Casual Articles - Internet and Businesses Online

Tips For Making Money With Clickbank Using Forums
So you know how to setup your affiliate links and have found a few products on the Clickbank that you want to promote and make some commission on. The next step is getting people to actually see your link and click on it!If you’re like most people you probably don’t have a lot of money to spend on advertising or just might not want to spend any money. Whatever your situation is, we are going to get into a quick, free and extremely easy to use system for generating traffic to your Clickbank affiliate links.Let’s get busy right now!1) Load up Google.com come in your favorite web browser.2) You need to decide what your subject matter is and make sure that it is related to your product that you want to promote. For example, if you are promoting an eBook on Dog Training you want to search for a Dog Training Forum or a Dog Lovers forum.3) Once you have decided on your subject, type the subject plus the word “forum” into the Google.com search box. For example, if I was going to look for a Dog Training forum I would type “Dog Training Forum” into the s

ublications” folder within “My Documents”. The file you are looking for should have been saved there (using “build” within the Mobipocket software) with a DRM security level of 4.

In the Meta-Data input screen, you should address (a) Affiliation URL (leave alone), (b) Title (enter title, than a colon, then a space, then the sub-title), (c) Activate for Retailers (leave checked), (d) Author (put the LastName, then a comma, then FirstName), (e) ISBN (leave pre-populated), (f) Print Book ISBN (put parent ISBN), (g) Language (select English), (h) Main Subject (select most appropriate from the drop-down), (i) Abstract (Max 4000 chars; copy-and-paste from your Amazon “short description” meta-data), (j) Review (Max 4000 chars; this will appear on the site as if it is from Mobipocket themselves), (k) Keywords (Max 100 chars; enter same as you did for the MS-Word metadata, only with each word separated by a semi-colon rather than a comma), (l) Adult only (leave unchecked) and (m) Publishing Date (leave autofilled)

In the file information section, click on browse to find your cover art image in the “CoverPage” section. Note that you are restricted to a maximum size of 50KB and dimensions of 200 pixels width x 300 pixels height. Ignore the “Demo PRC File” dialogue and leave the “Force No Demo file” checkbox unchecked. This will cause Mobipocket to default to an automatically generated PRC demo file containing the first 5% of the text of the ebook.

Conclusions

Choose only the PDF and PRC file formats for your eBook and distribute them using LSI and Mobipocket respectively. Pay close attention to the use of high quality metadata, as it will help with the subsequent marketing of your book, which (togeth

How to Price Your Services Without Guilt or Fear
To charge, or not to charge, that is the question. And, if you do charge, how do you do it without feeling guilty?It can be an internal battle when you try to set your pricing. Part of you says, it’s wrong to profit from your gifts. Another part of you reasons that you must make a living in order to keep doing what you love. Still another part of you says that maybe if you charge a fee well under what seems greedy, it will all work out.You are here to share your gifts. You are here to live your passion. We live in a physical Universe where the exchange for goods and services is money. Unfortunately, we’ve been taught that money can be bad, or evil. Let’s change that thinking.In order to survive, you must make money. You need food, you need shelter, and it’s nice to have things that make life easier. In order to live authentically, you must follow your passion. It’s ok to put the two together.Here are five steps to pricing your services without feeling fear, guilt or anxiety.The first step is, charge for your time – not for your particular gift. It can

Choosing your File Format

I would recommend you use just two different file formats – one for mobile devices and one for PCs. Remember that most people will only read really large eBooks (i.e. 80-100k words) on their desktop PC. For PCs, I would chose the Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) as (a) Adobe reader is already installed on millions of PCs worldwide, (b) all the major eBook distributors support it and (c) Micosoft are planning to incorporate export-to-pdf functionality in all their next generation MS-Office products.

For mobile, my personal recommendation is the Mobipocket .prc format as (a) it supports more complex e-books that require oversized images and horizontally scrolling tables, (b) the Mobipocket Reader can be used on the widest range of PDAs & Smart Phones and (c) Amazon have recently purchased Mobipocket and are sure to give it greater prominence in the future.

Converting your master to PDF Format

To begin with, optimize the meta-data in your MS-Word document. Access File – Properties from the menu and begin with the “Summary” tab. Enter your title in the “Title” box, exactly as it would appear on Nielsen BookData and Amazon. Put your sub-title in the “Subject” field. Enter your author name as second name, first name (e.g. Viney, David) in the “Author” field. In the “Category” field, I would use Amazon’s taxonomy, so for my eBook Guide, I would enter: Books > E-Books & E-Docs > Non-fiction > General. Use the “Keywords” field to add individual words which summarise the content of your book. Separate them with a comma and a single space. For my eBook I would enter: eBook, self, publishing, Amazon, Mobipocket, PDF, Lightning, Source, eBooks.com, writing.

Once you have optimised the Word master, it is time to begin conversion to the PDF format. With OEM or second-hand software available so cheaply these days from eBay (see panel right) I would recommend you purchase and use Adobe Professional software to do the conversion. Once you have installed the software, you will find that you can simply click on a “Convert to Adobe PDF” icon, which should be the left-most one of the three Adobe icons in your Word toolbar. The macro that follows will first prompt you to chose a filename to save your PDF document under. Use the ISBN (so for my ebook, I used 0955077427.pdf).

The macro will then scan for bookmarks, create pages and process tags before firing up the pre-final PDF file. Check the Bookmarks panel to make sure the macro has converted your Word table of contents properly. Then tweak some of the PDF settings for best results. Firstly, set the “Initial View” document options to “Show Bookmark Panel and Pages”. Under “Page Layout” select “Continuous Facing” and in the “Security” tab decide whether you want to apply any DRM-style restrictions (I leave at “No Security”). Secondly, check the metadata has been translated properly from the Word master and add any “Additional Metadata” (e.g. copyright status). Finally, optimize the file size of your PDF file, using both the the Advanced | PDF Optimizer menu option and the File | Reduce File Size option (which limits the reverse-compatibility of the file).

Converting your master to PRC Format

I recommend you purchase Mobipocket Creator Professional to handle the conversion. Whilst relatively expensive, it is by far the better functioned of all options. Open the installed software, select the import from MS Word document option and browse for your Word master. From the “publication files” screen, the first step is to add your cover art. Ensure your cover art has a file width of less than 200 pixels, a file height of less than 300 pixels and an overall file size of less than 50kb. This should generally be the case when you have set a medium (6/10) file quality to your .jpg file.

Whilst I would avoid the Mobipocket Table of Contents option (too complex) you should certainly focus on the metadata section (as the Mobipocket site has a Google Page Rank of 7/10 and your finished page will rank high up on Google). I advise preparing metadata entries first in a (backed-up) text file (using Notepad). If you iterate the file conversion and build process a number of times, you will find yourself re-entering data over and over again; being able to copy-and-paste from a text file will save you lots of time!

Once you have finished this section, it is time to build your eBook file and test it on various readers / emulators. Select the default build options, run the the build process, then “preview results in Mobipocket reader” on your PC. After you are happy, do a final test on the Mobipocket PDA Emulator. Having tested what you file will look like on a sample of PDAs and Smartphones, do one final iteration of the build process, this time with the “content encryption with DRM” checkbox selected. Your eBook is now ready to be uploaded.

Uploading your PDF to Lightning Source

To distribute your PDF via Amazon, I recommend signing up for Lightning Source International (LSI) as a minimum. In my full eBook (purchase from panel right) I also cover how to distribute via other sites, including Lulu and Content Reserve). To sign up with LSI, click on the “new customer?” link on their homepage, then the “new account” link.

Choose a log-in name and password (both between 6 and 16 characters in length), then enter your contact information. In the “form of business” drop-down, select sole proprietor. Choose your “primary book category” from the drop-down within the “miscellaneous information” section (e.g. professional/technical). Under “total number of titles in print” and “number of new titles published annually” I would suggest entering 2-5 titles. For “number of years company in business” put Uploading your PRC to Mobipocket

Firstly, visit http://www.ebookbase.com to register with Mobipocket. Now review the eBookBase Agreement. Either sign it and fax the form or (for speed) copy-and-paste the content into a Word file, add your signature as a scanned picture and email the signed electronic contract to nting@mobipocket.com

You will note from the contract that the wholesaler price is 50% of the suggested retail Price. As such, you may wish to set the retail price of the .prc version of your eBook slightly higher than you did for the .pdf version (so as to recoup a similar return).

Mobipocket will come back pretty quickly to confirm your application and will point you to a URL from where you can logon to your account online. You should find that you are given the same user-id and password that you originally registered with on the main site.

First select the “Add an eBook” option from the eBook catalogue. Browse to find your .prc file and click on the “upload new eBook” link. Note the default directory for the Mobipocket .prc file you created s is the “My Publications” folder within “My Documents”. The file you are looking for should have been saved there (using “build” within the Mobipocket software) with a DRM security level of 4.

Conclusions

Office Chair Savings and the Price Ranges for Ergonomic Chairs
In any business, finding your office furniture, chairs and supplies at the lowest price, is a smart business decision. Knowing how to find the chairs cheap is the first step to getting your space ready for business. Your type of business will determine your office chair quantities and needed functions. Good office chairs for your particular business do not necessarily come cheap. Shopping around and knowing the in’s and out’s of the office chair industry can really help when purchasing bulk orders of chairs for your business.Like clothing, some chairs feature no more than a well-known brand name, a great look and a mighty hefty price tag. And also as in the clothing industry, this “name brand” chair may be no better suited for your needs than another non-name brand chair at half the price.Sometimes paying for a name and fancier materials doesn’t make a positive difference in comfort or the ability of your office chair. However, buying the right chair at a much lower price, can definitely make a positive difference in your pocketbook. Office chairs can range in price all t

ce you have optimised the Word master, it is time to begin conversion to the PDF format. With OEM or second-hand software available so cheaply these days from eBay (see panel right) I would recommend you purchase and use Adobe Professional software to do the conversion. Once you have installed the software, you will find that you can simply click on a “Convert to Adobe PDF” icon, which should be the left-most one of the three Adobe icons in your Word toolbar. The macro that follows will first prompt you to chose a filename to save your PDF document under. Use the ISBN (so for my ebook, I used 0955077427.pdf).

Converting your master to PRC Format

Uploading your PDF to Lightning Source

Conclusions

Character
1. Character is Action, as well as WordsLeaders set the course for behavior as well as the strategic direction. As a leader, others will watch your confidence, your integrity, your response and your enthusiasm. Demonstrating good character does not guarantee respect, but it is a sure thing that you will lose respect without it. Every time that you give advice for behavior, take a moment afterwards to reflect if your own actions are consistent with your advice.2. Leaders Can Not Rise Above Limitations of CharacterLack of strong character leads to destructive behavior. According to Steven Berglas, a psychologist at Harvard Medical School and author of The Success Syndrome, leaders with weak character are destined for destruction through Arrogance, Aloneness, Adventure or Adultery. Have you witnessed someone who suffered from one of these? What was your impression of the character of that individual, and were you not surprised by result?3. Character makes a Lasting ImpressionThink of a business associate that you have not seen in a l

d document option and browse for your Word master. From the “publication files” screen, the first step is to add your cover art. Ensure your cover art has a file width of less than 200 pixels, a file height of less than 300 pixels and an overall file size of less than 50kb. This should generally be the case when you have set a medium (6/10) file quality to your .jpg file.

Uploading your PDF to Lightning Source

Conclusions

Tracking Down Cyber Squattors
I started using the internet in 1990, and the web in 1994. I remember when Yahoo! was only 1 page, and it was believed that there were only 100 web pages in the world. Companies were hiring html developers (with 5 - 7 years experience of course), and domain names were free.I've owned my domain name for almost 9 years now. At one time, there was no such thing as "cybersquating", "typo domains", etc. Now its and issue that many of us have to deal with at any time or another.I've discovered that people will resort to great lengths to protect their identity once they've squatted on a domain, but there are many tools to track down the truth about who they are.How Squattors Hide - Fake Registration Info One tactic I found used is that squattors will use fake registration information to hide the true owner of a domain name. I found one "company" that owned hundreds of domain names, many of large corporations, but registered each one using a different mailing address and a different name. Many of the names were silly like "Arthur Arthurson",

. To sign up with LSI, click on the “new customer?” link on their homepage, then the “new account” link.

Conclusions

Networking- Making the Most of Who You Know
It's all about who you know.You've probably heard that statement dozens of times in the business world. And it's true. Unfortunately, it's not nearly as important how talented you are, or where you went to school, but what connections you have. And it's even more unfortunate if you don't have any connections.You may run the best widget-making factory in the country. Your products may have won awards. But until someone has heard of you, they'll never work with you. Which would you trust more: a salesperson calling on you to tell you how great their widgets are, or the referral of a long-time friend? The friend, obviously. So how do you make the connection from the friend to the sale?Tap Your ResourcesMake a list of all the people you know in the business world, as well as your friends and family. Are any of them in your industry? The majority probably aren't, but you never know who they know. Drop a casual mention that you are looking for clients in your field, and if they know of anyone who might benefit from your services, you'd appr

ublications” folder within “My Documents”. The file you are looking for should have been saved there (using “build” within the Mobipocket software) with a DRM security level of 4.

Conclusions

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Have you ever wondered how architects are able to sell an idea of a new house, office block or other building to potential buyers? Well, they use blueprints and sketches, obviously, but it is not easy for most people to visualize a two-dimensional technical drawing as the final structure. The key to convincing a buyer that the architect's design is going to become the house or other building of their dreams requires something far more appealing.

In sports, coaches often talk about senior leadership as an important aspect of a championship team. In business and community groups, we frequently hear how experienced leadership is responsible for the growth and success of an organization. Leadership is constantly associated with people who have been around the block or have advanced to certain job titles, and rightly so. But you don’t have to be a veteran or have a title to be an effective leader in your organization.

There are affiliates who make their money virtually on autopilot using the Adwords opportunity where they bid for the most relevant keywords. The power behind this idea is that they get the most targeted hits, actually people looking for exactly what the affiliate opportunity product has to offer. Using this kind of system, one does not even need a web site.

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