| Glenn Beach | | | | motivated... and so on. |
| By now you probably understand how important | | | | First I brainstorm: when have I been able to accomplish |
| writing for trade publications is to establishing credibility | | | | any of these things? (take notes) Then it's off to the |
| in the home business world. | | | | search engines. (take notes; bookmarking and copy |
| | | | and paste makes this easy) Now organize your notes: |
| Remember how you resisted writing those reports in | | | | whatever floats your boat, whether it be lists, outlines, |
| school, insisting that you would never need to know | | | | mind mapping or freeform writing. |
| how to do that in "real life"? Welcome to the real world | | | | Just keep searching, taking notes and bookmarking until |
| of business writing. | | | | something hits you over the head. "This really might |
| Your English teacher gave you the bare bones: pick a | | | | work, especially if you did this first and then tried this..." |
| topic, research, take notes, make lists and an outline, | | | | Be patient, it may take a little time. |
| write a rough draft in your own words, rewrite, rewrite, | | | | Don't copy word for word what another writer has |
| rewrite. Don't forget introductory paragraphs, | | | | already written; but on the other hand, don't worry |
| summaries, footnotes and bibliographies. | | | | about inventing the lightbulb either. If you've done much |
| Thanks to the internet, you can use a search engine, | | | | surfing at all, you realize that the internet is HUGE, a |
| copy and paste, cut and paste, type, cut and paste | | | | veritable wasteland. |
| edit into infinity, include hyperlinks and add your | | | | The chances of two people reading exactly the same |
| resource box at the end. | | | | articles or websites and coming to exactly the same |
| But...you're still stuck on picking a topic. You feel as | | | | conclusions are slim. Any bleary-eyed surfer will |
| imaginative as a two by four. Start with your own | | | | THANK you for your arduous research. |
| home business, internet marketing, or entrepreneurial | | | | And don't rule out your own experiences and thoughts. |
| problems. Better yet, start with your journal. You don't | | | | I once was dealing with a problem and was becoming |
| keep one? Here, you can borrow some of my own | | | | more frustrated and angry by the minute. I finally just |
| entries: (better yet, each of these items is looking for a | | | | dropped it and went for a walk. (You can substitute |
| foster home) | | | | any of those things, such as fishing, that you used to fill |
| Didn't want to get out of bed this morning. | | | | in the blank above). |
| Turned on the computer and would rather play a | | | | While walking I was thinking about another situation in |
| computer game than work. | | | | my life, was looking at the part of the natural world I |
| The quiet is driving me crazy...music would help...now I | | | | was walking through, and came to a brilliant conclusion. |
| want to dance...now that I'm up, I could | | | | As soon as it occurred to me, I saw that the solution |
| vacuum....wonder what's on tv... | | | | also applied to the problem I was trying to solve earlier. |
| The noise is driving me crazy, I can't concentrate. | | | | So you see, sometimes it's good to just follow your |
| Ok, I finally got started. Ten hours later, I just can't stop. | | | | instinct and GO FISHING. |
| I wonder why my wife is glaring at me. | | | | I'll write that all up into an article some day soon. It's on |
| I can't finish anything--the next new project always | | | | my list. Meanwhile, I've got a few more ideas I'm writing |
| looks more interesting. | | | | up first. Now I can't wait to get them all written into |
| Friends call and want to chat, the cats want fed, that | | | | articles. So...there's my topics, my motivation, and my |
| window needs fixing. | | | | action plan. |
| How do I know when to be persistent and when to try | | | | If you've followed these steps, thanks to your English |
| something else? | | | | teacher, the internet, your own experiences, and your |
| My website has lots of visitors, many don't stay for | | | | stumbling attempts at writing, you're now an author. But |
| more than 30 seconds, few sign up. | | | | more than that, you've learned: |
| I'd rather be __________ (fill in the blank): sleeping, | | | | - how to set yourself a goal: new affiliate signups; |
| golfing, fishing, watching tv, eating, reading, swimming. | | | | - a strategy: making your name familiar or establishing |
| Now let's turn that list into a list of how-to's. I need to | | | | yourself as an expert; |
| learn how to: get enough sleep; stay focused; identify | | | | - and an action plan: write an article, submit it to dozens |
| goals, strategies and action plans; develop credibility | | | | of websites, post it on your own website, maybe even |
| among friends and family; identify success | | | | add a few guest articles and start up a newsletter. |
| (measurable results?); make my website more sticky; | | | | Then start over at the beginning...and don't forget how |
| encourage prospects to become active affiliates; | | | | important it is to take time out for fishing. |
| balance work and pleasure; plan my day; stay | | | | |