By Cathy Goodwin
 As a web site marketer these days, in the 21st century, you have to work harder than ever to stand out from the pack. Everybody's sending out ezines. Nearly all of us hold teleseminars.
Add your ezine and teleseminar and you're joining a parade down Main Street. Sometimes you can generate leads even more effectively if you also run through the alleys and knock on back doors.
Often these back-door "sneaky" strategies seem too easy to be effective. But simplicity can be deceptive. You need to plan carefully to avoid wasting time. Used incorrectly, the back-door approach can backfire. You have to play by rules that change overnight and that aren't easy to figure out.
Strategy #1: Contribute to a discussion list related to your topic.
For lead generation, join a group whose membership matches your target market as closely as possible. Choosing the right group can be challenging. For example, you may be eligible to join a forum after attending a workshop or purchasing a manual. Or you may pay to
join a mentoring group. These groups create forums and discussion lists directly related to your interests, but moderators tend to be extremely cautious about self-promotion.
You can also search through yahoo or google for groups. For example, you can search on "professional women discussion list" or "work at home dads discussion list." Some websites feature lists of discussion groups, often arranged by topic. Searching through listings takes time but, with patience, can produce some good results.
Tips:
Once you join a forum or discussion lists, it's a good idea to "lurk" for awhile. Get a sense of the group's mood and style. Introduce yourself. Evaluate your responses. If you sense a lack of interest (and occasionally even hostility), consider withdrawing from the group.
The challenge is to draw a fine line between contributing proactively and becoming a nuisance. Success depends on finding just the right blend of asking questions and providing expertise.
Example 2: Write reviews for online bookstores.
As an avid and eclectic reader, I began writing reviews for one of the online bookstores. Originally, I was just having fun and actually felt guilty for taking time from my "real" work. I wrote about everything: mysteries, business books, nonfiction.
To my surprise, these book reviews began to attract subscribers, clients and invitations to be interviewed by professional reporters and writers. Recently one of my reviews was quoted in a blog, giving me valuable (and totally unexpected) publicity.
When these readers came, they were highly motivated. Unlike readers of ezines, they were prepared to pay or resources. After all, bookstores don't give away books! I suspect many hold a credit card in one hand as they surf with the other.
Tips:
Choose best-selling books related to your topic -but not exclusively.
Write carefully, using correct grammar and style. I've found that I get the most response by being edgy but thoughtful, and not too long or too short.
Follow the guidelines concerning what you can disclose about your business. Your review can be edited or removed entirely if you appear to be selling or if you use inappropriate words.
Bottom Line: Often we find our most successful back-door strategies by accident. But applying those strategies callsapplyin for planning, flexibility and responsiveness to change.
FREE 7 Best-Kept Secrets of Websites That Really Attract Clients: My Special Report gives you insider tips to convert tire-kickers to buyers and earn money while you sleep. From Cathy Goodwin, The Content Strategist, at Website Marketing Strategies
Coin Book Reviews: A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars by Q David Powers
By Keith Scott
 The 2nd edition of "A Guide Book of Morgan Silver Dollars, A complete History and Price Guide" was released in paperback form on March 31, 2005.
The first chapter discussed the appeal and challenges of collecting Morgan Dollars and a few tidbits about the history of the Morgan Dollar. While only 5 and 1/2 pages long, the first chapter is filled with interesting facts. As you enter chapter two, the book goes back a ways and discussed the history of dollar coins in general going back to the Spanish Milled Dollars, then the Mint Act of 1792 and how US coinage began. There are several paragraphs discussing the early dollar coins, there popularity, or lack thereof, and how the dollar was eliminated and replaced with the Trade Dollar.
The book does a very decent job of describing the events that were happening during this time period such as the troubling times for silver companies and the political involvement to help them out that eventually led to the Morgan Dollar. Chapters 3 and 4 are packed with excellent information on the design process for the Morgan Dollar and them the minting process. For a new collector, this is very good information.
Chapter 5 discusses the five, yes five different mints that produced Morgan Dollars, although the Denver mint only produced Morgan Dollars for one year, the year 1921. Chapter five also gives a little bit of history about each of the mints.
Chapter 6 discusses the various hoards of silver dollars discovered long after the demise of the dollar. Some once thought scare dates were now plentiful as the US Treasury began releasing and selling Silver Dollars held in vaults for years.
Chapter 7 delves into the variety of ways you can collect Morgan Dollars. If you are at all familiar with Morgan Dollars, then you know that there is a multitude of ways to collect this coveted coin. Chapter 7 will give you many ideas to help you narrow down the way you may want to collect this series
Chapter 8 discusses grading and the ANA grading scale. If you are familiar with the scales, then there is not much new here. Also, this is also where I think the book could stand some improvement. There are pictures providing examples for each grade, but like most, if not all books about grading, there are only descriptions for MS60 and above. I would have liked to see large pictures for each MS grade. This would give collectors a clear indication of the impact of bag marks in regards to grading.
Chapter 9 discusses the many varieties within the Morgan series while Chapter 10 is where the real meat of the book is. Chapter 10 contains a page for each and every year and mint of the entire Morgan Dollar series. Each page contains information on keys to collecting, circulation strikes, prooflike coins, price guide, availability guide, mintage and distribution and varieties. Each page is jam-packed with information very specific to each date and mint. In addition, there is a summary for each year that discussed things going on at the time and other general information about Morgan Dollars for that year. This type of information no doubt took years to gather and is invaluable to the serious Morgan Dollar collector.
Chapter 10 is buy far the longest and provides incredible detail for each and every year and mint of the Morgan series. There is one page for each date/mint that provides information such as optimal collecting grade, PCGS population (although outdated as more coins become certified), estimated field population, total mintages, varieties, etc. In addition, there is a page for each year that discusses collecting and how life was during that particular year. In all, chapter 10 is for the series Morgan Dollar collector.
In summary, if you are a series Morgan Dollar collector, or just a beginner, this is a must have book. The information provided in this book is incredible and provides the collector with incredible information into collecting one of the most popular coins collected today.
This book gets 4 1/2 stars.
If this book had blown up pictures of Mint State type coins, it would have rated a 5. Since the Morgan Dollar is most desired in Mint State, it puzzles me as to why graded pictures are not provided.
Keith Scott has been a collector for over 30 years. His website has Coin Book Reviews. He also writes Coin Collecting Articles for fun. Visit his websites for a history of US coins, metal market updates and news about your favorite coins.
Book Reviews Choosing an Effective Law of Attraction Book
By Amy Wells
 You may have been hearing about the law of attraction recently. This concept has become a hot topic, and there has been an increased popularity with the release of the movie, "The Secret." Although there are a variety of definitions, the law of attraction describes how our thoughts and feelings create our life circumstances and outcomes. Whatever we focus on, we bring more of the object of focus into our lives. If you are curious and want to know more, or would like to find ways to work with this information and create more of what you want in life, there are a variety of helpful books and resources available. Here is an overview of some of the more effective books.
Michael Losier is a coach, speaker, and writer about law of attraction. Law of Attraction: The Science of Attracting More of What You Want and Less of What You Don't, is a clear and concise guide on how exactly what the title states, how to bring more of what you want into your life. One of the benefits of this book is the variety of practical exercises available. The book has a a number of easy to understand worksheets that motivate you into action and help you focus. If you like clarity and ease when learning and applying new concepts, you'll enjoy this book.
If you are looking for a general overview, David Hooper's book: Guide for Living: Law of Attraction - How to Attract Money, Love, and Happiness, is a short (80 pages) yet powerful book that explains and applies this law in different subject areas. The first part of the book is an overview, with quotes from a variety of writers about the law of attraction. In the second half, Hooper illustrates how to apply the concepts in a variety of areas of your life, such as work, relationships, and health. If your looking for a big picture explanation, with useful suggestions, this book does a good job with both.
Jerry and Esther Hicks are two of the most visible writers and speakers on law of attraction. For nearly 20 years, they have presented seminars, books, and tapes about this topic. Their book, Ask and It is Given, is an extremely comprehensive book on law of attraction processes. The subtitle is: Learning to Manifest Your Desires, and that is the focus here. Jerry and Esther Hicks present their material as channeled through a being called Abraham. If you are familiar with the Seth books, this is a similar concept. The first half of the book is an overview of the attraction law at work in our life, and answers to common questions about the law of attraction. The second half presents a variety of exercises that help us create more of what we want. This book has a number of exercises to choose from, providing interest and flexibility in applying the activities.
There are many other books available, but the three mentioned here are good places to start. Many of these authors, such as Michael Losier and Jerry and Esther Hicks, also offer a variety of audio recordings of their work, if you prefer to listen to rather than read the information. These authors also have their own websites with additional information, and there are number of user reviews about their books available on Amazon and other venues. If you'd like to create positive change in your life with the law of attraction, any of these books will be a good place to start.
Amy Wells is a practitioner of
visualization, the law of attraction, and other universal laws of success. If you'd like to create more wealth in your life, visit
http://www.wealthbythought.com for a free report.
Share Your Opinion. (0 posts)
|
