Archive for Productivity tips
Is Your Idea Really a Book?
Posted by: | CommentsIf you have an idea for a “how-to” type book, or if you’re an expert at something, perhaps your idea’s best format is NOT a book.
Or at least, not only a book.
One reason people don’t get published by commercial publishers is their idea is not really a book. It may tell how to do something, but it’s not unique enough to stand out from a crowded niche. Publishers (and authors who self publish) invest a lot of money upfront for a physical book.
These days, there are other days to get information out, if it’s pretty much just information you are offering.
And these ways are faster and more profitable than publishing a book.
What I”m talking about is creating information products, which can (and should) take any number of formats. It can be video, audio, printed, or a combination thereof.
Another important and wonderful thing about information products is Read More→
My (Half-Serious) Analysis of the Cause of the Economic Crisis
Posted by: | CommentsPermit me this rant. See if you can find a common denominator.
OK, so I get an email from Facebook saying, “You haven’t been back to Facebook recently. You have received notifications while you were gone.” (Naughty me!)
So I click on the link. Ask trusty Roboform to fill in the password etc. Didn’t work.
Strange. It always did work. It worked on Tweetdeck.
So I click around some other ways and FINALLY get into Facebook. (Somehow, don’t ask me what finally worked.)
So, where are these friend requests? Not a clue. I click Friends and see I have some Suggestions. I click on some people I know I’d like to be friends with. Every time I click, I have to
How to Keep Your Sites and Computer Secure
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re not absolutely sure your blog, computer, or other web sites are secure, I urge you to RIGHT NOW check this course out.
It’s the WordPress Blog Security Strategies class taught by Cathy Perkins, “the WordPress Wizard,” now in a home study version.
You will be able to get your Action Guides, listen to the class when it’s convenient to you, and/or read the transcript.
Lest you think keeping your sites secure is scary “techie” stuff, let me reassure you.
I’m not at all technical, and I was able to follow everything. Cathy gives screen shots of every single little step you have to do, so there’s absolutely NOTHING intimidating about this.
It will give you the peace of mind of knowing that no hacker will be able to get at your sites.
Having had my blogs hacked twice now, I can tell you,
Reflections on Being “Unconnected”
Posted by: | CommentsFor the past 6 days, I have been unable to access the Internet, except for a brief, inexplicable time when the DSL connection worked for a few hours, then went bad again.
It’s been very frustrating, but enlightening.
Frustrating because, of course, so much of what I do is dependent on being able to hook up to the Internet. Whether it’s research, email, Twitter, connecting to the various accounts that allow me to get my work done, I must be connected or I’m “up a creek without a paddle,” as the cliché goes.
It’s also been an enlightening experience because
Much Easier Way to Create a Great Website than a Blog …
Posted by: | CommentsI just took about an hour to get a new page for one of my Wordpress blogs (www.abundantgiftsblog.com) looking the way I wanted it.
It would have taken me 5 minutes at most to do the same thing in XSite Pro, the web design software I use for most of my sites.
People keep telling me WordPress blogs are better, so easy to use.
My experience has been: I could not even have a WP blog without Cathy Perkins, “the wordpress wizard.” I listen to her free weekly teleseminars and without those, and her expert help when needed, I’d be lost.
On the other hand, I’ve had very few issues with XSP. I can put up a web site in minutes. This one I put up in 10 minutes. The template came with the program. It was a matter of copying and pasting the copy I’d already written in Word. (And unlike copying and pasting from Word to a WP blog, I have little to no issues with formatting.)
What about search engine ranking with XSP vs. WordPress? Read More→
If you’re on information overload…
wanting to learn how to successfully market your book and/or other information online …
confused and suspicious of all the so-called gurus out there and wondreing whom to trust …
read on for one of the HANDFUL of people and courses I can recommend without reservation.
What You Really Need is
“Can I Build a Website If I Know Nothing about Websites?”
Posted by: | CommentsHere’s a question from this blog I’d like to answer. (Ask your question in the box to the right.)
Helen asks:
“I am a teacher working with kindergarten children for 50 years. I would like to publish books relating to children and others. I have no knowledge how to start. Can XSite Pro help me who knows nothing about website or the internet? Please advise, Helen”
My answer:
One of the great things about XSite Pro web design software is that
How to Save Money on Web Site Creation and Management
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re interested in creating easy web sites, read on.
Otherwise, move on. I know your time is precious.
Sunday at 3.p.m ET is the last webinar to explain how XSite Pro web design software can help you build great-looking, search-engine optimized sites fast.
I was thinking about how much money XSite Pro has saved me.
I spent $110 to get the basic web site for Words to Profit designed (via someone at elance.com that a friend recommended).
And … that’s it!
With the basic design for www.wordstoprofit.com, I could create the variation you see as the header to this blog.
Then, I decided it made more sense to change the header for two of my sites, from Words to Profit design to Your Book Publishing Coach:
http://www.writingsecretsrevealed.com
http://www.writeyourbookrightnow.com
It took four clicks to change, save, and publish each site; 1 minute 22 seconds for the whole process.
And I did not need any web master to do it.
If you like the templates you’ll get with V2 (full sites, sales letters, product pages), you won’t even need a designer. Attend the webinar or just watch the video to see all the things you get “out of the box.”
If you already have a header or logo, you can just use that.
What I did NOT have to spend anything on:
Build Your Web Site Quickly, Easily, Inexpensively (The Best Software I Own)
Posted by: | CommentsA reader who listened to my Resource Roundup #1 teleseminar asked about whether I used the web site creation program I recommend, XSite Pro website design software, for www.wordstoprofit.com, and what I thought of it.
That got me going, because XSite Pro web design software is one of the BEST programs I’ve EVER used. I could not do my online work without it!
Last week, I created the following web sites in a matter of minutes:
- http://www.writeyourbookrightnow.com (with all the subpages)
- http://www.writingsecretsrevealed.com
- http://www.virtualbooktourexpert.com
I also made a new site out of what was a page on my site:
http://www.virtualbooktourexpert.com
I use XSP for almost all my sites, except my blogs. Here are a few examples:
(This Your Book Publishing Coach blog and my www.abundantgiftsblog.com blog are WordPress. I do like WordPress, too, but honestly–it’s easier to work with XSP.)
I just upgraded to Version 2 of XSite Pro. The latest version seems amazing, and I already think XSP is amazing. To read my full review of this software that, in my opinion, is the best software I’ve ever bought, click here. I actually describe and demonstrate some of the tasks you can do, and tell how long it took me to do them.
To get straight to the web page for XSite Pro, go here. I read every word of that site with my usual skeptic hat on. Honestly, none of it is hype. The program does all it says it does.
There are some webinars coming up that will make even clearer all you can do with this program. Check it out and sign up here.
If you want to create web sites where you can post your own articles (search engines love this), sell your products, and get known–easily, quickly, without even having to understand how blogs work–get this program. Honestly, it’s one of the best products I’ve ever bought in my life. Certainly the best software package. (The most profitable one, too!)
