Great resource for online marketing basics!

May 14, 2011May 14, 2011 ~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

Image: renjith krishnan / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Have you started a new business online, begun a new website, or you’re a new speaker and writer trying to get your name out there and to sell your info products? I’ve had my writing and speaking business for a little over a year now, and have been searching for good resources on the basics of marketing. You hear the word “marketing” thrown around a lot by the experts/gurus, but what is it exactly – and how do you do it?

I wasn’t sure what marketing really means, what the heck a marketing plan is, and didn’t know HOW to market my info products. This week I found an AMAZING – and you’re going to LOVE this! – FREE resource, LaTara Ham-Ying’s Online Marketing Basics series.

Last night I sat down and read through every single post – and it’s a 21-day series, LOL. I never do this and usually get bored reading article-sized info, but she’s a good writer and gives very practical, helpful info – just what I’ve been looking for and needed. LaTara has wonderful, free downloadable resources for you, too, to work on your marketing plan that you can take action on TODAY.

If you want an incredible resource to help you with your marketing and your marketing plan, check out LaTara’s Online Marketing Basics series by clicking on this link.

PS: I also recommend LaTara as a business coach. She tells it like it is, she’s encouraging, and she will challenge you to do what you need to do to succeed in your business. Check out her coaching services.

Tips For Writing Your Ebook

May 11, 2011May 11, 2011 ~ Beth ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve been following my posts at my main website, you know that my latest writing project is a new ebook, The Hands Of A Woman: Everyday Women In Everyday Battles.

The ebook is ready now, and now all that’s left to do is finishing the new website for the ebook.I have bought the new domain name, and have two women helping me with creating the pages for the site. It will be unveiled soon, and I can’t wait to share it with you!

Working on this ebook certainly feels like a long pregnancy, just waiting on that baby to come. But if you’re a woman who’s had a baby, you know the baby comes when the baby is ready!

If you’re just starting to write an ebook, here’s some tips to get you started:

Jot down your ideas in an idea notebook, your Dayplanner, or Post-it sticky notes. Don’t edit these ideas, just write them down. You’ll be amazed how you can use them and how they tie together. These ideas also will form the skeleton of your ebook’s outline.
Include in your idea notebook various quotes from other writers, your family, friends, peers, etc. I use The Quote Garden a lot for quotes in ebooks, on my blog, in my ezine, and on Twitter and Facebook. Your favorite books are also wonderful sources for quotes. The Bible is the greatest quote book of all! 🙂
Your chapters don’t have to be written in order. Did you know that Margaret Mitchell wrote the last chapter of Gone With the Wind first and the other chapters in no particular order? She stuffed the chapters into manilla envelopes and hid it under a towel when visitors came to keep it a secret! While I don’t propose going that far while you work on your book, you can relax from any feelings of pressure to write it “in order.” I wasn’t able to write my chapters for this new ebook in chronological order because I had multiple contributor writers for it, and received their stories for the chapters at different times – so I worked with what I had at the moment.
You can use the free tool Open Office to work on your ebook. Open Office has an option to instantly create your document into a pdf that your customers can download. Pdfs make your ebook portable, so that readers can take it with them on their pc laptop or Iphone wherever they go.
Proof/Edit. Yes, PLEASE use a Spellchecker in your document, and go over your finished copy numerous times yourself to catch any mistakes – spelling and grammar mistakes, typos, etc. – so you don’t look dumb and have damaged credibility. (I need to proof this blog post again before I publish it!) Also, have a family member, friend, and/or an editor edit your copy before publishing it on the web because two pairs of eyes – and usually more – are better than one. But keep in mind that even with multiple edits, there will probably be at least a few mistakes because no one is perfect. Stop aiming for perfect, and aim for excellence – your best job – instead. Only Jesus is perfect! I love what The Barefoot Executive, Carrie Wilkerson, says: “Not perfect – just DONE!” This will help to set you free from the trap of perfectionism.
Remember to enjoy the journey, not just the destination. Do you love to write? Don’t let the technical details of creating an ebook ever take that love away from you. Just write!
Don’t wait until the day your ebook is completed to shout it from the rooftops. Begin marketing and promoting it when it’s still floating around in your head. Start telling people now: “I’m writing a new book about the habits of sea lions!” Tell them what it’s about. They may either laugh or give you great ideas to add to it. They can encourage and support you, and pray for you as you’re writing it. You need a prayer cover over you as a writer and speaker, anyway! For the nay-sayers who criticize you with things like, “Writing a book? Why don’t you get a real job?” or as I was told in my youth, “You’ll starve to death as a writer!”, just ignore it and go on with the vision God has given you in your heart. Begin sharing about your ebook NOW on your blog, in your ezine, on Facebook and Twitter, at your friend’s 30th birthday party, at church, at the post office, to the policeman telling you to slow down (just kidding) – wherever you go. Word of mouth is still the best advertising!
Finally, and certainly not least, pray. God is the greatest writer of all time. 🙂 Ask for God to inspire you and to help you write with the pen of a ready writer. “My thoughts are filled with beautiful words for the king, and I will use my words as a writer with pen and ink.”