Don’t Write An Ebook Until You’ve Read This

November 30, 2008


If you’re planning to write an ebook, there’s something you should know before you begin. Otherwise, you may never finish your ebook and something that could have made you a decent amount of cash, will remain in your head, instead of in an ebook.

You see, I’ve written short information products in the past, but not a full length ebook. And I had an ebook inside me that was screaming to get out, so as I’d already reviewed the 7 Day Ebook, I decided to use it to help me write my own ebook.

Now, I just want to point out that I’m not attempting to write an ebook in 7 days. I’m sure it’s possible, if you want to work on your ebook full-time but I have too many things on the go and not enough hours to get them done. So I just want to write an ebook as quickly as possible, in the limited time I have.

And the 7 Day Ebook is a great guide but there’s one piece of advice in there that caused me to hit a huge stumbling block. You see, the 7 Day Ebook advises you to write the sales page, before you even begin your book. It says that doing this will get you excited and enthusiastic about writing the actual ebook.

It’s a big fat lie. If you’re like me and you suck at copywriting, it’s more likely to leave you feeling incompetent, drained and totally pissed off. The technique just doesn’t work, unless you’re a brilliant copywriter, who writes that kind of stuff on a regular basis.

Well, I don’t write sales copy often. And when I do, I have to keep a copywriting book open beside me. There’s heaps of great copywriting books available but I use Steal These Secrets the most. It’s not the cheapest option but it’s good. And I prefer using something that I can access on my computer, rather than having to leaf through a huge book to find what I need.

But a sales page isn’t something you can bang together in 30 minutes - and you shouldn’t try, if you want to make sales. And if you struggle with copywriting, as much as I do, you’d be far better off writing a rough version of your sales page, before writing your ebook. You can go back and write the sales page properly when you’ve finished the ebook, so you can give it the attention it deserves.

Aside from that one small point, I’m still finding the 7 Day Ebook really useful and I’m getting on far faster than I would have done without it. But you do need to realise that you will only complete your ebook in 7 Days, if you’re working at it flat out.

Have you written an ebook before? Do you have any great advice to share? Or have you considered writing an ebook? What’s stopping you from getting started?

Related Resources

The Greatest Viral Marketing Idea Of All Time
How To Be A Rockstar Freelancer
The Secret To Writing A Successful And Outstanding Blog
Write An Ebook In 7 Days
Can You Write And Sell An Ebook?
What Sort Of Freelance Writer Are You?
43 Amazing Resources For Writers

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Planning | 23 Comments 

Affiliate Commissions - Is Your Anti-Virus Eating Them?

November 29, 2008


If you use affiliate marketing on your website, or blog, your Anti-Virus software could be preventing you from getting affiliate commissions.

Over the last few days, three people have mentioned in emails that they bought products advertised on my blog. Trouble is, I didn’t receive affiliate commissions for any of them. The first couple of times it happened, I figured those people had previously clicked an ad on another site. But when I got the last email, I was a bit concerned, as it wasn’t an ad I’ve seen in many places.

I know three sales doesn’t sound like too much to worry about. But you’ve got to remember that only a tiny fraction of visitors to this website would ever email me and mention that they’d bought a product.

So, I did a bit of research and discovered your anti-virus software can actually block the tracking copies, used by some affiliate programs. And sure enough, when I checked mine, I discovered that McAfee was doing this.

I had no idea it was happening. I’m not particularly technically minded and I tend to install these things and leave them to get on with their job; without really knowing what they’re doing.

Now, I don’t know how to change the settings on other Anti-Virus software but on McAfee, here’s what I did:

Go into advanced menu, then go into Computers And Files.

Click configure. Then click real time scanning.

On Virus Protection Enabled, go into Advanced. Uncheck scan and remove tracking cookies, then click apply and ok.

Next click custom scan, then click scan and remove tracking cookies - click apply, then ok.

You also need to ensure that your browser enables cookies. For Firefox, go to Tools, Options, Privacy, then tick accept cookies and accept third party cookies.

For Internet explorer go into tools, internet options, privacy and change the settings to accept all cookies.

Problems like this can be prevented if you do your research properly. But it’s easy to read a whole heap of information and forget a lot of it. I’m now re-reading the Super Affiliate Handbook, to make sure I’m not making any more glaring errors.

If you use affiliate programs on your website or blog and haven’t read the Super Affiliate Handbook, I’d encourage you to do so. You could save yourself a lot of trouble, not to mention loss of affiliate commissions because of silly mistakes.

Have you lost affiliate commissions, due to anti-virus software, or other reasons? Do you have any other tips, or advice to share on protecting affiliate commissions?

Related Resources

How To Get Free Internet Traffic
Affiliate Commissions - Don’t Get Screwed
Become A Super Affiliate
Top 5 Affiliate Programs
Create A Profitable Viral Ebook
Making Money From A Blog - Mistakes To Avoid

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Mistakes, Running a Business | 16 Comments 

We’re All Responsible For The Walmart Tragedy

November 29, 2008

Whenever a tragedy occurs, there’s always plenty of people looking for someone to blame. And the case of the Walmart assistant, who was trampled to death by Black Friday sales shoppers, was no exception.

Hundreds of message board users pointed the finger at the 200 shoppers involved, Walmart, the Government and anyone else they could think to blame. But the truth is, we are all responsible for the Walmart assistant’s tragic death.

People who flock to the type of sales that Walmart run are motivated by two powerful emotions - the first is usually greed, they want something as cheap as possible. And the second is fear - if they don’t get through those doors fast enough, they’ll lose that half price tv they’ve had their eye on.

And I know that like me, many of you hate shopping but that doesn’t let us off the hook. If you have a business, you’re selling something. And if you’re doing a decent enough job of it - you’re appealing to people’s emotions to buy. And the strongest and easiest emotions to appeal to are fear and greed.

Some folk would call this manipulation and others would call it persuasion. But either way - you’re doing it. If you’re not, you’re probably not making much cash.

Ok, so maybe you’re not selling “stuff” - you might be selling products or services to improve people’s lives in some way. But does that really let you off the hook? The woman down the street selling trashy fashion jewellery might think she’s improving people’s lives too.

So lets think about the Walmart tragedy again. What do you think could be done to stop something like that happening in the future? Do you think it would be easier if folk stopped looking for someone to blame and accepted that we are all responsible? Or do you think we’re not responsible at all?

Related Reading On This Website

YOU Have Never Been More Powerful
Change The World: Or Is This Weakness Stopping You?
How To Make Good Money In Terrible Times
Did Black Friday Steal All Your Visitors?

Related Reading Elsewhere

Focus On Production, Not Consumption Or Wealth Transfer
The Psychology of Consumerism
End Child Trafficking
Social Responsibility

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Marketing, Mistakes | 27 Comments 

Did Black Friday Steal All Your Visitors?

November 28, 2008


Did Black Friday steal all your visitors to your blog, or website, or your home even? This blog has been deathly quiet.

I thought the day following Thanksgiving would be busy. But nobody told me about Black Friday and we don’t have it here in the UK. So I thought, bugger it, if the rest of the Internet is dead, I’m still going to read, instead of shopping. Mind you, I did come across one great deal while I was browsing but I’ll tell you about it in a minute.

First off, I found this amazing video on Twitter, thanks to Rebecca Leigh, the smart fresh freelance writer. You really need to see it for yourself to understand it: Invest In A Girl And She Will Do The Rest.

Then I found this awesome free ebook by Joanna Young - Asking Questions For A Change: How To Ask Purposeful Questions. It’s a must read for anyone who blogs or uses social media. See, I told you browsing the Internet was better than shopping. I bet none of the stores were actually giving stuff away today.

After that, I found something that kind of pissed me off. You see, I’ve been coveting the amazing Thesis Blog Theme for ages. Don’t get me wrong, the Revolution Theme is great. It’s just, the Thesis theme seems to be able to do almost everything, aside from writing the blog posts for you.

Changing my theme right now, is really too much hassle - no matter how much I want to. But just to make me feel even worse, they’re having a one day sale on the Thesis Theme today, for Black Friday. They’re giving a 20% discount and if you’re thinking of upgrading your blog theme, you can check out the thesis live demo page here.

And if you still have a free theme and you haven’t been thinking about upgrading your blog, it’s something you should seriously consider. The number of repeat visitors I get to this blog, has soared, since Men With Pens customized the Revolution Theme for me earlier this year.

Talking of Men With Pens, James has written a great post today that will help you make more money, so you can afford that customized theme. He’s not talking about robbing banks, he’s telling you - How To Increase Your Rates For The New Year.

And if your life is shit - or even worse than shit, I know somebody who can help. She’s certainly helped me already. Davina of Loving Pulse is telling us - When Fear Closes In Take Action.

Have you been having a quiet Black Friday? Did you find something interesting to keep you occupied instead of trudging round the shops?

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Inspiration and Motivation | 15 Comments 

Next Page »

Close
E-mail It