What can eBooks really do for our practice?

eBooks are one of those multifaceted products that can add enormous value for your clients.

But they can also add to your practice, there are several different ways to leverage your ebooks to create more targeted emailing and direct mailing lists and to gain expert credibility in your target market.

1. Email List – People love to get free stuff, they visit your website and in exchange for their contact information they receive a gift. Make sure that they gift you have chosen really speaks to your passion, so that prospective clients can learn about the real you.

2. Direct Mail List – Publish your ebook on a CD and offer to send it to the prospect for only the cost of shipping. Again really show your passion in the ebook that you choose for this, I would take the opportunity to add in a few bonuses items as well since CD’s have the space. Include in the direct mail package any flyers or specials that you have coming up as well.

3. Give away your ebook to 5-10 people in exchange for a review or testimonial about the ebook. This is a great way to test the ebook and see how well it will be received by your prospects.

4. Offer your ebook as a bonus, whether it is part of a package you have put together or part of a package that someone else has put together it is sure to be a big hit.

I hope that you are getting the idea that the more you get your ebook out there, the more opportunities you have to connect to prospects and start creating relationships with them.

Value

What does value mean to you?

When you hear the word “value”, you probably think of how many rolls of toilet paper you can get in the big package as opposed to the small one. Or how the price per pound of bulk food is exponentially less than those little boxes you find at gas stations. So what is value, really? Certainly it’s not just about sheer quantity for your dollar. No, it’s about quality for your dollar.

When standing in the checkout lane I am often faced with a small decision as to which treat I would like to indulge myself with. While a simple chocolate bar is somewhat satisfying and fairly inexpensive I usually find myself choosing a smaller piece of Godiva chocolate instead. Is it overpriced? Maybe. Is it worth it? Absolutely. It’s about value.

I’m sure you’ve heard it said that the most valuable thing in the world is time. Yet, for many of you, your job takes up most of it. If you own your own business, you are probably one who enjoys a good day of work. However, I bet there are certain tasks you face each day that you absolutely trudge through, just to get to the stuff you really wish you were doing. Couldn’t your time be better spent on more meaningful business pursuits? Something you actually enjoy? That is the reason you started your own business after all. To do what you love. Freeing up time to do that – now, that’s valuable.

Jim Rohn is quoted as saying, “Time is more valuable than money. You can get more money, but you cannot get more time.” I’m sure you can agree. Even a mountain of money wouldn’t buy you more time here on this planet. But certainly, if you could just find a way to save a bit of time within each day, you could pool it into a few more minutes, hours or days to do those things that really matter to you.

As a virtual assistant, I’m in the business of giving others more time.

I often find myself bogged down by certain activities that, while necessary, prevent me from doing the things I enjoy. A cupboard needs fixing, the lawn needs trimming but I really would like to spend time with my kids. Fortunately, I sometimes enlist the help of others so that I can accomplish the goals that are more important to me. By hiring a boy who lives around the block to do yard work I can free up that space in my day do things that I really love.

I apply this same concept to work. There are many tasks that are added to my workload throughout the day. By hiring an assistant or a specialist I can hand certain tasks off to people I trust, while also handling the things that I would like to personally accomplish.

What do you value? What else could you “buy” with a little more time in your day? It could be something as simple as the opportunity to pick your kids up for school, or, even bigger, a chance to take a day off? It could also be work-related. Like the chance to concentrate on the parts of your job or business that you value the most by simply handing other things off to someone such as a virtual assistant.

Newsletter Tips

Top Ten Things to Check Before Posting an Article

1. Check for awkward sentences, or sentences that just don’t sound right, and try rewording them. You want your sentences to be clear and precise so that the reader can understand you. It may help to read them aloud.

2. Avoid using too many clichés, you want your article to be interesting, but not over the top. Furthermore, don’t overdo it on the exclamation points.

3. Be careful to avoid humorous comments that may be offensive to some. Remember, just because you think it’s funny, doesn’t mean your readers will.

4. Certain words go together. For example “a person needs to spend time doing the things he loves.” NOT “A person needs to spend time doing the things they love.” Make sure the pronoun and the noun agree.

5. Avoid writing articles that you know are from a biased perspective, unless it is clearly an opinion article.

6. Keep the article interesting. Find ways to add creativity to a sentence. For example: instead of “Mrs. Jones paid her bills” try “Mrs. Jones tackled the towering stack of bills on her desk.” Which sentence sounds better?

7. If you are defining something, don’t use the word you are defining in the definition of it. For example, don’t say “A virtual assistant is an assistant that…” Find a different word.

8. Use a thesaurus. Try to find different ways to say something. Using the same words can make an article dull. For example, instead of saying “helpful” more than once try words such as “beneficial, advantageous, profitable,” etc.

9. Don’t always trust spell check to fix your grammatical errors. If you know you have trouble with grammar, ask someone else to read your article before posting it. Feed off of each other’s ideas.

10. Integrate things like quotes, or anecdotes into your article to keep it interesting. For example, if your article is about music, include something like: Victor Hugo once said that, “Music expresses that which cannot be put into words and cannot remain silent.” Try www.thinkexist.com, if you can’t find a quote.

Purging Your Clutter

I have been rifling through the same shirts for years. Shirts I never wear anymore, though I keep them. Why do I do it? Well, there are plenty of reasons that I tell myself. This one only has a tiny stain on it, and I can wear it for home improvement jobs. This one doesn’t quite fit me, but I could still wear it around the house. I got this one for a steal, and even though it doesn’t go with anything else I own, I’m keeping my eyes open for something that might match it. This type of nonsensical thinking about why we keep things is probably behind most of our clutter.

So, what’s the advantage to keeping all this stuff we don’t use? Well, I suppose there’s the chance we might actually use it someday. The disadvantages are more numerous. Just the idea of opening my shirt drawer makes me anxious. How many times have I had to refold clothes that I threw out of the way to get to the item I knew would fit me? How many times did I try on that one shirt, forgetting it was too small and then had to refold it and put it back in the drawer? How many times did I chastise myself for not fitting into it? I wonder how much time I waste in a year?

William Morris said, “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.” Doesn’t that just sound wonderful?

We hang onto unused gifts, ugly heirlooms, broken trinkets and even relationships. Socrates said, “How many things are there which I do not want.” How many of you have a box stuffed full of art projects from your kids? Knickknacks from past vacations? Books you’ve never read? Some of them are treasures for sure, but how many could be sorted into your “circular file” – if you’d just the guts to do it!

We’re all a bit unorganized, it’s true, but try this quiz to see whether your clutter has gotten out of hand: http://clutterworkshop.com/quiz.shtml

When it comes to our workspace, we’re usually just plain too busy to get to it, and organizing truly takes a time investment. However, a cluttered environment clutters the soul. It drags down productivity and creates anxiety. Think of it like this: “clutter creates resistance to the natural energy flow in a room and creates ‘stuck energy’. Stuck energy causes procrastination, lack of motivation, a feeling of being in limbo… confusion, and even depression.” [1]

At work it can be worse and the overwhelm of tackling the clutter is real. Perceived lack of time is a real roadblock though we realize in the end it will save time. Staying on top of clutter helps. A clutter basket that is cleaned out weekly can be a good tool. The freedom that comes from a clutter-free work environment is worth the investment to create some positive flow. Here is a quiz to see how badly you need to clean up your own workspace:

http://www.taylorintime.com/index.php?option=com_wrapper&Itemid=95

And also, some great decluttering tips for your life and your mind:

http://www.lifedesignstrategies.com/art/clutterbusting_tips.html

Visit this site and pick up a free declutter calendar:

http://www.mysimplerlife.com/decluttercalendar.htm

If you could use some professional help with your clutter:

http://www.clutterfreeforever.com/index.htm

Remember:

The sculptor produces the beautiful statue by chipping away such parts of the marble block as are not needed – it is a process of elimination.

~Elbert Hubbard

Dream Big. Think Small.

You see, I’ve studied hundreds of successful people. I’ve read their biographies.

One thing I’ve always seen whether it’s a Hollywood actor or business person.

There’s always incremental growth before breakout, exponential growth.

Maybe there are a few exceptions, though for the most part this is true.

So what that means is you go from $300 a month, to $500, to $900… and on to $3,000, $5,000, etc….then you get an exponential jump from say $7,000 one month to $17,000 the next (and you never look back).

I believe in MOMENTUM. I want to help you get there.

I believe in CELEBRATING small victories. I want to celebrate your victories with you.

If you’ve had challenges getting good results in your life, getting momentum going, don’t ‘think bigger’, THINK SMALLER and watch what happens.

Dream Big. Think Small.

Next Page »