Swipe Your Way To Success (Legally!)
By Paula Morrow
Every successful direct mail expert has one. Same with the online experts who continually pull in the big numbers.
What is it? The infamous 'swipe file.' Have you started yours?
Every so often, you're faced with a blank computer screen and a deadline - your ezine is due, your sales letter needs to be posted, your ad needs to be submitted.
And your mental batteries are completely dead. You're suffering from total and complete writers block. But the clock keeps ticking.
This is when you turn to your trusty 'swipe' file for inspiration. For a killer headline idea or theme. For a power word or two.
Now, I'm not saying steal someone else's work, word for word. That's plagiarism, and can get you in a lot of hot water. What you use a swipe file for is inspiration - the catalyst to help jump start your brain.
In the offline world, for those in the know, 'junk' mail is really treasure in disguise. You receive free, every day, new ideas for future pitches. Look through and pull out the offers, the headlines, the pieces that really catch your eye, engage your emotions and make you want to buy.
Then file them away for that mental rainy day.
Dan Kennedy, I understand, has rows of file cabinets full of these treasures, just waiting to be used.
The online world has the equivalent in spam. Yes, a silver lining for spam! As with junk mail, look at the headlines, look at the offers. Save the ones you feel most powerful.
I have files called 'solo ads,' 'great headlines,' 'new product pitches,' 'pitches for affiliate programs' ... you get the idea.
A Word About Headline Inspiration...
Your headline swipe file is worth its weight in gold. Start building this resource immediately if you've not already done so. The headline is the key to unlocking an email, and some could argue it is the most important part of your offer.
The key is to take a headline from your file and adapt it to your product. When you're drawing a blank, how easy would it be to adapt the following?
38 Fun And Easy Ways to Earn $500 Next Weekend
7 Steps To Freedom
26 Days That Have Changed Thousands Of Lives
An Amazing Business You Can Carry In Your Pocket
Are You An Educated Failure?
Banking Secrets That Banks Don't Want Published
California Lawyer Discovers How To Make Money At Home With The Help Of The U.S. Government
Do you think you could take these, and plug your product or service in, and get a huge head start?
For example, if you were selling vitamins you could adapt the second sample from the bottom:
Health Secrets That Drug Companies Don't Want Published
Do you have a weight loss product or exercise tape series? Use the first one:
38 Fun and Easy Ways To Lose 2-4 Pounds By Next Weekend
See the process?
Aside from your swipe file, you should also build a list of power words. Words like: free, sell, instant, successful, little known, system, select, explode, unlimited.
Use these words to create a sense of urgency and curiosity.
I've an expanded list posted on the Ideal Marketing Corporation web site, if you want more ideas. Click here to view:
(http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com/powerwords.html)
Creating a killer headline, copy and power word swipe file should be an ongoing process. Keep building yours, as you never know when you'll need that next bit of inspiration.
About the Author
Paula Morrow heads Ideal Marketing Corporation, specializing in information products and training for newbie netpreneurs. Subscribe to IDEALProfits, now read in 12 countries, and receive 5 bonus ebooks!
(http://www.idealmarketingcorp.com/subscribe.html)
Public Domain Copyrights Rule#1 Rule#2
By Hannah Pendergraph Of Edwards Marketing
By following the simple Rule#1 And Rule#2. You will be well on your way in make History today!
Follow Rule One Ane Two
Rule #1: What are public domains? Public domains are expired copyrights from 1923 to 1963. 85% of everything right now falls into public domains. Due to the 28 year renewal. To research copyrights go to loc.gov/copyright.com. On homepage, do a search for USA, regular and documented under Author, Title, or ID number to verify if they were renewed. Look for facts, blank forms, US gov't forms, movies, books, audios, manuals, etc...
Rule #2: The second rule is to change, recopy, or write. You only have to do a minimum amount of changes. For example: Changing a Title(ex. use your noodle to make oodles was changed to think and grow rich), (ex.How to win friends and influence people was changed from a weak title)
You could also just add pictures or graphics.
In other words, once you find out it's copyright was not renewed, you can change a minimal amount of it, make it your own, and refile for copyright, and it will be yours. You can turn this into manuals, ebooks, or reports, with minimal changes, and you can own it.
Right now, there is a market wide open for any publication wrote in spanish.
A quick trick to find out what needs to be published go to wordtrack or adword and research to see what topics are needed.
Offline, go to your nearest college, library, or used book store. Research the title and the author loc.gov/copyright.com and make these copyrights your own.
There are no limits at all to public domains, and there are billions of these works out there right now. You can go to addell.com and search terms for 1963 golf books.
Right now, you are a part of history of intellectual properties. Remember to recopy them ethically. The last point that needs to be made is books and movies are remade and sequaled everyday (ex. Terminator 1,2,3). Due to the fact that the best products are ones that sold before and were tested over and over and worked.
You WIll Be Up-dated With New reseller packages and tips and hints for giving you the selling edge
(http://trafficcoach.biz)
5000 copyright 80 different catagories
How To Write A Profit Pulling Article
By Rich Hamilton, Jr
Having an article published is one of the fastest and easiest ways to build your credibility as an industry expert. At the end of the each article you are given the opportunity to gain free exposure for your online business or affiliate program.
As more and more people realize the true power of having your article published, the Internet has become saturated with them. Everywhere you turn there are plenty of articles to choose from, making it tougher to get yours noticed, let alone read.
If you can't get your article noticed, then it won't be read, therefore, no free exposure or profits. But getting your article noticed is only the beginning, you also need to hold your reader's attention with good quality content.
In this article we are going to go over the key elements of writing a succesful article and how to get them noticed. We will also go over how to turn an article into an unstoppable profit generator, even if you don't have your own product or service. That's right, you don't need your own product or service to take advantage of this golden opportunity.
Research Before Choosing A Topic
When most writers write their articles, they only write about what they want to write about. This is not an effective way to write an article. The most effective and recommended way to write an article, is to write one on a topic that your targeted market is already interested in. To find out what kind of article your targeted market is interested in, will require some research.
You should always do the research before you actually pick a topic to write about. When researching for your article you should try going to forums that cover your targeted market. Observe to see what they are talking about and even looking for. The best approach to use, is to find a problem, then write an article that resolves the problem.
By using this approach you are showing your dedication as a problem solver. When you help people resolve their problems and/or endeavors, you will strengthen your credibility and then the profits will soon follow.
Article Title
Choosing the title of your article will be one of the most important decisions you will make and will determine whether or not it will be read. You need to take your time, when it comes time for you to select an article title and it will require you to do some brainstorming.
Your article title should reach out and grab the reader's attention and compell them to want to read it immediately. The best thing to do when trying to come up with an article title is to write the biggest benefit that your reader will receive while they are reading it. The biggest benefit may not be the exact article title, but it is a good place to start.
When I choose a title for an article I write down several before I intially select a one. So don't choose just one title, write down several different ones, get the feel of the word variations, and tweak the weak areas.
Content
Most of the articles out there are nothing more than an abstracted sales pitch or material that does not contain any valuable information, therefore is useless to the reader. The best way to get your article read, is to educate the reader. Any good article will be educational to their readers and have some sort of value. If you can't sell your article, than don't publish it.
If you publish a poorly written article, then people will not read it. This will have an impact on your credibility and on any future articles you publish, so do it right the first time by educating them.
Promote
If you want to make some cash with your article, then at the end of it, will be the time to promote your product, service, or affiliate program. Make sure that the product, service, or affiliate program is relevant to the article, you'd be suprised at how many people get this wrong.
Not sure, let me give you an example, I previously wrote an article that was entitled "The Wrong Email Format Can Destroy Your Offer". In this particular article I discussed the advantages and disadvantages of text and html email formats. At the end of the article I presented an autoresponder that is capable of performing both formats.
If you promote a product, service, or affiliate program that corresponds with the article, your chances of getting a click through is very high. If you don't have a product or service that corresponds with the article, then I recommend finding an affiliate program that does.
About The Author
Rich Hamilton, Jr is the CEO/President of (www.ElitesMarketing.com) a.k.a. Elites Marketing, Inc and the Author of "Inside Internet Marketing". Unlock the absolute truth internet marketing without ever paying a cent for advertising. (www.InsideNetMarketing.com)
10 Quick Tips To Writing Profitable Articles
By Ken Hill
One of the best ways to promote your business for free is to write articles for publication in ezines.
To help you get started, I've compiled a list of ten tips that will not only help you successfully write your own articles, but also help you get the most out of the articles you do write.
To begin:
1. Put a lot of thought into the title of your article.
Writing a good title will grab your readers attention and encourage them to read through your article.
2. Keep the introduction and conclusion of your article short.
3. Write your article as a series of tips that center around a specific subject. This is a very effective way to present your information and hold your readers interest.
4. Use numbers to list the tips in your article. This allows your readers to go quickly from one tip to the next, and also keeps your article neatly organized and easy to read.
5. Keep your tips brief and to the point.
6. Keep your article focused on one topic. If you have several things you want to talk about then try writing separate articles for each topic.
7. Write your article with a sincere desire to help your reader. Don't write an article that is basically just a sales letter for your company. Save your self promotion for your resource box at the end of your article.
8. Do write a compelling ad for your business in your resource box. Entice your reader to go to your site or request more information from you.
9. Use your resource box to gain more subscribers to your ezine. An article is a very effective way to showcase the type of quality content your reader can expect as a subscriber to your publication.
10. Offer a free marketing course in your resource box. This will give you the opportunity to further increase your sales by following up with people interested in your information.
Once you start writing articles, you will find that your articles can bring a lot of free promotion to your business.
Write with your reader in mind and you will be on your way to creating more profit for your business with every article you write.
About the Author
Ken Hill publishes Net Promotion Marketer, full with internet marketing tips. Visit (http://www.netpromarketer.com/).
The Free-Reprint Articles Powerhouse and Copyright Law By Bill Platt
Writing articles is definitely a very solid method of building a client base for your online business. There is no doubt about that. The writers I speak with who use free-reprint articles for the promotion of their businesses all proudly talk about the success articles have brought to them.
Articles will generate substantial traffic to those who write well. Even better, a considerable amount of the traffic will convert to sales.
The Internet is a rocky super highway. Thousands upon thousands of people have had their dreams shattered by the realities of marketing online.
Less than 5% of all online businesses will survive, so it is important to try to do the things that the 95% do not do. I will tell you one thing now --- more than 95% of all online marketers do not even attempt to use articles for the promotion of their businesses.
I have written a number of articles telling people about the promotional power of free-reprint articles. In fact, I have built my business on free-reprint articles, by helping others tap into the promotional powerhouse for themselves.
I have often said that one should investigate writing their own articles. I have even said that ideas of inspiration can be found in reading the works of others.
I wish to re-emphasize my original direction to find inspiration by reading the words of others. I said that reading around should only be used for inspiration. One will discover that as they read someone else's point of view, they will suddenly see an idea for an article on what may be a similar, but very different tact.
One should NEVER take the words of the original author and make them their own!!! Nearly every article you read will contain a copyright notice. The copyright notice is legally binding, supported by federal law.
If you are writing your own articles but borrowing a few sentences from someone else, YOU ARE STEALING! Copyright violation is a criminal offense that can find you in court and defending your bank account!
Words that I write and put into a free-reprint article do carry clearly stated "terms of reprint". Let us review those real quick:
This is a Free-Reprint article. The only requirements for publishing this article are:
· You must leave the resource box unedited. · Minor editing to the article is permitted. · You may not use this article in UCE (Unsolicited Commercial Email).
· Email distribution of this article must be opt-in email only.
· You must forward a copy of the ezine or newsletter that contains the article inside to the author at: mailto:bplatt@windstormcomputing.com · If you post this article on a website, you must set the links up as hyperlinks, and you must send us a copy of the URL where the article is posted.
Where in these "terms of reprint" do I give permission to borrow a few sentences or paragraphs from one of my articles to form the basis of your article with your name in the resource box?
I have read these "terms of reprint" again, and I still do not see the permission to use my words in this way! What am I missing here?
Let us writers be aware, there are those in the our Internet writers community who deliberately disregard our "terms of reprint" to take our words as their own.
Folks, if you are just getting started in using free-reprint articles to promote your business, please realize that it is completely unnecessary to steal the words of others! Inspiration resides in all of us, and we can find it in the most bizarre of places.
Back to my original article on this topic, which was written for Max Shifrin (one of my ghost writing clients by the way), this is what I said:
When in doubt, I always turn to the search engines to find inspiration. I might have a general subject in mind, but I might not know how I want to address it. That is until I am reading someone else's view of this subject, and Boom!, inspiration strikes.
A spark goes off in the old brain and I know exactly where I am going tonight. I know exactly how I will proceed with my new issue and article.
When I am done, you could look at the original source and never understand how I decided my slant on the article. That is because the source being read only serves to spark the inspiration from which the article will be written.
To read this article in context, click the following redirect link and read the second article called "Online Publishing: Where Do You Want to Go Today?":
(http://thephantomwriters.com/promotion-tips)
This topic is being addressed today for one very important reason. I keep seeing my words pop up in the articles of another! These words are derived from articles I write in my own name and in the articles written for my clients. While everyone can read this article, it is actually only intended for one person. They know who they are.
In the meantime, this article also serves as a warning to those who are just getting started with this very lucrative promotional technique. There really is no reason at all for anyone to steal from another to become successful online. When we tell you to copy what works, we are not telling you to literally steal what is working for us!
And to the one person who is choosing theft as the basis of their business, be forewarned. I am watching you and gathering a portfolio of examples to use against you in a court of law. When I have gathered together my case, you will be hearing from my attorney. Funny thing is, you do not know how many people I actually ghost write for, so you have absolutely no idea how deeply you are exposed! Thinking on Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland", how deep does the rabbit hole go? Think about it.
There is only one way for the perpetrator to avoid the courtroom in this case. Make your confessions and agree to my terms for keeping yourself out of the court room. This is not just about me and my ego. This is about the value of the work that has been done for my clients who have been ripped off as well. The ball is now in your court. I will await your message.
mailto:bplatt@windstormcomputing.com
Folks, honesty is always the best policy. Honesty will keep you out of court and in the black. Find inspiration where it may reside and use that inspiration to join those of us who are in the 5%, by using the powerhouse that free-reprint articles represent in the process of growing your online business.
About the Author
Bill Platt owns The Phantom Writers, a company committed to helping people to establish an Internet presence & promote their businesses through the use of Free-Reprint Articles. All articles are distributed to 6,500+ publishers & web-masters as part of the package. Do you write your own articles? Let us distribute them for you. (http://PathTrax.com/x.pl/BP121,50)
How to Improve Your Writing Without Writing a Word By Walter Burek
Many an ad, business letter and TV commercial comes into being slowly, even painfully. Maybe because some of us write as if we were still using an IBM Selectric, wite-out and a badly worn Webster's. For that matter, maybe some still are. And that's OK.
But in these digital days, software and the Internet can help a tech-savvy writer be a better writer and make getting the job done easier. While writing every day is still the best practice for improving your writing skills, there are programs and Web sites available today that can really help your writing along.
Here are 18 digital tools you can use to research, brainstorm, organize, compose, communicate and bring out the better writer in you.
Wordsmithing Grammar and Style
Cliché Finder. You've always been told to "avoid clichés like the plague." But sometimes there's no other way to write or talk your way out of a sticky situation. This site lets you search for just the right cliché, by entries that include a specific word. | (www.westegg.com/cliche) |
Common Errors in English. This is a useful list of words often misused. Plus an interesting list of usages people keep telling you are wrong but which are actually standard in English. Links to other grammar resources as well.
| (www.wsu.edu/%7Ebrians/errors/errors.html) |
Dictionary of Difficult Words. Do you aim to become a member of the literati, or do you wish to be a savant? Do you want to avoid being verbigerative and be succinct instead? Search this list of over 13,900 difficult words to increase your vocabulary or just find out what those words really mean. | (www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/difficultwords) |
fun-with-words.com. Everything you want to know about amusing quirks, peculiarities, and oddities of the English language. Stuff like palindromes, spoonerisms, oxymora, and more. | (www.fun-with-words.com) |
Word Play. A list of links to dictionaries, foreign language translations, word games and wacky sites like The Apostrophe Protection Society, Burma Shave Signs, The Country & Western Song Generator and The Klingon Language Institute. | (www.wolinskyweb.com/word.htm) |
The Word Spy. This site is devoted to recently coined words and phrases, old words that are being used in new ways, and existing words that have enjoyed a recent renaissance. | (www.wordspy.com) |
Word Menu. This software version of Random House's printed Word Menu blends all the best features of a dictionary, thesaurus and encyclopedia into one-easy-to-use reference. Words are organized by subject rather than alphabetically. Windows and Mac. Available from (www.wordmenu.com).
WordDog Plain English Editor. Add this program to your Microsoft Word app and it will sniff out ambiguous words, verbose phrases, redundancies and overworked phrases. Windows only. Available from (www.worddog.com).
Reference
All Experts. If you can't find the info you need in this enormous archive of free Q&A, send your question to an expert of your choice (also free.)
| (www.allexperts.com) |
Bartelby.com. The perfect site to search for a Shakespeare quote, fact-check a line from a great classic, or look something up in Gray's Anatomy. Unrestricted access to reference, verse, fiction and nonfiction books.
| (www.bartleby.com) |
How Stuff Works. Want to know how those traveling lawn sprinklers work? Or how to clone a sheep? Or fix a leaky toilet? This is the site with all the answers. Channels for computers, electronics, home, science and more.
| (www.howstuffworks.com) |
Library Spot. An easy-to-navigate uber-library that provides answers to question with links to innumerable reference sites, including many other libraries.
| (www.libraryspot.com) |
Refdesk. An outstanding site filled with fact-finding links and connections to hundreds search engines and research sites. | (www.refdesk.com) |
Visual Thesaurus. A work of art that is also an excellent thesaurus. Synonyms and definitions unfold on your screen in a beautiful ballet. A slow-loading site, but well worth the wait. | (www.visualthesaurus.com) |
Creativity
CreativityforLife.com. Explore the creative process in your work and in your personal life. Plus links to many other creativity sites.
| (www.creativityforlife.com) |
Creativity-Portal. An elegant site that promotes creativity in all areas of life but features a page specific to writing. | (www.creativity-portal.com) |
The Soul Food Cafe. A soothing site that promotes writing and creative pursuits as a daily practice. Full of tips, techniques, references and encouragement for writers of all kinds. | (www.dailywriting.net) |
Organization
Tinderbox. This software application stores notes, ideas and plans, mapping them in colors and shapes as they're created. It then scans the notes and links and organizes them by patterns and relationships. It will even gather and update relative info and breaking news from the Internet. Mac only. Available from (www.eastgate.com).
© Burek Group 2003
About the Author
Walter is an professional advertising copywriter who writes, edits and publishes "WORDS@WORK", a FREE bimonthly newsletter of advice and about writing that works. To view his award-winning portfolio and to subscribe, visit (http://www.walterburek.com) You may also subscribe via mailto: WordsAtWork@comcast.net .
Thank you for your interest in this article.You may freely publish it in print or on the Web as long as you include the byline and credits. Also, please advise me of publication by mailto: walter@walterburek.com
Walter Burek is an award-winning copywriter who has been a writer and Creative Director on some of advertising's most important accounts.
Walter also writes, edits and publishes Words@Work, a free newsletter for marketing communications professionals.
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