Loading the searchable article library…
Browse published articles attributed to Karen Cioffi, with full-archive search.
Many children’s authors or book writers in other genres realize that making money writing books may not be what many envision it to be. So, if as a writer you want to make money to either supplement your income or earn an income, you might think about other writing paths in addition to authoring books. One such path is freelance writing.
Intent is a crucial factor in success. But, what exactly does this mean? To succeed in anything you need to know what you want, what you’re striving for. And, that knowledge has to be clearly defined. An unclear destination or goal is similar to being on a path that has very low hanging branches, an assortment of rocks that may hinder your forward movement, uneven and rugged terrain, branches and even logs strewn across the road; you get the idea. You kind of step over the debris, look around or through the branches, you don’t have a clear view of where you’re going.
A Panic Attack can Mimic More Serious illnesses such as Congestive Heart Failure Your heart is racing, you're having difficulty breathing, you have pins and needles in your limbs, you can't think straight . . . is it a panic attack? Anyone who has suffered with panic attacks knows that it can feel like you’re having a heart attack, stroke, or dying. While an actual panic attack can be terrifying, it is not deadly. But, thinking you’re having a panic attack when it really is a life threatening episode can be deadly.
With today’s oversaturated and tight publishing market, it’s difficult to find even a small publisher for the manuscript you’ve slaved over. Many authors have taken the matter into their own hands and are going the self-publishing route. But, have vision! This can be a worthwhile venture…if you first know a couple of things: 1. Self-publishing may cost you money
If you’ve looked around and decided on self-publishing your book with a print-on-demand, a subsidy, co-publishing company, or other format, there are certain steps that need to be taken before you think about signing a contract, or creating an e-book. And, it’s important you realize that this road to publication will cost money that you may not recoup. You will need to work diligently to ensure a return on your investment. Here are four steps to help you on the self-publishing road: 1. Learn the craft of writing
Home sweet home. There’s no place like home. Home is where the heart is. There are loads of old adages that demonstrate how you feel about your home. Your home is usually thought of as a safe place, a refuge. It’s even thought of as your castle. Unfortunately, between indoor air pollution, the chemicals in your food, and the water you and your family drink and bathe with, your home can be downright harmful to your health. Reports from numerous sources, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), show that there are harmful chemicals in the water you drink.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a key element in driving website traffic to your site and determining website ranking within the search engines. But, simply getting traffic isn’t enough. Along with getting that traffic, there are other factors that search engines look at when ranking your site. One of those elements is ‘visit lengths.’
As most writers know, there isn’t much money in being an author; the money, if you can get a successful freelance writing business going, is in freelance writing work and ghostwriting. There are so many different freelance writing and ghostwriting jobs you can do. But, to keep your target market focused and to strengthen your area of expertise, you should choose one or two specific types of writing. Offering too many varying services weakens your platform and your authoritative status.
In the June 2010 issue of The Writer, author Jane Yolen discussed the need to learn the craft of writing in an article titled, “Dedicate Yourself to a Writing Apprenticeship.” She explained that the process is slow and long, but is necessary to being a writer, to learn the craft of writing.
It’s amazing how the road to ‘making money’ for writers has opened. Maybe you’ve been thinking about it, or maybe you’ve even tried your hand at writing to earn an income or simply to supplement your income, but just haven’t seen the light at the end of the tunnel. Well, take a step back, look around, and take a new stab at it, because now’s the time to write for money.
E-books are an amazing product that has multiple uses. And, it can be created for FREE, or for a very minimal amount. What else can you create that costs only your time and effort, and sells for whatever the market is willing to pay? 1. Create content The first step is to create your content; this can be done as a simple word document. The content can be anything you think your readers or target market will want or need. In addition, it can be any length you decide upon. You can create a simple 10 page e-book, or a 100+ page e-book.
There is a song, The Power of One, which conveys what one individual can accomplish and/or change. But, how much more effective is the power of two, or five, or ten, or a hundred, or more? In a technical light, a joint venture (JV) is a partnership between two or more entities for a specific project and for a specified amount of time.
A ghostwriter provides services for different types of people, marketers, and businesses, and on a number of topics. She works silently, behind the scenes and creates whitepapers, newsletters, e-books, informational products, articles, posts, stories, and other forms of content for a business or marketer seeking to: * Create and/or build your company’s platform visibility * Generate and increase website traffic * Provide instruction/information for employees or clients/customers * Offer an informational gift as an ‘ethical bribe’ to subscribe to your company’s mailing listr
You just started your own business and you’re creating a small business marketing plan. You may already have created a great product. At least you think it’s a great product. But, is there a customer base for it? Or, is your product name effective? Do you know what your target market’s ‘wants’ are? Marketing studies are showing that in order to sell effectively, you need to know what’s motivating your potential customer to make the choices he does. This means you need to know what your potential customer wants.
Marketing in an oversaturated market is a difficult journey. Whether you’re promoting a book, services, or other product, you will have tons of competition. And, if you don’t have a website, you won’t be able to get in the marketing game. No matter what product or service you’re offering, having a website is an absolutely must. While it’s not that difficult to create a website or blogsite using services, such as Wordpress (http://wordpress.com) or Blogger (http://blogger.com), there are essential steps you will need to take in order to create an EFFECTIVE site.
A Ghostwriter, or writer-for-hire, is different things to different people, but no matter what the capacity, she almost always remains anonymous. Write or Rewrite Your Book The ghostwriter covers a number of writing areas. In one aspect she may be a writer who will take your idea for a children’s book, novel, or nonfiction book (memoir, autobiography, self-help, etc), and turn it into a publishable, and hopefully a saleable book. She will work closely with the author, usually from an outline, and work to instill the author’s voice into the book.
In its simplest form, promotion is a tool or strategy under the marketing umbrella. The marketing umbrella covers the creation or manufacturing of a product or service, R&D, distribution, and any other elements needed to get a product from creation to the consumer. Promotion creates visibility.
Small business marketing, specifically internet marketing, boils down to predicting online behavior in terms of what it will take to turn a visitor into a customer. According to the “experienced marketers and expert testers” at MarketingExperiments.com, this is a key element to success. You’ve done your research and created a product or service to sell to others. And, you’ve researched your target market. Everything is in place to attract potential customers to your site. But, once you get the prospect to your site, then what?
Key Marketing Principle One – Know Your Prospect’s Motives You’ve finally done it. You created a great product to sell. But, could it be that the product you think is ‘great’ is not something many others are interested in?
Marketing budgets for online search marketing is steadily rising. Businesses and their marketing departments are very aware of the importance of promoting their brand and products online. And, since the majority of buyers use online search engines to learn about products and to buy products, this particular means of reaching customers is quickly becoming a necessity . . . a mainstay. In an April 2006 article posted at SearchEngineWatch.com, the two basic reasons why search marketing works was brought to light: