Health Upgraders

Many years ago I wrote a book. Then I wrote another, and another, five in all. Though I have 12 published books to my credit, those first five have never been published, nor will they be. They aren’t good enough. However, I treasure them because they taught me much about writing, lessons I could never have learned from reading about writing, or from lectures that tell me how to write. These books are the foundation of my writing, each one better than the previous one.

I never tried to get the first book published. It was a novel based on my ancestor, Henry Comstock, for whom the Nevada silver mine, the “Comstock Lode,” was named. Henry, unfortunately, sold the mine cheaply to someone he called a “California sucker.” That sucker was George Hurst, who later founded the Hearst family publishing business (and fortune) from proceeds of mine. Uh, I mean from proceeds of the mine. Ahhh … it’s a good story, a true story, but I knew when I finished it that it didn’t read like something a “real” writer would have written. So I filed it; but I had learned from it.

With the next books, I approached publishers and received form-rejection slips for my efforts. In presenting the fifth book, the rejections came back with personal notes scribbled on themencouraging notes! Meantime, I had written many articles, stories and scripts that were published. So, when I got a call from an editor who said, “Can you develop a book for us based on one of your articles?” I was ready! After all, there were five bookslessonsin my files. I knew I had the ability to finish a long-term project.

The points here are: Don’t let rejection destroy your dream. Don’t dwell on rejected material. Believe that everything you write is a lesson; and learn it well.

Janet Litherland is the author of the novels, Chain of Deception and Discovery In Time, as well as 10 nonfiction books, several collections of music/drama-related scripts, and numerous articles and stories for national publications. As former associate editor of Florida Hotel & Motel Journal, she contributed 78 feature articles to that magazine. She also has taught college extension courses in creative writing and has served as a seminar leader for writers’ conferences. For more information, please visit http://www.janetlitherland.com.

I grew up in the animated, colorful neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York where slang changes your perspective on everything. It’s no secret some of the craziest slanguage originated here. What is this phenomenon called slang and what is its purpose? Is it an amplifier for a phrase we wouldn’t otherwise notice like, Fugghettabout it, or a mangling of a perfectly understandable language? Who knows, but it sure is motivating!

Back in college, I had professor, err, what’s his name, who on the first day of class discussed what was required for the semester. As is usual practice for most professors on the first day of lecture, he explained why there wasn’t any reason we couldn’t achieve a passing grade in his course. He said “You gotta have one special thing”. Then turned to the blackboard and wrote a single word in enormous, white, chalky letters, double underlined it, then nailed it with an explanation point. The word was “WANNA”. What the professor was saying, basically, was that if we had made the decision to pass the class, then we would. We only needed to want to pass in order to make the grade. It was very motivating even if it wasn’t proper English.

While I barely remember the subject matter in that course or, my professor’s name, his message had a lingering effect. I applied that single, motivating, beautiful, slang phrase to everything I thought I couldn’t do, particularly in times when I doubted myself and my own abilities. The phrase, You Gotta Have Wanna, was a proverbial push for me to get up and do something. Being a writer of children’s fiction, I ran with it. I found a voice and an audience for this phrase and discovered that all sorts could benefit from it, especially:

• Children considering a weight loss/behavioral program;
• Teens and Families struggling with eating disorders;

• Children with degenerative or genetic diseases/the healing process/finding a cure;
• The physically impaired to strive through their challenges;
• Anyone, anywhere who dreams, has hope of a change and decides to make it happen!

Heck, even a politician could use the phrase in his campaign! The possibilities are endless!

When it comes to writing, here are no boundaries as to where we can get our motivation. The ability to make sense out of nonsense is where real creativity comes in on both the part of the writer and reader. Dr Seuss did it by reversing sentences such as “I am Sam” to “Sam I am”, and still, it makes perfect sense to us. Slang phrases can have the same effect by being expressed in an or exaggerated, not so proper, way which peaks and keeps our interest. My suggestion: take what’s creative and catchy and use it to hook your readers. You might just be on to something wonderful!

Nancy S. Mure is a NY based Children’s book Author and creator of The Caterpillar that Wouldn’t Change, a recent bestseller by SynergEbooks.

http://www.nancysmure.com

QUESTION: Do you feel like giving me a reason for rejecting my
article, considering all the other major article sites have
published my article?

ANSWER:

There are a dozen of reasons why I could have chosen not to
publish your article. Without knowing which of your articles I
rejected, it is a hard call to make from memory.

I own and manage more than 150 article distribution groups. I own
and manager seven websites that are either article directories or
websites that print reprint articles. I own and manage one
article distribution service. Soon to be two services.

I see tons of articles.

Any and all article directory managers are free to make their own
choices about what to publish and what not to publish.

On my distribution groups, so long as you follow a few basic
group rules, your articles will be permitted through the systems.

1. 2 posts per day maximum.

2. Not subscribed to the group in NO Mail mode. If you want
other people to read your stuff, you should at least
demonstrate the same courtesy to others.

3. No straight advertising.

4. No press releases.

5. Nothing that reads like a sales pitch.

In my services, the only rules that apply:

1. Nothing that reads like an ad.

2. No press releases.

3. No foul language, or disreputable business practices.

In my directories, I follow the same basic rules above. I also
follow many other internal guides.

* I don’t want any of my sites to look just like all other
sites. So I reject some at will, based on an urge or based
on nothing.

* I don’t want to be a sheep who does exactly what everyone
else does.

* Bad formatting in article will get it rejected.

* Perceived advertising in body of article could get it
rejected.

* Certain topics are generally always rejected.

* If the website listed in your resource box consists mostly
of information scraped from search engines, and if I catch
it, I will usually reject your article — no matter how
good your article might be. I know other directory managers
who have the same policy.

* All acceptance and rejection decisions are made in just a
split second.

Chances are that your article has been published in 90% plus
of the reprint article resources I own, primarily the reprint
article distribution lists.

Do you need 100% exposure across my networks? No.

Do you want 100% exposure across my networks? Probably.

If all article directory managers accept all of the same
articles, then your article on their site will be nearly
worthless. If there are five to six sites with exactly the same
content on them, then chances are that the spiders will
eventually figure that out, and then they will stop indexing the
“mirror” sites.

Your article 100% across the board is the worst thing that you
can hope for. On the surface, it may seem good, because you have
that many more links. But, these “mirror” sites with 100% the
same content will come back to bite you in the arse. They will
hurt your SEO rankings in the end, because these sites will be
penalized by the search engines, AND the articles on those sites
may be hurt as well.

I am happy to reject articles “at will” on my free article
directories, because I definitely do not want to be seen as
exactly like another 30 article directories.

Let’s face it, few article directory websites are the same. Some
are simply better than others and they are recognized as such by
the general internet community.

The site where you are complaining your article “was not
included” is a new directory with little recognition in the
marketplace. I set it up to test out and play with its article
directory software.

When we get to the end of the day, each article directory or
website that hosts articles is part of a democracy. The webmaster
can accept your articles or reject your articles. It is up to you
to provide an article that the webmaster will want to use on his
or her website. This business about expecting people to use your
articles is totally off-base, and could net you the result of
being forever barred from participation in the offended
webmaster’s website.

Tread carefully and wisely.

Copyright Bill Platt – All Rights Reserved. Reprints allowed with article and resource box unedited. If you post this article on a website, you must set the links up as hyperlinks.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bill Platt is the owner of http://www.LinksAndTraffic.com

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All (Hollywood) stories follow the same pattern. After deconstructing more than 100 successful Hollywood blockbusters, we can make this statement with certainty.

Below is a sample of the pattern and a deconstruction of one of Hollywood’s Greatest Films.

Wall Street (1987) deconstructed

FADE IN: Context: Wall Street; the morning rush hour; the skyscrapers etc.

Introduce the Hero, his Allies and Enemies in the Ordinary World: Bud enters the trading room and meets his colleagues.

Hero’s Behaviour and Status in his Ordinary World: Bud trading shares and cold calling.

Pushed to the Mentor: Lynch closes the account and Bud has to pay.

Develop relationship with Loyal Ally: Marvin lends Bud some money. Developing Hero’s Status “hey rookie…”

Call to Adventure : “you know what my dream is…”

Foreshadow of Anti-Mentor: “Buddy aren’t you forgetting something…the Gekko phone call…”

Refusal : “buddy, buddy when will you learn, the big game hunters bag the big elephants, not guys like us…”

Backstory, Status and Reputation of the Anti-Mentor: Bud and Marvin talk about all the deals Gekko has made.

Threshold Guardian to the World of the Transformation: bud tries to convince Nathalie.

Developing Hero’s Status “Mr Gekko doesn’t deal with brokers, only investment bankers…”

Entry to the World of the Transformation restricted: Gekko’s office door closes.

Meeting the Mentor: Bud visits his Dad, Carl.

Foreshadow of the Journey: the aircraft above.

Mentor’s Ordinary World: Dad in the café.

Reference to Mentor’s Wisdom: “It’s called Pasta now, Spaghetti is out of date…”"yes…so am I…”

Sacred Meeting: “we’ll leave you guys alone…”

Mentor senses the Hero needs guidance: “you don’t look so hot…”

Mentor’s Guidance: “you shouldn’t have gotten into that racket…”

Hero’s Backstory: “you borrow money to go to NYU etc…”

Hero’s Motivation: “there is no nobility in poverty anymore…one day you’re going to be proud of me…”

Mentor’s Status: people shake Carl’s hand.

Magical Gift: money and the tip about Blue Star.

Pulled to the First Threshold: Gekko’s birthday.

World of the Threshold from afar: passing the lower secretary.

Passing the Threshold Guardian: Bud persuades Nathalie.

Foreboding / Expectation: waiting…

Entering the World of the Transformation: Gekko’s doors open.

World of the First Threshold: looking around Gekko’s office.

Meeting the Anti-Mentor: in his Ordinary World: Gekko on the phone.

Anti-Mentor recognizes the Hero: “this is the kid that calls me 59 days in a row…wants to be a player…”

Rules of this World: lunch is for wimps.

Foreshadow of the Physical Separation: “connection at the airport…”

Developing the Anti-Mentor: Gekko checking his blood pressure.

Pushing toward the Physical Separation: Bid tries to convince Gekko to invest in some stocks…

Pushed Back: “it’s a dog…”

Developing the Anti-Mentor and his Ordinary world: “this turkey is totally brain dead…”"this guy is the best trader on Wall Street…”"Mr Gekko your wife…”

Foreshadow of the Transformation: Gekko wants info on Teldar.

Pushing toward the Physical Separation: Bid tries to convince Gekko to invest in some more stocks…

Pushed Back: “it’s a dog with different fleas…”

Temptation of the Anti-Mentor: “…tell me something I don’t know…”; Gekko leads Bud’s eye with the airline tickets…

Physical Separation: Bud tells Gekko about Blue Star.

Foreboding: Bud walks out of the office…

Pulled Back into the Ordinary World and Pushed Forward into the New World: “tickets for chicks and the nicks…”"do you want to keep coming in here and still pitching when you’re in you’re late sixties…”

Transformation / Trial 1: Gekko calls and wants Bud to buy Blue Star.

Celebration: “I just bagged the elephant…”

Developing the Anti-Mentor: Gekko in the restaurant; the TV.

Pushed forward by the Mentor: “I bet you put a few thou on Blue Star as soon as you left the office…”

Resistance: “no Sir, that wouldn’t have been ethical…”

Tempted by the Anti-Mentor: “this is what you put into my bank account…”

Beginning the Transformation: “buy a new suit…and save the cheap salesman talk…”

Warning: “nothing ruins my day more than losses…”

Pulled into the Transformation: the hooker in the limo.

Transforming Hero: “…morning Buddy, you look happy…”

Pushed Back to the Ordinary World: Bud makes a loss.

Symbol of the Devolved Hero: Bud tires at squash.

Developing the Anti-Mentor:; Gekko’s Backstory etc: in the gym.

Transformation / Trial 2: “please Mr Gekko, give me another chance…”

Tempted Forward: “see that building…”

Resisting Trial 3: Bud gets out of the car.

Succumbing: “Ok, you got me…”

Transformation / Trial 3: Bud follows Larry Wildman.

Magical Gift: Blue horseshoe loves Anacon Steel.

Developing Characters and Relationships: Bud tells Marvin et al about Anacon Steel.

Warned of the Transformation: Lou warns Bud.

Meeting the Oracle, the Ideal and the Sword: Bud meets Larry and Darien at the party.

Transforming Hero: Bud quotes Sun Tzu.

Pushed toward the Sword: Gekko tells Bud to go to work.

Journey to the Sword: Bud visits his lawyer friend; steals into the offices; dates Darien.

Transforming Hero: Bud gives Carl some money.

Warnings from the Mentor: Carl warns Bud not to think like the guys at the track.

Developing Characters and Relationships: Bud gets Power of Attorney over Gekko’s accounts.

Seizing the Sword: Bud’s lawyer friend agrees; Bud gets the new office; Bud moves in with Darien.

Inner Challenge: “who am I…”

Developing Characters and Relationships: Gekko with Darien.

Near Death Experience: “what an asshole man…;” StockWatch spots the Teldar inside trading.

Reward: Gekko’s speech; Gekko gets Teldar.

Journey to the Atonement: Buddy convinces Gekko to go for Blue Star.

Atonement with the Father: Gekko meets Carl; Carl confronts Gekko; Gekko wants to take Blue Star apart.

Foreshadow of the Final Conflict: Stock Watch are onto Bud.

Apotheosis: Bud gets to sit in on the finance meeting.

Ultimate Boon: Bud confronts Gekko; “it’s never enough, pal…”

Refusal: Bud can’t make it tonight.

Disgust at the New Self: Bud walks the streets…”I’m looking in the mirror and I don’t like what I see…”

Alienation: Darien will leave Bud if he crosses Gekko.

Magic Flight: Bud sells the apartment.

Rescue from Without: Carl has had a heart attack; Bud visits Carl in hospital.

Crossing the Return Threshold: Bud talks to the Union; and arranges the deal with Larry Wildman and makes it up to Marvin; Bud listening to Lou; Blue Horseshoe loves Blue Star; saving Blue Star.

Master of the Two Worlds: Bud is arrested; he confronts and entraps Gekko in the park.

Inner Challenge Conquered: “…even though I wanted to be Gordon Gekko, I’ll always be Bud Fox…”

Freedom to Live: Bud in the car with Carl….

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and other story structure templates can be found at http://www.clickok.co.uk/

You can also receive a regular, free newsletter by entering your email address at this site.

You are free to reproduce this article as long as no changes are made and the author’s name and site URL are retained.

Kal Bishop is a management consultant based in London, UK. His specialities include Knowledge Management and Creativity and Innovation Management. He has consulted in the visual media and software industries and for clients such as Toshiba and Transport for London. He has led Improv, creativity and innovation workshops, exhibited artwork in San Francisco, Los Angeles and London and written a number of screenplays. He is a passionate traveller. He can be reached at http://www.clickok.co.uk/

The arrangement of chairs, the sound system, the lighting and the overall climate of the room can make a big difference in the way a public speaking engagement is received. You may not think you have much control over these items, but think again, because you do.

If you have prior access to the room where your speech will be held you should always get there as early as possible. I have never had a speaking engagement where everything about the room set-up was perfect. There is always something amiss. Expect minor problems to be the norm.

I have had many public speaking engagements where I had a few minor problems. The sound man who had the mixing board, wireless microphone and tape deck didn’t show up. The videographer was delayed with a speeding ticket and showed up 10 minutes before the program was to start. That caused a 40 minute delay. Fifteen minutes into the program the video projector, an integral part of the program, conked-out. So what did I do? I had a back- up, hand-held microphone with a long cord with me so I plugged it into the meeting room’s public address system. One of the other speakers had a portable cassette player so we played the opening music on the cassette player and put the microphone in front of the speaker. It wasn’t the best sound, but it got the job done. I had a good quality home-grade video camera there that was supposed to shoot secondary footage. It was just being moved to the main camera position when the video technician showed up. The video projector quitting on me was a different story.

All the other problems were handled before the public speaking engagement actually started. Since the projector was to be used throughout the day something had to be done and done quickly. I told the audience to take a five minute break and we all scrambled to check out the projector. We determined that it was nothing that we could fix fast, so I made plans to bring in several monitors arranged as back-up. This was not as good as an 8 foot by 8 foot screen, but it would have to do. While we were checking out the video projector one of the seminar participants was watching us and overheard my decision to bring in the monitors. He said, ‘Listen, I’ve got a video projector at my office. I can go get it and have it set up in 20 minutes.’” He did, and I gave him a $90.00 audio tape album for his trouble.

These were obviously more than minor problems, but being prepared with back-up equipment and being in the room early enough to do something about the problems saved the day. A little help from a friendly participant didn’t hurt either.

Create an Atmosphere Conducive to Laughter and Interaction.

Unless you are using slides or video projection you want the room lights at maximum intensity. Half your effectiveness when speaking with humor is realized because the audience can see you. The audience wants to see your face. They want to see your expressions. They want to see your body language. It is easier to establish a bond when the public speaker and the audience can see each other which is one good reason to avoid reading your speech from behind a lectern.

I recently attended a speech in Washington D.C. by a ‘big name’ author. He conducted a three hour slide show with no breaks. He was totally ‘in the dark’ behind a lectern. I am an audience watcher so I know he never connected with the audience.

Besides being in the dark the man made several other inexcusable mistakes that indicated little regard for his audience. Three hours is too long to go without a break. Starting at the 1 1/2 hour mark people were constantly getting up to go to the restroom or getting refreshments. Before the speech the man was in the room with three hundred people with a bored nasty look on his face. I tried to make eye contact with him when he walked by me and he stared right through me.

What could this speaker have done to dramatically increase the effectiveness of his public speaking engagement? Since I’m supposed to be talking about lighting right now, I will. All he had to do was put a soft light on himself that lit him or at least lit his face. A low intensity light placed properly would not have affected the visibility of the projection screen at all, but would have helped him connect with the audience. They would have been able to see his face. As it was, all they heard was a voice coming from the darkness.

The other problems I mentioned were not lighting related, but I’ll tell you how to fix them now anyway. Take care of your audience’s basic needs. Three hours is too long to go without a break. Schedule a short break and you won’t have audience members interrupting the speaking engagement every few minutes.

If you are nervous or scared or bored before a public speaking engagement don’t let the audience know. This presenter would have been better off hiding from the audience rather than alienating them with his sourpuss face. If you’re nervous or scared, go out and greet audience members. It will make both of you feel better. If you can’t do that, stay hidden until it is time to start.

It was a shame this presenter had no basic public speaking skills because his content was excellent. I’m sure his book sales suffered at that event.

SEATING

Seating arrangements are a critical part of any successful public speaking engagement and are especially important for humorous speeches. As a professional public speaker you must consider not only interaction, but safety and comfort parameters as well.

The best situation is when you have total control over the seating style and set-up of the room. For this discussion I’ll be using laughter and interaction synonymously. Semi-circular and straight theater style arrangements do both enjoy one advantage. Both these arrangements have the audience members sitting very close together. This togetherness allows laughter to pass immediately from one person to the other. You will even see audience members elbowing and slapping their immediate neighbor on the knee.

By far the best seating arrangement for laughter is semi-circular. When public speaking audience members are seated on a curve they can look to their left or right and see the faces of each person in the row. Laughter is contagious. Many people will laugh just because they see others laughing. In a straight-row theater style, when an audience member looks left or right, all that she sees is the ear of the next person in the row. If that next person is not laughing, the other audience member is less likely to laugh. If you change the seating arrangement to semi-circular where each audience member can see everyone’s face in the row, you will create a much higher likelihood that that person will see someone else laugh. As the speaker you will have a much higher chance of having your audience enjoying laughter because of this seating style.

Audience comfort is another advantage of semi-circular seating. The room can be set to face each chair directly toward the area where the presenter will be standing. This is much better than straight theater style where the audience members at the end of a row must turn their heads sharply to see the presentation. This creates an uncomfortable audience member in a very short time. An uncomfortable audience member is less likely to laugh; more likely to tune out all together. If the bulk of the presentation consists of looking at a screen you could point all the chairs at the screen instead of where the speaker will be standing. Do whatever it takes to keep your audience comfortable.

Always attempt to be as close as you can to the first row in whatever seating arrangement you have. Distance between you and the audience is a definite barrier to interaction. Don’t use a riser unless it is absolutely necessary for you to be seen.

You may get some resistance from room set-up personnel who are not used to semi-circular seating arrangements, but don’t give up. If you get to the presentation site early you can usually make changes yourself. Remember–you are the one who will look bad if the speech doesn’t go well. No one will ever blame the set-up crew.

Sometimes changing seating arrangements will not be possible. Shoot for the best when you can and be persistent. On the other hand, don’t be distracted if you end up with a poor seating arrangement. If you are prepared and have a powerful message, you will still do a good job.

If you have to speak in a situation where the seats are fixed, don’t despair. If the seats can’t move, you can. Be more animated and move around. This will cause the audience to move their heads to see you, thus creating more interaction and increasing the chance they will see another face that is laughing. Another trick you can use if you’re stuck with fixed seating is to ask the audience to choose a new seat after they come back from a break. Anytime you use this technique you must tell the audience why you are doing it and you must give the instructions before the audience takes a break. American audiences have a ‘homing instinct’ for the same seat they started with and you’ll upset them if you snatch it away for no reason.

For example, tell them that part of the reason to come to a speech is to meet and interact with new people and by changing seats this goal will be accomplished easier.

Another thing to watch out for is a situation where seating arrangements in an organization have been established over a long period of time. If you come in as the ‘new kid on the block’ and try to make drastic changes you may upset many ‘old timers.’ Make changes slowly and always tell them why.

Additional Seating Tips

When possible set the presentation to the long side of the room so the last row is as close to the speaker as possible. Avoid long narrow rooms which put audience members far from the speech as if they were in bowling alley. People prefer to sit by aisles.

Avoid chairs next to walls. Audience members will feel trapped. Aisles should get bigger as they get nearer the exits because they must accommodate more people.

Seat for least distraction–no audience member should have to cross more than six people to get to a seat.

Make people sit as close as possible to the front. Force them to front with reserved signs on back tables or keep chairs stacked until all front rows are full. Don’t tip chairs up to reserve seats or force people forward because they may trip over the legs of the chairs.

GET A SOUND SOUND SYSTEM If it is hard to hear, people won’t listen. As a humorous public speaker you must have an excellent sound system because most of the time you will be talking while your audience is laughing. Stand-up comics are different because they tell a joke, then people laugh (they hope). They tell another joke, then people laugh. A humorous public speaker will be rolling right along making points, showing product features, telling stories, and dropping one- liners and must be heard all the while.

A humorous presentation demands a better sound system than a serious talk. In a serious talk, words can be missed and the main message can still be very clear. In humor it doesn’t work that way. If key words are missed in a joke or story it will ruin the humor. No one will laugh and you will look like a giant goober.

The need for a thorough sound check is another good reason to be in the room early. You need to check the microphone to make sure it works. You need to check to see how far your mouth should be from the microphone. You need to know how loudly you should talk. Realize that during your check the audio level should be too loud. People will absorb the sound once they get into the room.

Make sure the sound system is carrying to all parts of the room. If someone is speaking prior to you, try to go to the back of the room to see how he/she is coming across. If you have someone at the presentation with you, have them signal from the back of the room if changes are needed in the volume of the public address system after you have started.

CLIMATE

Uncomfortable people will not listen to you. The unwritten rule is that meeting rooms are always too hot or too cold so you’ll have to do your best. When setting air conditioning levels, the room should be cooler than you think it should be. The body heat of the audience will bring the room to the comfort level. Make sure it does, and be ready to make adjustments as you go. If you can’t get the right temperature, make sure you acknowledge the audience’s discomfort and encourage them to make the best of it. Your care for them will automatically make things a little better.

Copyright © 1998 – 2005 Advanced Public Speaking Institute

Tom Antion provides entertaining speeches and educational seminars. He is the ultimate entrepreneur, having owned many businesses BEFORE graduating college. Tom is the author of the best selling presentation skills book “Wake ‘em Up Business Presentations” and “Click: The Ultimate Guide to Electronic Marketing.” It is important to Tom that his knowledge be not only absorbed, but enjoyed. This is why he delivers his speeches laced with great humor and hysterical jokes. Tom has addressed more than 87 different industries and is thoroughly committed to his clients’ needs. http://www.antion.com

Advanced Public Speaking Institute
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http://www.GreatPublicSpeaking.com

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All sales begin with some form of advertising whether it’s word of mouth or printed media or even electronic. To build sales, this advertising must be seen or heard by potential buyers. It must cause them to also react to the advertising in a positive some way. Your success or failure reverts back to the ad itself. Generally, you want your classified ad to do one of the following:

1. Persuade the person reading your classified ad to immediately go to your website or store with the intention of buying your product or service.

2. Persuade the person reading your classified ad to write or send for more information about your product or service thus leaning to a future sale.

However, the bottom line in any ad is quite simple:

• Do not try to sell anything when you write a classified ad.

• Do not try to sell anything when you write a classified ad.

• Do not try to sell anything when you write a classified ad.

Why? In the 3 or 4 little lines classified ads allowed you to write, you don’t have enough time or space to actually sell your products or services sufficiently.

What you need is to write a cliff hanger or encripted messages to entice your prospects to call or to click on so they can be sent to somewhere else where you will do the proper selling later on.

Usually an offer of free report works best.

Any ad that causes the reader to only pause in their thinking, and does not persuade the reader to act immediately, is not a highly successful ad.

The “ad writer” must know exactly what he/she wants the reader to do, and if the ad does not elicit an immediate action, it is an absolute waste of time and money.

Respond to the readers sub-consious mind by using strong emotional words in your headlines such as;

Discover – Secret – Private – Sex – Money – Love – Breakthrough – Home – New – Free – Power – Revealed – Magic – Fear

Research reveals that these types of words in a headline instantly attract the attention because they are strongly connected to our emotions. I have tested many of those above with astounding success. A person’s unconscious mind can *SEE* and *RESPOND* to these keywords passing by fast on a screen or in a newsletter.

The secret is to target your classified ad to the audience interested in your product or service. You will be wasting your time and money if you don’t know who your target audience is.

There are hundreds, if not thousands of classified ad sites and ezine directories which are categorized by subjects and/or interests. Define your target audience and then submit your classified ad.

How fast do you scan a list of links? Watch closely and you’ll see the same thing happening within yourself. Our minds somehow magically see what we are most interested in and we’ll back up and say ‘ I thought I saw that ‘ and we proceed to click on that link! Our inner minds are tuned to instantly spot what we desire most at the time.

Using emotional words along with targeted keywords will make your headlines and ads pull the maximum response possible!.

Here are some more of the emotional trigger phrases for you to use in your classified ads

• STOP- Act now!

• Send your name

• All sent free to introduce

• Amazing literature

• FREE

• Ask for free folder

• Bargain lists sent free

• Be first to qualify

• Booklet free!

• Catalog included free

• Complete details free

• Current list free

• Dealers write for prices

• Description sent free

• Details free!

• Extra for promptness

About The Author

Kim Thomas is the site owner and webmaster for http://www.advertising-exposure.com. Here you’ll find free or low cost advertising resources.

kst962002@yahoo.com

Content is an important component of your web site. Learning how to write a good article can make a huge difference in the response you get from your web site visitors. It is not enough to simply place keywords in a hastily written article in hopes of attracting the search engines. Quality content will keep your visitors interested after the search engine draws them in. Learning to write a good article will give you an edge over competing web sites that contain little or no interesting material.

While the use of keywords is quite important, you must include them in your articles in an intelligent manner. Your articles should use the appropriate keywords several times in the text, but avoid repeating them excessively. Consumers are smart enough to know the difference between useful information and meaningless content designed to attract the search engines. In learning to write a good article, keep in mind that it is imperative to create original content and not repeat information that you have read elsewhere. You can research your topic using various sources, but the finished product must be your original wording and not plagiarized from any source.

The title of your article is the first thing a person will see when visiting your web site. Be as unique and creative as you can in creating titles for your articles, but maintain a professional appearance. The first paragraph of your article should entice the public to continue reading. It is always a good idea to create a basic outline of what you want your article to contain, and then write the article accordingly. Learning to write a good article is not difficult. Research your topic and compose your article in and intelligent, yet easy to read manner. The content you provide on your web site is an important part of attracting visitors.

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Have you ever sat staring at your monitor wondering what to do next? After deciding that you want to own your own business, you did some research to find just the right product to sell. You developed a comprehensive business plan, built a killer web site and put your plan into action.Then problems start to crop up. Every day it’s something new. An appointment with your banker, a meeting with your accountant or an important conference call with your sales team comes up and an agenda item is accidently omitted. Before you know it things are constantly slipping through the cracks.

How do you ever keep up with everything? Learn to use a couple of simple, but highly effective tools. A Spiral Note Pad and a Legal Pad are probably two of the most valuable assets your business will ever have.

To be productive in business, I need to spend my time wisely. I need to know what things need doing and some idea of what is important and what can wait until later. A valuable tool for dealing with this is a To Do List. It helps me keep track of every task, big or small that needs to be dealt with. Not only will I get my work done in a timely fashion, but all of the little things wont pile up until the business runs me instead of me running the business.I begin by listing all of the things that must be accomplished during the day. The list can be quite long and detailed at first, but shortens up fairly quickly. I include everything from paying individual bills, ordering inventory, and setting employee schedules to little things like going to the barber, or making the daily bank deposit.

This list is kept in a pocket sized spiral note book. once a task is accomplished, I simply cross it off of my list. If I didn’t have time to get something done, I simply place it on the next day’s list. Recurring items like the bank deposit get listed every day. I never want to forget something as important as taking care of my company’s money. By using this To Do List, I have a much better chance of completing every task, no matter how trivial or important.

Another valuable item that I use on a daily basis is a Legal Pad. You would be surprised at the number of people who overlook this vital tool and how to use it properly. My legal pad sits next to the telephone or on my counter. If I get an important call or a letter telling me that something needs my attention, I write it on the legal pad along with the date and time. I then draw a line under the item so I can distinguish it from the next item that comes up. When I have successfully dealt with an item, I draw a line through it and enter the completion time and date. In this way I can keep track of deadlines and important tasks.

Never tear a page out of a legal pad! It is an important record of your business activities. Not only will it help you to stay on track but can be used to prove that you did something if you are ever questioned. For instance, if a supplier says that they never got your order, you will be able to refer to your legal pad to recall not only times and dates, but also important information such as the name of the person you talked to when ordered.The To Do List and the Legal Pad are two of the most powerful tools that you can have in your business arsenal. Learn to use them properly and your business will run more smoothly. They may be low tech tools, but they can have a huge impact on your bottom line.

If you are like me and you write articles for a living, then you know that you must get paid for all of your hard work. Payment can come through customers who have hired you to write, through pay per click advertising, or through banner or text ads you place on your site next to your articles. Regardless of your approach, a consistent and methodical plan is necessary to have in place in order to make a living for all of your hard work. Please continue reading for some helpful tips to help you survive in this highly competitive business.

Submit Freely. Much of the work posted online bearing my name is freely shared. I do not get paid for what I write. I look at article marketing as a joint partnership between me and the article directory. They get my articles for redistribution and I get healthy back links to my site. In addition, the article directory can make money off of ads that show up next to my articles such as Google AdSense or Yahoo! Publishing Network type ads. Furthermore, I get my name out there and can point potential customers to the article directories to show them how prolific a writer that I am.

Submit Jointly. Some of the articles I have posted online are for clients. They have my name on them as my name is more visible than their name. I write as a “contributing writer” but I am a freelancer, not an employer. I get paid for my work and they get some decent links.

Do Ghostwriting. The overwhelming number of articles I write are ghostwritten. In 2005, I submitted 450 articles to article directories, but another 1200 or so went directly to my clients. When I submit articles jointly, I retain the rights to having my name on the articles. When I ghost write, my customers get what I write and retain full rights to the articles. Guess who pays me more? Bring ‘em on!

Bill Immediately. You can write like crazy for paying customers but still end up broke. How? By not billing customers immediately. Whether you use direct billing, Paypal, or an “agent” such as Guru, you are penniless until the first invoice is paid. Come up with a plan to get your money as soon as possible too. You don’t want to have to wait for weeks unless you like being in the credit business!

Keep Marketing. I have busy times I have slow times. During the slow times, I catch up on my paperwork and I write. During slow times I submit many articles to the article directories to keep my name out there. Regular submissions keep me “front and center” and help build up SEO for my site. Yes, I have my own site at www.thearticlewriter.com where most of my best work is featured. Not every article, but those articles where I have full rights to them and ones I want my customers to look at when they review my portfolio.

So, that’s it. Five simple tips to help you make a living from article marketing. If you are good at it, you will make a decent living writing for others. I doubt you will get rich unless article marketing ends up being a stepping stone to something else — such as, writing your own Harry Potter style series of books!

Videos on the Web are a critical instrument to market your firm’s products and services. Of course there are dozens and dozens of other sorts of marketing strategies which include content writing to blogging, from public relations to podcasting. Nevertheless, nothing says “cool, connection, & creativity” like a short format video.

Each day more & more companies of all sizes are making short format videos about their products. They’re not only just adding them on their business sites, but they are putting them on their blogs. To gain universal 24/7 visibility, promotional videos are being posted to various video-sharing websites like You Tube & Metacafe. And why not ? it’s economical, easy-to-do, and can have a massive difference, in some cases, on the traffic it brings to your businesses site.

There are several other reasons why Web videos are a superb way to advertise your business. Vidify’s online video distribution partnerships ensure your video commercials generate awareness and impact within the right circles, fast.

Video commercials enjoy a far reaching circulation: Videos by their own nature are easy to “package” which makes them easy to slot into a range of different distribution channels. You can post them on your businesses site or blog, you can load them onto your notebook & show them over & over again at a chosen event. You can add them to several Internet video-sharing social media sites. You can copy them onto CDs and give them away or sell them. You can even dispatch them by email.

Videos are an exceptional way to communicate. As our use of technology develops, so do the methods in which people like to interact with others. Most individuals are visually oriented meaning that is how they best understand & interact with their world. This makes short format videos the supreme advertise strategy to speak with today’s clients.

These are just some of the many reasons why Web videos might be an outstanding way to advertise your businesses products and services. Discover more about this area to see how you could exploit your time, finances, and energy to talk to your target clients in a fresh & fascinating way.

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