Spin It Lucky

Cold calling is a doom-dart to the heart for most new home business owners and even many seasoned salespersons. Recollections of our thoughts the last time a telemarketer slipped past our call display screening causes most of us to shudder. No one wants to be hated – even anonymously – except, perhaps, actual telemarketers…

For many of us there’s more to call reluctance than just the fear of rejection. We don’t really know what to say. A memorized pitch or reading from notes sounds horrible. How do you handle a brush off, objections, a request for your price, or a rude comment and the sound of the phone being slammed into its receiver?

Finally, cold calls are annoying. Most of us are busy people with responsibilities and deadlines to meet. It must be somewhat insulting to your prospective client to suggest, by your unscheduled cold call, that you felt they weren’t engaged in anything important at the moment. Not the best way to start.

In spite of what many sales trainers say cold calling isn’t required for success. Its actually more of an obstacle to success for all but those blessed at birth with a cold calling gene. The good news is, you don’t have to make cold calls. In fact, you will make more sales if you avoid cold calls and follow these three steps.

Step 1: Network

There is no more efective and cost efficient use of a small business persons marketing time than networking. Often the simple fact that someone has met you, and has a smiling face to connect to your product or service, is enough to give you an edge.

Think about your own life. Let’s say you meet a plumber at a networking event. A few days later you wake up to a plumbing emergency in your home. Wouldn’t your first thought be of the plumber you recently met rather than a wild card draw from the phone book? In most case the answer is yes.

If we don’t know someone who provides a product or service, and can’t get a referral for a provider from a trusted friend or associate, we go with the next best thing – someone we have at least met.

Where do you network? Everywhere, really, but there is no more comfortable place to network than a formal networking event. Everyone is there to meet and greet. Your local Chamber of Commerce probably holds one regularly.

Volunteering for high visibility positions in a local non-profits, or even your church, will also provide opportunities to meet others and to let them know what you do. Trade shows also offer a great opportunity, though at a considerably higher up front cost.

Networking events also offer an excellent opportunity to qualify people as you meet them into prospects, likely customers or contacts.

Step 2: Follow Up

Following up is the key to creating warm calls out of your networking. Get cards from your fellow network event attendees. Send them an e-mail the next day telling them how great it was to meet them and mentioning that you would like to get to know more about their business, or position in the company. Tell him, or her, that you will be calling in the near future to set up an appointment to do just that.

When you call, remind them of your initial meeting. Say again it was great chatting briefly at the event and reiterate your desire to get to know their work/business better. Offer the standard two choices for dates and times when you are availble to meet. Offer to buy the coffee.

You just made a warm cold call.

Step 3: Set Up The Sale

From here its a standard first sales call. Ask questions. Finish qualifying. Identify needs. Look for opportunities.

My favorite method is to establish needs in this conversation and then use a summary of those needs and a brief presentation of how my product or service is the right choice to fill them. I then ask for an “official” sales appointment to atually present my product or service for their consideration and purchase.

Does this work? It does for me as a consultant.

The time frame from networking event, to close, is usually two to three weeks. Three out of four properly qualified contacts approached in this way end up as closed sales. I usually have anywhere from one to three good prospects from every newtworking event. If you do the math you can see that attending a good networking event each week results in 3-8 contracts, an average 4-6, every month. Without a single cold call.

Jess Huffman is a Business Consultant and Coach working from his home office in Calgary, Alberta. Jess has helped hundreds of clients start and grow successful home based businesses.

http://www.home-business-and-entrepreneur-tools.com

Dear reader: I see that I have told you about the Whisper. Now it is time to tell you how after it came, nothing was ever the same….

Up until the first Tuesday of the month of August 2005, I would not have been able to guess what OOBE stood for. I had one on that day. After some research on the internet, I identified it as a spontaneous (while awake) OBE of the animistic variety, and most likely induced by overwork (one of several possible inducements I found in my search).

It was an unusually hectic night in the Emergency Room of the hospital where I worked as a bedside registration rep. The following morning I was still feeling the effects of it. I awoke, drank my coffee, and still feeling tired (and a little wired too I think) I decided to lie down again.

I was totally awake with my eyes closed, immersed in thought (about some metaphysical ideas I had recently been trying to resolve), when all of a sudden I became aware that I was not in my body anymore! Instead I was slightly elevated above it, perhaps two or three feet!

As I felt my’self’ existing in a conscious state of thought matter outside my body, I was able to look down on it. I observed it was in a somewhat deflated condition as clothing would look before it is fleshed out by the body. In fact, that is what it seemed like to me – my body was layed out on the bed like something for me to wear! (think about that next time your getting dressed for work). Later, I likened it to a comfortable sleeping bag I could slip into, or how a soft supple moccasin looks before the foot steps in to fill it out.

I was fully aware of what was taking place and made good mental note of it. It lasted about thirty seconds (hard to tell, maybe not even that long) after which I gradually drifted back into my body.

In reports I read on the internet, experiences of this type were sometimes life transforming to those who had the pleasure. It was most pleasant and enjoyable indeed, but I was also half prepared to attribute the cause of it to caffeine, LOL!

As for a life transforming experience, I did not think this was the case for me since I tend to take experiences like this in stride and consider them natural occurences. However, after a few days had passed, I seemed to be sensing some type of awareness and well being that was not there before. Nice and wonderful.

There is more. A little while after the initial feeling of well being (perhaps an hour or two), I became frightened and found myself wishing there was someone nearby to hold on to. I’m not sure why I was frightened as I am in no way frightened any longer. During this same period of OBE occurance, I am reading Carlos Castaneda’s ‘The Teachings of Don Juan’. I had reached the point where don Juan reveals the lizards from his pouch, each having their eyes or mouth sewn shut and each must eventually be consumed. I can only guess that frame of mind generated some of my fear.

I also read that most OBE’s occur while lying down, but some occur while engaged in daily physical activities. I now have had both types – allow me to relate: The other one (which I did not realize was an OBE), occured about two or three years ago as I was driving to a doctor appointment. I was intently gazing into the incredibly vibrant blue sky with cascading clouds (obviously at a stoplight here, lol!). Since my episode with cancer seven years ago, I often find a vibrant blue sky to give me a sense of rapture and indeed, I was in that state when all at once and in an instant, I felt my ‘being’ expand throughout the entire expanse of the Universe. That was an experience of the unequalled kind – unforgettable and fortunate.

Anyway (dear reader), I am definately getting the sense that this type of occurence can be induced and controlled, but I am in no way anywhere near something like that and I don’t know that I ever will be. I ‘think’ that it is mind/thought related, especially since my experience was animistic. (for others it may be different depending on their own experience). No doubt I will be learning much more about it.

Oh, and dear reader; let me ask you to make note at this point of the fear I told you had come and gone…and make note too of my interpretation of the impact of the event (which my mind took the liberty of rationalizing ‘into’ my body). This account was written just five days after the event. Today’s writing is a full seventeen days afterward….which is not the same thing…I can assure you. There is more-

About the Author

Humble inquisitor of all things – cancer survivor.

A pitch tells a story. What is essential is not how you send a pitch but to whom.

Find out, the most effective print or broadcasting media for your story. Determine how the organization works, who farms out assignments. Every journalist has preferences for receiving news releases and pitches. Knowing the format and method could make a world of difference.

Pitching is effective if you know, whom to contact. Prepare a list of media contacts which detail: name, media source, telephone number, email, and postal address, as well as fax number.

Organize the data:

• Television: news assignment editors, reporters, and producers. Here, a news editor may not be responsible for assigning news coverage; assignment editors handle the job and reporters only execute what they are assigned

• Radio: news directors and reporters or radio jockeys. The news director at radio stations is the one who assigns reporters.

• Wire service: bureau chiefs, assignment editors, photo editors, and reporters. Here, the chief does not assign stories assignment editors handle the duty.

• Newspapers: city or metro editors, business editors, news or politics editors, or foreign affairs editors, and reporters in each category. In newspapers, the editors may or may not assign stories but will approve of every story written. A few columnists and reporters do take decisions on their own. Others can approach the concerned editor with an attractive pitch and ask to work on it.

• Talk shows: producers, bookers, and hosts. The producers and bookers work out the details.

Master who’s who in the media. It is useful to know who handles what and whom you are dealing with. Very often, responsibilities do overlap so be well informed of whether you should contact the editor or reporter.

• Sending a pitch to a reporter who works in the field is more effective than sending it to a dozen editors who may or may not evince interest.

• Reporters have specific beats and interests while an editor will be in charge of many aspects of newspaper production. Editors live by deadlines and will not have the time to listen to you. Most will just skim through pitches.

• Reporters have an inborn curiosity and will lend an ear if your story is of interest to them. For an editor to show interest your pitch must be current and sensational -the headline and para one must convey the crux of the matter.

• Try and locate from your database the ideal reporter for your pitch. If you are not certain, then it is advisable to contact an editor who will be able to identify the perfect reporter.

• If broadcasting is where you wish to pitch then contact the assignment editors.

The fundamentals are: target the pitch to the right person and plan your pitch: be brief, accurate, and interesting.

Paul Wilson is the content manager for http://www.1888PressRelease.com

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/, the premier website to Submit Free Press Release for any announcements including launching of new product or services, new website, announcing new hires, sponsoring a special event or seminar and more. He also manages content for http://www.1888Discuss.com

Proper sales training is crucial for the success of any business! The efficiency of your sales depends on various interrelated factors such as the efficiency and the skills of your business members, the ability of your company to create and explore new sales opportunities, as well as the ability to close potential sales. In addition, a proper customer relationship management can maintain the clients’ interest in the products or services offered by your business. Considering the fact that the profitability of a company is determined by its members’ relations with clients, a successful business should focus on better understanding customers’ needs, enhancing the communication with clients by providing good feed-back and also on improving interactions with clients. With the means of effective sales training programs, you will be able to strengthen the relations between clients and the members of your business.

Whether you are the owner of a large, prominent company or a small business, proper sales training of your team members is the key in achieving and maintaining a strong position on the market. In order to strengthen the relations with your loyal customers and to attract new clients to your products or services by increasing the exposure, popularity and credibility of your business, you have to make sure that your business team has a solid sales training. A proper sales training program can help you boost the profits of your business by familiarizing you and your team with a wide range of strategies for attracting new customers. In addition, sales training programs offer you effective solutions for selling more to your already existent clients, by maintaining them interested in your products or services.

There are various online professional services that offer a wide range of effective sales training programs for companies. By attending to the latest, cutting edge sales training programs, you and your business team will be able to quickly assimilate an extended package of knowledge, skills and abilities that are vital for achieving success. Sales training programs account for all the features of a successful business, ranging from customer service and sales skills to sales management and leadership development. By attending to a set of specialized sales training courses, your sales staff will be able to improve their overall sales skills, negotiation skills, communication skills and conflict resolution abilities.

Advanced sales training programs also include executive coaching, sales management coaching and leadership development, courses suitable for your team members that occupy higher positions inside your company. Thus, sales training programs are appropriate for all the people in your business, regardless of their role and position inside the company. By attending to a set of specialized, professional sales training programs, your team will learn new, effective solutions and strategies for promoting and selling your products.

Regardless of the success of your business, there is always room for improvement! After following a set of reliable, effective sales training programs, lots of businesses have been able to increase their profits by up to 30 percent! Sales training programs are strongly recommended for all business owners who wish to enhance the efficiency of their company.

I am often asked how to decide on what to sell a prospective client.
Believe it or not, this comes from even the veteran agents. There are
so many companies with so many products; you have to hire an
assistant just to keep up with the changes. But who I am kidding,
assistants take away from your commission, right? We’ll save that
argument for another issue.

So when that person sitting in front of you, worried if you are going to
force them to buy something like the last guy, asks you what YOU think
THEY need, the basic question you need to ask the prospect is this,
“Well – Are you in protection mode or are you in giving mode?” When
they look at you funny and ask what you mean, explain.

People buy life insurance for one of two reasons. One – they are looking
for a way to protect the people and the things that they love.
Hopefully, they love their spouse, their children and anyone else using
the household income. They love enough to provide money in case of
an untimely death.

Perhaps they love their home so much that they want it paid off and
protected from having to be sold. Business owners may love their shop
so dearly that they want to protect it from having to be liquidated.
They may also want to protect some of the key people in that business,
so if they die, it won’t be disastrous to the company. Those
wealthy folks challenged with the estate tax want to protect their
assets from going to “Uncle Sam.” Address your prospect again – “You
may be in Protection Mode.”

Reason Two – people buy life insurance to GIVE to the things and
the people that they love. (See the first reason for the laundry list of
lovers.) But now the kids are grown, the house is close to being paid
off, the business debt is very little – the need to find
fulfillment through GIVING sets in. People may want to leave a legacy to
their church or favorite charity. Perhaps they want to set up a Trust
Fund for their children or grandchildren. You see, we exist in a time of abundance. People have money, but are happier if they can do something for the ones they love.

MONEY magazine’s survey on money and happiness found that if people make
charitable contributions on a regular basis, they are happier,
exude confidence and are more content than those that do not. They
are in GIVING MODE.

As you meet with new prospects and conduct client reviews over the next
month, try using the basic approach to life insurance coverage. You may
be surprised at what you uncover.

Protection Mode or Giving Mode: Why people buy life insurance.

Jay Stubbs is an experienced Financial Services Sales Director and Qualifying Member of the
Milion Dollar Round Table.

For more information, sales ideas, advice and free consumer articles, visit Jay’s website.

http://www.salesjive.com

This is the one memorabilia of your wedding that you will have to live with the rest of your life. It is expected to stay on your finger up to the time when your knees will buckle though your waist won’t. When your mind tells your feet to move but your feet won’t.

My wife made sure that I get replacements for every wedding ring that somehow I lost. At a bar, at the motel, while washing my hands in a restaurant, at a high school reunion. Now I am an authority on wedding rings.

Wedding rings are testaments of the enduring passion that we live and die for, that we take joy and suffer for, the testament to what is noble in us. This thing that even the emotional part in us can not take for granted. Love.

Wedding rings have been taken to symbolize our connection with what is sacred and enduring. It also means something rare, beautiful and precious. Traits that married couples work out to give to each other. The circle of the wedding ring itself stands for continuity and perpetuity. Artisans have been inspired by the idea that today even with the changes in technology, even when traditions can be compromised in the name of modernity, the idea of the wedding ring as a vital part of the union remain unchanged. Wedding rings are the highlights to any wedding.

A good wedding ring should be easy and practical to wear, it should be durable enough to stand the abuse it can take over the years and it must look good on the finger.

Diamond rings are the most enduring of all gemstones. It is the most coveted although the least affordable. A diamond ring can last forever, unchanged, if proper care is given to it. It may be the hardest of all substances yet a diamond can scratch another diamond. When not in use, it should be kept in its own box.

Wedding rings however do not have to be costly if the couple can not afford it. The symbolism of the ring remains the same.

Blue stands for spirituality and purity. Famous among the blue gemstone are the sapphire, the blue tourmaline, the blue iolite and the blue spinel. The Queen Mother, Queen Elizabeth, Princess Anne and Lady Diana all received sapphire rings.

Ruby signifies fire. It symbolizes the heart and the passion for life. There are still less expensive red gemstones that represent the same symbolism. The red spinel, the red tourmaline and the red garnet. Princess Sarah Ferguson received a ruby.

Green gemstones signify faithfulness and continuity. Choices here will include the emerald, the green tourmaline and the green garnet.

The pearl itself is associated with love and wedding long before other gemstones have been connected its representations.

The circle can be intertwined in two colors (for example white and yellow gold) to symbolize the union.

In as much as it can be afforded, wedding rings should never be scrimped upon. It is not only an enduring tradition born out of our search for what is eternal in us, it is also what will remain with us after everything else has passed.

We still wear it even if everyone else has already forgotten.

This is also the reason why today, decades after; I am still wearing my last wedding ring – in her memory.

Dean Shainin offers a fabulous website for all wedding essentials at http://weddings.deans-knowledgebase.com Visit and get your free resources, plans and guides for planning that perfect wedding.

Get free online wedding ideas from his: Wedding Rings website.

Meta-languages describe the structure of information to enable this information to be searched more easily by software systems. XML (eXtensible Markup Language) has emerged as the most important of these Meta-languages and is the base for many languages. XML standards are important for the Semantic Web, many computer based reasoning systems, and for communication between different software applications. Alternative representations of information should not be used in any system being developed now unless the author has examined XML based standards and found them insufficient. Such a situation is highly unlikely. Any software system that does not use these standards will have difficulty communicating with other software systems. Use of a generic standard keeps open the possibility of communication with the widest possible range of other software systems. Use of a domain specific standard targets the communication to a particular domain.

Extensible Markup Language XML is an important standard in the development of ontologies. This language allows for the construction of text documents in which the relationship between concepts is represented. Because it is an accepted standard it is possible to use XML on any type of computer. Further developments such as Resource Description Framework RDF add a layer of standardisation of semantics, above the standardised syntax of XML. It is also possible to represent diagrammatic, and graphical information using a variety of XML called Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG).

These open standard languages can be used for developing the program code of models. It is proposed that software and information represented by the software, be separated but represented in the same open standard searchable way. Software and the information it manipulates are just information that has different uses, there is no reason why software must be represented differently represented differently from other information. So XML can be used both as the information input and output by the application, and for the definition of the model itself. The model can read or write information it represents, and the information can read from or write to the model. This recursion makes ‘meta-programming’ possible. Meta programming is writing of programs by other programs. The purpose of this is to provide a cascading series of layers that translate a relatively easy to use visual representation of a problem to be modelled, into code that can be run by present day compilers and interpreters. This is to make it easier for computer literate non-programmers to specify instructions to a computer, without learning and writing code in computer languages. To achieve this, any layer of software or information must be able to read the code or the information represented in any other. Code and information are only separated out as a matter of design choice to aid human comprehension, they can be represented in the same way using the same kinds of open standard languages.

Meta Language Links

3 Dmitriev, S. (2004). Language Oriented Programming: The Next Programming Paradigm, http://www.onboard.jetbrains.com/is1/articles/04/10/lop/.

4 Mens, K., Michiels, I., Wuyts, R. (2002). Supporting Software Development through Declaratively Codified Programming Patterns, Expert Systems with Applications, 23: 405-413.

I am a Researcher Associate in the final year of my. I specialise in applying Semantic Web techniques. My current research is on a technique of ‘User Driven Modelling/Programming’. My intention is to enable non-programmers to create software from a user interface that allows them to model a particular problem or scenario. This involves a user entering information visually in the from of a tree diagram. I am attempting to develop ways of automatically translating this information into program code in a variety of computer languages. This is very important and useful for many employees that have insufficient time to learn programming languages. I am using the Protege ontology editor developed from a project of Stanford University. I am looking to research visualisation, and visualisation techniques to create a human computer interface that allows non experts to create software.

My Home Page is at http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~phale/.
My blog is http://userdrivenmodelling.blogspot.com/.

Recently I interviewed Kevin Bidwell of All-In-One-Business.com on some of the insights on how he leverages article marketing to help build his business.

[Christopher Knight] You’ve been using articles to market your business for many years. What kind of results have you had from this strategy and where does this strategy rank in terms of priority for your business today?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] I use article marketing to accomplish three primary goals (in priority order):

1. To establish my expertise to my potential/current customers

2. To generate traffic and subscribers.

3. To increase search engine position

[Christopher Knight] How many articles does it take to create enough traffic to be significant enough to notice its impact?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] You can generate solid traffic from just one article when it is placed effectively.

Two examples:

One article can make a difference with search position. When I wanted to target a specific low-competition keyword phrase in January, I posted one article to several places ( http://EzineArticles.com/ in particular ) and was #1 on Google for that term within 24 hours.

While it doesn’t happen with EVERY article, on a regular basis a single article I have strategically positioned has generated huge amounts of traffic. Typically these high-traffic articles are about a very timely topic and get posted and re-posted at extremely high-traffic sites. Last fall just one article about a controversial subject generated almost 2,000 new subscribers to my email list.

In a more general sense, having a consistent flow of articles (2-4 per week) will generate solid traffic and leads provided they meet a couple of standards:

1. They are syndicated across the net by a number of websites.

2. They elicit a response from the reader.

Most articles I see don’t meet either of these criteria so they generate little or no traffic.

[Christopher Knight]Any windfall profits or surprise results you’ve had from article marketing?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] Yes, I’ve had both.

Surprise result:

Until this week, for the last 6 months or so, I have been #1 on Google for the search terms “Google adsense” and “adsense.” That page that was listed (http://www.All-In-One-Business.com/adsense ) was simply a redirect I used to send my readers and subscribers to Adsense. It was in no way optimized, nor was it intended to get ANY search position.

I suspect the reason it eventually replaced Google was simply because I had written a few dozen articles on Adsense and used this link rather than the “direct” link.

Windfall Profit:

Last year a large online newsletter (500K subs) published one of my articles that contained a single link to an affiliate site. I earned in one day over $300 in commissions from that single publishing. Not much of a windfall, but I was able to directly trace the sales from that particular article.

On a more consistent note, however, article marketing is very lucrative because I focus on lead generation. Since each subscriber I capture is worth around $24/year in gross sales for me, and each article I write typically generates 50-100 new subscribers. Over the course of a year those subscribers add up to a nice income.

[Christopher Knight] Over time as web projects change, how do you capture what would have become ‘lost traffic’ or lost link popularity?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] When someone reads one of my articles, there is typically a lead capture link within the article itself. When someone responds to that link I know they are a good prospect for my products. I capture their email address and add them to my email list. This gives me the opportunity to generate traffic from them again and again.

For link popularity I focus on grabbing the email addresses of publishers who publish my articles then adding them to my Editor Rewards Program:
http://www.All-In-One-Business.com/pubs/

This allows me to be in contact with them and convert them into regular publishers of my content–rewarding them with cash and assorted “bribes.”

[Christopher Knight] You had mentioned that you do a redirect in your article resource box so that you can control where the traffic goes after you’ve lost control of the articles in distribution. Can you talk a little about this strategy? Is this a meta refresh?, webserver rewrite,? a 301 or 302 redirect,? etc…

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] I use a simple meta refresh to send traffic from my articles through my site to sites described in the article. The reason I do this is simple: Links change over time.

The best example I can think of has been GoTo.com changing to Overture.com. I had recommended GoTo’s keyword suggestion tool in several articles. Then the URL changed when they chose to change domains. Then Overture kept the same domain but
changed the actual location of the tool.

Now when I recommend links I simply use a redirect to get people to the site:
http://www.All-In-One-Business.com/stst

If the URL changes, I just make one small change on my site and it is done.

[Christopher Knight] What impact do you think this rewrite or refresh has on the value that search engines give you?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] Tough for me to say. It’s interesting to me that Google replaces “main” sites with redirects in their results, but I have seen very few redirects from my site result in significant sales.

One thing that has happened…the page:
http://www.All-In-One-Business.com/adsense

is listed as having a PR of 9–though I don’t know if it is passing page rank after Google took note of it on Wednesday.

[Christopher Knight] Recently you were given the #1 position for “Google AdSense” on Google.com. Was this because of your article resource box redirects or because of another strategy all together?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] Just to clarify: Many people think I “suddenly” popped up there on Google this week. The reality is my page has shown in the top 3 for the last 6 months or more.

Most of my redirects are NOT in the article resource box–they are in the articles themsevles. As I mentioned I believe Google saw my link as very relevant to the terms “Google Adsense” and “Adsense” because the link appeared across the web in a number of syndicated articles.

[Christopher Knight] Any tips for newbie article writers? What is the #1 thing they must do to achieve results from putting their articles into distribution?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] Seven tips:

1. “Bribe” publishers for publishing your articles.

People are looking for content for their website and newsletters, give it to them along with a compelling reason to publish YOUR writing rather than someone else’s.

2. Use articles as LEAD GENERATORS rather than simply content.

In the body of the article (if possible) and always in the bio box, give a compelling free reward to get people to subscribe to your list. Search engines love content, but I would rather have a huge list than search engine position any day.

3. Post your articles where they will be seen.

The best place to post articles and have them get picked up for publication is here:
http://www.All-In-One-Business.com/groups
Is that a self-serving plug? Yup. Is it still true? Sure is.

4. Avoid article banks UNLESS they meet certain criteria.

Posting to article banks takes time. Lots of time.

The only reason to take time to post to article banks is to generate more traffic. So, posting to the article bank must get you better search engine position or the bank has so much traffic they will send you a significant portion.

The one place I have found that consistently makes it worth my while to post there is http://www.EzineArticles.com/ — When I post there I know I get a PR 7 or so backlink as well as a slice of Chris’ MEGA traffic.

[Christopher Knight]Note: Thanks for the nice mention. While we appreciate the attention search engines give us, we do an incredible amount of non-search-engine related traffic building to raise the profile of EzineArticles.com including real-time and daily email summaries for all new articles sorted by every major article category and over 100+ RSS feeds for each category sub-topic. It also helps that we’ve got thousands of registered authors who send us hundreds of original articles daily to further the article marketing community along. Lastly, I hope that some of our megatraffic is the result of the fact that we human moderate every single article in order to maintain a sense of quality that our authors can be proud to be in the same company.

5. Carefully consider the title.

For search position, you want your title to contain the keyword phrase you want to target.

For example: When we wanted to help one of our sites score well for “hunting knife”, we posted:

Hunting Knife and Sheath- How to Choose the Right One
(rather than “How to Choose a Hunting Knife”)
Hunting Knife Safety Precautions
Hunting Knife- The Overall Basics

This gave pages where our articles were posted solid reputation for “hunting knife.”

When you want to generate leads, you want your title to be something that will appeal to *publishers*. These are the people who decide what will get published.

6. Go for quantity.

If you write and syndicate just one article per week, you will get significant exposure. Two or three and you will have written an entire book in a year. Don’t spend your time in re-writes; spend your time creating more articles.

7. Have an expected outcome for each article.

Before writing your first article, come up with a book concept that will sell and outline the book. Then, write each article covering one aspect of the book.

With each article you write, ask yourself: “How can I get more people to visit my site and subscribe to my email list using this article?”

[Christopher Knight] Any other rants or advice you’d like to give to those exploring how to take their article marketing strategy to the next level?

[Kevin Bidwell Responds:] Lead capture, lead capture, lead capture. Oh, and did I mention, lead capture?

You take the time to write an article. You stir people up enough to get them to your site. They already respect you (based on your article); why not add them to your mailing list?

[Christopher Knight]Thanks Kevin for the interview and the many article marketing insights you shared. You reminded me and many of our tens of thousands of daily visitors of the importance of using articles to lead capture and not always sell directly. So many newbie authors think they must sell hard in the article to make the sale – when they should be using it to educate and lead generate!

If you’d like to check out Kevin’s site, visit: http://All-In-One-Business.com/

About The Author:

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You’ve heard it time and time again: if you want to get your name out there, write articles and allow them to be freely reproduced (with a resource box pointing back to you, of course). Largely, that is true. Well-written articles can:

- help you build your profile as an expert

- draw traffic to your website, and

- help you to build a database of potential clients through associated e-courses or a newsletter.

So far you probably haven’t heard anything you didn’t already know. What YOU are likely to be struggling with is the process of actually writing the article. Sure, you can come up with the content – but how do you really grab those readers? How do you keep their attention all the way through? And most importantly, how do you make them want to come back for more?

Let’s assume that you understand the basics of constructing and editing an article (it has a beginning, middle, and an end and you know how to check the grammar and spelling.) Most of us can manage that. But if you’re not content with simply “getting something out there” – if you want to WIN readers – then you need to start thinking about what they want to know, rather than what you want to tell them.

Put your readers first – every time. Give them what they want, and they’ll be queuing up to read anything you produce. Give them something bland (or worse, blatantly self-serving) and they’ll blast by you so fast you’ll be spinning in the back draft.

The following four steps will give you a blueprint for writing articles that captivate your readers – whatever the topic.

== 1. Find Out What Your Readers Really Want ==

Sometimes you’ll know what they want because you’re an expert in the field, and understand the problems. If you don’t know the subject area well, you’ll have to do more research. Look for forums on your topic and see what people are discussing. What are the problems that need solving? Can you provide an answer? (“If they have a headache, give them an aspirin.”)

== 2. Start With An Attention-Grabber ==

Spend time working on your opening. Try to avoid trite questions like “Have you ever wondered why so many people find it difficult to lose weight?” Firstly, it’s dull. Secondly, it’s not targeting the person reading the article – what do they care about the difficulties “many people” have with losing weight? They only care about THEIR weight problem!

Try to come up with an opening paragraph that gives the reader that warm “Hey, this is about me!” feeling right away. Better still; try to generate a rush of excitement – “This could be the answer I’ve been looking for…”

Example: “The diet gurus make it all sound so easy: to lose weight, all you have to do is expend more energy than you take in. Huh! If it were that simple, the “Big People” stores would be out of business in a heartbeat. Luckily for those of us who are tired of diets, gyms and dull group meetings, there is a back-to-basics way to tackle this. A way that won’t cost you a fortune or leave you feeling deprived.”

== 3. Write As You Speak… Then Edit! ==

The sample opening above also illustrates the importance of the tone you use in your article. You need ‘meat’ in each article, of course, to make it worth reading – but make sure it’s not indigestible!

You’re better off writing your article in a natural, relaxed style that’s akin to normal conversation. It doesn’t matter if the first draft is a little too informal – you can fix that when you edit. Naturally you don’t want to irritate your readers with a too-breezy style, but too-formal is worse. Readers may want facts, tips, and strategies, but they hope to be entertained, too! Let your personality shine through.

== 4. End On A High ==

What’s one of the biggest problems with most articles? They fizzle out! Writers often don’t know how to end on an upbeat note. They either just stop dead or they come up with a trite ending like: “So what are you waiting for? Get started today!”

The beginning and the end of your article are the two parts that make the biggest impression. Start by creating a feeling of anticipation… and leave them feeling satisfied (or excited) when you finish.

If you are offering advice to help them solve a problem (like obesity) gives your readers a reason to feel optimistic and good about them. Don’t make rash promises… but do offer hope. If you are giving hints on marketing or business, sum up the benefits of acting on your tips. You can also experiment with using a pithy/humorous quote, or giving readers a specific action to get them started. Be creative – and don’t rush it.

Here’s a final tip: create an article-writing cheat-sheet for yourself. Divide it into beginnings/middles/ends and add more useful strategies as you think of them. (For example, using the tips in this article, you might write: ENDINGS – end on a high, offer hope, use funny quote, suggest action to get started.)

Do this, and you’ll be steadily cranking out articles that everyone wants to publish!

Hans Hasselfors is a successful business entrepreneur and internet marketing consultant. Get the net working for you. Join a community of like-minded entrepreneurs and make your living online. Become a member of The Business Professional network. http://www.internet-marketing-experts-online.com

The Hero’s Journey is the template upon which the vast majority of successful stories and Hollywood blockbusters are based upon. Understanding this template is a priority for story or screenwriters.

The Hero’s Journey:

• Attempts to tap into unconscious expectations the audience has regarding what a story is and how it should be told.

• Gives the writer more structural elements than simply three or four acts, plot points, mid point and so on.

• Interpreted metaphorically, laterally and symbolically, allows an infinite number of varied stories to be created.

The Hero’s Journey is also a study of repeating patterns in successful stories and screenplays. It is compelling that screenwriters have a higher probability of producing quality work when they mirror the recurring patterns found in successful screenplays.

Consider this:

• Titanic (1997) grossed over $600,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Star Wars (1977) grossed over $460,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Shrek 2 (2004) grossed over $436,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• ET (1982) grossed over $434,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Spiderman (2002) grossed over $432,000,000 – uses the Hero’s Journey as a template.

• Out of Africa (1985), Terms of Endearment (1983), Dances with Wolves (1990), Gladiator (2000) – All Academy Award Winners Best Film are based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Anti-hero stories (Raging Bull (1980), Goodfellas (1990) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

• Heroine’s Journey stories (Million Dollar Baby (2004), Out of Africa (1980) etc) are all based on the Hero’s Journey.

Antiheroes

There are various types of hero: a) the good, willing hero (Star Wars, 1977), b) the good, unwilling hero (Shawshank Redemption, 1994), c) the anti-hero (Raging Bull, 1980), d) the villain (Goodfellas, 1990) etc. Nevertheless, their stories all mirror the hero’s journey template. The difference between hero, anti-hero and other variations simply lies in situation, motivation and result. The antihero is simply an archetype.

Where the hero’s Ordinary World is idyllic (Lord of the Rings, 2003), the anti-hero’s world is uncomfortable and riddled with conflict (Raging Bull, 1980). Where the hero embarks on adventure for altruistic reasons (Willow, 1988), the anti-hero embarks for selfish reasons. Where the hero has good mentors (Lord of the Rings, 2003), the anti-hero has dark mentors (Raging Bull, 1980). Where the hero resists dark temptations, the anti-hero gives in to them (Scarface, 1983). Where the hero may sacrifice himself to prevent harm to others (Superman, 1978), the anti-hero will consciously set out to do harm (Goodfellas, 1990). Where the hero will evolve (during the Transformation or Road of Trials), the anti-hero will regress. Where the hero will achieve synergy (at the stage of the Ultimate Boon), the anti-hero will achieve alienation. Where the hero’s allies will come to his aid, the anti-hero’s allies will betray. Where the hero’s gain is tangible and prized, the anti-hero’s gain is dubious (Scarface, 1983).

Heroine’s Journey

It is a mistake to believe that the Heroine’s Journey is separate and distinct from the Hero’s Journey.

The Journey is about transition (The Road of Trials), illumination (Apotheosis), movement from one conscious state to another, overcoming challenge etc – these are not gender (or culturally) specific:

In Million Dollar Baby (Academy Award Winner Best Film, 2004), though Maggie and Frankie both have their challenges, the process towards apotheosis and beyond is the same.

Learn more…

The Complete 188 stage Hero’s Journey and FREE 17 stage sample and other story structure templates can be found at http://managing-creativity.com/

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

Kal Bishop, MBA

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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://managing-creativity.com/