Jan21

Copywriting Tips

by Don on January 21st, 2012 at 5:07 pm
Posted In: Copywriting

Copywriting Tips

Today we will look at how you can acquire more clients as well as improve your writing skills. Improving writing skills will allow you to have a meteoric rise in the income that you bring in. Many copywriters are very strong in their profession but are not very good at procuring clients. If you are able to sell yourself to potential clients, you will never find yourself short of work. The ability to sell yourself is what will set you apart from all the other freelance copywriters out there.

You must make sure that you have a portfolio of your best work. Within this portfolio, you will want to have a letter explaining your qualifications along with samples of your writing as well as testimonials from your previous jobs. If you are able to e-mail this to your potential clients, this will help set you apart. They can see the professional work you have done in the past as well as the client base that you currently work with. If you are able to reference Fortune 500 companies you have worked with, this will continue to improve your credibility. If you are just starting out in the copywriting field, delete the potential references and replace this with more work that you have done in the past. If you have worked for an advertising agency and are beginning to freelance, make sure to include some the work that you have done at the advertising agency.

Two possible ways that you can acquire clients are to post at different contracting websites such as elance.com or directfreelance.com. You can also research companies who you can potentially see if they need work. If you spend time reading the business section every day, remember to cut out articles that might be within your particular field and keep them in a centralized location. This could be a potential source of leads.

If you want to learn more about writing great copy, look into learning more about Dan Kennedy. He is one of the world’s foremost experts on direct selling and reading through his book will give you some insights into how to write great copy. The book that you want to specifically pick up is called “The Ultimate Sales Letter.” This book breaks down the Kennedy system of writing great copy. By taking the time to read through this, you will be able to see what he has done to be so successful and he takes the time to look through different examples that you can see what works in his advertisements.

Hopefully this article today on copywriting tips has proven to be beneficial to you. Stephen King was once quoted in Time magazine that writing is similar to working out. When you work out and lift weights, within a period of time, you will find yourself becoming much stronger and more muscular. The same can be applied to copywriting. If you continue to develop your skills and write habitually every day, you will find yourself becoming a better writer over the course of time. The key behind copywriting tips is that you must apply them.

About The Author

Don Jeffre is the Owner of Don’s Sales, a computer repair business based in Vilonia, AR. USA. He owns and operates Really Unique Online Business Concepts, a blog dedicated to providing social media marketing and search engine optimization information. With over 14 years of industry experience, Don Jeffre shares his knowledge by posting daily SEO tips to his blog. Contact Don Jeffre at 501-796-2525, Skype: revenue4u, or Twitter.

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Jan14

EBay Sellers: Why You Should Accept Paypal

by Don on January 14th, 2012 at 3:10 pm
Posted In: Advertising, Ebay

EBay Sellers: Why You Should Accept Paypal

Are you looking to become an eBay seller? If you are interested in making money online, possibly even enough to support yourself, you just may be. Over the past few years, eBay has revealed itself as an online marketplace where just about anyone can make money.

Although it is relatively easy to make money on eBay, there are a number of important factors that come into play. For instance, you will want to have good: quality items to sell, detailed descriptions of those items, as well as easy to see pictures. Perhaps, those are some of the most important components of becoming a successful eBay seller but there is something else that can be just as important, your accepted methods of payment. For the best chance of success on eBay, you will want to accept a wide range of payments, including personal checks, money orders and Paypal.

Speaking of Paypal, Paypal is one of the most common methods of payment accepted on eBay. Despite being one of the most preferred ways to shop on eBay, there are still a number of sellers who do not accept Paypal as a form of payment. If you have yet to setup your eBay seller account, you will also want to take the time to set up a Paypal account. Of course, you can still make money on eBay without accepting Paypal, but your chances for success are higher when you do. That is why it is extremely important that you at least look into getting a Paypal account.

When it comes to getting a Paypal account, you will find that you can have a personal account or a business account. If you want to make the most out of Paypal and eBay, you will want to get a business account, as it enables you to accept credit cards as a method of payment. The only difference between a business Paypal account and a personal Paypal account is the fees. The fees that you are charged will vary, but you will be charged a small fee each time someone sends you a payment.

Although the Paypal fees may be a turnoff for you, you should let them be. By accepting Paypal, you are more likely to have more sales, as well as higher priced product sales, as more eBay buyers rely on Paypal to shop online. This will essentially make the fees seem minimal, as they easily pay for themselves overtime and you are still able to make a profit. In fact, your Paypal fees, from a business standpoint, can even be tax deductible.

One of the many reasons why eBay buyers like to use Paypal is because it gives them a sense of security. When using Paypal to buy items on eBay, buyers do not have to actually provide you with their bank account information or their credit or debit card numbers. This information is automatically stored in PayPal’s secure system. EBay buyers simply have to follow the instructions on the invoice that you send them, enter in their Paypal sign-in information, click a few confirmation buttons and they are good to go; no important information has to exchange hands.

If you are not already accepting Paypal, you will want to think about the many benefits to doing so, some of which were outlined above. For more information on Paypal, you are urged to visit PayPal’s online website, which can be found at PayPal.com.

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Dec24

SOPA Bill Explained

by Don on December 24th, 2011 at 4:52 pm
Posted In: Guest Posts

People use the Internet every day to do important tasks. Even for those who do not do important tasks for work or business but instead perform personal tasks or play games the Internet serves as an escape from reality and functions as an all-encompassing media source. People depend upon the Internet for information. However, recently the Internet has come under fire because it is seen as not protecting people from viewing unwanted content and providing content that is illegal such as pirated music.

The government plans to take this issue and resolve it by any means possible. The government has always had its hands in censorship matters and recently has taken a more proactive approach by introducing a new bill that may threaten the freedom that the Internet presents to everybody. When the Internet was created it was mainly used as a means of transferring messages between those that worked at the Pentagon. Since then, it has blossomed and accomplished some amazing things between people.

Of course, the Internet has a dark side. Many people know about media pirating but there are only a small amount of people who actually take part in it. Pirating media means ripping or extracting the media from CDs, DVDs, etc. and putting it on the Internet for other people to download for free. While this is understandably a very illegal and unethical process, it is not exclusive to the Internet. People have been exchanging media ever since the invention of portable devices such as tapes.

However some in higher positions of authority have been trying to take care of this issue and issue legislation to eradicate it. But, this leads to eradicating many of the good parts of the Internet as well. It also brings into question of who has the ability to control the Internet as many are viewing the current bill that is being introduced as a means for the government to gain more power and control. The Internet was designed as a means of communication and interaction between people and some have vehemently opposed the new bill.

This act, named the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) aims to give the government power over certain aspects of the Internet. One of the most immediate and striking features of this bill is the power for the government to shut down specific websites that violate copyright laws. This sounds like a good idea until the fine print is read. The extent of this power goes to websites that even vaguely mentions media that is copyrighted.

This could lead to the closing of many legitimate websites or message boards that have members who mention media that does not specifically belong to the website owners. The bill’s aim is to shut down media sharing websites such as Rapidshare and Megaupload, but even these websites have the potential to be used legitimately.

The problem that many people see with this bill is the fact that it gives the government power over something that they should not have control over. The Internet has grown to become something bigger than itself. Many people use it daily to take care of important business matters and have fun. The original creator of the Internet, Vint Cerf has even vented his displeasure with the new bill. The Internet is a fantastic tool that has helped spread knowledge across the world and has proven to be an incredible media source for those who are seeking out knowledge.

However, many people have taken it a step further and have started to distribute copyrighted material that they do not legally own. This has caused a lot of problems for those that use the Internet and for those who hold higher positions as they are often forced to make legislation based on how out of control the problem is. This has led to the Stop Online Piracy Act, which aims to shut down any website that hosts illegal content.

Many people have stated their displeasure with this act for many reasons, chief among them the fact that the government will have control over the content as they see fit. Regardless, one can hope that those in the government will make the right decision and will have the general public’s interests in mind as the bill ventures forth.

Web designer Mark Williams also writes for mintleaf studio in Melbourne, Australia. As a freelance writer, he is able to bring a fresh perspective on many topics like this one.

 

 

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Dec23

How to Use Your Blog For Therapy While Maintaining the Privacy of Your Family

by Don on December 23rd, 2011 at 11:59 am
Posted In: Guest Posts, Social Networking

The delicate balancing act between writing as a release and protecting your family’s privacy became even more complicated with the invention of the blog.  Once, your biggest worry was a wandering eye finding and reading your journal.  Now, if you blog, your journal is exposed to nearly 2.1 Billion people worldwide.

Most bloggers throw their words to the internet to connect with people in similar situations, share knowledge and seek advice.  It makes sense to write about daily challenges.  Making it too personal, however is unwise.  Here are some suggestions for venting without over sharing.

Make Your Blog Private

Invite friends and relatives to view it.  This allows for nearly 100% privacy as long as you trust your friends and family not to over share with their friends.  Another caveat:  if you want to make some cash with your blog, private is not an option.

Clever Concealment

I use aliases for my children and avoid posting pictures online. When it comes to aliases, the sky is really the limit.  I know of bloggers who use numbers for their children.  Some have nicknames like Pete and Repeat.  Be cute.  Be clever.  It’s all up to you.  I have aliases for my kids.  They work.  My kids know who they are.  My friends can figure out which kid is which.  The rest of the blogosphere hasn’t got a clue.

There are bloggers who have a strict no kids/ no photos rule.  I can’t stick with that myself but if it works for you, great!

Don’t Blog

Instead of flinging information out wide to the internet, find communities of like-minded, similarly situated folks and share on the message boards there.  Google your issue.  If there isn’t a community in existence that meets your needs, that looks like an opportunity!  Remember to require membership and watch carefully for spammers!

Write in Third-Person

Instead of “my son” use “a child I know”.  Your friends and family will still know who you’re referring to if you’re well-connected to them in real life but your child is not exposed to random blog readers.  This is the easiest way to keep confidentiality.

Respect the Anonimity of Your Kids

As your children get older, it may become more important to them that you not share their lives online.  For the sake of family harmony – because it will give your teens one less thing to be difficult about – please respect that.

Respect the Preferences of Your Spouse

Mine doesn’t always like my rants about his profession so I have learned to tone it down.  I do not always love what we refer to as “his other wife” but I’ve found other outlets for venting.

I know you’re thinking “BUT THIS IS MY BLOG!  Why can’t I write what I want?”.  The bottom line is that your family is more important than your blog.  If they ask you not to talk about them in the blogosphere, respect that.  There are other ways to vent and share.  Call a friend for a cup of coffee.  Walk the dog.  Anything that preserves family harmony and lowers your stress in healthy ways is a good choice.

From the creative blogging studio of Lisa Sharp. Lisa is an avid blogger who delights in delivering first class content by using first class tools like Grammarly grammar checker the most reliable grammar tool on the web.

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Dec21

Pros and Cons of Making YouTube Videos

by Don on December 21st, 2011 at 5:33 pm
Posted In: YouTube

Are you one of the millions of internet users who enjoy watching free videos on YouTube? If you are, the thought of creating your own YouTube video may have crossed your mind; has it? If so, you may be wondering whether or not you should make your own YouTube video and then upload it to the YouTube website. When making your decision, it is advised that you can examine the pros and cons of doing so.

When it comes to making your own YouTube video, there are a number of cons or downsides to doing so. Perhaps, the biggest downside to making your own video and then uploading it to YouTube is that you are essentially sharing the video with the whole world. Many individuals mistakenly believe that their videos will only be seen by YouTube members, but that isn’t the truth. Any internet user, even those without a YouTube account, can view videos on YouTube. In fact, it is not uncommon for YouTube video viewers to email a YouTube video link to those that they know. Therefore, the views that your YouTube videos may get may be more than you ever expected or wanted.

Since any video that you upload to the YouTube website can be viewed by just about anyone with an internet connection, you may want to be careful with the amount of information that you disclose. For instance, if you are doing a video blog, you might not want to give your real name or at least not your full name. It is also important that you don’t mention where you live. If you want, you may want to outline the state that you reside in, but never give the city or town, especially if you disclose your name. You will want to try and refrain from giving any personal information to any YouTube member, even those who send you personal messages asking for information. As with most online website, YouTube can be a dangerous place, but you should be able to stay safe as long as you stay aware.

Although there are a few downsides or cons to uploading your videos to the YouTube website, there are also a number of pros or plus sides to doing so. One of those pros is ease of use. Even if you consider yourself to be unskilled with computers, you should still be able to make, upload, and share your video or videos on YouTube. In all honesty, all you need is a video recording device, like a camcorder or a webcam, and a movie editing software program, which now comes standard with most computers. Once you have your video on your computer and edited, if you wish to do so, you will just need to follow YouTube’s step-by-step uploading instructions and then your video should be ready for sharing, in as little as a few minutes.

Another pro to using YouTube to share your own videos with other internet users is uses. Although a large number of internet users use YouTube videos for fun or for personal reasons, there are many others who use them for business or at least to up their exposure. You need to remember that millions of internet users watch videos on YouTube. While your YouTube video will be unlikely to get one million views, you could get quite a bit. Whether you are advertising your services, like as a website designer or an online actress, you can do so through YouTube. The only thing that you will want to do is try to not take the spam approach. If you are advertising yourself as a website designer, try taking a few videos of you making a website or use your video to explore websites that you have made. Simply adding your business information at the end of the video is a great way to get your point across, but without making your YouTube video seem as it is an advertisement.

As you can see, there are a number of advantages and disadvantages, or pros and cons, to making your own YouTube videos. As stated above, it is advised that you use your best judgment. Of course, you can post a video on YouTube if you want to do so, but just make sure that you are doing so safely.

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