Health Upgraders

The other day a friend of mine received a rather strange Email Marketing message. What made it even more odd was that this was the second time he had received the identical type of message in just a few weeks.

When he told what the Email message said the hair on the back of my neck started to crawl. I got a little freaked out. Was something from the metaphysical trying to send a message to my friend via these emails?

What else could be the reason for such a strange Email Marketing message?

I, being the Internet snoopy pants that all my friends know me to be, decided I had to find out.

Like all good Internet detectives I started from the beginning.

Duplicate Freaky Email Marketing Message Investigation Step One:

I had to know if my friend subscribed to these Email lists. Thinking the answer would surely be no based on the oddity of the email messages, I was shocked to find out he had indeed subscribed to these lists.

So, my case of the Duplicate Freaky Email Marketing message had a beginning – Opt In Email Marketing.

Duplicate Freaky Email Marketing Message Investigation Step Two:

I thought it would be prudent to find out who owned these Email Marketing lists. I pondered the possibility that there might just be some connection to the metaphysical with the Email list owners. Who knows – maybe the late Cory Rudl had decided heaven was too boring without an Internet and decided to return and was starting out by sending my friend these messages.

-The first Email list belonged to a person who claimed to know everything in the known universe about Pinging Blogs.

-The other list belonged to a person who is quite well known in the informational Internet marketing community. (Translation selling e-books, online courses and other related stuff like that.)

Well, I found no sign of Cory Rudl trying to send my friend a message. There did not seem to be a connection with the owners and the metaphysical. I moved on.

Duplicate Freaky Email Marketing Message Investigation Step Three:

Since I did not receive the Email Marketing messages myself I knew I needed to see them just to make sure my friend was relating the information to me correctly. Who knows maybe his new pair of glasses had the wrong prescription in them or something. I had to make sure what he told me was actually true.

This is where I still get a little freaked out, even after having had intense hypno-therapy, with the nature of these Email Marketing messages.

Two separate Email Marketing messages from two separate list owners told my friend to:

‘Get off his ass’

Just so you believe me here is an excerpt from one of the Email Marketing messages:

I want to encourage you to: -get out of your house -get out of your head -get out of your chair -get off your ass and get out from in front of the screen and see what the real millionaires in this business are really up to

Duplicate Freaky Email Marketing Message Investigation Step Four:

I thought long and hard about the implications of two un-related Email Marketing messages, from two separate Email list owners, sending the same message.

Could these Email Marketing messages be a sign of direction from a metaphysical being who thought my friend was lazy? Were these messages an attempt to encourage my friend to, well, ‘get off his ass’ and seek another activity?

Since I had already found no direct link with the list owners and the metaphysical I knew I needed help. Having no connection myself to any such metaphysical element I determined a psychic would probably be the best bet for an answer.

Madame Emael was, well, a little unconventional in her approach.

I told her my story.

She got out her crystal ball chanted a few things that sounded a lot like ‘Buy Google Stock’ and then burst into gales of laughter.

She invited me to stay for the rest of the day and meditate with her.

Because I really cared about my friend and knew I was getting close to the answer I agreed to stay.

I found out her version of meditating was scoping around the Internet via Google until my eyes were swollen and hanging out of their sockets. Regardless, I do think that after 10 hours of surfing I was definitely in the alpha state.

Madame Emael told me tales of wonder and awe that day as we zipped around the Internet. I also solved the case of the Duplicate Freaky Email Marketing Message.

Were beings from the metaphysical sending my friend the message to -

‘get off his ass’ because he was lazy?

Madame Emael let me in on a secret.

My friend had experienced what is becoming quite common – Receiving offensive Email Marketing messages that cross the line.

Is there a lesson to be learned here?

“Get off your ass”

is something you tell your lazy brother in law who thinks ‘helping you move’ means drinking beer and flirting with the moving truck driver.

You don’t give your Email list members the message that they are lazy.

I got back to my friend and told him his near metaphysical experience was a hoax.

He told me he was considering un-subscribing from the Blog and Ping guy’s Email Marketing list as he was rather offended by the ‘ass email’ incident.

He has decided to give the other list owner another chance.

I guess that is what happens when someone crosses the line with Email Marketing – we take out our crystal ball and chant something that sounds a lot like

‘did that guy just say I was…’

And ask the metaphysical gods if we should press the unsubscribe button.

I call it cheap therapy. That gushing, near-religious, poured-from-the-body stress release that comes after writing my heart out for hours each day, delivers more balm to my soul than years of psychoanalysis.

There were eight of them. Eight family members and friends died in five short years. I was a neophyte in this death thing. This clamping-down-on-your-heart, ripping-a-hole-in-your-soul, death thing. It stunk. Badly. I was forty-three when my grandmother died. It floored me. The shock that it could really happen, that they could actually leave me, was overwhelming.

The guilt that had ridden hard on my back for the past twenty years came at me with a rush. I should have visited more. Called more. Written more. But the three baby daughters that we’d had in two years had consumed every ounce of our energy. We’d fallen into bed each night exhausted, and had awakened tired, but happy, each morning. The thought of a ten-hour trip home had seemed insurmountable with three little ones in car seats and diapers. So we put off the visits home for a long, long time.

The next death came in a single, whooshing blow. My colleague at work, with whom I’d shared an office for eight wonderful years, died suddenly of a heart attack. Then my father-in-law, my grandfather, and so on. I struggled to make sense of it. People were disappearing rapidly.

And then it happened. My father was diagnosed with cancer in the same month that his mother died of Alzheimer’s Disease.
We had a summer of hope. And then the disease hit again, and he was gone. Gone for good. Gone for real. In six short months, he was diagnosed, treated, and then he disappeared.

I was crushed. Completely shattered. This was bad. The worst.

I walked a lot. I trudged through the autumn woods, as the crispy leaves eddied around my feet. I heard his voice whispering in the breeze. The need to write was insistent. Urgent.

The pieces were gaudy and full of redolent poetry. The words painted my grief. Each time I walked and mourned, I’d return home and write. Again. And again. And again.

Getting the words on paper was a salve for my battered soul. Although I’d always known I would write a mystery series someday, I’d thought it would be when the kids were grown and I had retired.

Then it hit me. I would write a testimony to my father. I’d model my protagonist after Dad. I began to write Double Forté. My hero was a music professor, like Dad. He gardened with a passion, like Dad. He embraced the arts, like Dad. And he assiduously tended to his musical spirit, like Dad. He played Chopin etudes with wild abandon to clear his mind and feed his soul. And he cooked magnificent feasts for his family from his gardens that burgeoned with exotic vegetables.

As the book began to take shape, so did the characters. Gus LeGarde’s secretary, Maddy, became the reincarnation of my Grandma Lena. Oscar and Millie Stone were near replicas of my maternal grandparents. I found comfort in the creation of the scenes that included them. And as the process of writing one book became easier, the next, and the next, and the next flowed effortlessly from my fingertips until I stopped to breathe. I created eight full novels in five short years.

As this healing process provides me with therapy, it also affords an escape to a parallel universe where I control my characters’ destiny. I like it. A lot. I invent the bad guys, neatly dispatch them, rescue my hero from certain death, and cement the intricate relationships between my cast members.

This remarkable outlet allows the creative juices to flow and provides a safe haven for my imagination to flourish. I’m hooked, big time. There’s no stemming the tide. I fight for time to write, feeling cheated if I don’t get my daily “fix.” And when the latest chapter is keyed in, or the monthly essay penned, a deep sigh of relief is expelled. I’m freed. I’m sated. I’m going to be okay.

Yep. I’m going to be just fine. And best of all, there’s no co-payment.

Aaron Paul Lazar resides in Upstate New York with his wife, three daughters, two grandsons, mother-in- law, two dogs, and three cats. After writing in the early morning hours, he works as an electrophotographic engineer at NexPress Solutions Inc., part of Kodak’s Graphic Communications Group, in Rochester, New York. Additional passions include vegetable, fruit, and flower gardening; preparing large family feasts; photographing his family, gardens, and the breathtakingly beautiful Genesee Valley; cross-country skiing across the rolling hills; playing a distinctly amateur level of piano, and spending “time” with the French Impressionists whenever possible.

Although he adored raising his three delightful daughters, Mr. Lazar finds grandfathering his “two little buddies” to be one of the finest experiences of his life. Double Forte’, the first in the series, was published in January 2005. Upstaged, number two, is in production. With eight books under his belt, Mr. Lazar is currently working on the ninth, which features Gus LeGarde and his family. http://www.legardemysteries.com

Recently a top notched writer of screenplays and public relations author wrote a hard biting article of half-truths about the online article submission sites popping up on the Internet. In fact she singled out one of the top online article submission sites and slammed it indicating it was flooding the market with amateur articles and making it tough for professional writers to sell their works out to the public?

Well, that is interesting as this top writer writes an ARTICLE to slam article writing for free to make a slanderous accusation about AMATEUR AUTHORS of ARTICLES? Do I sense a sort of hypocrisy here or a tinge of jealousy from this professional attacking writer?

Well, personally this issue does not concern me much, as her comments are not true and therefore irrelevant. Nevertheless she brought up a point of contention worthy of assisting me in my goals to write more articles, as I am the very amateur online article author she is slamming and supposedly preventing her from making money?

And when she attacks online article submission venue and the amateur writers like me, she inadvertently showed her true feelings and inner thoughts of other up and coming writers and attempted to put up a barrier to entry of protectionism, by slandering in an attempt to diminish online article submission sites. Consider this in 2006.

Lance Winslow

Imagine you have a piece of text that you’d like to quickly add to your documents no matter which document you are in, and regardless of what’s saved in your clipboard.

One solution is to assign that text to a new toolbar button as Autotext.

Here is how to do it:

1) Select Tools > Autocorrect Options from the main menu to display the Autocorrect dialog box.

2) Click and select the Autotext tab.

3) Paste (or type in) your text in the Enter Auto Text Entries Here field.

4) Click Add to have your text listed in the list box below.

5) Close the Autocorrect dialog box.

6) Select Tools > Customize to launch the Customize dialog box.

7) In the Commands tab, select Autotext from the Categories.

Find your text in the Commands pane.

9) Click Keyboard button to launch the Customize Keyboard dialog box.

10) Again select Autotext from the Categories and find your text in the Commands pane.

11) In the Press New Shortcut Key enter a new shortcut for this autotext.

Try not to use those shortcuts already in use. For example if you assign Ctrl+V, you’ll be reassigning a very well know shortcut for pasting the content of the clipboard to pasting your custom text. That could lead to confusion.

12) Let’s assume you physically press Control key and then the K key. The shortcut “Ctrl+K” is automatically added as your new shortcut.

13) Click the Assign button and close all windows.
Now, whenever you click Ctrl+A, Word will enter your advisory test at the cursor. You don’t have to type it anymore.

Another method to retrieve your Autotext is to place it in the Toolbar:

In the Customize dialog box:

1) Click and DRAG your autotext to any TOOLBAR you wish.

The text will be inserted as a rectangle. Anytime you click on this rectangle, the associated autotext will be automatically inserted into your text.

However, you can replace this text-button with an icon as well.

2) Select the text-button and click the down-arrow at the end of its toolbar to display the pop-up menu.

3) Select Customize to display the Customize dialog box.

4) Select Autotext from the Categories and find your text in the Commands pane.

5) With the Customize dialog box still open, click the text-button on the toolbar to enable the Modify Selection button.

6) Click Modify Selection button and from the pop-up menu select Change Button Image to display the available icon images.

7) Select an image and then select Default Style option. Your text-button will be replaced by the icon you have chosen. Now every time you click that icon on the toolbar, your autotext will be inserted at where your cursor is.

To delete the icon from your toolbar, select Tools > Customize.

9) Click on the icon button and drag it out of the toolbar. This does not delete the autotext from the Customize screen but it’ll delete it from the toolbar.

———————————————————

Ugur Akinci, Ph.D. is a Creative Copywriter, Editor, an experienced and award-winning Technical Communicator specializing in fundraising packages, direct sales copy, web content, press releases. movie reviews and hi-tech documentation.

He has worked as a Technical Writer for Fortune 100 companies for the last 7 years.

You can reach him at writer111@gmail.com for a FREE consultation on all your copywriting needs or visit his official web site http://www.writer111.com.

Why should you write articles for a Christian audience? Christians everywhere are looking for good Christian web content, and when you write quality articles, you help provide that content. When you write Christian articles, you are providing yourself and your web site with web exposure. And when you write articles, you increase your own web credibility.

1) There is a dearth of good Christian articles on the web. Perhaps because there is a perception that there is not as much profit in a Christian consumer (I happen to think the opposite—if you have a quality product, the Christian consumer will purchase from you). Perhaps because the Christian author is not willing to place his articles on a secular web site. Perhaps because Christian authors feel compelled to ‘water down’ their article.

2) By writing to the Christian audience, you provide a much-needed service to the Christian Internet market. Many Christians are simply discouraged by the lack of good Christian content on the web, and thereby spend less time on the internet. By creating good content for a Christian audience, you can help increase the Christian market size.

3) By writing Christian articles and posting them to your own web site or blog, you add good quality content to your own site, helping to increase your search engine visibility.

4) When you write Christian articles and submit them to the various article directories, you create exposure for your own web site. Simply place a link back to your own web site at the end of the article, or in the resource box, whichever the particular article directory prefers. When your article is read, and the reader appreciates your content, they will often click through to your site, providing much-needed web traffic for you.

5) By writing Christian articles and submitting them to the various article databases and directories, you establish backlinks to your own website, which can help with some search engine rankings.

6) When you write Christian articles, you establish yourself as an authority on whichever Christian topic you write about. From your website, you can link to the particular article directories that accept your article, giving you and your web site added credibility.

7) We want your articles! When you write your articles, submit them to both the web site where you are reading this article, and to my website, listed below.

Sean Mize is a Christian Entrepreneur and Christian internet Marketer, and the author of “The Christian Guide to Maximizing Your Time”, which can be ordered via
Christian Success Network.

He also co-publishes a Christian Article Directory. To read articles or submit articles for inclusion in the directory, click here:
Christian Article Bank

You have my permission to reprint and distribute this article as long as it is distributed in its entirety, including all links. © Sean Mize 2006

Is it possible to end those intractable public speaking fears in the short time of 1.5 hours or less? Indeed!

All public speaking fears, indeed all fears, are based on unconsciously held beliefs that have been conditioned in you through your early life experience.

What do I mean by “conditioned”? Well this means that past experiences have become “imprinted” in your nervous system as automatic behaviors, emotional responses and perceptions about yourself, others and your immediate environment.

These imprints can now be completely erased from your nervous system just the same way that you might erase a file from your computer hard drive.

What I call the Mind Resonance Process(TM) (MRP) has the capacity to uncover and erase negative limiting beliefs, perceptions, emotions and memories that are at the root of all public speaking fears.

Although some may tell you that there are many beliefs that contribute to this problem they are in fact all rooted in one basic fear, the fear that you won’t survive if something goes wrong.

Another way of saying this is that you believe that you will simply fall apart if anything untoward happens. If you look deep enough into your fear you’ll see that this is what you are trying to protect yourself from. All other fears or negative beliefs simply feed into or reinforce this basic and limiting one.

MRP can help you release this in as little as 1 session on the telephone. The process is quick, accessible to almost everyone and painless.

The net effect will leave you feeling rejuvenated, like a weight has been taken off your shoulders, lighter, more energized, more confident, more focused, more joyful, healthier and more resilient, and much more.

What’s more MRP will give you an experience that will help you begin to unleash even deeper creative and intuitive abilities that you never even knew you had.

You see, deep within each of us is a very powerful Being. That power is fueled or driven by the passion for life that lives in the Human Heart. That’s what MRP helps you to unleash.

If you’d like to start on this journey kindly contact me via the web link below where you can set up your introductory consultation at no risk to you.

Dr. Nick Arrizza is trained in Chemical Engineering, Business Management & Leadership, Medicine and Psychiatry. He is an Energy Psychiatrist, Healer, Key Note Speaker,Editor of a New Ezine Called “Spirituality And Science” (which is requesting high quality article submissions) Author of “Esteem for the Self: A Manual for Personal Transformation” (available in ebook format on his web site), Stress Management Coach, Peak Performance Coach & Energy Medicine Researcher, Specializes in Life and Executive Performance Coaching, is the Developer of a powerful new tool called the Mind Resonance Process(TM) that helps build physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well being by helping to permanently release negative beliefs, emotions, perceptions and memories. He holds live workshops, international telephone coaching sessions and international teleconference workshops on Physical. Emotional, Mental and Spiritual Well Being.

Web site: http://www.telecoaching4u.com/IntroConsult.htm

For many people the idea of speaking in public can be absolutely terrifying! And sociologists report that the fear of public speaking ranks even higher than the fear of death. Not to worry. Here are 12 surefire strategies to eliminate stage fright and the fear of public speaking.

1. Give up the idea of perfection ~ Most seasoned public speaking professionals will admit that mistakes have provided the largest opportunities for growth. So acknowledge your humanity and have the courage to be imperfect.

2. Replace disempowering beliefs with positive action ~ The famous American athlete Bob Richards said, “You are what you think. You are what you go for. You are what you do!” If you think you are incapable, you will be. Give yourself permission to take action even if you risk failure. When Bob Richards knocked down poles while vaulting his way to 1 bronze and 2 gold medals in 3 consecutive Olympics he didn’t focus on the setbacks, he focused on going for gold and doing his best.

3. Know your topic and audience ~ Doing your homework and research will eliminate 75-80% of your fears. Most people are horrifically under-prepared when they get up to speak. Invest in your preparation and you will be richly rewarded.

4. Arm yourself with a relevant and expert presentation ~ Think of the absolute worst questions that you could ever be asked. Be prepared with answers to those questions and you will dramatically reduce mental stress and performance anxiety.

5. Practice aloud (even if it’s a 30 second introduction) ~ Most people make time to prepare a physical presentation or notes but don’t venture to practice out loud. When you put the presentation on its feet first, without an audience, you will naturally find yourself changing, refining and improving your content. Practice your entire presentation a bare minimum of 3 times before you speak to a group. The more you practice, the more you will boost your confidence.

6. Always warm up ~ Warming up your body and voice at the beginning of an important day or right before a presentation will release tension, open you up, and allow your natural expression to flow. A mere 5 minutes of stretching and 3 minutes of singing (even if it’s in the shower) will make you much more at ease.

7. Arrive early ~ One of the simplest things you can do to be calm and collected is to arrive very early. This gives you plenty of time to check and test equipment, get familiar with the environment, freshen up and mingle with your audience beforehand.

8. Visualize success while focusing on your breathing ~ If you feel your heart palpitating, simply focus on breathing deeply imagining yourself filling up with love on the inhale, and on the exhale, let go of any tension or stress. Then visualize being victorious just like an athlete prepares to win a competition. Breathe through the anxiety to channel nervous energy into excitement and enthusiasm.

9. Don’t worry about what others are thinking ~ Remember people want you to be good. 99 times out of 100, audiences are on your side. If you start to feel yourself getting uneasy, make eye contact with the friendly faces in the audience for encouragement. Also an audience focused intention like ” to be of service” or “to deliver extraordinary value” will help to alleviate angst because it gets the focus off you and onto others.

10. Hold microphones with your non-dominant hand ~ If you are given a microphone, hold it with your non-dominant hand so that you can gesture freely with the hand you normally write with. This will make you feel more comfortable physically.

11. Join Toastmaster’s, a speaking association, presentation skills training or acting class ~ These types of organizations can teach you very important skills affording you the opportunity to practice in a supportive environment with like-minded people. If you don’t have the resources available to you, run your presentations by several family members, friends or colleagues you trust for constructive feedback.

12. Hire a presentation skills trainer or public speaking coach ~ If you have a very important presentation coming up or if your livelihood is connected at all to your communication or persuasion skills, get a professional coach. Top athletes would never enter a competition without the support of the best coach they can find. Engaging a specialist will put your performance on the fast track and ensure that you have a winning edge over your competitors.

Take action today with just 1 of these tips to reduce your fear of public speaking. Take action with all 12 surefire strategies and you can bet on overcoming your fear of public speaking forever!

Copyright 2006 Deborah Torres Patel

Deborah Torres Patel makes expressing yourself easy and fun! Get free video training, more free articles, free newsletters and powerful tips about overcoming stage fright, improving your voice, presentation and public speaking at: http://www.expressingyou.com .

When it comes to promoting yourself, there is no better way to pull it off than writing articles. By submitting well-written, informative articles to online publishers, you will become an authority figure in the industry and be regarded as the one to go to. When you submit articles to online publishers, most will offer you the chance to include a short bio, as well as a link to your website. Article promotion is free advertising for you and is a great way to promote your website.

The term “free” is not often used in the advertising world of today. Many individuals and companies spend thousands of dollars each year to get their name out and try, with all their spent dollars, to bring in new clients and new visitors to their site. The fact is you don’t have to spend a penny when you submit your articles to online publishers and your website and your name will be available for all visitors to see.

The wonderful thing about article promotion is that some of the publishers allow their visitors to copy the articles and place them on other websites. They do, however, have to leave the article as is, as well as make sure the author’s name and information is attached. A way to make sure that your website is attached to the article is to include a resource box along with it and make sure your link is part of it whenever you partake of article promotion opportunities. What this means is that your article with all your information can spread all over the internet, that is if you make sure your link is used when use article promotion opportunities.

For example, if you submit 10 articles to 10 different sites, it gives you the opportunity for 100 links back to your site. But what happens when a quarter of those articles are put on 10 more sites? That’s right. You’ve more than doubled the links back to your site. Before you even realize it, you could have as many as a thousand or more links to your site.

What happens when someone is looking up information on a subject and they keep coming across information that is written by you? Instantly, you are regarded as an authority on the subject at hand. This is a major benefit derived from article promotion. The one thing that will most likely happen is that you will get a visitor to your website as they browse for more information. The fact is, by submitting informative articles that are well written and give the reader something they need; you will become an individual well-known in your particular subject. By submitting your articles to online publishers, you will find yourself in the spotlight from time to time.

To get your articles noticed on the web, you can also make sure you use keyword optimization in your articles whenever you partake in article promotion opportunities. This is great for the search engines, allowing your articles to be found quicker, therefore, bringing in more visitors to your site.

Syndicating your articles is another way to get your articles to as many sites as possible. This simply makes it much easier for website owners to put content on their websites. Because it is very easy to do, it will save a lot of time for the site owner and it’s a great situation for you as you no longer have to worry about marketing each of your articles individually.

When you get started, you’ll simply include a link on your article to allow them to publish this, as well as any other articles you currently have available for syndication. Within days, your article can be viewed on hundreds of websites and you didn’t really have to do anything but add the link to your content. Again, free advertising at its best!

If you would like to get your name and website advertised and bring in new visitors to your site, take advantage of the opportunity for free advertising by submitting well-written, informative articles. You’ll be surprised by the amount of visitors you will get to your site!

Adrian Lawrence is the webmaster of Article Alley a popular free content directory web sites. Please feel free to republish this article providing this resource box remains intact with a working hyperlink to our site.

Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The articles are great exposure for these companies but they don’t come cheap – the trades rarely pay for these articles but the vendors spend time and resources to assign pieces, write them, approve them and submit them. Your PR agency can help your clients leverage their investment by wringing top value out of these articles. Here are some possibilities:

1. Reprints
2. White papers
3. Product briefs
4. Booklets
5. Speech outline and handouts

Reprints

It’s pretty galling to contribute a byline to a publication, only to turn around and spend major bucks for reprint rights. But reprints are good things: they significantly increase your client’s exposure to the market. Make sure you use the reprints anywhere you can, including press kits, presentation handouts and conference take-aways. Post them on your site too. Even if you haven’t paid for electronic rights you can probably link to the publication’s URL, assuming they’ve posted your article online. (It doesn’t hurt to ask.) If you’ve got digital reprint rights and are posting the article on your client’s site, avoid using a scanned hard copy of the printed article – the resolution is poor and not very readable. Create a .PDF file and use that for posting and downloading.

White Paper

Please don’t use the published article as is for a white paper — even if you retain all rights it’s shamelessly self-plagiarizing, and if the publication retains all rights it’s rather criminal. However, you can use the article text to form the technology section of a white paper. Edit for length as necessary and re-work the text to emphasize your client’s product and technology take. Then add white paper elements like a beginning executive summary and a problem statement. Follow these with your technology section, and then add details on how your client’s product will solve the problem, a customer case study, and a conclusion on how great the product is. (You can always switch the order by writing a white paper first, then editing the technology section into a bylined trade journal article.)

Product Briefs

The article can serve as a great basis for expanded product briefs – say the front and back of an 8-1/2×11, or a longer technical brochure. Edit the article for length and jazz up the text, and you’ve got a solid technology basis for the marketing document. (Good marcom can explain what a NAS gateway is, but not by yammering about “enterprise-wide intelligent data management portals.” Puts readers right to sleep.)

Booklets

One of the best press kits I ever saw included a sharp and informative booklet on the vendor’s technology. The booklet explained the general technology’s development and background, presented the vendor’s product, and listed clear customer advantages. It impressed both journalists and customers in a way a press release or even a white paper wouldn’t have done. Booklets are labor-intensive, so use your trade journal article as the basis for writing your own.

Speech Outline and Handouts

Use existing articles as the basis for client speeches and presentations. Since trade journal articles are usually vendor-neutral, they’ll work as-is for similar talks. When the presentation is about a product you can still use the article outline for the background technology and analysis then add product details, customer case studies, and Q&A’s. You can use article reprints as a handout, or turn the outline into speaker’s notes and use that instead.

If your client gulps at the cost of developing a trade journal article, don’t leave them gasping for breath – list all the ways they can leverage it to increase market exposure and profits.

–

Christine Taylor is president of Keyword Copywriting, which helps marketing and PR pros leverage their relationships with technology clients. E-mail her at chris@keywordcopy.com, call her at 760-249-6071, or check out Keyword’s Website at www.keywordcopy.com

Christine writes technical marketing communications for data storage, networking and pharmaceutical clients, including:

• EMC
• Commvault
• Quantum
• StoneFly Networks
• Sybase
• Maranti Networks
• ClariStor
• Fujitsu
• AES
• Obagi Medical Products

She specializes in trade journal articles, white papers, press kits and online content. She serves as a contributing editor to Computer Technology Review and acts as editor-in-chief for Storage Inc. and Storage Management Solutions.

Before moving into technical journalism and marketing she served 20 years in the IT trenches, including systems administration at Avery Dennison’s Research and Development division.

chris@keywordcopy.com

All of us have suffered from it at one time or another, the dreaded word “burnout.” We often think, “Oh, I’ll just power through this.” Or “I’ve got a deadline to meet I can’t possibly stop now, I won’t get this project done on time.” I used to be one of these myself. We often find that as burnout sneaks up on us, we become even more frantic to meet the deadline, complete just one more chapter, or write one more article. However, what we don’t realize is that we’ve been going at breakneck speed for days, weeks, sometimes even months and years. At no point have we given ourselves the opportunity to breathe, relax, think about other things for a moment, or spend time with our friends and family. This is a not a good thing, and it can quickly lead to more serious health problems than burnout, such as depression, anxiety, even panic attacks.

So, what can you do as a freelance writer to prevent or at the very least minimize burnout, and other stress related health problems? Here are some ideas:

1. Take short breaks of 15 minutes after every two or three hours of writing.

2. Take an hour lunch break.

3. Decide ahead of time what is a reasonable amount of time to work on your projects per day and stick to it. When you get to the time that you’ve determined is the end of your day, then turn your computer off, and clean up your desk just as if it were the end of the day at a real job.

4. Have an exercise plan in place and make sure you stay with it. If you don’t already have one in place, begin one. Yoga is a wonderful way to get exercise, tone your muscles and de-stress. I highly recommend it.

5. Make a point of eating a healthy diet.

6. Make time for the things you enjoy both by yourself and with others.

7. Learn to meditate and take short meditation breaks throughout your day, or one longer one.

8. Take a walk, breathe fresh air, and take in the images of what is around you. This is also a good way to get ideas for what to write about.

Ultimately the idea is to make sure you make time to relax, unwind, and de-stress. The benefits are many including ideas for what to write about, increased well being, fewer illnesses, and a healthier happier you.

Regina Paul is a freelance writer, and the author of GETTING OUT ALIVE, a science fiction romance, as well as two novellas and numerous articles. She is currently at work on her next novel, and her first non-fiction book. For more information you can visit her website at http://www.reginapaul.com where you can sign up for her bi-monthly newsletter Regina’s Universe, participate in her latest contest, get free e-books, and find many other writer’s freebies.

Next Page »