Notes from Minnesota

Last week, my computer died. Well, actually the computer's just fine. It's just Windows that died.

It all began a few months ago when Norton missed three viruses on my desktop. Seems they chewed through some important system files. I've updated Windows, I “cleaned” the registry. I've had gurus look at the machine... all with no luck. I've been working with a “wobbly” computer for quite a while... until...

Yup. The proverbial “blank” hit the fan. After a fatal cascading Windows error resulted in a major melt down, she's bit the dust.

Sigh.

Luckily, my dear son and computer guru, Peder, installed Ubuntu Linux.

So far? I'm loving it. It's been months since I've worked on such a stable system. I have access to all my old files and most of my Windows programs are working flawlessly. How fun, eh? Seems whenever one door closes, another opens.

And that's exactly how freelancing works. As long as you're moving forward, you can make mistakes, suffer melt downs, and even have a “cascading error” or two and everything seems to work out.

So, let's get to it, eh? I've got lots to share with you today.

I think that’s it for now. I hope you have a fabulous and productive March.

Best always!

Beth

P.S. Be sure to check out our awesome resources for writers. You'll be amazed at what you can get your hands on. :)

Beth's Hot Pick of the Week

Last May I took part in a unique event in Wilmington DE. I had the opportunity to hang out with AWAI Copywriter of the Year, Donna Doyle and Copywriter/Fiction Writer Extraordinaire Victoria Rosendahl to present a seminar called, “The Business of Freelance Writing.”

These are two unique writers in the sense that both have carved out varied and profitable careers despite what the economy may be doing at any given moment.

And you know me. I live in the middle of no-where freelancing, working as a publisher, and maintaining a profitable copywriting career.

And how does this concern you?

Well, the last time I spoke with these two delightful women, Donna suggested that the three of us hold a “Wing into Spring” sale and slash the price of the “Business of Freelance Writing” 8 CD/hefty book set by 50 percent.

I don't know exactly how long this price'll hold, but I suggest you swing over there and check it out. You'll get some beefy information... in fact, it’s more like a complete, soup-to-nuts toolkit for your freelance writing success - and at a nice discount, to boot. How cool is that?

Just click here. http://3chix.com/What_You_ll_Discover.html

March Events for the Creative Mindset Community

I've always been painfully shy. Just approaching someone to ask a question often causes more mental pain than I care to discuss. And if I happen to ask what I perceive to be a “stupid” question? Man... talk about angst.

This was one reason I created the Creative Mindset Community. I'm keeping it intentionally small, cutting off subscriptions when our Round Table Discussions get too large for an intimate, honest discussion about freelancing and all its challenges.

If you think you'll benefit from this small environment, if you want insider information that isn't readily available anywhere else, please consider joining us.

It'll set you back ten bucks a month. Oh, and the price is going up within the next two months. However if you join today, you'll be locked in at the intro. price.

We're planning our March Round Table Call as I type this.

If you'd like to join the Creative Mindset Community, you'll receive monthly discussions, a fab newsletter, regular meditation CDs, a private Yahoo group, and much more. You can get all the info you need at the following link.

http://filbertpublishing.com/creative.html

Want to get published? Do this... Part III.

Editor's Note: You can read the first two installments of this article here and here. :)

Fact checking is now an important part of your job.

As an example… a couple years ago, I logged onto my Filbert Publishing e-mail account and to my horror, it was filled with dozens of “unsubscribe” e-mails.

You see, we use a service called Aweber to maintain the e-mail list for Writing Etc. When someone subscribes to our e-mag, they insert their name into a form, they then receive an e-mail from Aweber requesting that they “confirm” their desire to join our list.

If the potential subscriber does this, they then are added and can now receive regular issues of Writing Etc.

This is called a “double opt-in list.” Nobody can sign up anyone else for the zine. You have to do it yourself AND confirm you desire to be included on it.

If a subscriber decides to leave at any time, all they have to do is click a link at the bottom of their issue and boom, they’re off the list.

While they’re unsubscribing, they’re given the option to send us a quick note. And those e-mails were the ones filling my box that particular morning.

And unfortunately, those e-mails were not kind.

“You spammer! I hope you go to hel*!” “I don’t receive mail from spammers you &^$$%!”

It was quite distressing.

Turns out that one of the largest zines for writers in the Internet had listed us as spammers in their “warnings” column.

Hence the hemorrhage in subscribers.

Well, it took all of two minutes to prove that we had a double opt in list.

Unfortunately, it would have taken the owner of the zine that same two minutes to check out this accusation before posting it in her zine.

Yeah, she issued a retraction in the next issue but my mouth soured on any information she provides to this day. I still take what they have to say with a grain of salt.

Fact checking is important. It’s of prime importance, especially when you’re dealing with the anonymous masses on the Internet. It’s easy to fall into the gang mentality and start slinging nasty e-mails before you have all the facts.

As for the folks who so vehemently unsubscribed, a few have apologized and resubscribed. Others have moved on.

And that’s fine.

I like to surround myself with professionals who understand the power of fact checking.

After all, when it’s all said and done, content is king on the Internet. And the person with the most reliable and trustworthy content will be the site visited when someone needs quality information.

And that person may as well be you.

Now… back on track.

Let’s build your website:

You’ve got a couple options.

You can write and maintain your own site or you can hire someone to do it.

I chose the first option for a couple reasons.

First, hiring someone to design your website can be expensive. First you have to get them to come up with a design you like.

Secondly, you have to (often) have their help to update it. And you DO want to update your site often. Nothing’s worse than a stagnant site.

I created my first website using wizards in Microsoft Publisher. I whipped up my website, in a matter of a few hours and easily uploaded it using CuteFTP.

My first efforts were pretty lame. But I got online. I started growing my e-mail list. I began developing a readership.

That’s exactly what you need to do.

Don’t expect perfection. Ever.

Instead shoot for progress. Get the site up. Start driving traffic to it. Start growing your e-mail list so you can keep in touch with your readers.

How do you do this?

In my opinion, there’s only one correct way to do this.

A quick story:

Remember when I told you about the zine owner who accused me of spamming?

Well this was the same person who directed me towards a company called “Topica” to manage my e-mail list.

The fact that they didn’t use this company themself didn’t seem to bother me at that time so I signed on.

I’ll be blunt. Topica is expensive. It’s sluggish. And if you want anyone to actually receive your e-mail messages, they’re not the company to choose.

You may be tempted to forgo a paid service and head straight to a place like YahooGroups. That’s a fine option. But if you ever want to move your list, you’re out of luck. Yahoo does well with small groups, but when you hit the tens of thousands, you’ve got a problem.

And to move that list to a new hosting company can be difficult.

That’s because spam has become such a huge issue, every reputable list management company wants to double and triple check double opt ins to make sure that they’re legit.

To say you have a list on Yahoo may or may not get your list in a new company.

Your other option is to import the list, the new company will send out a blanket e-mail asking everyone to sign up again, and whoever opts in again is on your new list.

Thing is, you can count on losing at least 75 percent of your subscribers.

I know of a wonderful zine owner who did just that. He imported his 40,000 name list into Aweber and just over 2k signed on again.

In other words, he lost 38,000 subscribers just because he changed companies.

Choose your e-mail hosting company carefully.

I suggest you go with Aweber from day one. They’re CAN Spam compliant, they work wonders to get your e-mails through and they’re very affordable.

In fact, they’re the folks who manage ALL my lists.

All you do is sign up for the service, grab one of the handy-dandy forms, insert it into your website, upload and you’re in business.

It’s downright simple. Plus, if you have any questions, they have both online and off-line (1-800) support.

Highly recommended.

My first website consisted of around six pages. Today it’s grown to over 150.

I don’t’ use Publisher anymore.

Instead, I use a fantastic program called XSite Pro.

What I like about XSite is that it makes it darn near impossible to design an ineffective site.

Everything’s laid out for you. Just choose your design (you can personalize it any way you want) insert your information and you’re good to go. You can even upload your site to your hosting company with one click of your mouse.

Super easy. Super effective. I use it for all my sites.

It’s important that you create a website that’s simple to navigate. XSite Pro will help you achieve this goal.

Now, what do you put on each page?

That, my friend, is where you (as a writer) will shine.

Your main page (the one where everyone will land when they click your link) is the most important.

It’s here that your reader will decide within seconds whether your site is worth their time.

The good news is that you don’t have to get fancy. Forget funky flash presentations. Toss out any graphics unless they advance you’re the message you want to convey.

Absolutely, and I mean ABSOLUTELY, everything on every single page has one job and one job only: support your message. If it doesn’t do this, then toss it.

The great pages read like the pages of a book… white (or cream) background with black type.

No reverse type (white text on a black background). It’s impossible to read. Make your web pages, interesting, effortless to read.

So you have a main page, perhaps a page highlighting your projects, a FAQ, upcoming projects, blog, article page, the sky’s the limit.

Be creative and don’t plagiarize. Allow your personality to flow into each and every aspect of everything you write.

After all, you’re selling yourself, not a website.

It’s simple to receive a ton of free, targeted traffic.

There are those who will tell you that you need to pay to get web traffic.

P’shaw.

The best, easiest, and most profitable way to receive a ton of traffic lies right at your fingertips.

Literally.

The best way to get traffic is to write articles. Yup. You read right. Write quality articles and start submitting them.

The secret to generating loads of traffic is to include a kick-butt byline.

A byline is a short blurb about you that is usually found at the end of an article.

To create an effective byline here are a few guidelines:

1. Generally speaking, keep it short. No more than a few sentences. Make your byline longer, and it’ll get edited.

2. Make your byline benefit oriented. Don’t talk about yourself, write about what you can do for your reader.

3. Keep it simple. Don’t try to pitch more than one item. I opt to promote my e-zine, Writing Etc. That way, if I gain a new subscriber, I can pitch our other products to them on a regular basis.

I once knew someone who considered themselves to be an effective marketer. They’d constructed a high-powered byline that hard sold everything from copywriting services to CDs to vitamins. Not surprisingly, that “power byline” didn’t sell much of anything.

Once you’ve got a great byline, turn it into your e-mail sig. Never send an e-mail message without including a short message advertising your website. You can easily set up your e-mail program to insert an e-mail signature at the end of every message you send. Just dig through the “help” section of your e-mail program and you’ll very likely find step-by-step instructions to insert your benefit-oriented byline into every e-mail.

Have fun. Reflect that fun in everything you do on that website.

After all this is your life. Your career. Plan well and you’ll enjoy a lifestyle most writers can only dream of.

Now go get ‘em, Tiger.

~~~

Beth Ann Erickson is the “Queen Bee” of Filbert Publishing. She’s also the author of numerous titles including “101 No Cost and Low Cost Secrets To Turbo Charge Your Freelance Income.” Pick up your copy today at http://filbertpublishing.com/101.html She’s also a busy copywriter, speaker, and publisher of Writing Etc., the free e-mag for writers. 

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I Recommend:

Writing For Dollars! The FREE ezine for writers featuring tips, tricks and ideas for selling what you write. Receive the FREE ebook, 83 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WRITING when you subscribe. Email to subscribe@writingfordollars.com -*-

http://www.WritingForDollars.com

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