basis. Try to write at least one press release per day. You may opt to solicit feedback from other expert news release writer so you can easily figure out your areas of opportunity. If you do this regularly, you’ll soon be able to empower yourself to write compelling copies in as little time as possible.

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