The Latest In My Internet Marketing World

Shhhh…. the kiddies are still sleeping and I’m working in my pj’s here, trying to get a LOT done before they wake up.  Well the reality is, they’re teenagers and could sleep til noon if I let them.   It’s tempting!

Here’s what I’m up to these days:

     *  I’m working on a project with several other marketers that will put all our skills together on one website.  My field of “expertise” will be PLR.  It’s going to be an excellent place for new marketers to go and learn.

     *  I’m putting the final touches on my giveaway product for the Wonderful Web Giveaway.  If you’d like to get on board (and grow your list) you can do so here:  wonderfulwebgiveaway2008  It doesn’t start until June 19th so you have some time.  I think the deadline for getting your stuff in is June 10th or 11th.  If you don’t have anything to give, start with some PLR you have, add value, get new graphics done, and send it in.  You can do this!  Email me if you need help getting started. 

     *  I’m in the process of changing one of my website’s hosting.  If all goes well, I’ll move the rest of my sites over too.

     *  I’ve been offered a wonderful opportunity to join the team of a website I admire and respect.  We’re working out the logistics and then I have to decide whether I can commit.  I’m trying really hard to look at my bigger Internet Marketing picture to figure out how to have enough time to do all I want to do.  Am I an overachiever or just a glutton for punishment?

     *  I’m working up another PLR bundle on relationships.  I finished a new bundle not too long ago on PLR, MRR, and Resale Rights.  It’s a great bundle of 7 articles and it’s ripe for putting altogether as an ecourse or report.  You could even use it for the above-mentioned giveaway. ;-)  Here’s my main PLR site allstarplr.com.  If you don’t find anything you want there try Nicole Dean’s site, EasyPLR.

Time for some more coffee.  Why don’t you grab yourself a cup and leave me a comment here?

Tornadoes Too Close For Comfort!

We get lots of thunder and lightening storms in the summer here in Denver, Colorado.  We turn off our computer and TV, and even head for the basement if it’s right over top of us.  It can get very dark and loud and a little scary. 

But it doesn’t compare to what the folks in Windsor, just 55 miles north of me (near Joel Comm’s turf), must have felt when the tornadoes ripped up their small town.  Talk about scary!

When I heard the news, I made sure my kids were inside and I anxiously watched the sky.  Luckily, we only got high winds and some hail.

If you’d like to help the Windsor folks out, you can go to www.unitedway-weld.org  

Newsletters - 5 Great Tips

Should you start a newsletter?  Will it take too much time?  Will you run out of things to say?  How long should the newsletter be?  How often should you send it?

First off, your aim should not be to just “get it out”, it should be to offer useful information.  Secondly, you should keep your newsletters short.  People prefer something they can quickly skim and then use if they choose.

I suggest you follow a format similar to any of the newsletters you enjoy skimming, er… reading.  Be honest with yourself - can you really keep it up weekly, or is monthly a more honest estimate?  I suggest you don’t put any extra stress on yourself by trying to get a newsletter out weekly, unless you plan to outsource it.

Your newsletters can have any (but not all) of the following:

1.  Tip of the week.  Self-explanatory.  Provide a tip to solve any of your reader’s problems, and make it as short and sweet as you can.

2. Top Ten.  You’re the expert.  List your top ten tips for getting out of debt, the top ten mistakes people make with their websites, or the top ten garden pests in the Northwest.

3. Three Ways to ___.  With only three items to list instead of ten, you can go into more detail on each.  Plus it’s easier to come up with three!

4. Compare before and after’s.   Case studies work well here.  Before they tried product xyz for their acne and after, or how their office looked before they tried xyz organization system and after.  Add pictures, especially if you’re in the weight loss niche.

5. Checklists.  When you’re explaining something new to your readers, they will really benefit from a checklist.  They’ll even thank you for it.

Again, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.  Look carefully at all newsletters you receive and figure out what you like and don’t like about them.  If you don’t get very many (yeah right!) then sign up for some more. Once you get your system perfected, it’s easy to follow each time.  My Cookin’ Kids newsletter has:
     a very short personal blurb
     a recipe
     a cooking tip from an expert
     3 short related tips by me
     a plug for my product
     sometimes an interesting link to check out
     sometimes a short article
     a request for feedback
Each thing is short and sweet and my readers can get through it fast if they want to.